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
Moonlight, wine, and history — with a Roman obelisk as a swizzle stick. That’s my way to cap a hard day of guidebook research updating Arles in the south of France.
I like the idea that a good guide can be dropped in any square in Europe and give an impromptu talk to inspire their travelers to love history: an ancient obelisk, a people’s toilet, a Van Gogh sky, and a Romanesque tympanum…all woven into some happy travels.
Wine is an amazing value here — and if you wander around town with your romance pedal to the cultural metal after a glass or two, it gets even better. Trappy Havels!
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Buried deep in Aix-en-Provence is a thriving morning market. Provence, in the south of France, is a land of markets — colors, people, a relaxed vibe, and a love of life have all existed together in tight quarters for centuries. When you have a small fridge tucked under the sink (rather than a freezer in the garage), you need to go shopping each morning — and you get to check in with your neighbors.
When you actually reach out and get to know it, you learn that the world’s not going to hell in a handbag, it’s going to the market with a shopping bag. (I love pondering such thoughts while I’m updating ourProvence & the French Riviera guidebook. And this work never gets old, thanks to the encouraging smiles and happy feedback from the travelers my co-author Steve Smith and I keep meeting.)
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Bonjour from Aix-en-Provence, France — a town that becomes even more delightful if, as you explore its charming old center, you are armed with a little extra information. I’m here at Place d’Albertas with myProvence & the French Riviera guidebook, making sure our self-guided town walk is accurate and easy to follow. Standing in this simple square, I’m inspired by how its namesake, Monsieur d’Albertas, met a Doctor Zhivago-style fate. (The spirit of Revolutionary France is alive here today: taxes are high, and formerly aristocratic families must now share, like good citizens.)
Teaming up with my guidebook co-author, Steve Smith, every day it’s a different city: Lyon, Aix, Marseille, Avignon, Arles. It’s all day in the streets and each evening in the restaurants. Our reward: a nice dinner at 10 p.m. And then, we do it again tomorrow! I love this work.
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Bonjour! It’s Day 17 of my 100-day trip to Europe, and I’m exploring Lyon — France’s number-three city (after Paris and Marseille). Join me in this clip as local guide Virginie Moré shows us how you can step off the streets of today and into the past — if you know about the traboules. History hides out, and you just need to know which doors to open.
This little impromptu history lesson illustrates the importance of having a good guide — or a good guidebook.
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After two intense weeks of filming in Sicily, my wonderful TV crew is home now with lots of great footage for two new episodes ofRick Steves’ Europe.
We generally had great weather and lots of local smiles in Sicily, but every shoot has its disappointments. For example, the most beautiful mosaic scene at an ancient Roman villa — the sexy couple decorating the bedroom — was covered for restoration (this photo is from a postcard).
A postcard from Villa Romana del Casale.
Often, we filmed straight through the day. (Below, you’ll see my treasured “stolen sandwich” — the last course of my hotel breakfast, squirreled away so I can concentrate on my work instead of stopping for lunch). And on our last day, we got to Taormina’s beautifully situated Greek theater with just half an hour of sunlight left for me to film the “open” of our show. I love the low light — but leaving the show’s open to the last evening is always a bit nerve-racking, as we never know what might befuddle our plans, and when the sun’s down…the sun’s down.
My treasured “stolen sandwich.”The Greek theatre in Taormina.
After saying goodbye to my crew, it was time for me to change gears. As I flew from Catania to Paris, I was pleasantly surprised to be served dinner on the flight.
We were 30,000 feet above my favorite bit of the Mediterranean coastline, and it was fun to pick out my beloved five villages of the Cinque Terre.
Today is just Day 16 of my 100-day trip to Europe and I still have lots of travels ahead. Next up: France guidebook research with my co-author Steve Smith. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.
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