Appalachian Coal Heritage Tourism: Yes, This is Important
Posted on April 19, 2017
This week in my TV interview, I highlighted some "Coal Heritage Tourism Sites" in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky, where the mining industry provided not only income, also a way of life to its workers and extended communities.
Umbria by Motorcycle: Lake Corbara Towns
Posted on April 8, 2017
Everyone in Italy parks scooters and motorbikes chockablock. No matter how much chrome or how many farkles a bike is adorned with, I never saw an incident of I'm-too-special-and-my-bike's-too-precious-to-share-a-parking-space behavior. If there is enough space to mount and dismount, that's sufficient; share the space.
Umbria Italy by Motorcycle: Orvieto’s Etruscans
Posted on April 1, 2017
The Umbria town of Orvieto sits atop a plateau of tufa rock—consolidated volcanic ash that we would call “tuff” in English. The rock was thrown from the large crater that is now Lake Bolsena, which we visited four days ago.
Tuscany Italy by Motorcycle: Crete Senesi and Pienza
Posted on March 27, 2017
There’s nothing like a few days in Italy to turn even a fast-food junkie into a foodie. Italians are proud of their culinary heritage and my tour guide, Enrico Grassi is a goodwill ambassador of all things cultural and gastronomical in the boot-shaped country.
Awake once more at dawn in my 400-year-old room, I’m eager to get into Siena. The shimmering city on three hills that has been enticing us from the infinity pool at Podere la Strega is now on our agenda.
Italy by Motorcycle: Negotiating with a Greve in Chianti Shopkeeper
Posted on March 11, 2017
After leaving San Gimignano we head to Greve in Chianti, the birthplace of Giovanni da Verrazzano. He is famous for being the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and Newfoundland, and for discovering the New York Bay in 1524. This discovery is why the bridge spanning the Narrows between Brooklyn and Staten Island bears his name.
Tuscany Italy by Motorcycle: San Gimignano
Posted on March 3, 2017
I awake on the third day of my tour in a 17th-century country house and it occurs to me that human beings have been conceived, born, lived, and died in this very room for over 400 years. The walls are freshly-painted plaster, their yellow hue the perfect shade for the faint early morning light.
Appalachian Music Trails: Destinations in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Posted on March 1, 2017
Music is an easy way to celebrate Appalachian culture.
Italy’s Lazio Region by Motorcycle: Ronciglione and Bolsena
Posted on February 24, 2017
This is Part Two of my series on Italy by motorcycle. Start the series here.
Appalachian Roots Music: What’s with the Banjo?
Posted on February 10, 2017
