Just a quick note to let everyone know that we've arrived safely in Istanbul. Sorry Dad, we barely made our connection in Doha so didn't have a chance to give you a call. We got another look at the amazing architecture, though, and it brought back good memories of our visit there just over a month ago. We have an 8 hour stopover in Istanbul before catching a final flight down to Antalya, the "Turkish Riviera", on the Mediteranean coast. We always know exactly...

A few months ago, the New York Times placed Cape Town at the top of its list of 52 places to visit in 2014. There's no denying it. This is an amazing place. It's about twice as expensive as anywhere else in South Africa, but still quite affordable. I love the sea-faring history of this city, first established by the Dutch East India Company as a victualing station for ships bound round the Cape of Good Hope for India and beyond. Nelson Mandela made his first...

It's early fall here in the Cape Winelands and that means harvest time. The endless straight rows of vines are heavy with bunches of ripe, purple fruit peeking out from their leaves. The hills are teaming with workers busy moving the grapes from vine to cellar where the annual production cycle is beginning. We are spending two nights in Franschhoek in the heart of South African wine country. "French Corner," as the translation goes, was settled by Huguenots ...

I haven't been playing close attention to my state of mind since we pulled out of town, and our lives, exactly seven months ago today. But I have a general idea what it's been. I recon about a third of the time I'm feeling exactly the same as I would at home: preoccupied with the many things that need to get done in the run of a day; looking forward to a fun or exciting event in the not too distant future; mildly worried about things over which I have little o...

We are currently on an overnight train from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth on the southeast coast of Africa. We decided to splurge a little and book premiere class which we'd read on "The Man in Seat 61" was outstanding value for the price. The price is not at all bad. About $150 per person which includes two lovely cabins, meals and our transport across the country. Park Station is in one of the rougher parts of downtown Jo'burg so we hired a driver from our ...