As I stood in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma I was amazed by the lushness of its greenery and sense of cosmopolitism. This was my first trip to Oklahoma, and in my naiveté, I had thought the whole state was one big Dust Bowl. Perhaps I had seen John Ford’s film adaption of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath too many times, but that image had been branded in my mind.

Visiting London at any time of the year is a great idea, but perhaps the most magical – and certainly the most colorful - is enjoying it during the Christmas period. It is at THIS specific time in the calendar year that London is ablaze with color as bight and vibrant as any of the brilliant hues of the rainbow.

If you want to turn your kids into travel detectives, there are tools to the trade. Travelers must be flexible, curious, observant and have a sense of adventure. They must understand transportation, be open-minded to learning about new places, cultures, people and foods. If you want to open the world and open your eyes to the beauty that surrounds us, the sky is the limit. Here are a few fun fabulous gifts that can inspire kids and even adults

People watch in awe as the morning sun first breaks over the ruins of Chichen Itza, a Maya city considered one of the new seven wonders of the world. A shaman conducts a purification ritual in the small contemporary Maya town of Nolo, while a farmer cuts branches off an Agave plant which will be stripped and made into rope (sisal) at the Hacienda of Sotuta de Peon.

Dedicated Loudoun County winemakers, working with the rhythms of time and the vagaries of Mother Nature, have created an overwhelming revelation for visitors to Washington D.C. For those in the pursuit of pleasure, Loudoun County, a short 25-miles to the east of D. C. is a leisurely laid-back alternative from the chaotic rush and jumble of the big city where vineyards and horses combine to create a lifestyle to envy.

McMenamins Grand Lodge (Mic MIN i mins) in Tualatin (T’WAL-i-tin) Valley, Oregon (OAR-a-gun) – you get the idea – gives new meaning to the word funky – also whimsical and droll and quirky. Oh yes, and historic. But if you're looking for glitz or glamour – not to mention basic amenities such as a TV or a dresser – the hotel is not for you.

For the young filmmaker with a music-video past and large aspirations, sci-fi horror can represent fertile ground. Narrative logic makes minimal demands, while extravagant style and pop nihilism are granted a prominence the mainstream denies. Richard Stanley’s ferociously effective Hardware (1990) was shot almost entirely on a single set for a meager $1.5 million; under its required elements, it fairly bursts with attitude.

We all have times in our lives that we would describe as extraordinary moments. A day begins as normal and then suddenly something changes it. Today, I can barely tell this story without tears welling up in my eyes.

Once thought of as the domain of cultural elitists, opera has garnered a more universal audience, perhaps because of the accessible Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD annual broadcasts, featuring a series of ten outstanding productions, simulcast to movie theaters on Saturday afternoons — truly live from the stage of the Gotham’s Met.

For some inexplicable reason, when I shared with friends and family that I was going on an exclusive press trip to Locarno, Switzerland to cover the film festival and the region in general, none of them had heard of this utterly charming Italian-speaking resort located on the northern shore of Lake Maggiore, nestled at the foot of the Alps.

Everyone has heard of Colonial Williamsburg with its dozens of buildings from the late-17th to mid-19th centuries. But it's not real, folks! Although few people have heard of New Castle, Delaware, it has almost as many buildings from that same era and real people live there. Okay, they're not dressed up like Revolutionaries, but the history there is even more...well, historic. It’s a genuine Colonial town but without the colonists.

I had just put my head down on the pillow. The day had been a fun – but it was also long and taxing, and a good night’s sleep was in order. Suddenly, the blaring sound of a bulldozer burst into the room. I bolted out of bed. I looked at my watch – it was 1 A.M. I charged over to the hotel window and pulled open the curtain. Across a small creek, there was a man outside who was really operating a bulldozer. His family must love this, I thought.

During my second trip to Hamburg (a city, I should parenthetically add, that has captured my heart), I had occasion to drive with a friend into the countryside, skirting decorated, half-timbered homes with elaborate thatched roofs in charming neighborhoods. A highlight of this road trip was our drive through Altes Land, the largest fruit-producing region in Northern Europe.

California is sometimes called the Granola State, the land of fruits, nuts, and flakes. I am from California, native-born. I guess I could just stop this chapter right now and you would understand why strange things gravitate to me.

Standing in the Lima airport, a knot was forming in my stomach — a feeling many of us associate closely with airports, the anxiousness of a hard goodbye or a long overdue hello. My Parents Were Coming to Perú. We’d been planning the trip for months, and I could already picture the forthcoming collision of worlds and cultures.

Bluesmen have been lacing up their walking shoes and relocating to Europe for generations. The list is extensive; Memphis Slim made his home in Paris the latter part of his life, and Champion Jack DuPree lived in Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, England and Germany. Harp player Hook Herrera still lives in Scandanavia and the late Frank Frost once said he loved being in Italy.

I’ve seen many castles and fortresses on my travels, but none stick in my head like the fortified Old Town of Dubrovnik, Croatia. If I didn’t actually walk upon its marble streets and touch its historic stone wall for myself, I’d swear it was a modern recreation of another time. 

In the 1955 film Daddy Long Legs, the actress Leslie Caron, playing a teenage waif in an orphanage, is plucked out of her drab milieu and introduced to a posh life, where she can have just about anything. What she asks for is an "'amburger with chocolate sauce," homing in on the most tasteful delicacy she can imagine.