Back at College (for the Afternoon)

The other day I went back to college. As a student. For 90 minutes. It was the quintessential autumn day. The kind where the leaves have just begun to turn color, some gently unhinging from their branches and wavering in the air before they hit the dirt below. Or...

Our Civil Rights Journey to the Deep South

Last year in my son’s eighth grade social studies class, they discussed the civil rights era but according to him, they were short on time and (as he explained) “kind of rushed through it.” So when the movie Selma came out last December, depicting the events that led...

A Focus on Women and Art in Florence

In honor of women’s history month (March), a new walking tour focusing on women’s role in art has just launched in Florence, Italy. And isn’t it about time? A collaboration between Context Travel and the Advancing Women Artist Foundation (AWA), this small group tour –...

Safari on the Sea: the Galapagos

In these islands we seem nearer to the great fact – the first appearance of life on earth. These words, written by Charles Darwin after he visited the Galapagos in 1835, only hint at the magic that lies in this cluster of islands. On a weeklong trip last year, my...

A journey to Connecticut. A new phase in life.

Last week, we drove to Connecticut to bring our daughter to college. While she sat in the back seat, selecting songs on her iPod for us to listen to and occasionally blurting out, “I’m going to college!”, my husband and I sat up front, knots in our stomach about the...