Author: Janet Podolak

Martinique island girl turned Empress

On my recent visit to Martinique I stayed in La Pagerie, where the island girl who became Empress Josephine as Napoleon’s wife, was born and spent her early years. Even 200 years...

Martinique is magnifique

A flashlight beam came up from the pitch black darkness as we drove between banana groves on a rutted red-dirt road on Martinique. “They’re hunting land crabs for Easter dinner,” explained our...

Win tickets to Vintage Ohio

Win a pair of tickets to Vintage Ohio. Tweet and fill in the blank: “Ohio wines are great because ________ #nh140” Tweet as many times as you’d like by 5 p.m. Wednesday,...

Meet (again) a true adventurer from Mentor

I crossed paths once more today with Jayme Otto Noyes, a young woman from Mentor who I met two years ago in Croatia. I found her again through an email directing me...

Previewing new Mentor Melt

I’m pretty sure the crowds won’t allow me to get near the new Melt Bar & Grilled after it opens Friday. So I’m glad I was invited to a preview of the...

Washington DC food trucks

Discover where to find them in today’s story  in The News-Herald where I reveal other strategies for making the most of your visit to the nation’s capital

Venice to Istanbul next week

I’m home now, recuperating from surgery, but will join a cruise leaving from Venice on Sept. 30 – just a little more than a week away. I’m pretty wobbly after general anesthesia and...

Summer segues into autumn

To me it’s not summer until I feel the sand between my toes at the beach, eat sloppy slices of watermelon, watch the Grand River boat traffic from a perch atop Pickle...

France terroir still there in wine tasting

I first tasted the Mourgues du Gres red wine right after a walk through the garrigue around the vineyards. To me it looked like weeds and I was glad I was wearing...