RECENT POSTS

Read more

Shanghai Social Diary

Travel
I recently returned from another fall season in Shanghai—that exotic, endlessly fascinating and ever-changing city. I’ve compiled the best of the stories and pictures I gathered about social life and travels in China in diary form, and I’ll be posting them from time to time. Here’s another: NATIONAL DAY HOLIDAY SHANGHAI—I sta... READ MORE
Read more

Shanghai Social Diary: Shanghai Tour of Jewish History

Travel
Shanghai – Not far from the famous Bund district in Shanghai is Hongkou district (pronounced “hong koh”), a quiet neighborhood with a history of Jewish immigration; it was once known as the Jewish Ghetto. Shanghai-based Israeli photojournalist Dvir Bar-Gal introduced me to the remarkable history of Jews in Shanghai, when I joined his ... READ MORE
Read more

Nina’s Africa Diary, Part III

Travel
Thursday January 19th This morning found me in bed until 8:30. I needed a solid night’s sleepand had been on so many spectacular game drives that I gave myself permission to sleep in. I am sure that Mike gave me a few demerit points for this. Breakfast was brought to my tent and I whiled […]... READ MORE
Read more

Nina’s Africa Diary, Part II

Travel
After a few days on the road, we had become close as a group, and also aware of certain behavioral patterns amongst us. Some liked to rise early, and others enjoyed staying up later at night. So we established a two-tiered morning drive system, whereby one set left camp at 6 a.m. and another at […]... READ MORE
Read more

Nina’s Africa Diary, Part I Khaki Fever

Travel
On Jan 12th,  2012, I returned to Africa for the second time in the past 18 months, to visit Kenya and Tanzania, with a group of 13 ladies led by Krista Krieger, the Chair of the Africa Foundation Board. In 2010, some of this same intrepid group (including me) visited Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia; combining […]... READ MORE
Read more

Shanghai Social Diary: San Francisco Asian Art Museum Trip: Part I

Travel
SHANGHAI — I was in Shanghai when the San Francisco Museum of Asian Art delegation came to Shanghai (its sister city since 1980), and I was delighted to join them for a few busy days. I like to report on various museum’s trips to China, as it highlights what is happening in the art and […]... READ MORE
Read more

Part II: Grand Hotels in the Italian Lake District: Lake Como’s Uncommon Allure

Travel
Before setting off for a week in Menaggio, we had planned only two days at the Hotel Metropole-Suisse in Como. We might have stayed a week had we realized the “City of Silk’s” wealth of architectural gems. Often heralded mostly for its immense Gothic cathedral, Como offers a walled medieval maze of streets, an attractive […]... READ MORE
Read more

Venetian Heritage as seen by Mary Hilliard

Travel
Venetian Heritage, one of the intrepid groups which raises money for preservation and restoration in Venice, Italy, held a gala event there for a few beautifully sunny days in early June. Their scheduled activities for the 200 or so guests coincided with the opening of the Biennale, the much discussed and often maligned, but nevertheless […]... READ MORE
Read more

Grand Hotels in the Italian Lake District

Travel
However much the Italian Lakes District is culturally set apart from the more well-traveled museum-saturated Venice-Florence-Rome-Naples route, the region’s breathtaking scenery, invigorating alpine air, virtuoso villas, and splendid gardens are as enthralling as any Botticelli or Tintoretto. While the tradition of the European Grand Tour dated b... READ MORE
Read more

Villa Carlotta abloom! Lake Como bellissimo

Travel
Years ago, I lived in a wonderful villa in Florence, a former Strozzi hunting lodge transformed into a classic 19th-century villa set amidst a tree-filled park. Back then, I never found myself attracted to the allure of Italy’s Lake District. Instead, my youthful springs meant Luxor, Mykonos, Crete and Marrakesh; not Lake Maggiore or Lake [&helli... READ MORE
Read more

Milano Moderno

Travel
My planned spring retreat to the scenic Italian Lake District had a bit of a detour when my travel companion scored a last-minute ticket for Cenacolo Vinciano, as the Milanese call The Last Supper. So we made the stop before heading to Lago Maggiore and Lago di Como. And with so much happening in Italia […]... READ MORE

Subscribe

FOLLOW US