Meeting a Friend Who Remembers Spy Magazine–Priceless!
My days are much simpler now, and it’s amazing how the fog and fear has lifted. I felt positively joyous upon my return from a stellar press trip up in Montreal. While it might have been all of that endorphin-inducing bike riding through the city streets, I think it was […]
He Cackled With Delight as the Waves Engulfed Us
The Jetboating trip was scheduled while our lunch was still being prepared, so some of our group rushed off to catch it, while we took a more leisurely approach and delayed until the next departure, at 4 pm. If I had known what was in store, I would have ordered […]
The Writers on the Trip-One of the Best Parts of Traveling
One of the best parts of a group press trip are the people you end up getting to know, who sit with you at the table, take the tours, and join you in the many activities that are packed into the full schedule. This is the first time I’ve been […]
You’re Bashar al-Assad, and It’s All Going Downhill in Syria
You’re Bashar al-Assad and it wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. Your dad spent decades confounding the Americans and he sent you away to London to become an eye doctor…and now here you are, the ruler of your country since 2000 and no matter where you turn, things are […]
Riding at Night with 17,000 Other Cyclists Through Montreal’s Streets: Brilliant
We waited a long time for our chance to take off down the 20 kilometer course that wound its way through downtown and through Montreal’s docklands. It was almost 8:30 pm, and more than 17,000 riders would follow this course, on streets blocked off and staffed by green-shirted volunteers, who […]
A Little Bit About Montreal from an Unabashed Local
“Let me begin by dispelling a few myths about Montreal,” Ruby Roy, our confident and Montreal-born guide told us, as we stood in front of our bus about to depart for the city’s Old Quarter. First, it’s not just French, it’s more than 100 nationalities, and people here speak a […]
Shun-Piking in Vermont, I Came to the End of the Line
I will never forget the time my mother rhapsodized to me in the 1970s about a drive she and my dad took through the New Jersey Meadowlands, en route to New York City. What stood out and what amazed her then was how lovely that dreadful scenery looked to her […]
Heading to Montreal for Un Tour Nuit and a Sunday Ride with 15,000 other Bicyclists
I’ve got the itinerary in front of me and a new composition book to fill up with notes. I have stocked up on business cards, printed out my Google Map, and remembered to charge my devices. I have nothing here to worry about, and I’m happy to report I’ll be […]