A friend of mine recently came to visit me. We’ve known each other since the fourth grade, and it was her first time visiting Seattle from Florida. When she arrived, I was determined to show her... Read more >>

Reporting from NYC. The land of a naked cowboy.—Laurie There’s a party going on, and it’s right in the middle of Times Square. I couldn’t wait to put my walking shoes on... Read more >>

Half way through July—no it can’t be! If you haven’t planned a summer vacation already, now is the time to do it before thy eternal summer has faded and chilly fall sneaks up once... Read more >>

First, an admission: Until recently I had never, ever taken one of our many hop-on hop-off bus tours. That’s despite the fact Viator offers them in tons of great locations, like Rome, Paris,... Read more >>

My husband, Larry, and I sipped cold beers beneath a swirling ceiling fan in the bar of our hotel and contemplated leaving Caño Negro. We’d arrived only hours earlier in this northern... Read more >>

This is 2010 Romania. I call it the Human Grinder. To most foreigners, Romania is a land of few, but blurry ideas: Dracula, Nadia, poor children, and probably the crappiest roads in all of Europe.... Read more >>

Laurie: Yeah, I meditate every morning. What about it? Some would question its long-lasting results based on my cynical manner and occasionally sarcastic retorts, but I ask you to consider... Read more >>

Have you ever been out in the middle of nowhere? Seriously. I mean a place so remote that if you didn’t leave a detailed itinerary with someone regarding your exact location that you would be... Read more >>

There aren’t many things fashion-wise that bug the creeps out of me. After all, I spend a lot of time in my yoga pants ignoring general fashion trends and basking in their elasticity. While I... Read more >>

If you call yourself a true Parisian, you’re going to have to deal with them sooner or later. Yes, you know who I’m talking about. The fanny-pack-clad, twenty-pound-camera-wearing,... Read more >>