A genius gone mad.

Every time I see Antoni Gaudí’s perpetually unfinished Sagrada Família, the crown jewel of the Catalan architect’s vast œuvre, these four words well up along with, I confess, an occasional tear. It’s simply not possible to witness the soaring prayer in…

The scariest night of the year, when ghouls and goblins roam the streets, and otherwise sane adults dress to depress while children trick or treat for candy some likely may not won’t even be allowed to eat for fear of tampering. Yes, Halloween is a strange holiday (then…

Of the more than 10 million visitors to Japan, destinations like Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima. and Okinawa obviously rank among the better-known names. But there are small cities and towns spread among the beautiful islands of this singular country which are off the…

South Korea has come a long way, baby, in these past few decades, and may punch above its weight internationally (and even, these days, pop-culturally, thanks to its its government's strenuous promotion efforts), but as a travel destination it's still often gets relatively short shrift compared to many of its…

Vacation getaways that are both appealing and off-the-grid are an endangered species to begin with. But even in this rarefied company, the San Blas Archipelago, stretching across the lower half of Panama Caribbean coast, is in a class by itself. Eighty-percent uninhabited, these more than 350 islands, reachable by puddle-jumper flights from Panama City, are as pristine a paradise as you'll find anywhere…

Sodium chloride has been a world-shaping mineral indeed, prized back into antiquity and beyond, and over the centuries contributing to the growth of trade and even civilization itself in various parts of the world. And though much of it…

A 40-minute drive east of Puerto Plata, Cabarete’s a phenom that started blossoming as a destination in the mid-1980s, as foreign visitors discovered the water, wind conditions, and nearly four miles of beach that have given this single-street town of…

Santa, baby! In the spirit of the season, for all you moms and dads out there here’s a quick international round-up of several key Kris Kringle korners -- theme parks built specifically around that jolly old elf and his crew. There are of course countless towns and cities (not to mention shopping malls) in various countries that toss up a little “Santa’s Village” for the kids during the Yuletide holidays, but these four in North America and one in Europe are dedicated theme parks that do…

One of Florida‘s — and for that matter, the United States’ — most unique towns/islands, Key West is known for lots of things: its whiff of tropical paradise; historic architecture; diving and boating; major-league gay-friendliness; the…

It's autumn again in the northern hemisphere, and in a few key regions of a few key countries that means apples and cider, both “hard” (mildly alcoholic) and not. While pomaceous potions are brewed — in versions…

I've been experimenting a bit more than usual with spices recently, and so pungent Hungarian paprika has been very much on my radar, bringing back memories of a three-week stint in Hungary several years ago. This spice is used in cookery throughout much of…

           Celia featured in a wall mural in Miami's Little Havana

“Ay, no hay que llorar…

For reasons that certainly don’t need repeating, until fairly recently informing your nearest and dearest you’re considering a vacation in Colombia might’ve been considered grounds for dialing the dudes in the white coats. But these days, the country’s capital is optimistic, as safe as anywhere in Latin America, and in the midst of a boom in restaurants, la rumba (nightlife),…

Certainly Cuba has no shortage of charming Spanish colonial and early post-colonial architecture, from Pinar del Ríoout west…

Hey kids, believe it or not, there was spam long before the Internet! And now these leaner times have, shall we say, enhanced the appreciation of many for the canned processed pig known as capital-s Spam, churned out by the Hormel company in Austin, Minnesota since 1937 (though in many places the enthusiasm never really went away -- especially in the Asia/Pacific part of the world, where since the 1940's it's even earned an enduring place in local cuisines of places like South…

If you've ever eaten Anatolian, you know what a Turkish delight it is, and Istanbul (not Constantinople) is certainly jam-packed with places to shovel it in. But on Akbiyik Caddesi, a popular restaurant row in Sultanahmet near the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and Topkapi Palace, Dutch-born Cordon Bleu alumna Eveline Zoutendijk set out her shingle with a slightly more focused purpose than merely getting tourists fed.



Sure, at…

I watched the horse, as if  possessed by the devil, run at full speed, urged on by a charro (Mexico’s answer to the cowboy). It was useless though; there was no possible way out. The circular arena, called a lienzo, only allows for running in circles. Meanwhile, in the middle of the…

These are some of the most joyous (and exhausting) weeks of the year in various parts of the world, from Venice to Port of Spain and New Orleans to Rio de Janeiro.  But being as fond as I am of the Dominican Republic , I’ve got a soft spot for the pre-Lenten Carnaval celebrations down…

You got me there, actually. When a friend sent me the YouTube link for “Gangnam Style,” by a pudgy, 35-year-old South Korea hippity-hopper called Psy, I was bemused (no, not necessarily amused), to say the list. Whirling frantically from a kids’…