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Amazing Places in the World: The Kumbh Mela

by Meredith Mullins on February 25, 2019

Pilgrims on the main street of the 2019 Ardh Kumbh Mela in Praygraj, India, one of the amazing places in the world. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The 2019 Ardh Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj (Allahabad), India
© Meredith Mullins

Where Faith and Family Merge in Festival

Some travel opportunities are so rare and so provocative that their seductive siren’s song goes straight to the soul.

A total eclipse of the sun in Patagonia. A full moon at the Taj Mahal. Summiting Mount Everest (well, maybe, Base Camp). Running with the bulls in Pamplona. Finding the spiritual rhythm of the Camino de Santiago. The unending magnetism of amazing places in the world.

The only way to silence this call of adventure is to “just do it.”

Such was the song of the Ardh Kumbh Mela for me in India this month—the largest peaceful religious gathering of humans on Earth.

First-Class Economy Travel

by Joyce McGreevy on February 18, 2019

Dublin International Airport, Ireland prompts a favorite travel tip: You can clear U.S. Customs before you board. (Image © Carolyn McGreevy)

Fly home via Dublin Airport (above) to clear U.S. Customs before you board.
Your jet lagged brain will thank you!
© Carolyn McGreevy

Travel Tips to Upgrade the Experience

Overseas travel is enriching, and you don’t have to be rich to travel well. When people say it’s all about managing resources, they usually mean money. But another resource is our mindset.

If we’re fixated on how things “should be,” it won’t take much to discourage us from our travel goals, and any little thing could “ruin the trip.”  If we’re adaptable, we’ll “find a way” and savor both the journey we anticipate and the journey as it actually unfolds.

In Florence, a Feast of Festivals

by Joyce McGreevy on January 7, 2019

A view of Firenze from across the Arno inspires a writer to reflect on the cultural traditions of New Year in Italy. (Image © Victoria Lyons)

Winter in the city of Dante: Florence invites reflection and revelry in equal measure.
© Victoria Lyons

Savoring the First Week of the Year
Is an Italian Cultural Tradition

Are “the holidays” a faint memory? In some countries, all trace of yuletide is tidied away with alarming efficiency. Trees that inspire ho-ho-ho’s one day, get the heave-ho the next.

Here in Florence, Italy, January’s air is still redolent with balsam. Fairy lights arch over streets, and by Italian cultural tradition, a feast of festivals continues. Long past December, much remains to be savored, so my friend Victoria and I go with the Florentine flow.

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