I don’t usually think “walkable downtown” when contemplating Los Angeles. But recently I explored downtown LA—by foot and by bike—and found the bones of the city that existed before Los Angeles became synonymous with freeways. From my hotel on South Grand Avenue, I walked past gems of the 1920’s and 30’s in neighborhoods bearing names …
Jaipur by Way of Bishangarh: India Travels Part 2
December 28, 2022: I don’t often post about hotels, but sometimes they are so unique and memorable, I must send praise. Fort Bishangargh, an 18th century Shahpura fort from days when this region was peopled with warring kingdoms, has been renovated into an elegant hotel, with rooms carved out of the granite. From above you …
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In Search of the Charming
What could be more picturesque than those lavender fields and bastides—the medieval fortified villages hugging hilltops— of Provence? Cezanne and Van Gogh marveled at the luminous light and the ever-changing purples, vermillion, and ochres. Provence is the stuff of travelers' dreams, of memoirs of rejuvenation and inspiration. But on a recent trip through the south …
Death Valley: Zabriskie Point
I admit that I humored Pete when he said he wanted the Road Trip to stop in Death Valley. He had grown up in California and had never seen it. I imagined a boring, flat, scorching, dusty wasteland hardly worth the detour. Boy, was I wrong. Death Valley is dazzling, in the way only an …
