Unexpectedly, a potent aroma – eye-watering, nose-piercing, heat-inducing – engulfs me. Next, the ground beneath me shimmies, accompanied by loud rumblings overhead. Fortunately, the shake-rattle-and-rolling gyrations are nothing like the undulating tremors that years ago startled me awake from aRead more
I’m walking along a promenade on ancient ramparts (La Promenade des Remparts). The pathway encircles the old town of Beaune, the celebrated wine capital of Burgundy (Bourgogne) in the Côte d’Or department in eastern France. This strategic fortification, with itsRead more
Dallas-born pastry chef Molly Wilkinson stands behind the butcher block counter in the kitchen of her charming, light-filled, 18th-century apartment in Versailles, France. She’s demonstrating how to make a simple puff pastry dough for a French apple tarte tatin. SheRead more
I watch in awe at the precision and speed with which Provençal chef Jean-Marc Villard peels and cores a Gala apple. The chef is demonstrating how to make a single-serving-sized tart tatin. He spoons granulated sugar into a ramekin toRead more
In a flash of self-pity, I think about what I’m not doing while staying in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France, the enchanting and historic island town ringed by the Sorgue River in the Luberon region of Provence. I’m visiting nearby Gordes, one of theRead more
Sometimes the best-laid travel plan is no plan. That’s the strategy Bill and I used on our recent trip to Paris, a city we’ve been to several times and one that claims a top spot on our list of favorites.Read more
Bill’s and my visit to the imposing National September 11 Memorial and Museum during a recent trip to New York City was a potent reminder that the horrific events which occurred that day in 2001 bore such monumental significance that they becameRead more
If you still operate under the assumption that Pittsburgh is predominantly the “Steel City” belching out columns of thick, smelly, black smoke, a place that Boston writer James Parton is said to have called “Hell with the lid off” duringRead more
“D-Day, June 6, 1944, was a day without precedent,” said our guide, Stuart Robertson of Normandy Battle Tours. We were on the Normandy coast of France, the region that was the site of the D-Day invasion and the subsequent 11-week-longRead more
Apples have always been my favorite fruit. Baked, crisped, sauced, sautéed, turnovered, caramelized, roasted, or juiced – or best of all, just freshly picked from a tree – apples are an enduring touchstone in my life. When I was learning theRead more