I never realized how loud frogs could be. The first night I slept in Penestanan — a small village near Ubud, Bali where there are no roads, no cars, no street lights — I thought war had broken out. An …
Running for the Kids & Other Personal Anecdotes on Exercise
I was a chubby kid. I loved to eat. I didn’t like to exercise or play sports. I watched soap operas. I got migraines. Before I was a teenager I started wearing plus sizes. Sometimes my mother would suggest I …
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Call Me Duchess: Tracing My Roots in Medieval Italy
It’s hard to know exactly where my della Torre family line begins. Many accounts say it was with Charlemagne — and our crest indicates this “fact” with its prominent fleur-de-lis — but almost every person with European heritage can claim as much. What …
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Peace in Langshi Village
After a four-hour flight from Beijing, I am met at the Guilin airport by an older woman holding a bag of clementines. We will ride together for the next two hours along deserted mini malls and through rolling mountains, eventually …
Off the Beaten Path: Exploring Angkor Wat on Two Wheels
November 2016. For all the weight of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap is light. The heavy layer of dust in the air doesn’t matter; I’m finding it easier to breathe here… the streets are wider and the touch of the city …
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China to Texas: The Tiger Who Brought Me Home
My granddaddy — a tall, imposing, fifth-generation Texan — used to boast to me with a wide grin and his best twang: “Nita, I’ll tell you a secret…” He’d lean in as if other people might be listening… “You’re my …
Life in Shanghai, Or How I Confused Lennon and Lenin
December 2016, Shanghai. I’ve just left Phnom Penh and the emotional roller coaster of Cambodia. I also just decided to leave Remote Year, so I feel simultaneously anxious and relieved. There’s no time to stop and think about all of …
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Stirring Emotions in Cambodia: A Daughter’s Story
I was raised by a revolutionary. I actually hesitate to the use the word "raised." My dad did more of the raising, as did my grandparents and my aunts — I took a village. But the influence my mother, The …
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A Day with the Gentlest of Giants
It’s like being in a storybook, spending a day with elephants — meandering through a forest with them, feeding them, playing in the mud, bathing in a stream all together to wash off said mud… They are sweet, curious, and always hungry. They are …
Why I’ll Return to Koh Pha Ngan
Karen Blixen said, ”I know the cure for everything: salt water... in one form or another. Sweat, tears, or the salt sea.” This evaluation pretty much sums up Koh Pha Ngan for me. I was incredibly stressed there for a …
Escape to Chiang Mai!
By the end of our month in Koh Pha Ngan, I am tired of living with bugs, drops of blood on my duvet, and Remote Year drama. We only have about a week left before we go to Phnom Penh, …
Hips and Dips in Koh Pha Ngan
I have had more hummus in the last week than I’ve had in the last year. And I am in Thailand. Don’t get me wrong, I love hummus. If I were stranded on a deserted island, and all I had …
The Extraordinary Flavors of Kuala Lumpur
While Kuala Lumpur has some gorgeous architecture — like the stunning and imposing Petronas Towers — it is not a particularly beautiful city. It feels like so many places where the approach to urban planning is... mysterious. The streets literally …
Gone Nomad: My Inevitable Life of Excess Baggage
Starting from a very early age, I was always traveling, and very often I was flying off on my own. Between two parents, one in NYC and one in Austin: I was the Unaccompanied Minor. I feel like you don’t …
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Saturdays with Pasquale
I first went to Da Fortunato when I was in college. My dad’s best friend had recommended this Roman restaurant right up the via from the Pantheon, and it always stayed in my heart. When I moved to Italy twenty years (!!) …
Riding the Waves in North Africa
Growing up in New York City, I never really learned how to swim. Maybe I shouldn't blame the City. Other kids learned... it just somehow skipped me. And I skipped it. As a result (and as an adult), I had …
Tales of an Unlikely Marathoner
Before 2015, I completed three full and three half marathons. That's pretty good for someone who doesn't particularly enjoy running. I mean, I kind of hate it while it's happening. But I love the discipline of it, and afterwards, I …
LIFE IN MILES 