Necessary Connections With Nature In Connecticut

All through this pandemic, I found that the way to deal with stress is by connecting — and reconnecting — with nature. Since there’s little in the way of broad — or even petite — green spaces where I live, I regularly chose to drive one hour to Ridgefield, Connecticut. The town is surrounded by a wealth of parks, gardens and hiking trails. And the historic town center is delightful year-round, especially when draped with snow and ice crystals. These are some of my observations from one of my recent trips.

Ballard Park is a grand expanse that occupies a central part of Main Street in Historic Ridgefield.

This park is especially atmospheric in the winter when a snowy coat blankets everything, even the gazebo and the impressive columns guarding the entrances.

I find jogging during a snowstorm especially invigorating when I’m in Ridgefield. These are some of the sights I found along my journey.

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Top Parks, Gardens and Green Spaces in Taiwan

With its myriad parks, gardens and myriad other green spaces, Taiwan is a country for those who seek out venues that radiate a sense of calm. Sure, there are rugged mountainous regions where you can test out your mettle on vertiginous paths that will leave you breathless. But there are also bundles of family-friendly venues laced with flat, paved bicycle paths. My article for the Huffington Post introduces you to a few of these verdant landscapes.

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Green, Eco-Conscious Rio

Visitors have so many misconceptions about Rio de Janeiro: that it's so unsafe you shouldn't leave your hotel to roam the streets and certainly you shouldn't go bicycling, jogging or walking on any of the trails; and that it's a car-choked city crammed with slums. The list goes on. But this isn't what I found. In fact, surprisingly, Rio is a verdant city coated with green spaces and it's also a bike-friendly city. Who knew?

This is an piece I just did for National Geographic Traveler's Intelligent Travel blog on the Rio you never knew.

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Radio Show: Unexpected Findings in Macau

I've posted and guest posted quite a bit recently on my travels in Macau and all of the unexpected treasures, whether it was a cutting edge art gallery exhibition in a colonial-style building, or a secluded garden or a hiking track that's smack in the middle of the city, but feels quite remote. Recently, Pat Boyle at the Travel Show on KPAM 860 radio in Portland, Oregan interviewed me on Macau.


I'd like to share with you some of the many curiosities I found, including a museum exhibit of caskets and tombstones reserved for prize-winning crickets (from the heyday of betting on cricket fighting); a hilltop summit that's home to a centuries-old fort, chapel and lighthouse (the oldest on the China coast); and a jogging path where quite a few of the locals jog on a sweltering day barefoot. Listen to this radio interview and you'll see why I fell in love with Macau, a place that has something for everyone, including those gastronomes or oenophiles in your group.

You can listen to my interview on Macau by clicking on the audio player below:

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