Hello Reader,

🧭 Where in the World?

Greetings from Valencia, where our street just threw a party for the whole neighborhood (details below). We arrived after almost two weeks in Sicily, where we took a course on Palermo’s history (more on that below, too) and visited touchstones of 3,000 years of Sicilian civilization.

Now we're two weeks into a two-month stay in one of the most livable cities in the world: Valencia, Spain. As you probably know, Valencia is the home of paella – which alone would be reason enough to come – but is also known for so much more, including the famous Fallas festival in spring that we've written about before. We're staying in an apartment that we've rented from friends in a neighborhood that exemplifies everything that makes life in Spain so wonderful. Within two blocks we have several cafés and tasty small restaurants, a marvelous bakery with cardamom rolls, a fresh fruit stand for the famous Valencia oranges, and two supermarkets that also carry good Spanish wine for less than €4 per bottle. And two days ago, our street hosted a small neighborhood festival: processions of locals in traditional dress, a concert of traditional music, and a finale in which paella was cooked in giant pans and served to everyone at long tables set up in the closed-off streets.

✏️ Our Latest Posts

The inspiration for our visit to Sicily was a study abroad program in Palermo. With expert instruction about the evolution of the city and plenty of free time, we were able to explore the Arab-Norman monuments including the spectacular mosaics of the Palatine Chapel, interesting museums, fascinating cemeteries and religious sites, and fun restaurants in various corners of the city. Over eight days, we got to know the secrets of Palermo, a layered, complex city. Check out our new Palermo travel guide.

🗞️ Travel News From Around the Web

• As of October 20, 2026, the US has 64 national parks. First protected as a national monument in 1924, Chiricahua National Park preserves thousands of years of human history, including its importance as the homeland of the Chiricahua Apache and its legacy of early homesteading families at Faraway Ranch. Located in the southeastern corner of Arizona, the park encompasses a landscape of towering rock spires and balanced rocks formed by an ancient volcanic eruption roughly 27 million years ago.
• Forbes has issued its annual list of best airlines and airports. We've never flown their best international airline, so can't vouch for that, but we do endorse Delta as the best US airline. As for airports, we agree that Singapore is great, and when it comes to the US, we will make a pitch for our home port of Minneapolis/Saint Paul, which has great shopping and food and is relatively easy to navigate, although there are some very long walks.
• If you like pretty and interesting photos like we do, you'll enjoy these images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Warning: the elephant picture that won first place is very sad.
• And, in the "not-so-good-news" category, there's this story from the NY Times about how US airline passenger rights are being eroded.

💸 This Week's Best Deals in Travel

• One of the perennial best deals in travel is AARP membership. There's no specific membership promotion going on now, but the $15 annual fee (with automatic renewal) gives you discounts on hotels, rental cars, restaurants, and more. Use your AARP benefits once, and you've more than made back your membership cost.
• Our new favorite travel hats from American Hat Makers have accompanied us on this trip and have kept the hot sun in Sicily and Spain off our heads. Right now, you can get 15 percent off any hat with the code 15AHMOCT through this Saturday, October 31.

📖 What We're Reading

Inspired by our time uncovering ancient mysteries in Palermo, Tom continued with that theme and picked up Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, a murder mystery contained in a literary history of the church and Christian theology, the Inquisition, and the larger questions of how we can and should investigate knowledge itself. Not exactly a light read, but well worth the effort. After that, he needed a break, and so coasted through Damascus Station, an excellent spy thriller by former CIA analyst David McCloskey. Next up is Madame Bovary, which he's been meaning to read for about 40 years now. Yes, he's actually started it.

Kris spent a couple weeks reading random essays and excerpts, like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s 1787 account of Palermo, from his Italian Journey. She’s back to books, finishing Whistler by Ann Patchett last week (widely acclaimed for good reason), and segueing to Wild Things: A Trans-Glam-Punk-Rock Love Story, by friend and fellow Twin Citian Lynette Reini-Grandell.

Find most of our recommendations at our Amazon book shop — or, if you prefer supporting independent booksellers, Bookshop.org is excellent. Art book lovers: Taschen's catalog is a rabbit hole worth falling into.

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❝Travel Quote of the Week❞

That would be a good thing for them to cut on my tombstone: Wherever she went, including here, it was against her better judgment. – Dorothy Parker

See our list of amusing, insightful, and pithy travel quotes here.

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Have any feedback? Ideas for future posts or email topics? We'd love to hear from you. Email us at feedback@travelpast50.com.

Happy travels,

Kris and Tom

Tom Bartel and Kristin Henning ​Travel Past 50​ Connect with us on Facebook and Instagram. Join our Facebook community.

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