Send us a text

Year’s end is the perfect time to chase moments that help us fall in love with travel. We stitch together a lively route from New York's Erie Canal’s quiet power to Namibia’s Etosha, where elephants, zebra, and predators converge around water in an arid dreamscape.

Along the way, we meet a winemaker who steers us into Spain's Alicante desert for a paella cooked over grapevines—one fire, one broth, no second chances—and learn why constraint can turn a meal into a memory that lasts.

Our path bends to Sorrento, a flat and beautiful Italian base that opens to Capri, Ischia, and the Amalfi Coast. We talk walkable alleys, lemon groves that become limoncello, and sunset cocktails on cliffside terraces. We ride rails through Canada at sunrise and across Switzerland where a simple coffee sparks a love story.

In Mexico City, lucha libre proves that travel joy can be loud, communal, and gloriously acrobatic, while Barcelona Spain lifts the spirit with castellers human towers, Sant Jordi’s books and roses, and music festivals that sweep from legends to up-and-comers.

We step into sacred time in Assisi in Italy's Umbrian region, to see Giotto’s frescoes and St. Francis’s world, then cross to India's Agra Fort where Shah Jahan arranged his bed and even a small mirror to keep the Taj Mahal always in view.

Add a few delightful detours—a red-clay miniature golf course in Normandy, train-station romance in Belgium, a harmonica gifted to a child in a Ugandan forest (and a musical moment)!

If these stories spark your curiosity, hit follow, and share with a friend who needs new trip ideas, Then dig into our archive of over 120 episodes to plan where your next unforgettable moment will begin.

**

Our guests this past year are a mix of travel pros and travel enthusiasts -- and all of them have insightful tips and stories to tell.

**

Podcast host Lea Lane has traveled to over 100 countries, and has written nine books, including the award-winning Places I Remember (Kirkus Reviews star rating, and 'one of the top 100 Indie books of the year'). She has contributed to dozens of guidebooks and has written thousands of travel articles. Contact her at placesirememberlealane.com
_____
Our award-winning travel podcast, Places I Remember with Lea Lane, has produced over 120 travel episodes! New episodes drop on the first Tuesday of the month, on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
_____
Travel vlogs of featured podcasts-- with video and graphics -- now also drop on YouTube. Please subscribe, like, and comment.

Send us a text

We visit Delhi, Agra, and Mumbai with linguist and educator Dr. Jilani Warsi.

Old Delhi draws us into the Red Fort’s vast red sandstone walls, the bustle of Jama Masjid, and the color and flavors of Chandni Chowk where chai, sweets, and silks leave their mark.

We balance that with New Delhi’s calm and the Lotus Temple’s open welcome to all faiths, then look upward at Qutub Minar’s 12th-century tower, a vertical timeline of early rule and artistry.

Along the way, we share on-the-ground advice: why to skip driving yourself, how to group sites to save time, and where an evening light-and-sound show still brings the past to life.

Agra reframes the journey around love and power. The Taj Mahal becomes more than a postcard as dawn light turns marble rosy and the close-in inlay work reveals delicate stone flowers.

Across the Yamuna River, Agra Fort holds Shah Jahan’s final vantage point, a story you can feel when a small mirror catches the mausoleum’s glow. A short hop leads to Fatehpur Sikri, where Hindu and Islamic design blend into one living compound, proof that style can be a bridge across belief.

Mumbai changes the tempo again: Marine Drive’s night shimmer, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link stretching like a lit ribbon, and the gravitational pull of Bollywood’s studios and theaters. We leave the skyline by boat for Elephanta Island, where ancient cave temples to Shiva offer a cool breath and timeless stonework.

Between stops, we chase flavor—kebabs, biryani, and samosas, and share simple ways to eat well and safely where the locals line up.

Whether you’re planning your first India itinerary, refining a return, or just enjoying armchair travel, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review so others can find it too.

_____

Dr. Jilani Warsi, born a two-hour drive from Mahabodhi Temple in Gaya where Buddha reached Nirvana, grew up in a multilingual environment and teaches at Queensborough Community College in New York. He curates English language lessons for native and non-native speakers under the moniker of DrEnglish, on YouTube, @DrAmericanEnglish. He is also a shutterbug and a student of life.

_____

Podcast host Lea Lane has traveled to over 100 countries, and has written nine books, including the award-winning Places I Remember (Kirkus Reviews star rating, and 'one of the top 100 Indie books of the year'). She has contributed to dozens of guidebooks and has written thousands of travel articles. Contact her at placesirememberlealane.com
_____
Our award-winning travel podcast, Places I Remember with Lea Lane, has produced over 120 travel episodes! New episodes drop on the first Tuesday of the month, on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
_____
Travel vlogs of featured podcasts-- with video and graphics -- now also drop on YouTube. Please subscribe, like, and comment.

Send us a text

Margie Goldsmith, author of Becoming a Badass: From Fearful to Fierce, suggests "do one thing every day that scares you" – a mantra that transformed her into the adventure-seeking "badass" she is today. She shares captivating stories from her journeys across more than 100 countries, revealing how memorable travel experiences often arise from unexpected human connections.

We start in the remote mountain paths of Bhutan, where Margie found herself teaching American camp songs to fascinated schoolchildren. In Morocco, what began as local women laughing at her marathon training outfit evolved into a joyous mountain-top celebration.

Her tales take us to Mongolia, where an 85-year-old toothless horseman (the country's fastest racehorse rider) led her across vast plains, and to Easter Island, where she recounts the dangerous traditional Birdman competition where participants risk their lives.

Whether she's distributing harmonicas to children in developing nations, playing blues with an Acadian women's drum corps in Canada, or exchanging personal items with a mountain guide in Argentina despite having no common language, her tales ring with authenticity, and resonate decades later.

From following a Finnish reindeer herder through Lapland's snowy forests to navigating past aggressive elephant seals in Antarctica, Margie demonstrates how facing fears leads to extraordinary experiences and personal growth.

This engaging conversation, including many of Lea's travel tales as well, will inspire you to seek authentic connections in your travels – and challenge yourself, as Margie does. As she proves through her harmonica performance ending the episode, it's never too late to develop new passions and continue growing through travel and creative expression.

_____

Margie Goldsmith is an award-winning writer, musician, and author of Becoming a Badass: From Fearful to Fierce, available in print, Kindle and audiobook, with Margie narrating (including some of her music!). Contact her at margiegoldsmith.com

_____

Podcast host Lea Lane has traveled to over 100 countries, and has written nine books, including the award-winning Places I Remember (Kirkus Reviews star rating, and 'one of the top 100 Indie books of the year'). She has contributed to many guidebooks and has written thousands of travel articles. Contact her at placesirememberlealane.com
_____
Our award-winning travel podcast, Places I Remember with Lea Lane, has dropped over 120 travel episodes! New episodes drop on the first Tuesday of the month, on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
_____
Travel vlogs of featured podcasts-- with video and graphics -- now drop on YouTube.Please subscribe, like, and comment.