OK, this will border on being a relationship advice column. Those who know me will say that I am the last person to ask for advice. I respond that every dog has its day.



I have discovered the perfect gift for your special person. If this can't get you out of the doghouse, then it is over.



Near Buellton, at Highway 246 off the famous California Highway 101, is a road going into the beautiful La Purisima Hills. At the top lives a persevering woman that established from…

by David Paul Appell

The renaissance of BA’s most iconic world export is still in full swing, and throughout Argentina‘s elegant capital you can experience tango in infinite ways: from milongas (dance halls) and dance academies…

Virtue would be 120 years old today, if she (or he?) were alive.

I was walking off a foul mood the other day through Trinity Church Cemetery—my local cemetery—when one of those curious headstone inscriptions grabbed me:

VIRTUE S. HARM

FEB. 23, 1891

JAN. 30,…

The crime statistics of some cities around the world are disheartening and shocking. With such high rates of homicide, robberies and violence these cities deservedly bear the names of ‘the places of chaos and death’ or ‘the murder capitals of the world’.

#1. Cape Town, South Africa

Crime has been a…

Yosemite And the Unexpected Visitor



Please listen to this Yosemite Audio PostCard, a story about this national treasure and an unexpected park visitor .…

World’s Best Hotels: TripAdvisor’s  2011 Travelers Choice Awards



When TripAdvisor came out with its highly-publicized list of the world’s dirtiest hotels, many thought it was a shameless grab by the review giant for publicity.



But others, including MSNBC, reported that the traveling public appreciated the list and used it in planning their travels.



Now TripAdvisor gives us their…

The use of hotels in tourism in the modern times cannot be overemphasized, it connotes a useful and satisfactory meaning due to comforts, free gift of nature, and confidence people derive from it. The way people spend their vacations has undergone a great change. People like to spend good times with families and friends while at the same time exploring various tourist places across the globe. As a result the tourism industry across the globe has seen an unprecedented growth which in turn has…

by David Paul Appell

If you know the Caribbean and/or have been to the Dominican Republic, chances are you’ve at least heard of one of the islands’ odder (and the DR’s most popular) tourist attractions. Otherwise, coming across this ringer for some centuries-old southern European village on a…

by Tripatini staff



Most pop songs in India come out of its movie industry — the famous “Bollywood” based in Mumbai aka Bombay — and this tune is from Blue, released in late '09. It’s a big-budget action flick shot in the Bahamas — something about an underwater treasure guarded by sharks — but being Bollywood, you also need your big musical numbers, of course. Composed by A.R. Rahman, who did the music…

I'm convinced that I have the best job in the world. No, I didn't say the highest paid--that would bring huge guffaws from travel writers around the world because the money involved is more like a ten-year-old's allowance. But the benefits..!!

February 28th is the Bartender's Bash, THE event that decides the bartender and drink that he/she has concocted out of Cold River Vodka or Gin.Cold River Vodka and Gin are entirely Maine-made products. Thirty bartenders are contending…

Night Travel

What is that I grasp, I miss

When half awake or half asleep I feel such deep, deep longing

Knowing only the rich sadness

The ache

I glimpse a red checkered skirt

A fragment of fabric at the corner of my…

by David Paul Appell

The suburbs of the world have generally not been considered hotbeds of serious culture (sorry, multiplexes screening Gnomeo and Juliet and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never don’t count). But in Israel, the municipality of Holon, some…

When Will We See The Pyramids Again?



The questions as to when travel to Egypt will resume, and Egyptian itineraries re-established are big ones among the decision makers in the US travel and tourism industry, and are being discussed daily.

The United States Tour Operators Association…

Fertility Tourism: Selling Women’s Eggs for Big Bucks and Travel



“Female Eggs For Sale” may not be a sign you’ll see any time soon, but for all intents and purposes that’s what the global market for harvesting and selling women’s eggs is all about.



The in vitro fertilization market is a billion dollar industry that touches almost every country in the world. It touches the wealthy neighborhoods of London and reaches  into the Americas, Asia and the…