My grandmother was a great cook. She came to America from what was once the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After she left her little Hungarian town, due to political division, it became part of Czechoslovakia, and then another political division took place, and now the town, Malý Horeš, is in Slovakia.

Through all the changes, it remained a small town of Hungarians. In fact, its name in the languages of all the governing countries was always a form of the corresponding words for “...

In December 2020, when I came to the realization that the United States was the least safe place, COVID-wise, I decided to take a trip. A little research led me to feel that Cancún, on the Yucatán Peninsula in southeastern Mexico, was doing a much better job of mitigating the spread of COVID, so I booked a visit to Cancún, staying at the InterContinental Presidente Cancún Resort (www.ihg.com).

Room rates varied but averaged about $190 per night. I stayed for two weeks, enjoying a free...

I am just becoming comfortable traveling solo since my husband, John, passed away. He and I usually traveled independently, never doing group travel for more than day trips. In January 2020 I spent a week on my own in Panama City, Panama. I had been to Panama several years before but had not stayed in the city.

I was able to use frequent-flyer miles to fly from Syracuse, New York, to Panama, which was an important factor in my decision to visit. Also, I have a credit card with...