Editor’s note: This column is written by my father, Rich Ryan, who I’ve invited to be a frequent contributor to Gracefully Global as “Dad’s Guest Blog,” as he calls it. He’s a retired professor, and he keeps himself busy with frequent traveling and writing a column in the local newspaper of my hometown, the Imperial Valley Press. This particular adventure we shared together along with my stepmom, Estela. This is the second post in the…
I must admit, as far as travel experiences go, visiting the Colosseum never ranked highly on my list of favorites. Until recently, that is. The mass confusion entering the Colosseum and the stress of dealing with their stringent yet non-communicative ticket office, followed by feeling pretty much like one of a million sheep, and not much to do once inside other than take selfies or watch other people take…
Big cities can be quite a puzzle to get to know, and Rome is no exception. Even tougher still, Rome’s huge tourism economy makes it tricky to discover how to deviate from the beaten path. I’ve been to Rome about ten times, and I still don’t feel like I could confidently recommend a restaurant for dinner, for example. When my extended family called me in Bologna a few months ago…
It is hard to imagine that two artists alone could make an indelible mark on a city that would sustain for decades, a century, or more. Yet Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo’s legacy in Mexico City – the fifth largest city in the world – is still very real and tangible. As a photographer, theatre artist, and arts advocate, I feel at home in cities that embrace art, and Mexico…
I woke up in Veracruz City on the second to last day of 2016 having no idea I’d be going to bed that night in a jungle. Our hostel owner at the Oyster Hostel in Veracruz moonlights as a tour guide and is passionate about the many offerings of the dynamic state of Veracruz, especially the region of Los Tuxtlas around Laguna Catemaco which was our destination that day, compliments…
This week’s photo challenge, Repurpose, is inspiring me to share an object I’ve repurposed, and continue to use every day in my travels throughout the U.S. and Europe. Traveling doesn’t afford the luxury of taking any object in your possession for granted. Each and every piece that you carry with you is evaluated on the basis of size and weight. And if either of those measurements outweighs its worth in…
When I started this blog, Gracefully Global, I meant it as an evolving study on how to be a traveler, gracefully. That is, to cherish and respect the cultures that we come upon as we learn about and interact with the world through our traveling ways. Somehow, the political turmoil of this month has felt like a big slap in the face for many of us who value other cultures and…
As the host of the oldest university in the western world, Bologna has been a second home for young people from across Europe for centuries. And with the saturation of young people comes the inevitable nightlife of those who don’t have morning meetings and people depending on them to make breakfast. I’m one of those students that made my pilgrimage to Bologna, only to be charmed by the nighttime energy of…
As I continue on with my late-summer East Coast travels – which will soon turn into my early-fall Italy travels – I’m barreling on with my vlog production, hoping to bring at least one of these to you per week. This particular vlog is near and dear to my heart: it documents a special weekend trip to a family mountain home in the Catskills that has been an annual occasion for more than…
I feel like I have nine lives on WordPress: I disappear for a while, but I always manage to make it back. While some of my favorite alone time is spent reading blogs on WordPress, I’ve jumped into the world of education travel coordination with CISabroad, and coordinating faculty-led university student tours of Italy takes every last bit of energy out of me and leaves no time for blogging. That…