My Grand Tour
Letters from the road:
one destination at a time, in the order they happened.
Dispatches
Browse chronologically or follow the journey by continent.
One month in Marrakesh
This is my first time in Morocco and my first time in Africa. Now I have lived in all six inhabited continents (and no, I'm not planning to live in Antarctica with the penguins). When the French took…
One month in Foz do Arelho
Foz do Arelho is a Portuguese village, 8 km west of Caldas da Rainha and 100 km from Lisboa. It's a small place, with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants, but because it has both an ocean beach and a lagoon…
One month in Venezia, part two
I love walking around Venezia with no set destination, just exploring the quaint alleys, bridges and canals. Even taking the garbage out early in the morning can offer picturesque views. And the food?…
One month in Venezia, part one
Venezia is unique. It's not simply a city with canals, but a fully realized urban system built on water. Instead of expanding over land, it grew across a lagoon on a dense network of wooden piles driven…
Three weeks in Greece, part two: Crete
Crete was the land of the Minoan civilization in the Bronze Age (that was more than five thousand years ago). Then the Mycenaeans came from mainland Greece and took over. After them, the Roman Empire, the…
Three weeks in Greece, part one: Rhodes
Returning to Europe was somewhat exhausting. Because of the current war, I wanted to avoid connecting flights through the Middle East, which are fairly common when moving from Southeast Asia to Europe.…
One week in Vientiane
I rented a small apartment in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. From my little balcony, I can see the Mekong River in the distance and, on the other side, Thailand. Yes, it's a long river: it flows from…
Two weeks in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, is at the confluence of three rivers. The Mekong, which flows down from Laos into Cambodia before going all the way to Vietnam. The Bassac, which splits from the…
Two months in Vietnam, part four: turmoil, then peace
Well, going to Da Nang turned out to be a little adventure, and not of the kind I wanted to have. It all started in January, when I applied for a Vietnam visa. Their tourist visas are valid for up to 30…
Two months in Vietnam, part three: Nha Trang
In Mũi Né I was in the middle of nowhere, but in Nha Trang I am in a big city (more than half a million people). My small 21st-floor apartment is right on the main beach, and I can watch the sea from my…
Two months in Vietnam, part two: Mũi Né
My original plan was to spend most of my Vietnam time in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), then go to a couple of places by the sea. But since HCMC was such a big disappointment, I quickly rearranged things and…
Two months in Vietnam, part one: Ho Chi Minh City
I rented a nice 15th-floor apartment in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon (and most people here still call it by the old name). My little balcony overlooks the Saigon Zoo, and I can watch the…
One week in Bali
Tahiti was a physically demanding experience. I walked more than usual, biked up and down hills, swam, dived, and snorkeled. To rest from all that, a week in Bali doing nothing was a good choice. Prelude:…
Two weeks in Tahiti
French Polynesia is a country, but it’s also part of France. It's an archipelago of 120 islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Tahiti is the largest island, where almost seventy per cent of the population…
Two months in New Zealand, part two: Auckland
For the second part of my stay in Aotearoa (yes, that's the official Maori name for New Zealand, it means "long white clouds"), I moved to Auckland. It's much more populous than Wellington (roughly 1.5…
Two months in New Zealand, part one: Wellington
New Zealand is possibly the most isolated country in the world. Its nearest neighbors (Australia, New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga) are about 2,000 km away. And it's approximately 9,500 km to South America,…
One month in Sydney
Good times in Sydney. Technically, I've been in Oceania before, specifically in Hawaii. But that's far away, in the northern hemisphere. Now that I'm in Australia, it feels like I'm really in Oceania. I…
One month in Manila
After three very active months in Japan, followed by ten busy days in Hong Kong and Macau, my plan for the Philippines was to slow down and relax. And that's precisely what I did. The weather also…
Ten days in China (or maybe not)
Why maybe not? Well, I visited Hong Kong and Macau. They are both special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China, which means they are under the control of the Chinese government…
Three months in Japan, part four: other trips
I would gladly stay in Tokyo for the whole three months, but I also wanted to see other places in Japan. So I spent one week in Osaka (approximately 2.8 million people), one week in Kyoto (approximately…
Three months in Japan, part three: around Tokyo
While living in Tokyo, I went on a couple of side trips. Yokohama I spent a day in Yokohama, the second-largest city in Japan, just less than an hour by train South of Tokyo. It was one of the ports open…
Three months in Japan, part two: the food
They have delicious food around here. And it's very affordable too. You can find expensive restaurants, of course, but the average restaurant in Tokyo sells great food at a price you cannot find in Europe…
Three months in Japan, part one: Tokyo
Tokyo is one of the largest cities in the world, with roughly forty million people in its urban area. For comparison, using the same counting method, São Paulo is a bit over twenty million and Los Angeles…
One month in Hawaii
This is my first time in Hawaii, my first time in Polynesia, and my first time in Oceania. Now I have been to five of the six inhabited continents (the only one missing is Africa). My apartment in…
Ten days in Los Angeles
"Well, I'm going out west out on the coast / Where the California girls are really the most / Where we're out there having fun / In the warm California sun" (Yes, a little Ramones is a good thing once in…
Three weeks in San José
I was a bit underwhelmed by the capital of Costa Rica. It looks very unsophisticated (especially when compared with the neighboring capital of Panama), the architecture has little aesthetic appeal, and…
Two weeks in Panama City
I rented a very nice apartment in Panama City, capital of the Republic of Panama, overlooking the Panama Bay, which is part of the Gulf of Panama. Yeah, they seem to really like that name around here.…
Three weeks in Willemstad
I'm in Willemstad, capital city of Curaçao, one of the countries that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This is my first time in the Caribbean and in Central America. Curaçao has an interesting…
Three months in Buenos Aires (again)
Like I did two years ago, I've spent three enjoyable months in the capital of Argentina. Land of Borges and Cortazar, of Gardel and Piazzolla, of Maradona and Messi. My plan was to relax, and that's…
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
And it's time for another round of those questions many people send me. You ask, I answer. Let's go. Where can I find old issues of your newsletter? All issues can be found here, both in English and in…
Two months in New Orleans
New Orleans is familiar territory. I've visited the city multiple times when I was living full time in the USA, and I lived here for one month in my first year of nomad life. This time I rented an…
One week in London
It's a long trip from Tirana to New Orleans, so I decided to stop somewhere on the way. London seemed like a good idea. Why only one week? Because it's all I can afford, even in less than desirable…
One month in Tirana
The distance from Sarajevo to Tirana is only 300 km, but there's no direct flight from one to the other. The shortest air route is to go to Beograd, spend the night there, and continue to Tirana the next…
One month in Sarajevo
My time in Bosnia and Herzegovina was planned to be a period of rest, after the rollercoaster of broken machines and blocked bank accounts, and after the whirlwind of cultural options in Catalonia.…
Side Trips in Catalunya
So little time, so many places to go. But I managed to visit quite a few nearby locations during my short stay in Barcelona. I went to Girona, a city 100 km northeast of Barcelona, with a population of…
Three months in Barcelona
This time I rented an apartment in the Ciutat Vella (Old Town) in Barcelona. It's an area known as El Born, the name for the place where medieval knights would clash in their tournaments. Most of the…
One month in Kuala Lumpur
I rented an apartment on the 25th floor of a building in the Bukit Bintang district of Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia. Looking outside the window my place felt dwarfed by the neighbor tower Merdeka…
Two months in Bangkok
For the last couple of months, I've been living in Bangkok, capital of Thailand. Actually, Bangkok is not Bangkok for the locals. They call it Krung Thep. The full name of the city is Krung Thep Maha…
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
In these two years I've been on the road, there are a few questions that keep popping up. To satisfy everyone's curiosity, here are a few answers. Are you retired? Are you always on vacation? No, I'm not…
One month in Bali
I'm in Bali. More specifically, I rented an apartment inside the Jayakarta Bali Beach Resort & Spa, located in the Kuta District in Bali, which is one of the Sunda Islands and part of Indonesia. I just…
One month in Porto
Following their generous invitation, I'm now spending some time at my friends' house in Porto, the second largest city in Portugal. I've been here before, many years ago, but never for a whole month.…
One month in the Hudson Valley
I've been wanting to visit this area for some time, to see the landscapes that artists like Cole, Church, Barstow, and Bierstadt painted. Now that a friend generously offered me to stay at her house, I'm…
Six Weeks in Beograd
Beograd, capital of Serbia, is a beautiful city. Especially where I'm living, at the confluence of the Danube River and the Sava River. Right across the street, it's the Kalemegdan, the largest park in…
Six Weeks in Skopje
Skopje, capital of North Macedonia, is a strange place. It's not a large city, with less than half a million inhabitants. The commerce is a bit limited, and the pace of life is definitely slow. But if you…
Three Months in Madrid
Every time I arrive in Madrid I have the same feeling: "I'm home." It's not a perfect city (I don't think such a thing exists) but I feel very connected to the culture, the architecture, the language, the…
Three Months in Buenos Aires
My stay in the capital of Argentina was most pleasant. The apartment was excellent, in my favorite neighborhood, and I had a great time lingering at home, sheltered from the inclement heat, immersing…
One Month in Montevideo
😃 Happy 2023! 😃 After spending November in Brazil visiting my mother, I moved South to Montevideo, capital city of Uruguay. It was a calm and relaxing time. I rented a very small apartment, just a bedroom…
Halloween in New Orleans
I love New Orleans. More specifically, I love the French Quarter. Even more specifically, I love the northeast part of the French Quarter, that calm residential area bordering Esplanade Avenue. And that's…
Six Weeks in Tuscany
Tuscany is my favorite region in Italy. Delicious food, good wines, beautiful landscapes, rich history, and marvelous art. So I rented an apartment in Firenze, capital city of Tuscany, birthplace of the…
Six Weeks in the French Riviera
My apartment is in Nice, but with so many interesting places around I've been jumping from little town to little town. Cannes is famous for the film festival and for the beautiful beach, but it also has…
Two months in Romania
I found a great apartment to live in Bucharest. It was spacious, comfortable, and well decorated. And, best of all, it was located right in front of Cișmigiu Gardens, a lovely park that became part of my…
Six Weeks in Bulgaria
Living in Sofia is an interesting experience. Especially because I don't understand Bulgarian. The first challenge is the Cyrillic alphabet. Everything seems to be written in a code that you need to…
Three months in Lisbon
Lisbon is a beautiful city. Narrow, wavy cobblestone streets. Centuries old colorful buildings, some covered in painted tiles, with tiny doors and windows. I live in one of my favorite regions, the Jardim…
So what is this?
A nice and friendly newsletter for friends of Nemo Nox. Now that I'm absent from social media, this is my new way of keeping people informed: a good old email message once in a while telling you where I…
“nowhere to go but everywhere, keep rolling under the stars”
Jack Kerouac