Too happy traffic cop, Arequipa, Peru photo

Something about this city doesn’t click

· by · in ,

Who’s to decide when a city has really pulled together, gathering at least a few of its cultural tendrils into a civic identity that can cause visitors to feel connected to something vital and foreverafter refer to it as unforgettable?…

Mong Kok Night Shopping, Hong Kong

Mong Kok blocked

· by · in , ,

The social melee in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok neighborhood induces our first bout of culture shock on this trip. Most of the past three months we’ve traveled slowly overland through swaths of mellow and, relative to Hong Kong, underpopulated Southeast…

Summer ghost towns of southern Spain

· by · in , ,

In the Real Alcázar gardens | Art by Todd Berman We’ve found that half of Spain is on vacation, and another one-quarter of it is under construction. After an overnight stopover in Córdoba – where we wandered amongst poorly lit…

Strolling the streets of Fes

· by · in , ,

Outside Fes’ Medina | Art by Todd Berman As soon as the sun sets, everyone in Fes takes to the streets for a walk along the wide roads through Ville Nouvelle, or New Town. They’ve eaten at home already, or…

The post-apocalyptic streets of Casablanca

· by · in ,

Mosquee Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco | Art by Todd Berman All advice said “Get out of Casa as soon as you get in.” It wasn’t that bad, but it didn’t offer much beyond decaying Colonial and art deco architecture and…

Chicago has no edge

· by · in ,

Painting interrupted | Photo by Lauren Girardin Fanny packs. Shorts riding up in the crotch. Socks with sandals, or worse, black socks with sandals. Cameras hang from necks. McDonald’s sausage muffin breakfast with a diet Coke. Disposable rain ponchos. Maps…