In 1764, a Prussian duke by the name of Peter August built a hunting lodge on the grounds of a 17th century manor house outside the town of Valmiera, Latvia, then part of the Russian Empire. Duke Peter August, who was Field Marshall of the Russian Imperial Army, was given the land by Emperor Peter […]
City Guide
How to Spend One Day in Barcelona
When you travel as much as I do, things are bound to go wrong. Lost luggage, food poisoning, and rental car damage are just a few speed bumps I’ve encountered around the world. Cancelled flights and missed connections are standard for everyone these days. But what happens when your final destination is, in the words […]
Top 15 Things to Do in Riga in Winter
A winter visit to the Baltics might seem crazy to some. Daylight hours are limited and the temperatures drop so low that the Daugava River has been known to freeze over. But there are so many fun things to do in Riga in winter that I think you’d be crazy NOT TO visit! The Christmas […]
Discovering Vilnius: Lithuania’s Dynamic Capital
If I asked you to find Vilnius on a map, could you? Before moving to Latvia, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to. I recently explained three times to a friend – who’s French, mind you – that Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania and I still don’t think she fully knows where I went […]
10 Highlights of the Louvre
I have a love/hate relationship with the Louvre. The famous museum in Paris has one of the finest collections of art in the world, with nearly 35,000 artifacts on display. It is a living, breathing humanities lesson. But fame comes with a price – the Louvre welcomes nearly 10 million visitors annually from around the globe, […]