Los Angeles freelance science writer and editor
It was the thing I didn’t want to do, travel to Europe. Did I hear myself? My mother wanted to go, I didn’t. My mother expressed interest in traveling to Lourdes (no "s"), where one of the most visited religious sites for Catholics is located, the Grotto of Massabielle. Apparitions of the Virgin Mary appeared... Continue Reading →
I was sitting at a table for two as a party of one in a restaurant in Trento (Italy), mulling over the choices on the menu. I was alone, but let’s face it, solo travel isn’t what it used to be. You can just about always phone a friend. Which is what I did. I... Continue Reading →
Each year I enter a story in the Easy Reader anniversary contest for writing and photography. This year I submitted an original short story about a meet-cute that happens on The Strand in the South Bay. I didn't win, but the story is in print for the Easy Reader 55th Anniversary Writing and Photography Contest.... Continue Reading →
Planning a trip isn’t the kind of activity that should break your brain. To Europe anyway. I’ve traveled there so many times, and even lived in Europe – seven years. And yet, I mull over the options until it’s like a last minute cramming session. When I’m planning to travel to Europe, I feel the... Continue Reading →
“I know the feeling,” our young driver Nikola said in his soft Italian accent on our drive to Pisa from Florence, Italy. “Yup, my wallet flew into the night,” I repeated, shaking my head. Me, a veteran traveler fell victim to one of the oldest traditions Florence is also famous for. I wasn’t expecting for... Continue Reading →
Amazing food with a side of culture. That sums up Italy, and in less than 140 characters. The side of culture comes in different flavors, staying with an Italian family, getting pickpocketed, or eating dinner over a labyrinth of tunnels dug out in 300 BC. Now, now you've got Orvieto in Umbria. It takes some... Continue Reading →
Gelato, cioccolato and pasta. You can marinate yourself in history, culture, and art in Italy. And then there is gelato, cioccolato and pasta. Any bad day, even if you’ve been pickpocketed (unfortunately I know the feeling), can end in one of those shops and erase any negative feelings you have about what happened, or didn’t... Continue Reading →
“Are you carrying a lot of money?” the customs officer asked at the airport in Bari, Italy. “Ummm, no,” I said, not sure how to answer that question out loud in front of strangers as I was about to board a local train, with luggage, to a city I didn’t know. I was on the... Continue Reading →
A line I read from an essay a few years ago claims no one tells you the protagonist in your first novel is you but with a better personal life. At the time, I was trying to write a draft of a novel. I had no idea I was writing a book about me until... Continue Reading →
Someone asked me after I got vaccinated why I got vaccinated. I have science based reasons (as a biologist, I get asked a lot)-that the technology has been around for a couple of decades, it’s been used safely for other infectious diseases and cancer, and it’s less of a risk than getting COVID. But I follow... Continue Reading →
Janice Nigro 