Jason Locke's Blog

Travel doesn't have to be expensive. This is an idea I wish more folks would understand. Sure, traveling to a foreign country -- especially the way I like to travel -- takes you out of your comfort zone. It messes with your body, heart, and head because it upends at least some of what you assume to be true. But it doesn't have to be expensive. Some folks will drop $1,000 for a weekend at Disney. Or spend $200 to take the family out for teppanyaki. Or debit $5.50 from their account five days a week for coffee. In my book, THAT is expensive. Truth is that we all spend and donate our money for the things we most value. Sometimes we make incorrect assumptions, though, that limit our values from being tested and expanded. As an example, take eating and drinking in Rome. I am not exaggerating when I say that you can eat beautiful food in Rome for no more than you would pay for eating out in Fresno, Nashville or Pittsburgh ... and perhaps even less. Not every place in the world is equ...

"All roads lead to Rome." "Rome wasn't built in a day." "When in Rome, do as the Romans." This was my fourth visit to Rome. One of the frustrating things about being your own travel agent is that it takes time to learn how to visit a place. When you travel somewhere for the first time, you often make typical tourist mistakes. Eat at mediocre places. Stay in a suboptimal neighborhood. Blunder about timidly. My first couple visits to Rome were filled with all those rookie mistakes of not knowing how to eat well or even how to spot authentically homemade gelato. After four visits, though, I no longer feel like a novice. Not only am I starting to understand the layout of the city, I am appreciating its rhythms. I am finally beginning to see why the Eternal City is so appealing and so magical. Of course, it helps to do your homework. Submerging myself in Mary Beard's SPQR and absorbing a variety of other writings and TV shows, I have been learning abou...

From late September to early October, 2021, I spent two weeks in Italy. I traveled in three of Italy's twenty regions, with a day-trip into a fourth. I witnessed a country grappling with the long-term effects of a global pandemic that has wreaked havoc on its people and its economy. I was there in Italy as a tourist. Not a journalist. Not a medical researcher. Just a person trying to see more of a country that fascinates me. To be transparent about my stance, I am a pro-mask person who believes that the Covid vaccine is an incredible gift to be received with gratitude. I think Covid is a serious disease, but I also accept that medical experts have learned how to mitigate its risks and protect most people from serious harm. With smart approaches, I think Covid will soon become like the seasonal flu: serious for a few yet manageable for most, especially thanks to ongoing vaccinations. This was my sixth time to visit Italy. Aside from the Czech Republic where I lived for nearly eight ...