8:00am Wake up after having gone to bed at, oh, 3:30am. 8:15am Run out the door of your friend’s apartment, down five flights of stairs with two large carry-ons and a briefcase, and down three blocks to the U-Bahn station. 8:24am Board the subway at Hermannplatz, pushing your way through the morning commuters to grab a […]
Berlin to Brazil: A Suggested Itinerary Read More
Britain’s Virgin Atlantic Airways has always led the pack when it comes to stylish, effective advertising that infuse modern air travel with remixed glamor and wit. When I say effective, I mean the ads and promotional products make me want to fly Virgin to London, today, even though the closest they get to my neck
The Flyest Airline I’ve Never Flown Read More
In October, the air in Warsaw is cold. Broad concrete sidewalks and large, drab Soviet-era constructions refract that chill, always present in spite of waning autumn sunshine. But there is color that warms the streets in bursts: the golden, meaty glow of 24-hour Turkish doner kebab stands; the fluorescent charge of rooftop corporate logos that
“Gringo.” I can’t stand that damn word. And it’s all over Latin America, from restaurants with names like Gringo’s Pizza to movies with titles like “Gringo Wedding.” The meaning of the word varies from country to country, but I’ve not found one place yet where it’s actually a positive moniker, despite many travelers who
Movie spies have always led the glamorous life of cool jazz, shaken martinis, flame-throwing shoehorns, easy sex, and jet-lag-less travel. With the perfect femme fatale to match each perfectly-tailored blazer, these characters fit the classic definition of “fly” as an adjective: good-looking, sophisticated, memorable. I’m not a secret agent, nor do I wish to be
Over the past couple of days, two very writerly young ladies interviewed me about my travels and life in Brazil: DC-based Lisa Schamess of the monetarily non-conformist blog, CheapBohemian, and Cathy Brown, editor of Expat Daily News South America, who runs the site from beautiful downtown Buenos Aires. Both interviews went live today and below
Fly Brother Profiled in DC and BA Read More
This post is part of a (quasi-)monthly series of eye candy at Fly Brother, imaginatively named VTP (short for Vintage Travel Posters). We’ll see how travel companies and bureaus have been enticing people off the couch since international leisure travel first became a bourgeois conceit. The very name of Paris implies joie de vivre, je
Three years ago, shortly after dusk on a crisp July evening, I left the gym and walked with a friend down a cavernous back-street in Copacabana, the gritty, dense, intense, world-famous beachfront neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. At that time, my Portuguese skills were nonexistent, and I conversed with my friend in an uneasy Portuñol
Reconciling with Rio Read More
Samba schools around Brazil are starting their practice sessions for next February’s Carnival shenanigans. Still, during the off-season, many schools offer glimpses of skin and sequins for tourists and Sunday strollers. Here’s (very rough) video of a tiny group from Rio’s Salgueiro Samba School, warming up the crowd with hips and syncopation on a dreary
From the AV Room: Samba No Pé Read More
Flaneur – (n.) from French. One who wanders aimlessly, who roams, who travels at a lounging pace. Aimlessly? “What I required was not exactly solitude, but the opportunity to roam around freely, meeting people when I wished and taking leave of them when I wished.” -Gérard de Nerval “…it is exile that evokes the sensitive
