Who would of thought that a bag of questionable pellets, originally thought to be camel dung, could transform a city into a coffee culture hub? Neither did the Viennese, nor myself, until The Toronto Star let me in on the secret. With over 300 coffee shops, Vienna has mastered the art of [...]

Benjamin Franklin taught us that “beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy.”  I wonder what he would have said after a visit to the Starkenberger Brewery in Tarrenz, Austria. Housed within the walls of a 700-year-old castle, are seven pools full of beer.  That’s worth [...]

It’s no secret I choose skiing as my winter escape, so naturally I gravitate towards ski destinations this time of year. Recently, Travel & Leisure put together a collection of 16 of the world’s scariest (ahem, gnarliest) ski slopes, convincing me that Europe may just be where it’s at. In [...]

For us in the northern hemisphere, the cooler mornings mean winter’s right around the corner. Every year at this time, I’m bombarded with visions of chest deep powder runs through Rocky Mountain champaign, followed quickly by après beers turned all night jam fests. Needless to say, I couldn’t be more [...]

In a manic episode of escapism, and don’t ask me why, I happened to grab the movie “Sound of Music” off the shelf. In a recent post, I shared not seeing “Lord of the Rings.” I must apologize yet again; I haven’t seen this classic in its entirety, until last night. What [...]