Is it possible to truly experience a new city in eight hours?

Flying from Los Angeles to southern China, Cathay Pacific’s late-night departure dropped me off in Hong Kong at 7:30 a.m. My flight to Guangzhou on the mainland was scheduled to depart that evening.

One thing was for sure, there was no way I would spend my layover curled up in the airport lounge, no matter how tempting a nap and free nibbles sounded. Nothing says faux-traveler than someone who claims to have “been” in a country when they never left the airport.

Our intrepid writer Cara Mangini discovered that Paris has all the right ingredients for cooking up a new romance.  

After a rough year and a tough break up she fell foolishly in love again … with food.

She reports on her experiences with culinary travel, French cuisine and much more below:

I was hoping for a perfect autumn week in New York, but instead got winter as I arrived to work on a TV show, go to some meetings and check up on what’s new in town.

The great thing about fall in New York City is that even if you don’t get crisp air and gorgeous leaves, there’s still a lot of energy on the streets and new stuff is constantly being introduced to catch your attention.

If you’re the outgoing type, you probably don’t have trouble meeting people on the road. But if you need a little help finding someone to hang out with, there are plenty of resources available.

If you’re a woman traveling solo, this one is for you. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not safe to travel on your own. It’s entirely doable—if you pack a little common sense and have the right resources in hand.

“You are going alone?” asked my husband’s sister. Warnings poured in from concerned family and friends about the inherent dangers of traveling alone.

Yes, my primal fears surfaced occasionally.

I wasn’t the young woman who backpacked, carefree and clueless, on Ecuador’s gringo trail many years ago. Could I still do this as a more experienced adventurer?

Ana Berry, America’s Gypsy, explores America’s most fascinating ethnic neighborhoods.

From LA’s Koreatown to Puerto Rico in Chicago, her travels take her to ends of the earth that are right in our own backyard.

Join her on her latest adventure discovering the sights, sounds, smells, shopping, and of course, singing and dancing in New York’s “Little India” South Asian community in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens.

On her last volunteer vacation to Costa Rica, Julie Manis was tested to her limits while helping to save the Leatherback sea turtles. Here, she explores how would-be voluntourists can thoroughly vet a program before signing away their vacation time.

“That’s crazy.”

This was my friend’s response when I told him about a recent trip to Costa Rica, where I’d spent my vacation trying to help save endangered Leatherback sea turtles.