i NEED a holiday ! – Find One Here

We are on the New Jersey turnpike, or is it parkway? I never get it right and it always looks the same to me. There are five of us in a rented mini-van and we are headed to Atlantic City to celebrate the date of 11-11-11. Just a couple hours later we are sitting at [...]

You are standing in line inside JFK looking down at your ticket. What zone am I? This is the question you are asking yourself when you get the call from your Dr. Your biopsy results are in. This could go either way. For me I was fortunate to have good biopsy news and I’m here [...]

It’s not always how you write out the itinerary; sometimes it’s the adventure itself. After a Zipcar mishap I was informed I would not have my usual Prius, the car I have grown to love for my weekend trips. Instead I would have to trek up to 22nd street to a Dollar rental place to [...]

PISA Running late from the Tuscan road trip we run into the train terminal, hit the “fast” something ticket machine and sprint to find the track empty, having to wait another 30 minutes for the next train that is delayed because it is a local train and regardless of the country you live in, if [...]

When planning a trip of wine tasting and farms through the Hudson Valley there is really only one rule: Do NOT drink wine the night before! Fail. Needless to say, the initial two hour drive from New York City wasn’t much fun for my wife and dog, but as we hit more vineyards and saw [...]

TUSCAN ROAD TRIP – CHIANTI REGION Out driver is late. We are waiting in front of the Best Western pondering whether our driver, Michele, is male or female and also realizing the large number of Silver Mercedes vans that are in the area. Michele (male) shows up and begins driving fast, leaving the city of [...]

VENICE (part II of II) With all 4 maps out we worked our way back to our hotel from the Rialto area.  Two blocks still on the map and then all of a sudden you are doing circles in the street.  Lost.  Keep walking and eventually you find your way, usually with little help from [...]

VENICE (part I of II) There are people who take the train and then there are just plain annoying “train people”.  On our way to Venice from Florence I go to the bar car where a lot of people are lined up waiting for food.  A fairly large, middle aged woman (presumably from Minnesota) is [...]

What is the walk away percentage at the Chili’s restaurant in JFK airport?  15%?  20%?  Thoughts while waiting for my buffalo chicken salad: wondering whether the people in Spain aspire to be Flamenco dancers and Bullfighters the same way Lawyers and Doctors once were in the states.  I’m put at ease once my salad arrives [...]

It’s early when we get on the train in Rome to go to Florence.  We are also hungry and for some reason, regardless of the time of day, I will crave an Amtrak cheeseburger when I board a train.  Here’s a secret: If you ever crave an Amtrak cheeseburger you should probably seek help, immediately.  [...]