When I first launched a life of travel some ten years ago, to say that I was in poor shape would be an understatement. To put it simply, I was scrawny, possessed an abhorrent diet, and was pretty much drunk all the time. As a consequence, the need to lug around my oversized bag and…
The waitress was explaining that the spaghetti dish came with a sheep-cheese that tasted something like parm—“No I don’t want that.” My cousin shook his head. “Do you have normal cheese?” When our food was served a few minutes later, he frowned. “It’s not even red. Why is it green?” “You asked for spaghetti with…
A hot and fast three day pass through Mexico City—time to fire off a first impression that will have to suffice until I get a moment to sit down and do it justice. Mexico City is my kind of madness. It’s the human condition on steroids. It’s full Hieronymus Bosch—a real Garden of Earthly delights.…
When my friend and I went to Paris, we didn’t intend to leave the country on the eve of the election. We’d purchased our tickets based on cost, not date. But when we realized that we would be missing our nation’s democratic Super Bowl, we were somewhat relieved. We knew what was going to happen…
When you’re traveling and you meet someone and speak to them for more than a few words, they almost inevitably ask you when you’re heading home, the unspoken understanding that “heading home” is a phrase burdened with luggage like work, cleaning house, and all the other mendacities of day to day living. The assumption being…
Though my initially tired, hungry impression urged otherwise (I tend to be somewhat grouchy by the time I come out the other end of twenty-four hours of airplanes and airports), my home for the next month – the Aloe Cabañas – has turned out to be a charming place. I don’t quite have the layout…
I went with a late model Audi A4. The man at the rental agency seemed surprised at my selection, that I would choose the manual Audi over the automatic and perhaps more luxurious Mercedes, but I did so for two reasons. First, because I had written a number of Audi advertisements but had never actually…
Spain is a less structured, come-what-may place, and that is reflected in the Spanish method of driving. Yes, there are lines on the road delineating lanes and, yes, there are speed limits. But these are suggestions more than anything. For the most part, you point your car, hit the gas, and go. Your only goal…
When you’re on the road, it can be all too easy to become fixated on the destination to the detriment of the journey. There are some landscapes – some wastelands – where this is perfectly acceptable. Places where you blast through barren fields, the speedometer dipping below 90 (we’re talking miles per hour now) only…
The first time I drove through Spain it was before GPS was a thing. I believe we were still on Mapquest back then. For those of you who are too young to remember, that meant using half a printer cartridge worth of ink to run off a series of maps and directions that would pile…