Travel With Rick Steves

Get inspired by Jane and Michael Stern for a summer road trip to find classic American dishes with a regional twist, like chowder and barbecue — and a few treats that are definitely one of a kind. We'll also meet the author of a guidebook with tips for navigating Interstate-75 between Michigan and Florida. Also, Rick swaps tales with Richard Bangs on how adventure travel can change the way you view the world. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Celebrated author, Pico Iyer, shares how going it alone can actually clue you in to the global village that already surrounds you. Also, travel writer Will Hide tells us why Cape Town, South Africa is one of his favorite getaways -- where a pleasant climate, easy access to outdoor adventures, and friendly people are just an overnight flight from London. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

It's said that the French consider people who live in Paris to be abnormal. A wine expert and TV personality from Paris joins us with tips for blending in with the quirks of stylish Parisians, and to prove that they share a sense of humor about themselves. Also, we explore our options for relaxing vacation cruises along the canals that criss cross the French countryside. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

We'll hear about this year's Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska from a rookie racer, Rick's younger sister. A guide from Pamplona Spain tells us about the big San Fermin festival they're celebrating this week, and what the running of the bulls is all about. We'll also explore the craze in crime fiction from Scandinavia, where author Steig Larsson used his novels as a way to critique Swedish society. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Guides from the Museum of American History prepare us for a patriotic pilgrimage to the historical attractions along the National Mall. Next, a novelist reveals how the overwhelming beauty of the Grand Canyon inspires her writing. Also, a geologist explains what you're really looking at from a window seat view on your next domestic flight. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Three of Rick's European friends share their impressions of being in America, and contrast it to life in their home turf in Italy, Ireland, and Slovenia. Plus, listeners recommend clever ways to connect with the locals when you travel overseas. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Before embarking on their college careers, the "Ballpark Boys," a group of lifelong friends from Seattle, planned an epic roadtrip across the USA, to attend a game at every major leage baseball stadium in the country. Hear how they did it and which ballparks were their favorites. Plus, Richard Cohen chased the sun around the world for seven years. He shares discoveries of the many curious ways the sun impacts life on planet Earth. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Adventure traveler and author Richard Grant describes the craziness he encountered on the island of Zanzibar. A native of small town Italy explains the uncrowded appeal of Abruzzo in the rugged Apennine mountains. Also, a tour guide to southeast Asia outlines the visitor scene from Vietnam to Burma. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Get tips for visiting evocative pre-Columbian sites. Learn how you can be a houseguest of today's Mayans, too. Plus, Rick joins a guide from Prague for a walking tour of the charmingly preserved "Golden City of 500 Spires," where sightseeing is fueled by some of Europe's best beer. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

We'll explore trendy Barcelona with the help of two expert guides to Spain. Viewing the works of modern artists such as Picasso, Gaudi, and Dali is a highlight of any visit. Also, travel blogger Angela Nickerson shares the highlights from researching her book "A Journey into Michelangelo's Rome." For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Rick plans a visit to the well-preserved ruins of Pompeii, near Naples, explores ancient monuments scattered across the countryside of England and learns how recent renovations have turned Glasgow into an energetic showpiece city in the center of Scotland. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Author Jennifer Wilson describes what it was like to relocate her family to the same mountain village in Croatia her great-grandparents emigrated from, an American who married a Frenchman explains what it's like raising her first child in Paris, plus, Rick shares how his mother influenced him as a traveler. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Italian food expert Fred Plotkin takes American visitors deeper into the culture of enjoying a good meal, and tour guide Jamie Blair Gould from Lucca helps listeners assemble ingredients for the perfect Tuscan picnic, complete with a picture postcard view. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

This week, a diving enthusiast highlights the underwater world, from the turquoise coasts of Central America to the cold jade waters of Puget Sound. NPR's Steve Inskeep explains what Karachi, Pakistan showed him about the mega cities that are mushrooming around the world. Also, author Scott Wallace describes his trek deep into the Amazon and the quandary of trying to protect the fierce Arrow people from contact with the outside world. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Tour guides from London join Rick to point how you can join the crowds, or avoid them, for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the Summer Olympics, and lots of other special events. Also, we learn the special ways Greeks and Bulgarians observe Orthodox Easter, their biggest holiday of the year. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

"One Thousand Places to See Before You Die" author Patricia Schultz shares new places she's included in the updated version of her book, actor and travel writer Andrew McCarthy tells Rick why he's made a second home in Ireland, and Eva Marie Everson describes dozens of sacred sites in Israel from her guidebook. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A Bosnian journalist tells Rick what it was like to live through the Siege of Sarajevo twenty years ago, and what it's like to visit the city today. Rick also shares tips with listeners for overcoming shyness and making friends while traveling, including meeting long lost relatives in the Old Country. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Colleen Heater, author of "The Pilgrim's Italy", describes how 21st century travelers can find inspiration at Italy's many religious shrines; a tour guide in Siena tells us about resoration efforts along the old pilgrim's trail from England to Rome; and a German comic confides what he learned from a month-long trek to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Rick discusses the rewards of being a "road trip pilgrim" with author and traveler Dan Austin, and, in the spirit of Saint Patrick's Day, Irish tour guide Stephen McPhilemy takes listener calls, offers advice on touring convivial towns and ancient sites, and updates Rick on contemporary issues in Ireland. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Guests from Egypt and Morocco discuss the "Arab Spring" movement and explain what the upheaval is about from an insider's perspective, and Rick chats with a Japanese-American tour organizer who's sending Americans to visit the region of Japan that was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami a year ago. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.