All posts tagged: travel

Walking in Paris with La Vie Est Miracle sign

Being Black American in Paris

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Heading to Paris in 2017 was a pivotal moment in my life.  I originally wrote about the idea of being Black American in Paris in 2019. It’s still a piece that I get a lot of outreach about. So I decided to re-edit the piece and release it again on the blog in conjuction with a podcast episode I have coming out on Paris for Building Home. I’m interviewing floral designer Ryan Norville on her family’s recent move to Paris. Paris has been going viral, and it hasn’t been positive. A Tiktoker has made it a brand offering “hot takes” on why they think Paris is overated and the dregs. Malfoy sites the trash, grafitti and says that Paris smells like “piss, cheese and armpit.” The city’s food “looks grimy as hell.” Of course, like any city, this isn’t the first time Paris has been critiqued and Paris syndrome is a real. That fall, I underwent my own Paris syndrome. But my time in Paris was one of those catalysts for change in my life. …

Town scene in Taormina

What to Watch Set in Sicily

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White Lotus is what drew you to Sicily and the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Taormina. Here are other films and shows set in Sicily. The perfect backdrop to get you in the mood for your vacation in Sicily! Over the years tons of international productions have used the beautiful landscape of Sicily as their backdrops. One of my favorite destinations in Italy, this Meditterranean island is a vibrant and diverse in scenery as it is in culture. Maybe it’s dramatic Mount Etna or the beautiful cascading “stairs” of Scala dei Turchi going into the turquoise sea. Then there’s the baroque architecture and the ancient Greek ruins. Sicily is always a good idea. Here’s a run down of films and shows set in Sicily to get you in the mood for your next Sicilian holiday. The White Lotus Season 2 (2022) The HBO runaway hit The White Lotus returned for a second season. For season two, the action takes place in the renovated San Domenico Palace in Taormina, Sicily — a real life Four …

Ciao, Sicilia! Sicily Travel Guides

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Ciao, Sicilia! I mean even that alone sounds sexy, no? Dolce & Gabbana built their brand around it. As an American living in Italy, it can be easy to fall into that La Dolce Vita myth. Everything is beautiful, everywhere is magical. Though, being primarily based in Northern Italy, I’ll let you in on something: Southern Italy has my heart. From my time in Puglia in my early 20s, to now, Sicily is decidely my happy place in Italy. Maybe it’s the island life, I know it’s the hospitality, food, people, ‘tude. The people are warmer, their accents more melodic, more swaggy. Tuscany is beautiful, but I truly believe, Sicily is what Americans want when they come to Italy. A lot of Italian-Americans are Southern or Sicilian… so maybe it’s the familiar? Did you know that in 1945 and 1946 a strong Sicilian separatist movement campaigned for Sicily to be admitted as a U.S. state? Black Americans, you might be drawn to Sicily too… from True Romance to Little White Lies, are they those mythic …

Nneya in front of testi di mori shop, original Black Sicilians

Why Do I Love Sicily? Are Sicilians Black?

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Are Sicilians Black? No, but the warmth of it’s people, culture, food and multiculturalism makes Sicily my favorite Italian region. While starting my travel series, Ciao, Sicilia, I had a think about why I love Sicily. What was supposed to be three short sentences turned into paragraphs. Yes, Taormina, Sicily was where Michele proposed but even touching down in Sicily, in Catania, immediately, I knew I was going to love it. It’s the warmth of both the people and climate. When we first arrived in Catania, it was a hot June afternoon. The heat was oppressive but seeing the ornate balconies of the beautiful Sicilian baroque buildings, I wanted to take it all in and explore. Smart Sicilians had shuttered themselves inside to avoid the mid-day sun. The aged decadent architecture reminded me of Havana. The first thing we did was eat and the heaping portions and warm smiles serving the food reminded me of my own family’s West Indian background. On another trip to Sicily, I even spotted a Jamaican restaurant in Syracuse! Sicily …

Neoclassical School Building in Arizona Desert

Sonoran Desert Inn: The Only Non-Profit Inn in the USA

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A way to rethink the way we travel is through sustainable tourism. Travel and hospitality can be a polluting, displacing industry and the concious traveler often wants to put their travel dollars towards righting this. Welcome to Sonoran Desert Inn, the only non-profit inn in the USA doing things a little bit differently. Sonoran Desert Inn is the only non-profit inn in the country.  Based in Ajo, Arizona, right on the border with Mexico in the Sonoran desert, this inn is housed in a converted school house of  those once robust, desert mining towns that dominate imagery of the west. Do you like off-the-beaten-path travel visiting ghost towns, old mining towns or factory towns? Then this place is for you. And you’d be giving funds to marganilized communities. As a not-for-profit organization, the inn functions to attract visitors to Ajo and the surrounding region. It helps to support Ajo’s economic development through direct employment and partnerships with local businesses, entrepreneurs, and artists. The inn partners with ISDA (International Sonoran Desert Alliance*) to tell Ajo’s rich history in early 20th century America. John Greenway was the manager of the New Cornelia Copper …

Italy Announces New Digital Nomad Visa

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In order to aid with tourism revitalization and slow tourism in particular, in May, Italy will be announcing a year-long renewable digital nomad visa to non EU citizens. Years ago, when looking into residency permits in Italy, I found the process a bit archaic in regards to today’s world and digital nomads. One of the standards of self-employment required you to invest a couple hundred thousand euros in a company in the country! More often than not, technology moves faster than bureaucracy and Italy wants visitors to know they’ve heard and received! The country wants slow tourism and this is another arm of it! Italy’s digital nomad visa will attract talent to the country as well as even revitalize places that have lost residents from brain drain, age, or in the case of Venice, rising housing costs due to tourism. So who are digital nomads? According to the decree: “Citizens of a third country, who carry out highly qualified work activities through the use of technological tools that allow them to work remotely on a …

Woman Looking over Bell Rock Trailhead in Sedona Red Rock scenery behind her

Sedona Energy Vortexes – A Guide to Perfect Vibrations

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Here’s a trip to consider for the start of your new year: the Sedona energy vortexes. Sometimes you travel for enlightenment or peace of mind. To find yourself. This can happen on any trip but there are certain parts of the world that are known as spiritual centers to “speed up” the process. Pilgrimages to Mecca. Seekers in India. The metaphysical vibrations with the Sedona energy vortexes. Long before the psychic Page Bryant named the energy vortexes of Sedona in 1980s, Native Americans recognized Sedona as a spiritual and healing center. The Yuvapai, Navajos, Hopi and Tonto Apaches only used the land as sites for sacred ceremonies. They came to heal in the red rocks of Sedona. Within these energy vibrations they found their hearts. But I’m not into all of this New Age stuff That’s why Sedona is a perfect trip. You don’t necessarily subscribe to visiting a place because an 80s psychic says it’s a hotspot? Understandable. But I definitely wouldn’t call centuries old Native American traditions, “new age.” If nothing else, there …

Nneya in front of Pendry Christmas Tree

A Perfect 2021 Travel-Inspired Holiday Gift Guide

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Here is a 2021 perfect travel-inspired holiday gift guide for the wanderer in your life. We’re in the throws of the holiday season with a week left until Christmas. If you’re anything like me, shopping is easy breezy and then last minute express orders. People often wonder what to get for travelers as they spend time touring the world and seeing cool stuff. Well, sometimes, it’s just the little things. Really, they’ll appreciate the travel size. Here’s our perfect 2021 holiday gift guide. If they have a travel blanket. Get them a big, cozy cashmere scarf! So I have a travel blanket. Actually, a beautiful Chanel one. But I hardly use it. Why? Because I more often than not live from my carry on. And my “personal item” is a tote that’s jammed packed with my laptop, camera and essentials. So while my travel blanket is super cozy, I usually travel with my SCAGLIONE knit duster and a SCAGLIONE cashmere scarf. It’s comfy, doesn’t take up as much space as a blanket and I’ll wear …

Due to Omicron Concerns, Biden Announces New U.S. Travel Requirements

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For a brief moment, it seemed like even with the Delta variant the travel industry was on the comeback. The U.S. opened to the EU, summer and holiday spending on travel was on the up. New U.S. travel requirements seems to be on pause. And then in the 20th month of the global pandemic, the WHO announces a “variant of concern,” the Omicron. Due to Omicron concerns, President Biden announces new U.S. travel requirements. When the Omicron variant was announced, the US quickly banned entry from non-citizen travelers from countries in Southern Africa. This was in effort to gain reaction time and slow down the spread. On Wednesday, the President announced new U.S. travel requirements in an effort to prep for holiday travel season. Starting December 6, all international arrivals, vaccinated or not, will need to test negative for COVID no more 1 calendar day before flying to the U.S. Sure, this seems like a minor adjustment. But it leaves the travel industry concerned about whether or not this will dissuade travel during a time …

Closed Umbrellas on Beach in Calabria

What To Know Before Booking Your September Italian Travel 2021

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September is a great time to travel to Italy this 2021, but with Italy reinstating Covid-19 restrictions for American visitors, here’s what you should know before heading to Italy. Umbrellas are closing, summer in Italy is coming to an end. But the summer season isn’t officially over yet. Often times, that makes for the best time to visit the country. My first time in Le Cinque Terre was in September as a study abroad student. It was a trip free from crowds; I had a much easier time booking a B&B and got to really hang with locals. But before you book those last minute trips and travel to Italy in 2021, here are a few things you should know. Italy has indeed taken the EU’s advice and reinstated some restrictions for Americans. In my opinion, this is part Delta, part politics, part economics. The summer season is over, the US did not reciprocate. Other countries removed from the safe travel list include Israel, Japan and Canada. Any traveler that’s been in the US in …