Adventurous Kate

I just spent three days camping in the Okavango Delta of Botswana — a phenomenally beautiful destination, remote and lush and teeming with wildlife.

I got some GREAT photos with my zoom lens. For now, here are some iPhone photos of the wildlife we saw!

I’m on a trip with Rock My Adventure and loving it!

Greetings from Botswana — country number 100! 🇧🇼

🇿🇦 Cape Town: what has changed in 10 years? 🇿🇦

I love South Africa, and have visited four times. But it’s been a decade since my last visit. What has changed? Let’s take a look!

💱 The rand has weakened in the past 10 years. South Africa, already excellent value, has become even cheaper for travelers — but keep in mind that this is really hurting South Africans.

🎨 Zeitz MOCAA opened in 2017 and is now the largest contemporary art museum in Africa. It’s outstanding, and I highly recommend you visit.

🌆 The Silo District is a new part of the V&A Waterfront, with new hotels, shops, and restaurants, including one I ate at called SPYCED.

🚗 Uber is SO much better, with a wider footprint. 10 years ago, Uber was primarily in the city center. Today I can get cars to Constantia and Simon’s Town in minutes.

💦 Cape Town came perilously close to running out of water in 2018 (remember Day Zero?). Since then, it seems like every home and business has adopted water conservation measures.

🍺 Nonalcoholic beers, wines, and spirits are everywhere! Every smart brewery or winery is making a few for nondrinkers to enjoy.

👖 All that…and the style of my jeans has changed significantly.

Cape Town is an amazing city, and I hope to continue visiting for many years to come. 💕

What should I do next in Cape Town?

She was the absolute best of us.

She created iconic music, had the greatest sense of humor, and gave generously and tirelessly.

I considered her the greatest living American. No clue who can fill that role now.

Thank you for everything, Dolly. 💔

On my fourth trip to Cape Town, I FINALLY made it to Robben Island.

For nearly three decades, this island nine kilometers off the coast of Cape Town held South African political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, who spent 18 of his 27 years of incarceration here.

The last political prisoners were released in 1991, and today Robben Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This is a very popular tour in Cape Town — but it’s also very sensitive to weather. On my first three Cape Town visits, my Robben Island tours were canceled due to weather. This year, I made sure to book the tour for my first day, just in case I had to reschedule.

And it was worth the wait. I found this visit incredibly moving.

Our guide was Themba “Sipho” Msomi, who was a political prisoner here during the 80s. He told us about his years here, and answered our questions.

I asked him, “How did you keep a positive attitude?”

And he told us that the prisoners had jobs during the day, but every evening, they organized. They got news from their lawyers and from newspapers they found in the trash, and they strategized their next moves in the fight for freedom. They knew, instinctively, that apartheid wouldn’t last much longer.

That kept them going. So did poetry and music.

I was a kid when apartheid ended, and I only knew the basics of what was happening. But every time I visit South Africa, I learn SO much about the cruelty of apartheid, and the freedom fighters’ perseverance, bravery, and ultimately, forgiveness.

If you visit Cape Town, do everything you can to visit Robben Island. Sipho and his fellow prisoners-turned-guides will not be here forever, and it’s a privilege to learn directly from them.

Is Premium Comfort worth it?

Charlie and I flew Premium Comfort on KLM for the first time yesterday from Amsterdam to Cape Town, an 11-hour daytime flight.

First off, this is NOT Premium Economy. Premium Economy is basically Economy with a few extra inches.

Premium Comfort had seats that were bigger, leaned back more, and had a footrest that raised partway. There was better food served.

My thoughts:

—For a long daytime flight, I think it’s a great choice. It’s much more comfortable than a standard coach seat, but so much less expensive than business, especially when lie-flat seats aren’t necessary.

—However, as soon as the people in front of you recline, it is VERY hard to get out of your seat. Especially if you’re in a middle seat. So if you get the bulkhead, I think it’s best case scenario.

—The food was really nice, about the same quality as their business class food (though they didn’t give us cheese at random times, just cheese with dinner), and they offered drinks constantly (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic). We had real glasses and real cutlery.

—We saw cabin crew less frequently than in business class.

—The bathroom is shared with economy class and is a good distance behind the Premium Comfort section. It’s a quiet section because there’s no reason for business or economy passengers to pass through.

—We booked with miles. There can be excellent miles deals for Premium Comfort.

Would I do it again? I would, but probably only for a longer daytime flight. Like 7+ hours. Maybe from Europe to the US (I usually fly KLM PRG-AMS-BOS).

Premium Comfort seating does not make sleeping any easier (for me at least), so I don’t think it would be worth it for overnight flights.

I feel like I’d rather either 1) splurge on business class and sleep, or 2) just do economy, be miserable for the flight and a basket case the next day, but save the money/points.

Two weeks ago, I celebrated my 42nd birthday on the island of Ischia!

Ischia is my favorite island in Italy, and it’s also pretty easy to get to — just a short flight to Naples and an hourlong ferry.

Despite that, Ischia exists primarily as an island for Italians, not foreigners. It couldn’t be more different from its neighbor Capri. That’s what gives it such good energy.

My Ischia guide is one of the top posts on my site, and I’m excited to make it even better.

Some thoughts on this trip:

—This time we visited the hot springs resort of Poseidon. Last time we visited another hot springs resort, Negombo. I definitely preferred Negombo between the two, and most locals agree! Much better variety of pools.

—I visited the Giardini Mortella — the botanical gardens — for the first time. They have some beautiful gardens and views; I definitely recommend a visit!

—I much preferred the weather of our early June visit. In August temperatures were only between 82-86 F (28-30 C), but it felt SO much hotter, there wasn’t much breeze, and it didn’t cool down much at night.

—On my actual birthday, we booked another boat tour around the island with West Coast — AND on request, we had our same skipper as last time, Vito! He even dove for sea urchins for us to eat as a birthday present for me.

(We also told him, “Hey, we went to Ventotene because you told us about it! What the hell, man?” “Yes, for me I think one day on Ventotene is enough…you stayed a few days??”)

—We took a LOT more buses than last time, and because of that, I appreciated just how frequently they ran. Except on Sunday night.

Overall, Ischia is a very special place for a summer trip. I love it there!

Happy Eclipse Day from Prague!

We didn’t see much, but it was fun being out there with everyone.

Did you watch the eclipse today? I’d love to see your pics!

I voted today!

I am grateful that Massachusetts allows people living overseas to file their ballot electronically.

The Massachusetts Democratic primary, taking place September 1, is very important this year. In our very blue state, the primary is often where statewide winners are decided.

I voted for Senator Ed Markey to retain his Senate seat. He is being challenged by Representative Seth Moulton.

Now, Markey is 80. He actually asked my mom for her vote on Revere Beach in the 70s. And I HATE the gerontocracy; I think it’s the root of many problems we have today.

But over the years, Markey has proven himself to be a progressive champion that we can rely on. And the Senate is a better place with him in it.

Moulton has been my congressional representative since 2015, excluding the four years I lived in New York. So I know him well. He votes with his party most of the time, as most congress members do — and he is a brazen opportunist the rest of the time. I am sick of it.

The day Trump was elected in 2024, Moulton immediately made a statement throwing trans people under the bus. Talk about reading the room. I haven’t forgotten it. Nor have his neighbors in the trans sanctuary city of Salem.

He happily took AIPAC money for a while, then announced he was returning it as soon as the political winds began to shift.

And then he insinuated Markey was involved with Epstein because they once had a meeting — a meeting that never happened. A friend of Epstein’s claimed he, not Epstein, had a meeting with Markey, but the meeting never took place. And I find it disgusting that Moulton would stoop to that level.

Moulton hasn’t faced a serious challenge to his office since be was first elected. If he had had one, I think he would have been voted out much earlier.

So yes. Vote for Markey.

Additionally, I voted in the primary for the Democratic nominee for my district: Jamie Belsito, a former state rep who is pushing for Medicare for All, campaign finance reform, and rejecting PAC money.

There are some genuinely strong candidates in the race, and I look forward to seeing who our nominee is.

Do you like cute cafes? I LOVE cute cafes! And this weekend I visited one of the girliest, loveliest, most over-the-top cafes I’ve seen in a long time.

Corner Stories in the Vršovice neighborhood of Prague is worth visiting for its decor alone.

You have bubble pink and sky blue, suede and wood, chandeliers with plants coming out of them.

On one wall, there is stationery to write yourself a letter.

And then you get to the bathrooms. Covered with mirrors, murals, and there is a Japanese toilet in the unisex bathroom!

Charlie and I enjoyed a coffee here this weekend, and we think you would, too.