Yesterday my article came out on FineDiningLovers.com about the coolest things to eat and drink in Tucson, Arizona. I spent a month in the city this year, exploring farmer’s markets, restaurants, Mezcal and wine bars, sustainable farms, gardens and heritage seed shops. I scaled kumquat trees and grapefruit trees (“urban foraging” – see that bowl of small orange ovals?). And I even found time to pull myself up some mountains.
People in Tucson, aka Tucsonans (pronounced “TOO-son-ahns”), call it a big-little city. It has a small town feel, but plenty of culture. It’s a city I might have written off a few years ago, but lately I’ve been exploring smaller towns (and big-small towns) and reaping the benefits – from tree-ripened papayas to organic heirloom oranges to prickly pear kombucha, grass-fed beef, tepary beans, and heritage gluten-free baguette.
I still could never see myself living in a truly small town, miles from the nearest natural wine shop (heaven forbid), but these days I’m less judgemental and even a little envious of the people who do find contentment there. As much as I love Montreal, I could see myself moving one day. I’m just not sure where.
Because let’s face it, winter is awful. And when you don’t have to live through it, why should you? If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results, why stay in a place that makes us miserable for four to six months of the year?
So, when you need to explore, where should you go? Where’s on your bucket list? There are lots of sites to help you plan. And if you want to follow my itineraries, here are some other suggestions:
- Take a scooter along the coast of Penang to a tropical fruit farm in Malaysia
- Fall in love in Lima
- Hunting a hurricane from Aruba to Miami to Montreal
And if that doesn’t inspire you, here are the pictures I didn’t include in my article about Tucson.
Leave a Reply