Travel Tips to See the World and Free Your Mind

It’s up to You…and New York

Can you make it there? It all depends on the story in which you’re bound to star.

The TikTok video shows a group of young Venezuelan migrants dancing salsa in Times Square after a long and treacherous journey through the Darién Gap and the Rio Grande.

“Winter is coming,” comments someone implying the summer clothing-clad youngsters should go somewhere else before the Big Apple chews them up and spits them out.

Like the rest of us, they followed the brochure. “The whole If You Can Make It There business,” as Colson Whitehead wrote.

“King Kong” climbing the Empire State Building, “Friends” sipping coffee in Central Perk and the Schuyler sisters looking around in “Hamilton” are part of the brochure.

With a virtually infinite list of cultural references, all the brochure’s roads lead to New York City. But is it the real or the fictitious one? Walker Percy would say the latter.

In his 1975 essay “The Loss of the Creature,” he described the traveler’s “symbolic complex.”

Why is it almost impossible to gaze directly at the Grand Canyon … and see it for what it is … the thing … has been appropriated by the symbolic complex which has already been formed in the sightseer’s mind … by picture postcard, geography book, tourist folders, and the words Grand Canyon.
Walker Percy

Percy says travelers are set for disappointment as the real thing will never live up to the expectations set by their books, songs, movies, etc.

El George Harris uses the politically incorrect language of stand-up comedy to make the same point.

He jokes in Spanish that his New York City movie-induced fascination shattered when he first saw “the ecosystem of crackheads, prostitutes and homeless persons.”

Similarly, David Sedaris shares Big Apple reality check stories throughout his work.

Raised in North Carolina, he moved to New York City dreaming about working as a writer for his favorite soap opera on day one.

Instead, years before becoming a published author, he made a living as a housekeeper—and a Christmas Elf in the department store Macy’s Santaland.

I didn’t know it at the time, but rock en Español band Mecano’s 1998 song “No Hay Marcha en Nueva York” (“No Party in New York”) also illustrates Percy’s “symbolic complex.”

After fulfilling their lifelong dream of visiting the Big Apple, the band’s frontperson grew disappointed, blaming the TV series for deceiving them all along.

But the mythology is so strong that these counter-narratives do nothing but increase the gravitational pull for some of us.

My brochure was heavy on “Sex and the City,” which my Miami friends and I binged in the pre-Netflix years.

The more episodes we watched, the more obsessed I became with Carrie Bradshaw’s town and the crazier they thought I was for wanting to trade a tropical paradise for “crazy” New York City.

“You’ll freeze in the winter,” “people are rude,” and “the streets smell” were just some of the things they said from their experience.

And (for the most part) they weren’t wrong. But neither was I. The City That Never Sleeps is not for everyone. And all those things that drive some away pull in others.

It all depends on the story in which you’re bound to star.

WeWork All Over Medellin

Digital nomads, Venezuelan migrants and politically polarized Colombians share this soccer-obsessed sprawling tropical metropolis.

Richard Jones, who used to bounce between Brooklyn and Pasadena as an entrepreneur, found a new tech hub.

From his latest venture, he smiles alongside his wife and their toddler as an Instagram-perfect family ready to help you become your own boss—from a tropical paradise.

The Joneses are part of a growing contingent that, since COVID made remote work mainstream, is taking advantage of favorable exchange rates, new visas and good weather overseas.

They set up shop in places like Costa Rica, Portugal and—more recently—Colombia, where the proliferation of coworking spaces suggests the trend is also taking hold in South America.

I contemplate one of the Medellin WeWork buildings from a bus stuck in traffic.

Avenida El Poblado—which connects the city with its suburbs since a time the population was a tenth of today’s—is being retrofitted for metroplús.

The bus rapid transit system, along with the sleek Metro and its affiliated float of trolley and cable cars, is the first-rate public transportation network the Joneses appreciate.

Instead, my cousin makes me ride the traditional public bus, which blasts “agricultural music” while a Brad Pitt-esque Jesus stares from the driver’s plexiglass cabin.

The man next to us streams a soccer match on his smartphone. Behind, a lady argues with someone via WhatsApp voice note.

One of the world’s most innovative cities is also a place of contrasts where past and present intersect on every corner.

Universal tactile paving and accessible outdoor gyms co-exist with hugely-breasted mannequins that promote body dysmorphia outside clothing stores.

Pueblito Paisa, a cobblestoned and colorful fake village located on a hilltop in the middle of the valley, replicates the traditional Colombian town, like a Gabriel García Marquez-themed Disney park.

It affords a 360-degree view of the surrounding sprawling metropolis: There’s the old airport. Look at El Poblado with all those tall buildings.

Over there, there’s El Centro de Medellin, where some Venezuelan immigrants work as law clerks and others wipe cars’ windshields during a traffic jam caused by yet another anti-government protest.

They join many more street vendors who swarm imposing churches, Art Deco office buildings, plazas with larger-than-life Botero sculptures and coffee haciendas-turned-shopping centers.

All peddle lottery tickets, knock-out jeans and—at lunchtime—corrientazos (affordable homecooked-style meals targeted to hungry tourists and busy office workers).

The nearby 1970s needle-shaped Coltejer building is a testament to the city’s supremacy in the textile industry.

Today, media companies and retail brands share the skyscraper. La Tienda Verde (The Green Store) is, by far, the most popular.

The official outlet of Atletico Nacional, one of the most-followed local soccer teams, La Tienda’s windows display a shrine to the club’s Golden Era stars, including Andrés Escobar.

The late defender, murdered after scoring a self-goal that eliminated the Colombian national team from the 1994 FIFA World Cup, sits in the middle like an unofficial patron saint.

Not related to the infamous drug lord—Pablo—Andrés is a reminder of how far this city has come from its heyday of narco-violence.

And so it’s Comuna 13, the former San Javier slum on the western edge of Medellin is now one of the city’s most vibrant communities, as evidenced by its latest project: a women’s prison-turned-university.

Guides like David tell stories about how the house where he grew up and still lives was on the invisible borders between rival gangs and how this affected his school commute as recently as the mid-1990s.

All while rappers interact with tourists through creative improvisations, break dancers entertain the crowd with gravity-defying movements and colorful graffiti and muralist art inspire in the background.

Refreshingly, a predominantly young and urban community doesn’t vibe to the globally ubiquitous and commercialized reggaeton but old-school breakbeats and boleros, which charming guitar-clad abuelos still play on the corners.

Albeiro, our polite cab driver, was another pleasant surprise as he insulated us from Medellin’s perennial rush hour traffic by playing Bach instead of Bad Bunny.

He took us to ecological park El Salado, a natural sanctuary and refuge in the municipality of Envigado, high above the overpopulated and touristed city chaos, and where nearby fincas manifest themselves in men riding donkeys alongside motorcycles on the narrow road.

A green and lush loop trail surrounds a crystal-clear and refreshing stream where it is a delight to submerge your bare feet for a real connection with nature.

The sound of the water is hypnotizing; the closer you’ll get to nirvana in this formerly rural and sleepy coffee enclave which non-stop development will soon turn into a megalopolis.

At this rate, the Joneses will have to climb farther up the mountain to relax in these natural oases.

Protect Venice at All Costs

“La Serenissima,” which thrived over a thousand years despite plagues, wars and invasions, might face its most formidable challenge yet with dangerous rising sea levels or “Acqua Alta.”

In third grade, I learned that, in 1499, Amerigo Vespucci sailed westward along the northernmost coast of present-day South America, where palafitos built on stilts on the shores of Lake Maracaibo reminded him of Venetian homes (hence the name Venezuela).

Over five centuries later, a Venezuelan would come full circle by visiting La Serenissima and marveling at its seemingly floating palazzos, historic domes and romantic gondolas. Essentially unchanged since the times it ruled the world, rising sea levels threaten the city’s existence.

Either by public ferry or private water taxi, the entrance into the city from Marco Polo Airport via the Grand Canal is a triumphant one. Unmistakable landmarks like Palazzo Grassi, Rialto Bridge and Santa Maria della Salute will welcome you.

The latter, Saint Mary of Health, was our stop. The republic dedicated the two-dome, two bell-towered octagonal basilica as an offering of deliverance from the Black Plague that killed 50 thousand—a third of the population—in the 1630s.

Across the Grand Canal, one Vaporetto stop or a short Traghetto ride away sits the historic St. Mark’s Square with the Doge’s Palace. The residential and administrative compound of the Duke of Venice, built in 1340 and modified through the centuries until it became a museum in 1923, houses the Doge’s apartments, institutional chambers and infamous prisons.

A structure stands out: the Bridge of Sighs. This white limestone overpass connected the interrogation rooms with the cells over the Rio di Palazzo and provided prisoners’ final look at freedom. They peered through the small windows and saw the Ponte della Paglia with the Lagoon in the background.

Next door, St. Mark’s Basilica houses the relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist, the city’s patron saint, smuggled out of Alexandria in 828. The current building is the third version modeled after the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, modified to meet structural needs and embellished with spoils from the Fourth Crusade to reflect the republic’s wealth and power.

Its bell tower, St. Mark’s Campanile, stands alone in the square near the front of the basilica. The contemporary structure, a square brick shaft with vertical pillars initially intended as a watch tower, was reconstructed after the original one collapsed in 1902. Historically, the campanile signaled government assemblies and public executions, among other civic and religious events.

That evening, a beautiful full moon glowed over the Laguna and bathed the city in an almost supernatural light. After dinner, we took Il Vaporetto, hopped off at the Rialto Bridge stop and headed to Campo Bella Vienna. In this ancient piazza, local kids enjoyed music, Aperol Spritzes, beers and cigarettes. I felt transported to the “Call Me by Your Name” dance scene.

We started our second day by visiting Gianni Basso Stampatore. The legend showed us around his traditional printing shop and next-door museum, including the hand-operated machines with which he and his son produce beautiful cards and stationery. Signor Basso proudly displays thank you notes from satisfied celebrity customers like the late Queen Elizabeth II. He also told us how they spent six months repairing the shop after it was severely flooded in 2019.

Up next, we experienced our “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” moment at the iconic Rialto Fish Market, which it’s been operating in the San Polo district for almost a thousand years. Five minutes away, through a maze of charming medieval streets, we found the CNN-famous All’Arco. We queued for half an hour to try the traditional Cicchetti or Venetian tapas (totally worth it!).

Then it was onto Gallerie dell’Accademia for the Anish Kapoor retrospective, presented during the Venice International Art Biennale. Beyond the exhibition, I loved the juxtaposition of contemporary art and the classic building. I see it as a city’s commitment to preserving its past while looking toward the future.

And speaking of using art to preserve the past while looking toward the future, London’s Maritime Museum showed last August the temporary exhibition “Canaletto’s Venice Revisited,” with works the acclaimed Venetian artist painted in the 1730s and how these inspired art, culture and generations of travelers.

“Canaletto’s Venice Revisited” at London’s Maritime Museum

The curators also examined Venice’s social and environmental challenges. Overtourism, while contributing to the city’s coffers, also exacerbates rising sea levels, or Acqua Alta, making plastic boots one of the best-sold souvenirs and ultimately threatening the way of life depicted by Canaletto in his paintings.

Venice, which against all odds, thrived and survived plagues, wars and invasions, may be facing its most challenging test yet. And perhaps, its traditionally representative way of government, guaranteed by a robust system of checks and balances, could be the key to its survival.

Last year, after intense activism, the city finally banned large cruise ships from sailing through the iconic St. Mark’s Square. These monstrous vessels now have to reroute and dock on the mainland: a win for Venetians and one step further for La Serenissima to look more like its former self.

Canaletto would be proud.

Guten Tag, Italia

Witnessing the magnificent and peaceful Dolomites, it’s hard to fathom that over a hundred years ago, they were the bloodiest theater of war the world ever knew.

Parla Italiano?

After a 9-hour red-eye flight into Venice, a hot day dragging my suitcase through various tourist traps and an intense 4-hour night drive to Avelengo, the hotel’s welcoming felt like an Alpine pond.

Beautiful but gelid, MiraMonti Boutique Hotel received us with aloof bell boys and abrasive maître d’s. German street signs and Bavarian-inspired chalets confirmed what our Milanese friend had told us about the former Astro-Hungarian territory, annexed to Italy after the WW1 Treaty of London: “Make no mistake, it’s still Austria.”

The following day, after sleeping like babies and enjoying a delicious breakfast, we had a fresh perspective enhanced by the neighboring sight of the “Sound of Music-esque” St. Catherine Church and the beautiful Haflinger horses pasturing in the contiguous hill.

Legend says a giant constructed it by sharing a hammer with a colossus from an adjacent town that they’d throw at each other in turns. But, following an argument, the neighbor hurled a rock that missed its target, landing in a nearby meadow where it still rests.

We knew from the get-go we’d be barely scratching the surface of this UNESCO World Heritage site, especially when staying a two-hour drive west of the most famous landmarks. But that’s the beauty of the Dolomites; there’s something for everyone: skiers and snowboarders (in winter), hikers, climbers, cyclists, bikers and—us—drivers in the summertime.

And we started our aesthetically orgasmic road trip with a bang: Lake Braies. Also known as the “Pearl of the Alps,” Pragser Wildsee (as it’s known in German) rests at the base of the striking Seekofel mountain. The backdrop of the WW2 climax it’s surrounded by a two-mile trail, which gives a panorama of shifting emerald waters and breathtaking backgrounds.

After Würste and beers, we continued with another picturesque 17-mile southeast drive to the dazzling shores of another wonder: Lago di Landro. Resting between the Braies and the Sesto Dolomites, Dürrensee awards visitors not only with its turquoise beauty but with privileged and Instagrammable views of Monte Paterno and Tre Cime.

Another scenic theater of war during WW1, Lago di Landro witnessed bloody fighting between Austrians and Italians, some of whom were skiing and hiking partners before the conflict. Today, mountain bikers from the two countries—and the rest of the world—can tour the trenches and tunnels that survive as proof of the first global conflict on an industrialized scale.

Lago di Landro is an obligatory stop on one’s way to Cortina d’Ampezzo, the jet set/aristocracy-frequented ski/hiking resort 12 miles southwest in the heart of the Veneto region. Its undeniable beauty has made it film location of movies like “The Pink Panther” (1963), “For Your Eyes Only” (1981) and “Cliffhanger” (1993).

Full of charm and history, Cortina was awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics, but the outbreak of WW2 changed plans. In 1956, it successfully hosted thirty-two nations (the largest number until then) in the groundbreaking VII Winter Olympic Games, which was also the first to depend significantly on corporate sponsorship for funding. Along with Milan, the town will host for the second time in 2026.

After a bit of window shopping and a couple of espressos, our little Fiat 500 rental was about to undergo its major test with a 3-hour drive through the spectacular Great Dolomites Road and another 3 hours back to our digs in the Avelengo/Merano area.

The Grande Strada Delle Dolomiti crosses three alpine passes across imposing peaks, dormant ski resorts and lovely villages. It affords unique views that keep shifting with one’s point of view and threaten to substantially lengthen the journey as one can’t help but stop along the way to take it all in and capture as much content as possible.

Great Dolomites Road

It was well into the night when we returned to Avelengo. We barely made it in time for dinner and a well-deserved glass of wine at the hotel terrace overlooking Merano. The weather service forecasted a lousy climate for the next 24 hours, so we decided to park, relax and sample the local cuisine.

Despite a spotty service, MiraMonti’s wellness-geared amenities are outstanding. Aside from the iconic terrace and infinity pool with dreamy views of Merano, the mountain and the church mentioned above, we enjoyed private access to the Hafling hiking trail, which virtually starts at your room’s doorstep in the back of the hotel.

The next afternoon back on the road, we drove 47 miles westbound to Ortisei, a picture-perfect village located in the center of Val Gardena. Famous for the spectacular Seceda Viewpoint and traditional religious woodcarving, 80% of the population speaks neither German nor Italian but Ladin (not to be confused with Latin).

The plan was to take the two cable cars to Seceda, but a combination of poor visibility and reasonable fear of what looked like terrifying rides changed our minds. We made a U-turn and headed 11 miles southeast back to the Great Road, hoping some clouds would dissipate in time for our next stop: the Sella Pass.

Ride back from the Seceda lift after chickening out

Unlike Seceda, one can drive closer to Sella Pass. A moderate hiking trail takes you up close to the glorious peaks after parking. At 7 thousand feet above the sea, the clouds started to clear, and we immediately understood why Sellajoch is a popular spot among cyclists, bikers and everyone who visits this enchanted part of the world.

The mountains between South Tyrol and the province of Trentino that connect the Val Gardena with Canazei forming the Dolomiti Superski resort seemed to greet us. As we approached, condensation dissipated, letting the sunshine on these rocky wonders produce distinctive yellow and pink hues.

The religious experience extended 29 miles southeast into Val di Funes. Hikers completed their pilgrimage to the otherworldly valley surrounded by velvety slopes where St. Magdalena Church stands against the dramatic peaks.

When witnessing the peaceful Dolomites, it’s hard to fathom that over a hundred years ago, they were the bloodiest theater of war the world ever knew. And a forgotten one, as the world keeps substituting it with newer horrors.

George Santayana’s quote, “Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it,” is more relevant than ever.

The British Museum Is Not My Favorite

Here are other London museums to visit instead.

The British Museum (photo featured) is not very popular.

It’s not only because they hold the Rosetta Stone and the ~~Elgin~~ Parthenon Marbles, both of which have had official repatriation claims from Egypt and Greece, respectively (to be fair, other American and European museums rightfully face similar requests).

Despite boasting an imposing building and a carefully curated collection, it feels sterile, almost corporate, as though not honoring the global cultures but Britain’s bygone imperialism.

But, as Bill Bryson wrote in “Notes from a Small Island,” “Museums, particularly small, unlikely museums, are something the British do remarkably well.”

And there’s no shortage of them in this fascinating city.

Like the London Transport Museum, which awakens the inner child, it shows the history of the transport system—from the first boats that crossed the River Thames to tube stations used as bomb shelters during the two World Wars.

Or, The Cartoon Museum and its collection of political satire, from the Industrial Revolution to Brexit.

Another favorite, The Museum of Brands, will quench your nostalgia thirst with the history of consumer products and their influence on British culture.

History nerds will gag at The Museum of London, documenting the city’s existence from pre-historic times to the present—including a remnant of the Roman wall.

For private eye fans, the Sherlock Holmes Museum offers quite the immersive experience at 221B Baker Street, “one of the world’s most famous addresses.”

The Churchill War Rooms, located in the bunker where the then prime minister directed WW2 during Hitler’s advance on Europe, is the next best thing to a time machine.

Also known as “The Cathedral of Nature” because of its larger-than-life skeletons and Charles Darwin-collected specimens, the Natural History Museum will take your breath away.

Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford, left The Wallace Collection to his illegitimate son. The widow of the latter donated it on the condition that the nation would exhibit it free of charge.

The Royal Observatory at Greenwich is worth the hike not only for the dramatic 1893 equatorial telescope but also because the historic Prime Meridian passes through it.

There’s something to be said about walking, free of charge, into one of the world’s most flawless painting collections, with works from the mid-13th through the 19th century, from Giotto to Cézanne. Hat tip to The National Gallery.

The Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum‘s most impressive part is its fashion collection of over 14 thousand outfits and accessories from the 1600s to the present. The Met Gala could never.

Somerset House, the Neoclassical complex built on the site of a Tudor Palace, refreshingly hosts exhibitions about current topics like climate change and colonization.

The Royal Academy (RA) of Arts is an independent and privately funded institution led by artists in its iconically gorgeous Burlington House building.

After I did visit the British Museum, I took a cab back home.

Assuming I didn’t speak English—even though I had indicated my address before boarding, as it’s custom in London—the driver looked through the mirror and slowly (and loudly) modulated, “WH-ERE-AR-E-YO-U-FRO-M?”

When I replied, “New Yawk City,” he somewhat mortified apologized, “I’m sorry, sir. I thought you were from the Arab states!”

“Don’t apologize. I take it as a compliment,” I replied, for Arabs are not only beautiful people, but their civilization’s achievements are second to none.

Dreaming of Dragons in Dubrovnik

The Pearl of the Adriatic will always be King’s Landing to this “Game of Thrones” fan.

Although HBO switched film locations for the recently premiered “House of the Dragon,” the prequel to “Game of Thrones,” the Croatian city will live on as the original capital of the Seven Kingdoms.

And from Fort Lovrijenac and the Pile Harbor (photo featured) to the Old Town Walls, the Pearl of the Adriatic has a history that rivals George R. R. Martin’s fantasy drama.

Like the fondly remembered by “GoT” fans as the Red Keep, Fort Lovrijenac oversees the city’s maritime entrance from the western wall, and it’s famous for remaining a bastion of Croatian identity during the Venetian rule.

The citadel and the ubiquitous red rooftops (where the “smallfolk” live in the series) are visible from the Old Town Walls, guarded by the City Watch.

Dating from the Middle Ages, UNESCO declared the history-rich building a World Heritage Site in 1979.

It still hurt to watch when the Mother of Dragons burnt King’s Landing to the ground in season 8, including the town outside the wall.

In real life, however, the city has survived the Roman Empire, the Byzantines, Frankish, Muslims and the Balkan and Bosnian wars of the 20th century.

In fact, businesses in the Stradun, the Old Town’s main street, display pictures of smoky stores to remember the most recent conflict.

Of course, the limestone-paved pedestrian thoroughfare is where Cersei Lannister completes her Walk of Shame in season 5.

It is also where the Sponza Palace stands.

The 16th-century Gothic and Renaissance building was the cultural center of the Republic of Ragusa.

Since surviving the devastating earthquake of 1667, it has served as the town armory, treasury and bank, among other civic institutions.

Blending with the Old City Walls and crowning St Dominic Street, where the protest speech against the Lannisters in season 5 took place, is the Dominican Monastery.

Construction of the abbey started in 1228 and included Romanesque, Baroque, Gothic and Renaissance styles.

Currently, the complex houses work from the schools of painting from the 15th, 16th and 20th centuries.

Last but not least, we arrived at the West Pier.

The popular spot among swimmers and sunbathers doubles as “Blackwater Bay.”

It was an essential point of entry to the city, perhaps because of its proximity to the Pile Gate.

Korčula and Lokrum

Come for “Game of Thrones” and stay for everything else this beautiful part of the world has to offer, including day trips to the islands of Korčula and Lokrum—both accessible by ferry.

The most inhabited one, Korčula has a historical center and sandy beaches famous for Greek and Roman archeological findings.

It’s also believed to be Marco Polo’s homeland and, as such, contains a museum dedicated to the life and work of the famous explorer and writer.

Lusher and populated only by peacocks, Lokrum, the second isle, has spectacular rocky beaches (including a clothing-optional one).

According to popular superstition, evicted 11th-century Benedictine monks cursed the island before departing.

Explore the abandoned monastery at your own risk.

Montenegro

The shortest trip you’d ever need your passport for, Montenegro is a eurozone country, formerly part of Yugoslavia, and from 2003 to 2006, of the Serbia and Montenegro federation.

A popular day trip from Dubrovnik (about a 2-hour+ drive each way), the geographically tiny but historically huge republic has picturesque medieval towns, clear, warm Adriatic waters, Mediterranean weather, and alluring rocky mountains.

The Venetian Old Town in Kotor, Lipa Cave and the Budva Riviera are some highlights of this enchanted land.

As we began the journey back from this distant part of the world the Venetians called “Black Mountain,” the lines between fantasy and reality started to blur.

It would’ve not surprised us to spot a giant, fire-breathing reptile flying across the impossibly blue sky.

Looking for the Mighty Hercules in Greece

Why I experienced deja vu and a feeling that time stands still in “the cradle of civilization.”

In the pilot of my favorite childhood cartoon, “The Mighty Hercules,” the Demigod defeats his friend Theseus (slayer of the Minotaur and founder of Athens) in a foot race and a wrestling match.

As a reward, he asks Zeus to send him to defend humans against evil and injustice. His father reminds him he’d become a mere mortal on Earth—unless he wears a magic ring endowed with His Thunder.

From ancient mythology, the story trickled down through literature, music and film to the classically-animated television series that entertained my childhood’s Sunday mornings—and perhaps catalyzed my sexual awakening.

We owe Greece so much: democracy, philosophy, politics and tragedy, to name just a few. Its influence is so pervasive that when I finally reached “the cradle of civilization,” I experienced deja vu.

And a feeling that time stands still, particularly at the Acropolis, home of legendary ruins like the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

The Roman senator built the musical venue in 161 AD to memorialize his wife, whom he allegedly killed in one of the first episodes of domestic violence.

The Slavic invasion of 267 AD destroyed it. It wasn’t until 1950 that the city restored it and used it to host the Athens Festival and performances by the likes of Maria Callas, Frank Sinatra, Nana Mouskouri and Luciano Pavarotti.

The nearby Ancient Agora of Athens was the center of political, commercial, religious and social activity for free-born citizens.

Destroyed by the Persian invasion of 480 BC and rebuilt by Pericles, the building has witnessed history’s most infamous episodes, like Socrates’ death sentence for impiety in 399 BC.

Although the Agora kept its function through the early Roman period, the Germanic Heruli destroyed it in 267 CE.

In 1931, the American School of Classical Studies started restoration with a grant from the Greek government, the Marshall Plan and the Rockefeller Foundation.

A larger-than-life, headless statue of the Roman Emperor Hadrian also basks in the timeless light of the Agora.

The sculpture wears a chest plate featuring Athena standing on top of a she-wolf that feeds Romulus and Remus.

The scene represents the founding of Rome and Hadrian’s vision of Greece as the cultural capital of the empire.

Hadrian, emperor from 117 to 138 AD, encouraged military might and personally supervised numerous buildings in virtually every corner of the empire (including Rome’s Pantheon).

He’s also famous for his relationship with Greek youth Antinous, to whom he memorialized with the founding of a city—Antinopolis—after his untimely death by drowning in Egypt.

To the west of the Acropolis, Athens erected The Arch of Hadrian in the 2nd century AD to honor the Roman emperor’s visit.

An inscription on the western side of the gate reads, “This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus.” On the eastern side, “This is the city of Hadrian, not of Theseus.”

Scholars think it means the arch dividing the city between “old Athens” and “new Athens.”

The adjacent Temple of Zeus (photo featured) was one of the largest in all of Greece, probably constructed around 470 BC.

Sculptures of the early Classical style, including a chariot race between Pelops and Oenomaus, adorned it.

The most magnificent of them was Phidias’ 42-foot golden statue of Zeus, one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World.

The monument represented the god seated on an elaborate throne. Sadly, an earthquake of biblical proportions destroyed it around the 5th century CE.

A ten-minute walk away, The Panathenaic Stadium stands on the site of an ancient racecourse.

Lykurgus built it in 338 BC for the Panathenaic Games, where nude male athletes competed in track and athletics.

Under the reign of Emperor Hadrian, Herodes Atticus rebuilt it in marble as a 50 thousand-seat sports arena.

The advent of Christianity and a ban on pagan events around the 4th century AD rendered it obsolete and eventually abandoned.

In the late 1800s, benefactor Evangelos Zappas, encouraged by French aristocrat and founder of the 1894 International Olympic Conference, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, sponsored the Zappas Olympics, the precursor to the first modern Olympic Games.

Like most European capitals, Athens empties in the summer. That’s why we hopped on the ferry to the quaint island of Hydra, a nearby oasis with no roads, cars or bikes—but with plenty of charm, water taxis and donkeys.

What Hydra lacks in size, it makes for in popular culture relevance.

After Sophia Loren played a “wild Greek island girl” in her 1957 English film debut “Boy on a Dolphin,” shot on the island, celebrities, writers and aristocrats flocked.

Even First Lady Jackie Kennedy made it!

Following Jackie O’s Greek summer journey of ’61, we went to Mykonos next, where I found the most spectacular sunsets on Earth—and scores of men with Herculean proportions.

Mykonos is, according to mythology, the site of Gigantomachy, or the battle between the Olympian gods and the Giants.

The epic face-off symbolizes the struggle between the cosmic order and the forces of chaos.

Enter Hercules, who—thanks to his status as a Demigod—could defeat and kill the Giants, whose dead bodies became the mass of rocks that form the island.

See the World, Free Your Mind

Traveling to the other side of the city or the world can be a transformational experience.

To Eric, my first editor

In third grade, a girl from my school died in a car accident.

I vividly remember hopping on the yellow bus with a few dozen other kids to go to her service without knowing what to expect. We probably were just vaguely excited about skipping class.

After seeing the face of a sleeping doll with pigtails in her open casket, the mood was decidedly different. On the way back, we were quiet and silent—profoundly changed by the funerary field trip.

Traveling to the other side of the city or the world on a sad or happy occasion can be a transformational experience: the physical commuting triggers an inner journey that continues unfolding for the rest of our lives.

In “The Philosophy of Travel, ” George Santayana wrote,” “Locomotion—the privilege of animals—is perhaps the key to intelligence.” Seeing the world with an open heart and mind, as kids usually do, is critical to transcend propaganda.

Visit the locations of our history books to learn what they don’t teach you in school. Being in “the room where it happened,” whether Charleston‘s Old Slave Mart Museum or Lisbon‘s Monument of the Discoveries, shatters stereotypes.

Like going to Mexico City and realizing its world-class museums and cosmopolitan rooftop bars have nothing to do with the dodgy picture delivered by American media, or traveling to Bourdeaux and finding the friendliest locals appreciative of your efforts to communicate in broken French.

“We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate,” wrote Pico Iyer in “Why We Travel.”

After visiting the Faroe Islands, online trolls scolded me. “Congratulations on supporting animal cruelty,” they said, referring to the ancient practice of whaling. But going beyond bloody YouTube videos and into the heart of the foggy Northern European archipelago was illuminating. It taught me their hunting is non-commercial, humane and environmentally sustainable.

Touring Seville‘s Bullring Real Maestranza Museum was uneasy until we discovered the chapel where matadors pray before facing the magnificent beast with reverence. Learning more about the solemn ritual shifted my perception. And, though I probably still wouldn’t attend a bullfight, I found myself capable of respecting a different cultural practice.

“The world never quits growing on us. It’s just as vast as ever, and it reinvents itself every day,” Bill Bryson aptly wrote in “The Best American Travel 2000.” And, though rewarding, the experience can be an unsettling one.

The images of the falling Wall from my teenage years colored my first visit to Berlin in 2007. I was delighted with a sense of optimism and possibility, different from my post-social media/COVID trip to the German city (photo featured), shaped by the historical and geographical proximity to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

The French election of a lifetime, between President Emmanuel Macron and rightwing hardliner Marine Le Pen, was also momentous. Fresh off the Trump years, an American in Paris was an ominous walking-and-talking warning. So much was a stake for France, the European Union and the world. We dodged a bullet, for now.

The most important lessons? Progress is not a straight line. And, as John Steinbeck wrote in “Travels with Charlie: In Search of America,” “we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”

At a trying time for millions of Americans’ rights, including women and LGBTQ+ families, celebrating the old USA’s birthday in Provincetown, the birthplace of American freedom, still committed to liberty after more than four centuries, was reaffirming.

I wish cultural warriors had a peak at so much love between people from all walks of life. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts,” wrote Mark Twain in “The Innocents Abroad.”

Perhaps, I’m overly optimistic and, as Maya Angelou said, “travel cannot prevent bigotry.” But even the legendary poet and civil-rights activist believed there could be hope. “[…] by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends,” she concluded.

48 Proud Hours in Amsterdam

All are welcome! There’s something for everyone at Pride Amsterdam and everything else this beautiful city offers.

Imma let you finish, Stonewall.

Having decriminalized homosexuality in 1811, founded one of the world’s first gay rights organizations in 1946 and became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001, the Netherlands is, in fact, the birthplace of LGBT rights.

The Westernkerk (Western Church), Amsterdam

And, after a two-year hiatus, Pride Amsterdam, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ equality event, averaging 500+ thousand annual visitors in pre-pandemic years, returned with a bang this summer.

A weeklong affair—from July 30th through August 7th—the celebration included a 3-day beach festival, dozens of photography exhibitions and film screenings, street parties, park performances, a Pride Walk, and the cherry on top: the legendary Canal Parade.

This year’s theme, “My Gender, My Pride,” focused on the “T” of LGBT. Organizers believe that, despite historically being at the frontlines of the fight for rights like in the 1960 Stonewall Riots in New York City, transgender people are still disproportionately the target of violence, and their rights and basic dignity continue to lag.

Unlike NYC Pride, criticized for its over-commercialization, Pride Amsterdam highlighted boats from UNHCR, Amnesty International, Democrats Abroad, Gays Expats Amsterdam and other non-corporate organizations.

Shoutout to Heineken, one of the most-celebrated floats because of its deep ties to the Dutch people, including the LGBTQ+ community. Other companies, like Google, Amazon and Bookings.com, were also present.

Naturally, the Parade’s end didn’t mark the end of the party. Quite the contrary: after the last boat sailed away, the celebration overflowed the canal and people—gay, straight and everything in between—partied well beyond dusk.

Hotel Posteinger at Houthhavens Harbor, Amsterdam

We ventured out of the busy city center and explored the Westerpark neighborhood for a brief break. Home of Westergas, a 19th-century gas factory-turned cultural complex, the area offers trendy theaters, cafes, art galleries, bars and restaurants. We especially loved BAK, which serves spectacular food, wine and views of Houthhavens Harbor.

Back at the Red Light District, the bar hopping didn’t disappoint. We grabbed beer pints at Eagle, Dirty Dicks and The Web. There were long lines and the bars were packed and a blast, despite the ongoing street parties that continued to absorb the crowd into the late night.

We stayed at the Swissôtel Dam Square. The following day, we checked out, stored our bags, took brunch and went for some sightseeing before our late flight back to London. We admired the nearby Royal Palace of Amsterdam and Nieuwe Kerk, amazed that the city was already squeaky clean and organized.

We made a spur-of-the-moment decision to continue our sightseeing from the water. We were in Amsterdam after all! Enter Those Dam Boat Guys, who kindly accommodated us on such short notice (and on Pride Week nonetheless!).

Amsterdam Canal Tour by Those Dam Boat Guys

The 90-minute gorgeous tour through the canals was the best €59 (€29,50 each) ever spent because it was a smaller boat of about 8-12 passengers, and you could bring anything to drink, eat (or smoke) on board, which made it the more intimate.

We had a bit of a late start because Lee, our Canadian-Dutch driver (I know, doubly nice!), had to rescue the prior boat, which had gotten stuck with one of the few remaining pieces of litter from the preceding day’s parade. But she more than made it up for during our turn.

Aside from dropping exciting bits of the history of Amsterdam—including the building of the canals in the 17th century—Lee filled us in on some of the more practical stuff like the difference between neighborhoods, rent prices and taxes.

My favorite part was witnessing the locals reclaim their waterways and take their loved ones on relaxing boat trips after the event that cements their reputation as one of the most progressive places on earth.

London off My Beaten Path

I hopped on the brand-new Elizabeth line, and it took me to places I’d never been before.

Yes, London’s classic landmarks never get old, and sometimes it is good to experience a place beyond its metropolitan limits. But the point of big apples like London, Paris or New York is that they always have something new to offer.

Like St Dunstan-in-the-East, the church between London Bridge and the Tower of London was mostly destroyed on WW2 and then turned into a beautiful public garden where open-air services are occasionally performed. Commercials and video clips are routinely shot.

The brand-new Elizabeth line was a delight to ride. Not only because it’s fully air-conditioned, but also because the trains are so quiet that you wouldn’t spill a martini even when they’re breaking.

The frequent, hybrid and rapid rail service between central London (Paddington) and its suburbs (Heathrow to the west and Shenfield to the east) features accessible stations and trains, including cushioned seats and platform edge doors.

I rode it to Canary Wharf, where I transferred to the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to reach the historic southeastern town of Greenwich, where many London gems are.

Including The Painted Hall in the Old Royal Naval College. Also known as The British Sixtine Chapel, the grand room’s walls and ceilings covered with dramatic images depict the United Kingdom’s ascension as a dominant maritime global empire.

Nearby, the Tulip Stairs are the crown jewel at the Queen’s House. One of the most Instagrammable places in Britain is also the location of the infamous 1966 “ghost” photograph.

Greenwich’s wealth of treasures makes it impossible to cover it all in one day, so more on that later. Meanwhile, back in central London, I headed to the financial district to experience a couple of sights that—while not “hidden”—had been out of my radar up until then.

I had seen TikTok videos of the beautiful Royal Exchange, the 16th-century-designed former stock market now a luxury shopping center and eatery, but seeing it in person was short of breathtaking.

I also stopped at the nearby Sky Garden. The observation deck/food plaza on the 36th floor of 20 Fenchurch Street (“the Walkie-Talkie building”) was perhaps the most touristy of them all, despite the stunning views of the London skyline on such a bright and clear summer day.

My favorite in the neighborhood, Leadenhall Market, was established in 1321. Its elaborate roof structure, painted in pastel colors, makes you feel like you just stepped into a Wes Anderson movie.

A 10-minute walk away, the Museum of London brings to life the city’s history, from pre-Roman through Edwardian, Victorian to modern times—including vivid representations of the Great Plague, the Great Fire and other calamities suffered by Londoners throughout their long history.

The most impressive part is the juxtaposition of the London Wall (erected c. AD 200) and the glass high-rises outside the museum and close to the Barbican Centre.

And speaking of the future, The Vaults, London’s underground home for urban, alternative and immersive art, lives in Waterloo station‘s unused tunnels. Also known as Leake Street graffiti tunnels, the one and only Banksy founded it.

Highgate Cemetery in the borough of Camden opened in 1839 to solve overflowing and unsanitary church graveyards. The Victorian funerary ground is best known for being the final resting place of Karl Marx.

Come for Marx and stay for Queer icon Radclyffe Hall. The author of the controversial Victorian lesbian novel “The Well of Loneliness” is buried in the Batten family’s vault in the Circle of Lebanon on the western side of the cemetery. Singer Mabel Batten was Radclyffe’s first lover.

I live for London’s niche museums, and the Museum of Brands in Notting Hill didn’t disappoint. It documents the history of consumer culture through items from the Robert Opie Collection (The most extensive collection of British nostalgia).

Curated and installed as a “Time Tunnel,” the museum takes you on a 200-year journey of the history of labeled packaged goods, from Victorian times to the present, describing how brands, shopping habits and human behavior have evolved and their influence on pop culture and movements like the emancipation of women.

For my second visit to Greenwich, I hopped on a Thames River Sightseeing boat, which took my fellow tourists and me through the historic waterway on a bright, beautiful day to admire London’s landmarks—including a brief stop at Tower Bridge/Tower of London.

After a 40-minute ride, we disembarked at Greenwich Pier, from which I climbed the 15-minute steep Greenwich Park hill to the Royal Observatory to witness the legendary Prime meridian.

The Royal Observatory is also home to The Great Equatorial Telescope, installed in 1893.

At the bottom of the hill, the National Maritime Museum documents Greenwich’s maritime history from the landing of the Romans through the times of Henry VII, Charles II and beyond.

“Canaletto’s Venice Revisited” at the National Maritime Museum

A temporary exhibition, “Canaletto’s Venice Revisited,” shows paintings from the 1700s by artist Giovani Antonio Canal representing Venetian life and how it inspired British and other global citizens to visit the beautiful Italian city.

It also examines how over-tourism and rising sea levels threaten the Venetian way of life, as evidenced by the sale of colorful plastic boots to keep tourists’ feet dry during acqua alta.

“Africa Fashion” at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum

Not an “off-the-beaten-path” destination, the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum stands out for its outstanding permanent collection of the history of fashion, which could give the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute a run for its money.

A couple of temporary exhibitions are prime examples. The first, “Africa Fashion,” displays legendary couture, photographs, textiles, music and visuals from the mid-20th century to the present, exploring the artists and movements parallel to decolonization and its impact on a global scale.

“Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear” at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum

The second one, the Gucci-sponsored “Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear,” highlights male fashion through the history of men’s clothing and the way designers, tailors, artists and their clients have molded masculine gender identities.

The British’s eagerness to question themselves is at the core of these exhibitions. Often dubbed a “dying empire,” the bruised United Kingdom seems determined to keep treasuring its glorious past while looking toward the future.

Keep calm and carry on, indeed.

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