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This place boasts the world’s best climate…averaging daytime temperatures in the mid-70s every day of the year. So where am I? In Loja, a manageable city of about 180,000 people in southern Ecuador. At 6,750 feet above sea level, Loja is at a lower elevation than many of the country’s other major cities perched along the spine of the Andes mountain range.
Walk down any street or narrow village lane in tiny Belize (only about the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island) and you’ll hear any one of a half dozen or more languages—pretty remarkable in a country that’s less-populated than many U.S. cities (320,000 inhabitants).
Making the decision to transplant ourselves to Italy was easy. Making the move to Italy itself was painless. Making ourselves at home was smooth and immediate. Making a living…well, that’s another beast. I’m not going to lie to you—working in Italy can be difficult. But it’s more than worth it.
For most people, the idea of dinner in Paris likely conjures one of two images: an elegant restaurant where white-jacketed waiters glide about with silver- domed dishes, or a cozy bistro where a platter of steak frites is plunked down before you and the house red is as good as any you’ve tasted.
Planning a trip to San Cristóbal? Here’s our quick guide to some of the region’s highlights.
I’ve always loved to dance. I studied ballet as a child. I’ve directed my own belly-dance troupe. In 1997, I finally discovered tango—and I was hooked. When I dance, I feel most like myself. And these days I get to do it all the time as a dance teacher in Buenos Aires, Argentina, passing on one of the most beautiful dances of all—the tango—in the place where it was born and is still at its best.
With little more than a few hundred bucks and some determination Reece decided to give the import-export world a try. Now he has a nationwide business.
Long before you reach the island, you’ll see the smoking cone of its volcano rising from the sea. Off the north coast of Sicily, the permanent cloud is a giveaway that you’re nearing Stromboli, one of the seven Aeolian Islands.
There is a wonderful rhythm to life in Alfama. It’s all about romantic views, secret neighborhoods, and faded grandeur. The houses here are clad in intricate tiles to reflect the sun’s heat, and it seems as if the city here wears its beauty inside out. Alfama is reminiscent of the North African heritage of southern Spanish cities like Seville and Granada.
Wine has been produced in Jumilla and neighboring Yecla since the proverbial mists of time. If you’re a frequent wine-drinker, you’d make some serious savings living here. At less than $1 a bottle, it’s very nearly as good as free…
My childhood dream was to explore the world, treading in the footsteps of past explorers while discovering the wonders of its landscapes and people for myself. I was still just dreaming when I grew up—and I was stuck working long hours behind an office desk.
I’ve traveled in 92 countries, lived in Thailand and the Middle East, climbed the Pyramids, gone dog-sledding in Finland, trekked in Mali, seen the “gorillas in the mist” in Rwanda, and gone hot-air ballooning over the desert in Australia. I’ve had the chance to experience many cultures and see beautiful countries…but there’s only one place I love enough to spend half my year there when I retire in three years.
Laundry is hanging in vivid, postcard style above bougainvillea-draped walls. Built on one of Lisbon’s seven hills, this is Alfama, my favorite Lisbon neighborhood.
Firmly in Spain’s sunny south, between Andalusia and Valencia, Murcia is one of the country’s autonomous regions that gets overlooked in the dash elsewhere— usually farther south to the Costa del Sol or north to the Costa Blanca.
When it comes to lifestyle and location, it would not surprise me if one European city rarely enters your thoughts: Berlin, Germany’s capital.
Amid the towers of steel and chrome waft the tantalizing smells of seafood and spices. Argentine, Cuban, Swiss, German, Thai, and Indian are only a few of the offerings you’ll enjoy today in Panama City.
If you like gadgets and bustle when you go on vacation, look shells, and tumbling-down structures—anything that hints at a quaint chapter of Irish history. Using traditional methods, local craftsmen faithfully restore each lighthouse, cottage, castle, or 19th-century school house. The rescued structures stand as solid as they were back when they were in full use 150 to 600 years ago.
I’ve traveled in 92 countries, lived in Thailand and the Middle East, climbed the Pyramids, gone dog-sledding in Finland, trekked in Mali, seen the “gorillas in the mist” in Rwanda, and gone hot-air ballooning over the desert in Australia.
Whether you’re shopping for traditional wooden toys, nutcrackers, tree decorations or unusual gifts, nowhere does Christmas markets quite like Germany. And Berlin, the capital, has over 50 Weihnachtsmärkte to investigate in the four week Advent run-up to Christmas.
When my old boss asked us if we wanted to go to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, over Christmas week, we jumped at the chance. It was such an amazing experience we never looked back. A Christmas in Mexico with all its color, warmth and vibrancy became our new family tradition. We didn’t miss the snow. The gorgeous blue waters and the long, warm evenings saw to that.
I’m in northern Tuscany’s Lunigiana, the “Land of 100 Castles”. Originally built in the late 12th century, Fosdinovo is one of its best. Crowning a hilltop, it’s a square, fortress-like structure with inner garden courtyards and gorgeous tapestries. Incredibly gruesome stories, too.
I’m in Cuenca, Spain, a provincial capital less than an hour by train from Madrid. For budding expats who dream of living in Spain, provincial cities like Cuenca are a great option.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Botin Restaurant in Madrid is the world’s oldest operating restaurant, which opened its doors in 1725. Famous the world over, Ernest Hemmingway mentioned the restaurant’s signature dish cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) in his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises.
It’s not hard to believe in miracles once you see the Sanctuario de las Lajas, an incredible feat of faith and engineering in the municipality of Ipiales in southern Colombia. Legend has it that in 1754, a woman named Maria Mueces and her deaf and mute daughter, Rosa, sought shelter from a thunderstorm in a cave in the valley of the Guáitara River, known for its flat rock formations that resemble lajas, or floor tiles.
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