Airplane Meal

Travel-Friendly (and Not-So-Friendly) Companies

We have now been traveling for eight months straight, so we’ve tried quite a few airlines, train and bus companies, hotels, apartment rental sites, and everything in between. Here are our honest, un-sponsored loves and hates: Loves Airlines: Turkish Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, China Southern – All three served us meals and allowed us to check baggage, two of…

Street Art in Southern Italy

Sexism in (Southern?) Italy

Throughout our travels, I have been sensitive to how each locale treats women. When I traveled alone, it was actually less noticeable, because I was the only traveler to address. Someone may have thought that men wear the pants, but in the absence of one, here they were, addressing me. But as we travel together, it…

Cars in Rome

Why Rome Is Not My City

It is a very good thing that this is our second trip to Italy and not our first, or I might never come back. Now hear me out. I spent six weeks in Paris in 2001, five months in Lyon in 2004, three months in Los Angeles in 2005, two years in Manhattan in 2007, and 17…

Italian Church Sign

Because I Don’t Rant Enough

Today, B and I went to several churches in Rome. They varied in architecture, in denomination, in decoration, and in location, but they all had one thing in common: people disrespecting their primary rule. Some allow photography and some don’t, some ask you not to go into specific portions or chapels, but all have a…