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Chicago to New Orleans: a road trip through the musical heart of America
A new road trip through the musical heart of America stopping in some of the most iconic music cities in this country.
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Same Same but Different: Backpacking in Thailand
My first time backpacking in Thailand. Postcards from a solo trip from Chiang Mai to Ko Lipe: me, myself and my backpack
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You Must Believe in Spring: A Love Letter to the Chicago Winter
I moved to Chicago on March 1st, 2019, from London, catching the last glimpse of what was famously dubbed the “Polar Vortex”. At first it was brutal. Fast forward five years, and now winter in Chicago is probably my favorite season.
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India by train – Part 1: Delhi to Mumbai
My first time in India, traveling by train from Delhi to Varanasi and from there to Mumbai, hitting the historical cities in Rajasthan. As difficult as it can be, traveling by train in India is a completely different and, ironically giving the amount of people, almost intimate way to experience this country.
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Just for one: my favorite pubs in London
A list of 47 of my favorite pubs in London. They might not be the best, they are without doubt not all the pubs I’ve been to in my almost 10 years in London, but they all have a personal story attached to them. They are, together with the bunch of people that were orbiting around them, foundational to explain my love for London.
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Cuisines of London: around the World in 52 meals
Have you ever wondered how many different cuisines you can try in London? This is a journey I took in 2017 with one simple goal: try as many cuisines you can find within the borders of the incredible city I still call home. A different one every week for one year.
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Seattle to San Diego: driving the Pacific Coast
I've been to the West Coast multiple times before but it was only single trips to major cities, flying from London or Chicago. Visiting smaller places was...
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My Green Card Journey
My Green card timeline, step by step, from starting the process to actually receiving the card in the mail
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Chicago to Miami & Key West road trip
In 2022 I’ve decided to embark in another road trip, from Chicago to the southernmost city in the continental United States: Key West.
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Route 66 – The ultimate American road trip
Driving the route 66 from Chicago to LA has always been a dream of mine. In 2021 since, due to covid restrictions and the status of my green card application, I was not allowed to leave the country, I decided to embark in a 2 weeks epic journey on one of the most iconic road on planet Earth.
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Day 11, 12, 13: Lafayette LA to New Orleans LA
I left Lafayette during rush hour, but it didn’t feel like it because the traffic was light. Despite this, the ride wasn’t particularly engaging or enjoyable. I am not really sure if this was because of the landscape, which – aside from a few small cities with gorgeous trees – was flat and plain, or because I knew it was the last leg of this road trip through the musical heart of America: 1,692 miles, 11 days, 8 live music shows and lots of food after leaving Chicago, I returned the car in New Orleans. Right after settling into the guest house and while waiting for the only concert I…
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Day 10: Natchez MS to Lafayette LA
Taking the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge meant entering Louisiana, the last state of the road trip. The first part of the ride, another solitary drive with no other cars in sight for miles, began on the 15S, coasting along the Mississippi – both river and state – and ended with the long unpaved stretch on the riverbank road beside the Atchafalaya River. About 20 miles before reaching Lafayette, I took an airboat ride experience in one of the largest swamps in the country: brown waters, beautiful trees, friendly alligators, and zero regrets for the fried reptiles I had eaten no more than 48 hours prior. I am just a bad person with…
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Day 9: Greenville MS to Natchez MS
I left the bed and breakfast at the sunny Belmont Plantation, where I had spent the night, and headed slightly back north for my first encounter with the mighty Mississippi River at Warfield Point. The streets had magically dried out by the time I set off, allowing me to avoid the highways for most of the drive. I’ve always considered the saying ‘everything happens for a reason’ to be a big load of nonsense that we tell ourselves to get through tough moments in life – and doing so, being totally acceptable. However, driving the unexpectedly unpaved riverbank stretch of the 465 South in a 4×4 was definitely better than…
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Day 8: Clarksdale MS to Greenville MS
The landscape didn’t change much from yesterday during today’s short 81-mile journey, while the weather did, becoming more threatening as I approached Greenville. A few miles from the final destination, the rain made a groovy and loud entrance in the form of a nasty thunderstorm. With the water in the roadside fields growing brown and thick, I left the side roads to stay on the, for once, safer highway. Once in Greenville, given that the only blues bar in town was closed, I compensated for the lack of entertainment with more southern food: the usual catfish and fried veggies were joined by some new additions—okra, boudin balls, crawfish and alligator.…
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Day 7: Memphis TN to Clarksdale MS
One of the shortest drives of this trip: 100 miles, which – aside from the very beginning, leaving Memphis – were driven mostly on the old route lying west of the new Highway 61: the original “blues highway.” Not the prettiest landscape, and the gloomy sky didn’t help, but on the flip side, with the temperature dropping significantly, wearing my leather jacket doesn’t make me look like an idiot anymore. Clarksdale: a tiny, unassuming, and rather deprived city at first glance, hosting a number of iconic, incredible blues bars. After all, the devil’s music was born in the cotton fields around here. Blues music, Mississippi beers, catfish, fried green tomatoes,…
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Day 5-6: Nashville TN to Memphis TN
It turned out the weatherman was right. The rain came copiously all night long, stopping just a few minutes before I left the motel. The first 150 miles were as smooth as it gets, mostly driven along an empty Natchez Trace Parkway with a pale sun trying to make an appearance. My only worry was not to run over the pretty naive, turkey-looking-like birds attempting to cross the road without any notice.When a tiny little screw somehow found its way into the right rear tire of my car, everything changed, and a rather pleasant morning turned into a wasted afternoon. After four hours of pointlessly waiting in the middle of…
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Day 3-4: Louisville KY to Nashville TN
The drive began with a bit of traffic leaving Louisville and ended with a bit of traffic approaching Nashville. In between, a slow 214 miles unfolded, including two glorious entries into Tennessee (it turns out, if the GPS says something, it’s most likely right), driving on beautiful, tiny roads surrounded by lush vegetation, farms, and livestock.And I believe I was the only person not driving a pickup in all of Tennessee. Nashville, AKA Music City. Music all day long, music all night long; neon lights, crowded streets, cowboy hats, leather boots, short shorts, booze, cold beers, warm whiskey all around me on Broadway. An unpleasantly humid and warm Monday night.…
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Day 2: Indianapolis IN to Louisville KY
Postcard from Louisville, Kentucky I took it easy in the morning, leaving after 10 am, which was not my brightest idea ever, given the heat I drove through all afternoon. A few miles past Indianapolis, bored with the straight and uneventful state roads, I started improvising, hitting random county roads – a few of which were unpaved – much to the utmost disappointment of the mighty GPS, which was forced to re-route every other time. The closer I got to Kentucky, the browner the fences became, the whiter the houses, the pinkier the trees, the smoother the rolling hills were, the more numerous the horses, and, to my happiness, the…
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Day 1: Chicago IL to Indianapolis IN
Postcard from Indianapolis, Indiana. I left a beautifully sunny Chicago later than expected – due to the car rental agency, well, momentarily not having any cars available to rent – driving slightly north from downtown to catch Lake Shore Drive at its most iconic stretch, right between Lincoln Park and Oak Street Beach, determined to drive as close to the lakeside as possible until reaching the Ogden Dunes. From there, it was an almost straight drive south through rural Indiana. Maybe not be the most interesting place on Earth, but the drive was smooth, the traffic nonexistent, and everything looks prettier when it’s sunny, right? A total of 223 miles,…
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Panettone in February? A Milanese tradition
One of my favorite Milanese traditions is eating Panettone on February 3rd, Saint Blaise’s feast day. But why? It’s a tale in two parts.
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Thai Food in Thailand – Pictures
A photo report of most of the Thai food I enjoyed during my two trips to Thailand including some yummy street food: deep fried crickets and bugs. It’s the future baby!