Traveling with Toddlers

The first time I traveled from the US overseas with a four-year old, I packed cans of soup. Yes, soup. That’s what he ate. He was three, wildly underweight for his age, and he was my first kid. I happily paid the baggage surcharge in exchange for knowing that...

Everyone Goes to Vesuvius

Did you know that Vesuvius is still considered an active volcano, and a dangerous one? It could blow at any moment, theoretically. That thought gave Caleb the added impetus he needed for the hike to the top of the caldera, a task that sounds more impressive than it...

Italian Ladies in the Rain

These ladies had just left Saturday morning mass, in Naples.  The church where they worship, Pio Monte della Misericordia, dates to about 1678. We were asked to leave the church while Mass was said–for about ten people. Why were we in this little church on a...

Pompeii

  I wrote about our trip to Pompeii in The National the other day. Wandering those ancient sites makes a gal wonder about what will be left behind when our civilization disappears–and I have to say, the answers that come to mind aren’t exactly...