How to choose a destination: Tips to consider before travel
Sometimes it’s hard to choose a travel destination. Say you have only two weeks’ vacation, and you want to get the most out of it. Here’s some advice.
North America travel
Here you’ll find my articles about the North America travel: the US and Canada. I grew up in the US, and my articles about travel in the US can be quite personal, given my position as an expat and ex-American. Some, though, simply record my experiences at specific tourist or historical sites. These aren’t big general “ultimate list” or “everything you need to know” posts. Instead, each one focuses on just one or a few sights or experiences from my specific point of view. Enjoy!
Mount Rushmore National Memorial: A complete guide
Before you visit Mount Rushmore National Memorial, read this complete guide with everything you need to know to have the best time there!
New York City on a Budget: Free or cheap things to do
There are plenty of free or cheap things to do in New York City. Here are some tips for seeing New York City on a budget.
Things to do in Pass-a-Grille, Florida
Beaching, shopping, eating, sightseeing, drinking: the best things to do in Pass-a-Grille, Florida, a charming alternative to St Petersburg.
Walking across the Manhattan Bridge & the Brooklyn Bridge
A classic and very popular thing to do in New York City is to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Did you know, though, that you can also walk across the Manhattan Bridge?
Mardi Gras around the world – and Mardi Gras food!
Mardi Gras around the world has morphed into a range of different pre-Lenten celebrations. Read here about how different countries celebrate!
15 great reasons to visit Alaska
Alaska is a vacation wonderland of beautiful, dramatic scenery and the best outdoor adventure. Here are 15 great reasons to visit Alaska!
A weekend in Portland, Oregon: A 3-day itinerary
A weekend in Portland, Oregon: here’s a 3-day itinerary that covers what to see, where to stay, where to eat, things to do … everything!
Favorite ghost towns in California
There are lots of Gold Rush ghost towns, but some are more “real” than others. Read here about my four favorite ghost towns in California.
Holocaust Memorial, Miami: Witness the horror through art
A memorial composed of a series of statues portraying the anguish of the Holocaust, becoming a sensory and emotional experience for visitors.
7 quirky and unique places in Chicago
A list of unique places in Chicago, all of them quirky: a speakeasy, an underground street, an oddball shop and more!
Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill: The best view in San Francisco
In San Francisco, make sure to take this walk up and down Telegraph Hill to see Coit Tower, its Depression-era murals, and the best view in San Francisco!
The history of Little Havana: The Bay of Pigs connection
The history of Little Havana in Miami is closely connected to the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. Read here about that connection and about things to see and do in this colorful neighborhood.
Historic Overtown: The place to see Black history in Miami
What to see in Overtown, the historically Black neighborhood in Miami, whose rich history gave it the nickname “Harlem of the South.”
28 Practical Tips for Women Traveling Alone
Truly practical advice for women traveling alone. Tips for sleeping, eating, socializing and lots more travel advice for solo female travel!
Ruminations on the 9/11 memorial site
The 9/11 memorial site draws crowds of tourists, but why do we visit it? Read about One World Trade Center and the 9/11 museum and memorial.
Why are NY bagels so good? And some tips
When other people anticipate a trip to New York City, they might think about fine dining. What’s the latest new cuisine to taste? Which famous chef should we try? Where do we need to make a reservation? Or they may be looking for “ethnic” food: Chinese, for example, or Cuban, or Cuban-Chinese (yes, that’s a…
7 Little House on the Prairie locations you can visit
“Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.” This is the first line of the first book in what became know as the Little House on the Prairie series. If you were ever a fan of the books…
The New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn
With its bewilderingly complicated passages, dank smell, bare concrete floors, tangles of pipes and conduits, and the rumbling roar that shakes the ground and then fades, the New York City subway system doesn’t win any prizes for beauty. It’s immense, though, and remarkably fast and efficient, and can take passengers within a few blocks of…
A weekend in Atlanta: Beyond “Gone with the Wind”
If you mention Atlanta to me, I picture Gone with the Wind: stately rows of homes in the city, antebellum mansions in the countryside. Fragile, pale white women wear corsets and bell-shaped skirts. They fan themselves in the sticky heat while they gossip and complain. In the background, enslaved blacks work ungodly hours to help…
Things to do on Marco Island, Florida
Work is exhausting, you need a break, and you have some vacation time coming to you. You decide you want a nice, relaxing beach vacation: nothing to do but lie on a beach lounger with a drink in your hand. After some googling, you hit on a place you’ve never heard of before: Marco Island,…
Free or cheap things to do in Santa Cruz, California
The best part about visiting a beach town is that it is incredibly easy to stay on a budget! For Santa Cruz, California, the only required expenses are your accommodation, a rental car, food, and parking. Note: The following is a guest post by Dayna Brockbank. There are plenty of free things to do in…
North Beach neighborhood guide: A local’s favorite things to do
North Beach in a sentence: strange history, charm and some of the best Italian food in San Francisco. The following article is a guest post by Kara Harms of Whimsy Soul. Disclosure: This North Beach neighborhood guide contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small…
MOCA New York City (Museum of Chinese in America)
With so much focus on #BlackLivesMatter, it can be illuminating to look at other ethnic groups in the US. I visited MOCA New York City last year, and it’s high time I published my review. I used to teach an American Studies overview course here in the Netherlands. Every year I made sure to point…
Tenement Museum tours: A review
Back in 2013, I visited the Tenement Museum in New York City’s Lower East Side and loved it. When I visited again recently for a different tour, well, I didn’t love it. This article combines both reviews, with updated museum information. My family’s immigration history Three of my four grandparents were Ukrainian Jews who immigrated…
TWA Hotel Review
The old TWA terminal in JFK Airport, designed by Eero Saarinen in 1962, has been restored and repurposed into the TWA Hotel: a review of the new hotel.
Visiting Hoover Dam with a “Dam” Tour Guide
“My name is Arcelia and I’ll be your dam tour guide.” This was our introduction to visiting Hoover Dam. Arcelia milked the joke as much as she could – “this dam wall,” “these dam generators,” and so on – but somehow, it worked, earning a chuckle from the visitors every time. Her cheerful approach impressed…
The Neon Museum Las Vegas: Nostalgia in the desert
The Neon Museum Las Vegas isn’t like any museum I’ve visited before. It has more in common with a junkyard, albeit a very tidy junkyard. In other words, you won’t see precious items in display cases, and don’t expect the neon signs to be hung neatly on walls. Instead, the only way to see this…
Musee Mecanique and its Penny Arcade Machines
Space Invaders! Memories flooded back as I spotted the game. Pac-Man! Centipede! My visit to the Musée Mécanique and its collection of antique and vintage penny arcade machines struck a chord with me. Anyone who grew up in the 70s will remember these games, fondly or otherwise. I only played occasionally, quitting when I lost…
USS Pampanito and SS Jeremiah O’Brien: WWII maritime history in San Francisco
After learning about how “Rosie the Riveter” constructed Liberty Ships in the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, across the bay from San Francisco, it seemed to me that the obvious next step was to tour an actual Liberty Ship. (See my post on the Rosie the Riveter Museum here.) I ended up seeing not only a…
The Rosie the Riveter Museum: Fascinating WWII home front history
When I heard about a museum dedicated to Rosie the Riveter, I had to see it. Who was Rosie the Riveter? The name “Rosie the Riveter,” according to Wikipedia, was first used in a 1942 hit song, praising an assembly line worker helping in the war effort. The popular image of Rosie the Riveter stems…
Things to do in Orlando besides Disney
What’s the first word that pops into your head when you hear the word “Orlando”? Unless you’re an Orlando Bloom fan, chances are you thought of Disney World. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links for accommodations, car rental and tickets. If you click on one and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission….