Athena LuceroA Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Gatwick AirportPreface While rummaging through boxes looking for a death certificate, I found “A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to Gatwick Airport,”...
Athena Lucero4 minDiscover A Mountain Resort Town Close To Downtown Los Angeles“This looks like a resort,” a friend said, as we drove past the town square in Sierra Madre, California.
Athena Lucero1 minMagic Inspires!My visits to three small towns in Mexico left me utterly enchanted as they took me back in time.
Athena Lucero2 minIn Pursuit of Swiss CheeseHome in Southern California, I was on a mission to find Emmental or Emmentaler – aka Swiss cheese with the holes.
Athena Lucero1 minFeatured on TraveLife: Claremont, CaliforniaFeatured on TraveLife, my story on Claremont, CA, "City of trees and PhDs."
Athena Lucero4 minA Serendipitous Road Trip to Paso RoblesNot all roads lead to Paso Robles wine country in California’s Central Coast. But in 2015, two events would lure me back.
Athena Lucero4 minHungarian Wine Is Above The Radar Once MoreHungarian wines could be a household word today, but two world wars and communist rule forced a major pause.
Athena Lucero2 minTrevor Tortomasi Interviews Carl Hill on Taiwan TalkIn another fantastic interview, “Wisdom from the Black Expat – Podcaster, Traveler, and Bar Owner – Carl Hill,”
Athena Lucero1 minInternational Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association 2021 Photo ContestI am deeply honored to receive awards from the 2021 International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association Annual Photo Contest
Athena Lucero4 minFine Wine is the Pride of TexasTexas is the country’s fifth largest wine producing state after California, Washington, New York, and Oregon and the fifth largest in number
Athena Lucero4 minSissinghurst Castle Garden was Cultivated with LoveSissinghurst Castle Garden, one of Britain’s most famous gardens and among the most influential plant collections in the world
Athena Lucero4 minT.C. Steele Home Is A Hidden Indiana GemI see why American impressionist painter Theodore Clement Steele, fell for the scenery and lighting of the southern countryside
Athena Lucero4 minTapatio - The Heart of Guadalajarathe product that is a staple in just about every American kitchen, including mine. “Tapatio is the nickname for a person from Guadalajara.”
Athena Lucero4 minColumbus, Indiana, Is a World-Class Outdoor Museum...if there’s a destination ripe for these times, it’s Columbus, Indiana aka “Athens of the Prairie.” The unassuming midwestern town
Athena Lucero1 minGuadalajara Is A Sweet SurpriseGUADALAJARA, MEXICO — My guide Gus Melor and I are thoroughly entertained watching Roberto, a diminutive but energetic gardener, move like a
Athena Lucero1 minTequila Sunrise - With A TwistMy story is published with TraveLife magazine at: http://www.travelife.ca/DESTINATIONS/LatinAmerica2/tabid/544/ArticleID/2499/Tequila-sun...
Athena Lucero5 minThe Gaucho Is the Essence of ArgentinaWhat an incredible awakening it was. In the lobby of my hotel in Buenos Aires, I flipped through pages of coffee table books filled with...
Athena Lucero7 minA Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Gatwick AirportPreface While rummaging through boxes looking for a death certificate, I found “A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to Gatwick Airport,”...
Athena Lucero4 minSt. Moritz: Birthplace of Winter TourismOn the summit of Corviglia Mountain overlooking the Swiss village of St. Moritz, I’m greeted with the bluest of skies, a smiling sun and...
Athena Lucero5 minFinding the Muse and More in ThivaIn the central plains of Boeotia, Greece, between Athens and the Corinthian Gulf I found the muse in Thiva – or Thebes as the Greeks know...
Athena Lucero1 minFeatured on TraveLife: Skiers Cross The Line In SwitzerlandMy story is published with TraveLife magazine at: http://www.travelife.ca/DESTINATIONS/Europe2/tabid/533/ArticleID/2482/Skiers-cross-the-...
Athena Lucero5 minFind Good Food, Open Hearts in Xylocastro, GreeceWhen my small tour group reached Xylocastro, a seaside village of 5,800 inhabitants on the Corinthian Gulf in Greece, I was already...
Athena Lucero5 minFalling for Vancouver, British ColumbiaVancouver was ablaze in fall’s vivid palette. Maple leaves -- pink, yellow, orange, red, and burgundy -- dangled from tree branches and...
Athena Lucero7 minManchester and Yorkshire Are England's Cultural SphereNorthern England, North Country, and The North are geographical nicknames for England’s upper half that is a world away from the...
Athena Lucero4 minA Mesmerizing Rail Journey through the Swiss AlpsThe Alps -- Europe’s highest and longest mountain range -- stretches over Italy, France, Monaco, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein,...
Athena Lucero4 minBridging the Gulf in GreeceMy professor friend had just returned from visiting the Greek islands but didn’t have enough time to see Delphi as she had hoped. I was...
Athena Lucero5 minIdyllwild, California: Mountain Grandeur and Arts MeccaThere is only one Idyllwild in the world, according to Google and during a weekend visit with friends at their home in this bucolic...
Athena Lucero5 minEnlightenment in the Asian Food Capital of Richmond, British ColumbiaIt was a Zen moment as I slurped the hot clear broth, our first course at Prata Man, a dive of a Singaporean restaurant just minutes from...
Athena Lucero4 minWomen's Ski Clinic at Deer Valley Works MagicCommit to your turns…Pedal…Smooth and round…Remember, we’re the boss of our skis -- they’re not the boss of us! The drills became my...
Athena Lucero5 minArachova and Delphi Put Each Other on the MapIt felt like the top of the world while I stood at the foot of Mt. Parnassus in Delphi 2,000 feet above sea level in the mountains of...
Athena Lucero4 minAn Irresistible Stopover in ZurichZurich, Switzerland, is the “Gateway to Europe,” pulsating as one of the world’s busiest rail stations and the densest transportation...
Athena Lucero5 minA Flash Acquaintance with Plaka, The Heart of AthensWith just one night in Athens before embarking on a road trip around northern Greece, my challenge was what to do with such little time....
Athena Lucero5 minFeeling the Luck at Richmond's Chinese New YearAttending Chinese New Year in Richmond, British Columbia, turned into a rite of passage. My introduction to the multi-day celebration,...
Athena Lucero4 minAgritourism in Ticino Offers Respite, Divine Meals, and Work“Mountain huts are not meant for long holidays,” said Tina, who works part-time at Alpe Rompiago, an alpine farmhouse in Ticino,...
Athena Lucero4 minThe Stuff of Dreams on The Rigi and The BurgenstockIn two days I ascended two mountains in the heart of Switzerland and never broke a sweat -- thanks to late 19th century visionaries who...
Athena Lucero4 minA Day Trip Back in TimeThe Orient Express’ maiden journey between Paris and Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) in 1833 was a game-changer for travel on the...
Athena Lucero4 minCambria, Sparkling Gem On California's CoastBelow the radar, but on the beaten path, Cambria on the Golden State’s central coast is not a beach town, but a jewel of a seaside...
Athena Lucero4 minThe GOOD LIFE in Cosmopolitan Monterrey (Mexico, that is)With the seventh largest public plaza in the world, a meandering river walk, world-class museums, an outrageous culinary scene, home to...
Athena Lucero4 minHampshire's Blazing The English Sparkling Wine TrailWine country in England? Say what? When I learned about winemaking in Hampshire, an hour’s train ride south of London that’s producing...
Athena Lucero4 minLondon to Winchester: A Foodie's Accidental TakeawayWhile exploring London and Winchester, England’s ancient capital an hour’s train ride south of the city, I wandered onto the “eaten” path...
Athena Lucero4 minDoor County, Cape Cod of the Midwest and moreThe 30-ish woman I had met in Los Angeles grinned with nostalgia when I mentioned my recent visit to Wisconsin. So, I got it when she...