Here you can browse through my blog posts prior to February 2022. Currently I'm sharing my travel experiences, candid opinions, and what's on my mind solely on my Facebook page. — Rick
I’m still buzzing from a thrilling experience I had last week in Boston. For two nights, I teamed up with the Boston Pops and conductor Jacomo Bairos to host a live performance of my public television concert “Rick Steves’ Europe: A Symphonic Journey.” Together, we shared seven stirring anthems from the Romantic era that celebrate how different European countries mix a love of music with patriotism. I got to be the tour guide, setting up each piece with historical and cultural context — and then, as gorgeous images were projected on a huge screen, the orchestra took us there musically.
In this clip, I bring you with me on stage an hour before the show — and then I share a few of my favorite moments as the night unfolds.
I love London’s Heathrow Airport, and I was happy to spend a couple of hours there as my spring trip wrapped up, just getting a bit of work done before my flight home to Seattle.
Stay tuned — because soon enough, I’ll be heading out again. Next up: guidebook research in England and three new TV episodes, high in the Alps.
It was a rainy day on the Emerald Isle, and I was somewhere I had never been before: St. George’s Market. Join me and my guide Jackie there now in this little clip.
St. George’s Market was the largest covered Victorian produce market in Ireland. Today, the farmers are gone and everyone else, it seems, has moved in. Three days a week (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, about 9:00-15:00), St. George’s Market becomes a thriving artisan, crafts and flea market with a few fish and produce stalls to round things out. With a diverse array of street food and homemade goodies added to the mix, it’s a fun place for lunch (5 blocks east of City Hall, at the corner of Oxford and East Bridge streets, tel. 028/9043-5704).
I have always believed that no trip to the Emerald Isle is complete without a visit to Northern Ireland. And I recently spent a few days there, after a stop in Dublin, researching the next edition of our Rick Steves Ireland guidebook.
In Belfast, I spent a fascinating 90 minutes with Tucker, a guide from Cab Tours Belfast — a taxi tour company that is made up of both Catholic and Protestant driver guides who are committed to giving unbiased, dual-narrative tours. On Bombay Street, we stopped at the Clonard Martyrs Memorial Garden. Join us there now.
I just enjoyed a very busy day on Capitol Hill, meeting with key members of Congress and advocating for an end to the federal prohibition on marijuana.
My host for the day was Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer, and we packed a lot into our schedule. Take a peek here as we work with lawmakers to find a path forward for marijuana legalization, I join forces with Bread for the World — and even bump into Jon Stewart.
I had breakfast this morning with some of my friends from NORML, and we were marveling at how dramatically the national mood on marijuana has shifted. These days, virtually every leader in the Democratic Party understands the need for change — and many Republicans also see the wisdom in ending prohibition. It’s exciting to see democracy in action.