Los Angeles freelance science writer and editor
When I started diving, I made a promise to myself to take a dive trip at least once a year. I did a pretty good job sticking with that philosophy for a couple of decades. Well, until the pandemic. Then any plans I had before the lockdowns were delayed and then delayed, and then delayed... 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 →
You never know when one of those odd skills you have acquired is going to help you make a connection with someone. Like speaking Norwegian. I tried to learn the language, to speak with the natives, but I hardly needed to use it even in Norway. On a flight to Munich from Los Angeles? I... Continue Reading →
I didn’t go to Norway to learn Norwegian, but almost everything good that happened to me in Norway was somehow connected to Norwegian class. A German colleague once said, “Where else do you meet people in this country but in Norwegian class?” I think my life is still driven by what happened to me in... Continue Reading →
The day you decide to leave your adopted country as an expat is as memorable as the day you arrived. My plan for a research sabbatical at a university in Norway was to stay as long as money allowed me. The not-a-plan plan. I left the USA for Norway with no concrete ending date and... Continue Reading →
I don’t remember not liking driving so much. I had my own car for about 20 years and was often the designated driver. I drove from my home in Chicago to school in Baltimore, and back, with my car. And I drove from my apartment to the downtown campus daily for my graduate work. My... Continue Reading →
Janice Nigro 