Starting Over at 50: What Nobody Tells You About Being a Beginner Again
Starting over at 50 isn't one clean reinvention — it's trying identities on. A former U.S. diplomat on false starts, and why that's the whole method.
How to Get Insider Access When You Travel (Without a Diplomatic Passport)
Former Diplomat Cynthia Plath Presiding over the Conference on Disarmament, Geneva, Switzerland
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: Why the Best Bottles Are Never on a Wine List
From Barolo to the Hills Above Napa — How I Fell in Love with Cabernet
What It Really Means to Be a U.S. Foreign Service Officer — One Diplomat's Story
Not a great photo - but wide-eyed and ready on Flag Day - a tradition in the Foreign Service.
The Art of the Exhale: How I Plan Trips That Actually Let You Arrive
Former U.S. diplomat and travel curator Cynthia Plath on why the best trips aren't about seeing more — they're about arriving somewhere that lets you exhale.
Why I Don't Travel in Summer
Why I don't travel in summer — and live for the shoulder season instead, when a place still has the time to give you its full, undivided attention.
The Seating Chart: What Nine Labor Ministers Taught Me About Setting a Table
A former U.S. diplomat on what nine Arab labor ministers taught her about hospitality — and why a curated trip lives or dies on the seating chart. (146 characters)