Author: Aaron

Insatiable explorer. Resolute eye-opener to my kids. Closing in on 60 countries. After tapeworms and hostage situations, my third-biggest travel phobia is to get home and learn that I'd been just around the corner from a UNESCO site, but -- whether for lack of awareness, planning or basic competence -- missed it. And so although I'm certainly capable of relaxing on a beach, my tendency is to move swiftly while doing my best (as one friend described it, borrowing from Thoreau) to "suck the marrow" out of everything along the way. So this site reflects that general preference. Besides, the big, beautiful world is beckoning, the clock is ticking, and I don't know many folks with more than a month or so of vacation each year. Are we really going to spend all of it harvesting lavender at that abbey in Provence?

Cancún and the Riviera Maya, Part Two: Inland Day Trip to Chichen Itzá, Cenotes, Ek’ Balam and Valladolid

Aaron June 17, 2022

Legendary Chichén Itzá may not even be the highlight of this brisk and multifaceted day trip, so hold on tight while we use some crafty hacks to get you in and out of there then on your way to enjoy some other can’t-miss marvels.

Eight Places to Easily Escape the Crowds in Venice

Aaron May 12, 2022

To evade hordes of barbarian invaders on the mainland, Venice’s founders built the city on 118 islands in the middle of a lagoon. 1,600 years later, you’ll need different tactics to avoid the conquering throng.

Struggling to Understand Auschwitz

Aaron April 17, 2022

The incomprehensible becomes even more so at this place that is both a sacred memorial to thousands of humans, and an unholy shrine to industrialized inhumanity.

Jackson Hole: Eight Great Winter Activities With No Lift Lines

Aaron February 25, 2022

One of the most topographically-gaudy spots in the western United States, Jackson Hole in winter is much more than just another pretty ski place.

Three Essential Buenos Aires Neighborhoods, Part Two: San Telmo and La Boca

Aaron January 18, 2022

If Microcentro is the city’s brain and nerve center, San Telmo and La Boca are its heart and soul, where dockworkers, Jesuits and tanguistas have left indelible impressions on cobblestone alleyways.

Five Sites You Might Miss in Moscow, but Shouldn’t

Aaron November 2, 2021

For anyone born west of Prague before 1980, the name “Moscow” is singularly rich in mystique, history and connotation. Nestled among the city’s headlining attractions are numerous sites that might go regrettably unnoticed if not sought out.

Logistics

Ten Tenets of Managing Travel Expectations

Aaron September 20, 2021

The excitement of trip preparations can place a burden of unrealistic expectations on even the best-planned itinerary to a bucket-listy destination. These ten tips will help you to negotiate an amicable truce between lofty ambition and reality on the ground.

Mascota, Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Aaron August 21, 2021

The magic of this Pueblo Mágico becomes quickly apparent in ancient cobblestones, picturesque façades and the radiance of its residents, but its greater charms are found just beneath the surface.

Eight Days Driving Planet Iceland’s Ring, Days 1 and 2: Volcano, Reykjavik, Golden Circle and Thórsárdalur

Aaron July 8, 2021

If Yellowstone, Ireland, Hawaii, Norway, the Negev and the Moon had a baby island the size of Kentucky, they’d name it Iceland. It’s like another planet. This itinerary will introduce you to much of the island’s astonishing variety along and near the 1,300-kilometer Ring Road, and will leave you wanting more.

A Ridiculously Scenic and Splendidly Inefficient Route from Boston to Montréal, via Vermont

Aaron May 14, 2021

This drive is a breathtaking blur of lush hills, red barns, crystalline streams, gaudy wildflowers, freshly-stocked honor stands, legendary swim-holing, and ice cream samples in the FlavoRoom.