4 Awesome Excursions From Athens

The Acropolis, the Plaka, and the rest of Greece‘s compelling capital are a treasure chest you could rummage through for days if not weeks on end. But just as important to this ancient country and culture are sites out in the hinterland, where the air is purer and in many cases life is still simpler. Here are the top four, all within a couple of hours or so of Athens: Corinth, Delphi, Epidaurus, and Mycenae, all with stupefying treasures stretching back millennia and... keep reading

Salvador, Bahia: The Soul of Brazil

To truly understand Brazil, it seems to me, you of course should visit inimitable Rio de Janeiro, but you also really must come to this city of 3 million (metro area 4 million) up on the coast of the country’s northeastern state of Bahia. Founded in 1549 as the first capital of Portugal’s new colony, Salvador is one of the Americas’ oldest still-existing cities, and this city and state have essentially been the crucible of Brazilian culture and identity. Today, as the country’s third largest urb, Salvador still attracts no shortage of visitors looking for a glimpse of the soul of Brazil. (More than a million and a half of them join the million locals celebrating the blowout Carnaval every winter – in 2018, February 9-13 – but to really explore this city comfortably, my advice is to avoid the crowds.)  They find it especially in...  keep reading

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