Travels with a Humble Narcissist

The Cape of Good Hope Vasco da Gama The Age of Discovery You know what I discovered in Cape Town? Stellenbosch! Otherwise known as The Cape of Good Wines Or Wineries with a View And what a view You can have Napa and Sonoma. I’ll take Cape Town.

My wife, Michele, LOVES sunsets. She takes pictures of one almost every evening. She never tires of them. I just shake my head, but she persists. It has become our running joke about what to do with all of her pictures of sunsets. Don’t get me wrong, I like sunsets, but I can’t say I…

Since I was a kid,  I have wanted to go to Africa to see the wild animals. I read books about early explorers and watched too many National Geographic specials about lions, elephants, leopards, cheetahs, and rhinos. I have also gone to zoos and seen all of these animals in person at one time or…

Impalas are beautiful, gentle, little creatures. Leopards’ hunt them primarily at night. To avoid lions and hyenas from stealing their kill, leopards drag it up into a tree. I found these two down a dirt road in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Life can be both beautiful and cruel.

I hate smoking. I probably should qualify that statement. I hate cigarettes. Both my parents smoked Kool Filter Kings cigarettes. They smoked everywhere. Nowhere was off limits. In the house, out in the yard, inside the car, in the basement, hell even in the bathroom. Lordy. In the Service, we had to occasionally go on…

Nothing is worse than traveling to a distant country and seeing people queuing up at McDonalds or KFC or, yes, Starbucks. You want to cry out to them, but in some ways, these American chains are considered exotic. I must admit that, after traveling for a while, even I am tempted to go there because…

Why do I keep coming back? Everyone, including most Cubans, ask me. This is my 5th time here so it is a fair question. I just can’t seem to get enough. This country haunts me. The first time I came was at the same time as Obama came here in 2016. The place and people…

Where does one begin when discussing Rome? Hmm, the art, the fashion, the traffic, the people, the history, the food, the language. . . Let’s start with traffic. How is this possible? How can so many people drive so badly all at one time? The worst are the mopeds. They completely disregard the sanctity of…

The first time I met Raj I was not impressed. He had long hair, an earring, leftist views, and he looked like he desperately needed a sandwich. We became friends in the most normal way men become friends – shared misery. We were both in the Army National Guard because it was a way to…

On most international trips, you come down with something.  I am no exception. This time, I came down with the Florence Syndrome. Florence Syndrome is a psychosomatic condition involving rapid heartbeat, fainting, confusion, and even hallucinations, allegedly occurring when individuals become exposed to objects, artworks, or phenomena of great beauty.. I mean, come on. I…