Where Should I Go Next?

My first overseas trip was a junket to Basel, Switzerland with a group of food and wine writers. I was the token business writer in a land of foodies. We spent a week tasting Basel’s delectable food and wines, and I interviewed the Swiss chemical companies, whose leaders talked proudly of spending years cleaning up the Rhine River. On my last day our group breakfasted at what is now the Hotel Sorel Marian with the minister of tourism, admiring the sparkling Rhine and the perfect blue sky flecked with clouds. Then the sirens went off, the Rhine turned blood red in front of us, due to a chemical spill from Sandoz. They locked down the city. Travel has its moments.

My last trip out of the country was to Germany and France to visit my son who is in graduate school. My father was of the generation of Jews who grew up in New York during WWII. He wouldn’t buy a German car. We went to Buchenwald together, which was devastating. For the Fete de la musique during the summer solstice, I found a tiny studio in the Marais and we danced and strolled the streets of Paris. Does it get better than that?

My approach to travel is changing. I’ve slowed down and instead of seeing everything, now focus on places I’ve always loved and finding new ones too. As a single older woman on the road alone, I now embrace all a place has to offer. I also like to bring my dog.

 Oh and check out my latest freelance article in PBS’s Next Avenue magazine. It’s about my journey as a public school teacher.