The Journal

Notes from the road.

A running letter from Ekaterina — small hotels, long tables, the tomato she'll never stop talking about, and the occasional unpopular opinion.

11 posts

What is slow travel? A guide to travelling less, but better

Guides · 8 min read

What is slow travel? A guide to travelling less, but better

If you have ever wondered what is slow travel, this is the place to start. It is the art of staying longer, going deeper, and choosing one small hotel over five cities.

July 26, 2026

A slow guide to Puglia — trulli, olive groves, and a very long lunch

Guides · 9 min read

A slow guide to Puglia — trulli, olive groves, and a very long lunch

One week in the heel of Italy, moving slowly between whitewashed towns, family farms, and the kind of lunch that ends at four in the afternoon.

July 24, 2026

Porto in two days — a trip report

Trip Reports · 6 min read

Porto in two days — a trip report

Not a full itinerary, just what I actually did on my most recent forty-eight hours in Porto: the walk, the two meals, the one bar, and the ferry home.

July 18, 2026

On going slow (and why I stopped counting cities)

Notes · 4 min read

On going slow (and why I stopped counting cities)

A note on the quiet luxury of doing less on a trip — and why the best day I had last year had nothing in it.

July 12, 2026

Notes from Naoshima — an art island at low tide

Notes · 5 min read

Notes from Naoshima — an art island at low tide

A slow twenty-four hours on Japan's small art island, when the day-trippers have left and the museums close their doors.

July 10, 2026

Fez — a primer on how to be in a medina

Guides · 7 min read

Fez — a primer on how to be in a medina

A quiet introduction to the world's oldest living medieval city, and how to give it enough time to unfold for you.

July 2, 2026

Six small hotels I keep sending people to

Places · 6 min read

Six small hotels I keep sending people to

None of them are on the front page of any magazine. All of them will remember your name by day two.

June 28, 2026

Letter from the Cyclades

Letters · 5 min read

Letter from the Cyclades

Dispatches from a slow August — donkeys, boats that don't run on time, and the best tomato I've ever eaten.

June 4, 2026

The Lisbon list (that I actually use)

Guides · 7 min read

The Lisbon list (that I actually use)

Not the twenty-things-to-do version. Just the places I keep going back to, in the order I walk them.

May 18, 2026

Kyoto in the rain is better

Notes · 4 min read

Kyoto in the rain is better

An unpopular opinion after two spring seasons of watching people fight over the same photo of the same tree.

April 22, 2026

The long table — a note on the dinners I plan

Notes · 5 min read

The long table — a note on the dinners I plan

Why so many of my trips end at a table for twelve in someone's home, and why I think you should say yes.

March 30, 2026