https://nightingalenoir.blog/ Ever thought of viewing travel through a prism of geography and race, with lots of lifestyle anecdotes sprinkled throughout? Baffled? To find out just what you'll see, hitch a ride on the wings of my new blog, Nightingale Noir: flights of fancy from a black expat.
Several years ago, I was invited to speak at Oxford University, the oldest university in the English speaking world. I lectured there in conjunction with their Black History Month (BHM), during the month of October, as the United Kingdom celebrates it to coincide with the opening of its school year, unlike the United States’ [...]
Next time you are in London in search of an incomparable pair of shoes, make a beeline to Oliver Sweeney at 10 Henrietta Street (Covent Garden). The store specializes in men’s ware and also has a limited, yet elegant, selection for women. The atmosphere is seductive --- luxurious sofas, dramatic lighting, appropriate music, offers [...]
This go-round I’ve been living in Italy for over 15 years. My love affair with this beautiful, yet maddening, country started when I spent an academic year in Perugia a few decades ago. A lot has changed since then but I still find ample reminders of the kindness and humane spirit that seduced me in [...]
Walking around Rome is always pleasurable even though I have to admit that after fifteen years of living here, I often curse the broken sanpietrini (cobblestones), the uneven pavement, the gaping holes in the sidewalks, and the slippery marble when it rains. Yes, all that glitters is not gold and Rome, while a marvel, has [...]
I rarely find myself at a loss for words but I had an experience last week that left me speechless. A vineyard outside of Rome in Lazio, situated in the eastern arm of the region and almost touching Umbria, so special, so breathtaking, and filled with so much magic and poetry that it is hard [...]
In the summer of 2016, I went to Lago d’Iseo in northern Italy to experience Christo and Jeanne-Marie’s latest art installation, The Floating Piers. A modular dock system of 220,000 high-density polyethylene cubes, covered with saffron-colored fabric, allowed me, along with a whopping 1.5 million other pilgrims (during its sixteen day lifespan), to walk across [...]
