Category: Travel

5 Things I Learned From Taking Yoga In A Foreign Language For A Month

It was filled with shots like a stunning aerial view of Vatican City from the dome of St. Peter’s Cathedral; plates of spaghetti and glasses of red wine resting on a classic checked tablecloth on a candlelit Trastevere evening; me laughing behind Ray-bans on a boat off Capri Island in glimmering sunlight.

Of course, it’s Instagram. So what it didn’t show was the truth: that I was feeling a little sick and sluggish. I was wiped out from the constant travel, daily planning, organizing itineraries, and sightseeing—combined with eating heaps of mozzarella and an ungodly amount of prosciutto.

Read the rest here.

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Group fitness movement November Project adds togetherness

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There’s a bitter wind whipping through the streets, and the sun is just starting to creep up behind the mounted bronze George Washington overlooking the intermittent traffic of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Yet Dan Layo and Suzanne Allaire are already running determinedly up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Since October, through the polar vertex, and including workouts on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, Philadelphia’s chapter of the nonprofit fitness group November Project has held a free, open-to-all workout at 6:25 a.m. every Wednesday on the Art Museum steps.

Read my article on Philly.com and in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Girders, abstract sculpture and Philly Jesus in LOVE Park: A run through the ‘Museum Without Walls’ (part two)

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You’ve brought tourist friends to PAFA’s giant paintbrush, giggled when Kid Hazo decorated it as a poop emoji, and dodged tourists taking photos in front of the Love sculpture. That’s enough, right?

In the second part of Billy Penn’s effort to get up close and personal with public art (read part one here), I did the Association for Public Art’s Museum Without Walls tour, which is pretty much what it sounds like.

Read part two here.

Philly’s murals, on foot: What it’s like to run through public art (part one)

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You’ve seen them through the windows of the car, or maybe the El. But Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program — began as an answer to the city’s graffiti problem — looks a lot different on foot. Check out my article on running through the city as art for BillyPenn.com.

Flights of Fancy – my latest travel picks for Boston magazine

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For this issue of Boston Weddings, I wrote about unconventional honeymoon/travel destinations that are an easy direct-flight from Logan airport. Now can I just visit all of them? No proposal required.

Destination ahead: New England travel and Weddings

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This feature was a blast to write, and covers seven destination weddings (or weekend getaways) in some of New England’s best locations. The feature can be found in the Fall/Winter 2013 issue of Boston Weddings. Thanks to all the planners and vendors whose incredible talent helped put this together!

From Nairobi to NYC to High School

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(photo courtesy of Xavier High School)

Andrew Kiare Mumbi grew up in villages and markets outside of Nairobi, Kenya, but now he lives in Brooklyn. He wanted to pursue his education in the U.S. Through the diligent efforts of Mark Orrs, a PhD in the sustainable development program at Columbia University and a professor at Lehigh University, as well as through the generosity and open-mindedness of Xavier High School and sponsor family Joe Schrank and Laurie Dhue, Andrew is now doing exactly that. Xavier just published an interview with the newest member of their class of 2017, called “The Longest Commute to Xavier.” It’s inspiring that these kinds of broad cultural leaps can be made when people are passionate about making them happen. Thanks to everyone involved with Andrew and with nonprofit organization Harambee USA, which continues, despite all obstacles and odds, to make things happen.

To learn more about the Harambee USA Foundation, which is 100% volunteer-staffed, visit harambeeusa.com.