On this episode of Speaking of Travel, we move beyond destinations and into something deeply human... food as a living expression of memory, identity, and belonging. Chef Nathan Davis shares his story shaped by the land, where hunting, fishing, and foraging were not choices, but teachings guiding him to understand food as relationship, responsibility, and respect.

With formal training from Le Cordon Bleu, Nathan learned the language of technique. But it is his return to Indigenous foodways that gives his work meaning. His journey is one of integration, where tradition and innovation don’t compete, but inform one another. Through food, he is reclaiming culture, preserving knowledge, and creating space for stories that have always been there.

Beyond the plate, his work with the American Indian College Fund reflects a deeper purpose expanding access to education and opportunity for Indigenous communities. Because when one person gains access, it doesn’t stop there. It becomes a ripple across generations.

This conversation invites us to consider food not just as something we consume, but something that connects us to land, to history, and to each other. It reminds us that when we gather around a table with intention, we’re not just sharing a meal, we’re restoring relationship.

As Nathan so beautifully says, “Food isn’t just what we eat. It’s who we are, where we come from, and how we remember.”

Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

In a time shaped by rapid change and constant headlines, this conversation invites us to pause, to listen, and to look beyond perception into lived experience.

My guest, Rihab Abouzaki, is an advertising strategist and Director of This N That Communications. She works at the intersection of culture, business, and global storytelling. Moving between the United States and the Gulf region, she brings a perspective rooted not just in strategy, but in humanity.

Together we explore the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), made up of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, a region often viewed from a distance, yet deeply layered and evolving.

We talk about what daily life actually feels like right now. About safety, continuity, and the quiet resilience found in ordinary moments, with good people going to work, families gathering, and communities caring for one another even while living near uncertainty.

We also step into the spirit of the UAE through places like Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Dubai Frame, and the Museum of the Future, spaces that reflect both imagination and identity, honoring tradition while leaning boldly into what’s next.

This conversation moves beyond headlines into something more human. It’s about perception and reality, about connection in times of tension, and about the small, meaningful ways people continue to show up for one another.

It’s a reminder that travel can be more than movement and become an understanding, a bridge between worlds, and a way of seeing each other more clearly.

A must listen!

Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

There’s something quietly extraordinary unfolding in Italy, inside museums, churches, and hidden archives where history has long rested in silence.

For centuries, luminous works of art created by women were tucked away, overlooked, or forgotten. Not because they lacked brilliance, but because their stories were never fully told. And still, they remained, waiting, holding their place in time.

Today, that silence is beginning to lift.

In this episode of Speaking of Travel, we’re joined by Jane Adams, co-founder and CEO of Artemisia Gold, and Susan Glimcher, whose work is helping to gently return these artists, and their voices, back into the world.

As Jane shares, “It feels less like discovering something new, and more like listening… as if these women have been speaking all along, and we are finally quiet enough to hear them.”

Together, they reflect on the beauty and emotion of restoration, not just of paintings, but of presence. Of stories re-emerging. We also explore the enduring legacy of Artemisia Gentileschi, whose life and work continue to resonate so deeply today, reminding us of the strength and resilience of women throughout history.

This is more than art. It’s a return. A remembering. A quiet but undeniable shift in how we see, and who we choose to see, when we look at history. And now, as this movement grows, Italy opens its doors and invites you to step into these stories and witness history alive again.

Ciao! Ciao!

Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.