Jessica Spiegel

There are seemingly countless scams directed at travelers the world over. Some are the stuff of legend, discussed by generations of tourists. Some are new, as swindlers realize that we’re onto them. This collection of some of the most common travel scams found in Europe is but the tip of the proverbial iceberg, meant to give you an idea of what to expect.

Make the most of Italy in the winter: bundle up, bring your umbrella and snow boots, and enjoy multiple hot chocolates!

Bring in the New Year Italian style! Italy has both classic and wacky traditions for Capodanno.

Our “Your Layover Guide” series features airports and destinations around the world where you’re likely to be stuck between flights, offering tips on navigating and spending time in the airport, as well as some things to do if you find yourself with time to explore the nearby city. Today, TPG Contributor (and longtime Portland resident) Jessica Spiegel guides us through the award-winning Portland International Airport.

I’m not breaking any news by saying Italy is a food-lover’s paradise. I often surprise people, however, when I say that there’s no such thing as “Italian food.”

Have you ever tasted bread in Tuscany and wondered what's missing? The answer is salt.

Italy is so popular that we go into a trip thinking we know what we’re doing. We think research is unnecessary, because we’ve eaten at Italian restaurants before, we’ve long since given up plain coffee for the much-more-Italian “latte” at Starbucks, and we already know what “ciao” means.

Lots of travelers end up in Italy with that mindset and then they’re shocked to find they’re paying for those bread sticks on the table (they’re unlimited back home!), asking for a “latte” gets them a glass of cold milk, and the nice old lady at the market looked put off when she heard “ciao.”

Rather than settle for the “made in Italy” knock-off (that you only find out later was made in China), then, let’s set the record straight on a few things so you can have a genuinely Italian experience on your next trip.

Once upon a time you might have prepared for a trip by booking flights, figuring out where you’d stashed your passport, and (maybe) tossing a guidebook into your bag to do a little research on the plane.

These days, not only will you likely do a bunch of online travel research before you buy a plane ticket, you might even plug phrases like “is it safe to travel to Europe right now” or “is it safe to travel” into Google. You’re not alone. Searches for both of those phrases have gone up over the past few years.

You don’t have to be in Brazil this summer to experience the passion and rabid energy of the Beautiful Game. Just attend an MLS game in Portland, Oregon.

In Italy, a chocolate festival means enjoying the "food of the gods" in endless variations: white to extra-dark, fruity and nutty, as candies, truffles, bars, and hot chocolate.

There’s really no right answer to where you should travel in Italy. Every corner of the country has something marvelous to offer, and everyone’s travel style will dictate different needs for a trip. When you’re up to your eyeballs in planning a trip to such a popular location, though, sometimes it’s helpful to hear about the places that wow experienced travelers. And since I’ve never been good at narrowing down my own love of Italy to one particular favorite spot, I’ve asked a variety of travel bloggers – many of whom live in or focus on Italy – for their favorites.

Detroit has a long history of remarkable art (see the first couple of entries on this list below, which date back to the early part of the 20th century), but the city’s more recent troubled times have given rise to an entrepreneurial artistic spirit in evidence everywhere you look around the city today.

Chances are you'll run into nothing that will make you feel unsafe or uncomfortable in Portland, except for possibly getting burned if you're too close to The Unipiper's fire-spewing bagpipes. Or maybe hipster overload. That's probably a thing, right?

“Where are you going after your visit to Detroit?” My table-mate was a young Michigan native working for the city’s tourism office, and when I replied, “Ludington,” her face positively lit up. Then she grabbed her phone and started swiping through photo after photo of glowing pink, yellow and orange clouds over water.

Detroit’s recovery, dubbed “America’s great comeback story,” may be a morbid curiosity to reality TV audiences waiting for failure, but that recovery is real – palpable in the city itself, particularly when you talk to people who have lived in Detroit for decades. Yes, there are still boarded-up buildings downtown, but occupancy rates in renovated apartment buildings are so high there’s a waiting list. Things are happening in Detroit, and there’s no time like the present to go and see for yourself.