“Destination wedding” has always sounded extravagant to me and I never seriously thought I would have one myself. Yet, here I am, a happily engaged gal, in the midst of planning her wedding in a small Italian mountain town called Roccascalegna. My fiancé Keith and I chose to marry abroad for several reasons: it’s romantic, the setting is beautiful and

I returned last week from my driving adventure and the experience of navigating by man-made stars through Tuscany. Let me tell you, this region is in a league all its own during the harvest season. The seasonal local foods and festivals, the wine, and particularly the weather are superb. If you’re contemplating doing this but have read about how difficult

Given the cost of reaching Botswana’s tourist attractions, I’ve been watching my budget closer than usual, though I still didn’t think it would have come to dumpster-diving. Well, I was wrong – I did end up at the city dump. Contemplating alternative access options to the next and last of Botswana’s overpriced national parks, I and my

Wise, wrinkled, weathered faces, and innocent, young faces. Faces of stone. Faces of flesh. Faces of deep compassion. My perception of Egypt comes mostly from the Hollywood images of Pharaohs and fellaheen, images of kings and commoners that are much too simplistic. After all, it was Egypt that bequeathed the fundamental civilizing influence of

The rain came down in torrents that I want to describe as mythical, but I will just call it buckets. Lightning flashed and for a few moments the jungle wildlife hushed under the will of Mother Nature. I was again stranded in the rain in Costa Rica, this time on horseback. “Chocolate,” my trusty steed spoke no English so all my “Giddyups”