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What’s the opposite of a green thumb? A black thumb, perhaps? Red? Puce? Whatever it is, I’ve got one. Although I can’t garden to save my life (or my plants), I do appreciate a good garden. And I really appreciate a great garden, like Ritsurin Koen, in Takamatsu, Japan. Originally created in the Edo period […]

The first thing you notice upon stepping into the Storm Dome is your difficulty breathing. The next thing you notice is how hard it is to move. Or to think. I shouldn’t have been surprised. The sign outside the room warned that temperatures could drop to minus 8° Celsius, with a minus 18°C wind. That’s […]

“Dave, can you help me secure my tent?” “I’ll try, Astrid. It’s super windy up here on the rim.” “Dave can you help me with MY tent?” “I’m doing my best, Johann. Ask Katrina to help you.” “Dave, my suitcase just slid down into the valley!” “Really Katrina?!!” What a ridiculous situation I’ve put myself […]

When visitors talk about traveling to California, they’re mostly thinking about hitting the two big cities, San Francisco and Los Angeles: San Francisco for its hills and cable cars, Los Angeles for its beaches, palm trees and Disneyland. If they have any extra free time, perhaps people will squeeze in a visit to the wine […]

So much of what makes a Wow place a Wow place is the unexpected. You arrive in a city, a park, a museum, whatever, thinking it’s just a brief stop on the way to someplace better, and then realize that where you’re at is astonishing in its own right. Such are my feelings about Bologna, […]

While checking into our bungalow on the grounds of the Thai Elephant Conservation Center, I casually ask the proprietor: “I hear you have an elephant show at 3pm. How do we get there?” “You can either take a minivan or an elephant taxi.” Is there even a choice? Of course we’re taking the elephant! We […]

I’ve written quite a lot about the amazing natural gifts to be experienced in Japan (ie. Wow Place #59 Nakatsu Gorge, #40 Oirase Gorge, #34 The Nakasendo, and #25 Kumano Kodo). Someday I’ll do an entire trip to Japan where I avoid ALL the major cities completely and just revel in nature. But that does […]

Walking in a rainforest is a pretty incredible experience. But you really do need a guide. It’s not because of forest dangers like snakes, spiders and poisonous plants, which no doubt exist (and we happily avoided). It’s more because the guides in places like Corcovado National Forest in southwest Costa Rica have eyes like hawks. […]

Me: “So Jack, how do I meet a Brazilian girl?” David: “It’s pretty simple. Here in Rio, the locals are called Cariocas. You wanna meet a Carioca girl, just make eye contact, go up to her and say hello.” Me: “But won’t that be too forward?” David: “Are you kidding? Rio is the flirtiest city […]

Greek artwork, yes! Roman artwork, meh! Ever since seeing the Elgin Marbles at the British Museum, with their sinuous, flowing togas that cling to the figures like a wet t-shirt contest, I became a bit biased towards Greek Art vs. Roman Art. Roman art always seemed kind of distant and stylized to me, compared with […]