The thing about football fans is that they travel long distances to see a game that lasts an hour and a half, get to visit incredibly diverse cities all over the world, but really never get to see the cities themselves. At least that was my observation when our Italian friend who doesn’t like football […]
I was watching a soccer match the other evening in the Copa America. I started to listen to the national anthems. They were so bad. Maybe they were deep in pre-game mental preparation, but the players didn’t seem to know the words, the music was awful and I wondered why someone hadn’t come to the […]
Dear UEFA, Now I know that it’s been a tough few weeks for football. FIFA is embroiled in a scandal fit for cable television – turns out every single World Cup for the last God knows how many years, was bought. No really? It surprised me that the micro bodies that run the regional competitions […]
We’re shooting today! Pietro Place’s intimate, local’s tour of Ashfield, Massachusets was so popular that we’re doing a new edition for Boston! Stay tuned for the insider’s view of this gorgeous city…
I’ve been to Berlin three times. Once when it was a divided city, and the last two times over the space of 2 or 3 years. This time it was football (aka soccer) that drove me back; my annual visit to the Champions League Final, between the great Barcelona and the black and white […]
Risi e Bici Out in Western Mass, the pea shoots are just popping out and it’s time for peas in a pod. The season lasts about three weeks and it evokes memories of my childhood sitting on the steps of the caravan, shucking peas so that mum could overcook them for dinner! There is a […]
Customer Service Dear TripCase, I’ve always been so enthusiastic and eager to share you with others. I even introduced you to my mom. You sit on both my phones and you provide me with boarding passes, up-to-date information on my hotels and flights, and you even alert me when things start to go wrong. But […]
Stay tuned for a taste of this unmistakeable, unparalleled and unpredictable city! All the “glamour and grit,” as Lonely Planet calls it, coming soon!
We’ve been struggling lately with the whole notion of communicating art history to students as they walk through museums or historical places. Let’s rewind to the good old days. Upon entering any historical site you were handed a printed walking tour. Then you would wander at your own pace, reading what you need to help […]
It might be hard to believe, but before the digital newsstand that you click on through venues like the Apple Itunes store, there existed actual physical newsstands. You don’t see them as much now when you’re traveling. In England they’ve practically died out, and in the US, even though I pass one at South Station […]
Take a perfectly big monument designed by engineers Maurice Koechlin, Emile Nouguier and architect Stephen Sauvestre before the patented design was bought by Gustave Eiffel, whose company than constructed the tower and imagine that there are more and more tourists that want to visit this thing because it is so perfectly placed in the middle […]
Michelin Star Dining. That a tire manufacturer would define THE rating system for fine dining is suspect – until you hear the definition of the ratings. 1-star means that it’s a very good restaurant. 2-stars means the restaurant is worth a detour and 3-stars means it’s worth a special trip. Out of 690 restaurants listed […]
I used to mock the English for their wine. What kind of person could ever choose a bottle of white wine or sparkling white wine over the iconic French houses of the Loire or Champagne regions? Even the Spanish cava or the Italian Asti Spumante gets higher sparkling ratings than an English equivalent…surely? Well no, […]
Jeans By any other Name Nudie So I don’t buy jeans very often, but I landed on some jeans a couple of years ago that actually fit my frame. Jeans have their brand beat now – the days of just Levi’s and Lees are long gone. Jeans have grown up – they’re not work pants […]
Wandering under the Skylight Serendipity in travel is what I always find provides the moments, the surprises. I was down in Soho strolling around, wandering through the village. I’d walked from 5th Avenue down through Washington Square along Bleecker into Soho and was thinking, wow, I used to come down here all the time in […]