We had conversations for years about visiting Mexico on the Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos) but wanted to wait until celebrations fell on the weekend. Finally, in early 2019, we bought tickets to Morelia and excitedly started planning the trip. Around Lake Patzcuaro, an hour from Morelia, […]
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Tombstone Tourism
A cemetery is not something you travel to another country to see. Not usually, anyway. Maybe you stop by for an hour or two to stand at a grave of a long-dead celebrity, pay respect to fallen American soldiers of WWII as we did in Normandy, or explore a beautiful […]
Read MoreFamiliar and Strange – The Cuisine of Mexico
Before we ever visited Mexico, one thing we thought we understood well about it was the food. Fajitas, nachos, and tacos are our go-to comfort foods. Imagine our surprise when we found very different menu offerings south of the border, with most of our favorites conspicuously missing. It turned out […]
Read MoreMúsica Brasileira – The Music of Brazil
The word “Brazil” means so many different things for me—world-renowned beaches, the national soccer team, and 1980s telenovelas with enough twists and turns to bring the whole of the USSR to a standstill. But above all, Brazil is all about its music—samba, bossa nova, samba-reggae. While we didn’t visit Brazil […]
Read MoreEgypt in the Spring – Arab Spring
“Mohammed! Mohammed! Cairo is burning!” We are in the middle of the international terminal of the O’Hare airport, staring transfixed at the multiple TV screens showing fire and mayhem on the streets of Cairo. Victor is holding a phone, with the faint voice of Mohammed, our hired Egyptian guide, on […]
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