Columnists Archives - Page 52 of 86

Christmas in Panama, or, What the Heck Am I Doing Here?

My husband and I really detest the cold weather. Back in the early fall of 1988, we looked at each other one blustery morning and asked, “do we really want to go through another winter?” The answer was an unequivocal

A Month In The Life Of An English Writer In Tuscany – November Reflections

The continuing adventures of June Finnigan, her Man, and Farty Barty the cat. November, in our little bit of Chianti in Tuscany, generally brings a mix of weather patterns ranging from warm and balmy to horrendous rainstorms and landslides. This

The 5 Best Beaches in Costa Rica That No One Knows About

While it’s no secret that Costa Rica is home to some of the best beaches in Central America, where to find them can often be a challenge. Living in Costa Rica has afforded me the time and relationships with locals

Le Negresco Is Notoriously Nice

Anyone who has visited Nice can’t help but notice the city’s iconic Belle Époque, palatial hotel on the Promenade des Anglais, With its white facade, pink roof and pink dome, and signature doorman dressed in regal bourgeois attire: blue frock

Spending The Holidays In Spain

Many of you fellow expats are going back to your home country for the holidays. But those of you who are spending the holidays in your adopted country this year will be able to learn about and explore new traditions

Grumpy Gets Jazzed Up In Guimarães

It’s actually quite difficult, even for me, to be grumpy in November but I try. The trees explode in tones of russet and amber, the air is crisp and the rain stops, albeit temporarily. St Martin’s day, on November 11th

Time For Snow Tires?

I must have been looking the other way because it’s suddenly winter and very cold. The manageable minus three degrees, crisp sunshine and bracing air that chased us into the supermarket at the weekend were gone when we came out

No More Thanksgivings

The first year I lived in the UK I was here with other American students. We lined up at the phones with our phone cards calling home and cooked a sort of Thanksgiving dinner with what we could find in

The Expat View: Why Traveling Will Never Be The Same

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson As an expat, my arrival in any country (these days) brings with it, the steely eyes of a super sleuth. The minute I

A Month In The Life Of An English Writer In Tuscany – October

The continuing adventures of June Finnigan, her Man, and Farty Barty the cat. The highlights of October, here in our little bit of Chianti, included the grape harvest and a visit from my lovely mother-in-law to celebrate her eighty-eighth birthday!