Europe à la Mode
Just Released on Amazon!
Hello and welcome! This is the place for all things Europe à la Mode—my new travel book that takes you on a six-week odyssey to five countries and nine cities across southern Europe.
Europe à la Mode embraces a “slow travel” philosophy and offers insights to elevate or “put the cherry on top” of your travel experience. It also features travelogues, anecdotes, and sample itineraries for nine popular European destinations: Vienna, Venice, Milan, Genoa, Nice, Barcelona, Lisbon, Faro, and Madrid. You can check it out at amazon.com/books.
Presentations & Book Signings
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Travel Club of the Desert – Palm Desert, CA - October 2, 2024
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Sun Lakes Travelers Club – Banning, CA – November 9, 2024
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Four Seasons Beaumont Travel Group – Beaumont, CA – TBA
Travelogues & More
Each month I'll share a travel story or excerpt from the book. Down the road, you'll find a Book Shelf section featuring books written by other indie (independent) authors.
To kick things off, here’s a travelogue that speaks volumes about our stay in Barcelona.
Two Tenors, a Soprano, and a Boombox
Barcelona Cathedral
Our list of things to see and do in Barcelona was long: La Sagrada Familia, La Boqueria, Plaça Reial’s trendy restaurants, and Picasso’s old stomping grounds—now home to the Picasso Museum.
But on our first night in town, we were on the hunt for something not found in most guidebooks: street opera. On a tip from a well-traveled friend, around 9:00 p.m., we headed toward the Barcelona Cathedral, listening for the sound of the city’s after-dark street opera scene. Nada. The following night, about 10 p.m., we tried again and the music gods rewarded us in spades.
To our untrained ears, the informal concert—two tenors, a soprano, and a boom box—was just as satisfying as the L'Orfeo performance we attended in Vienna. We returned the following evening and heard a similar performance, minus the soprano. A perfect example of the best things in life are free.
Our friend described it this way: “More than opera and music, street opera is a slice of life in Barcelona.” We couldn’t agree more.