Grab your boots, Italy has new hiking trails.
Plus lots of airline updates.
Culture, travel, global affairs, and women’s voices—three times a week. The Intersection offers context, clarity, and conversation starters for the globally curious.
In today’s letter: Delta continues to segment, Southwest adds its first new international destination of the summer, Spain’s flash floods, Grand Canyon hikes closed, a classic Philadelphia hotel is updated, Etsy witches can provide you with whatever your heart desires, we all want community, and more publications are on Substack.
Hello,
I often go back and forth on how long these letters should be. Some days, there's so much to say that it flows out effortlessly. Other days, my focus feels narrower. Since I curate every story myself, what you see here will always reflect where my mind has been wandering and what has piqued my interest, both in conversation with others and through what I read online.
That being said, I'm trying to infuse a bit more of my perspective into the discussion points, but I’m still finding my rhythm. There are some topics (travel, culture) that seem easier to do than others (human rights, global affairs).
That is what is on my mind at the moment! Well, that and how excited I am to finally see The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869-1939 at Wrightwood 659 this weekend. Plus, I’m looking forward to a good discussion about How Much of These Hills Is Gold at book club tonight, and, truthfully, I can’t believe how long I've put off getting a pedicure.
Delta is continuing to segment. The airline has announced that, due to declining demand for low-cost fares, it will reduce main cabin capacity by about 1 per cent this summer, while increasing investment in premium seating. Similar to how economy is segmented into varying levels of comfort and price, the airline will be rolling out additional tiers of premium seating, including lie-flat “Delta One Suites,” enhanced domestic First Class seats, and premium economy “Premium Select”. I thought maybe all the people who were annoyed by Southwest’s changes this year would be happily jumping into the low-cost fares on Delta and United, but alas.
Speaking of, Southwest has announced it will start flying to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands in early 2026. This is the first of three new destinations for 2026 that they are expected to announce this summer.
United and American have added several new US flights to Mexico City. The love for Mexico City appears to be enduring, with no signs of waning anytime soon.
Grab your boots, Italy has new hiking trails. The Via delle Valli (the Trail of the Valleys) consists of 50 scenic trails covering 50 of Trentino’s mountain valleys in northern Italy. Some are suitable for family day trips, while others are challenging climbs that require a mountain guide. For overnight trips, the area features mountain huts. Three years in the making, the project (dreamed up by local tourism manager Loredana Bonazza and inspired by Spain’s Camino de Santiago) aims to guide mountain lovers off the beaten path and beyond the region’s usual hotspots. One of the things I’m really interested in is how destinations are trying to direct tourists to different parts of a country to help spread the benefits of tourism.
Flash floods swept through nearly half of Spain’s provinces this weekend, prompting over 200 emergency calls, hospital evacuations, and even forcing a Delta flight to turn back after hail damaged its nose. The northeastern region of Catalonia was especially hard-hit, with two people reported missing and more than six inches of rain falling in under three hours in Barcelona. The storm (caused by a weather pattern known as DANA, which scientists link to climate change) comes after a string of severe floods in Spain over the past year. Travellers should stay informed via AEMET and local embassy alerts, especially when visiting areas still recovering from the damage.
The Grand Canyon’s North Rim is closed for the rest of the 2025 season. The Dragon Bravo fire has destroyed over 50 structures (including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge) and burned more than 8,500 acres. Sparked by lightning on July 4, the fire also shut down Phantom Ranch due to a chlorine gas leak from a damaged water treatment plant. Arizona’s governor and its two U.S. senators are now questioning the federal government’s decision to manage the blaze as a “controlled burn” during the height of the summer. For visitors, this means that you can’t walk the North Rim and rim-to-rim hikes, but the South Rim remains open and fully operational.
See you in Philadelphia? Founded more than 120 years ago and referred to as the "Grande Dame of downtown,” the Bellevue Hotel has just undergone a major renovation. New York-based studio Ward + Gray restored the property, preserving its original architectural elements and old-world charm. It looks absolutely beautiful and is a reminder that I haven’t been to Philadelphia since I was in high school.
A couple of Frank Lloyd Wright home updates… The Fountainhead is for sale in Jackson, Mississippi, for $2.5 million and has the organic design and oneness with nature that we all (?) love in his architecture. Or, if you are not quite convinced about the purchase, you can spend $800+ a night to sleep in the RiverRock house in Willoughby Hills, Ohio (near Cleveland). Any takers?
Take a look at the different exhibitions that are part of the Rencontres d'Arles, an annual summer photography festival.
We are all looking for community. Last night, it was a big topic at book club - what does community mean to us? How do we build it? What are the challenges that come with finding people and spaces? This morning, I was reading this Vogue Business article that asks whether community event leaders are the new influencers. They consider it a different kind of cultural capital when individuals can organise events and meet-up groups for in-person connection. We know that run clubs have skyrocketed in popularity, as have book clubs, and other micro-communities centred on hobbies and interests. So, I’m curious - what micro-communities do you belong to? What kind would you like to belong to?
Whatever you want, the Etsy witches can provide. For $25, you can summon a new boyfriend, a bigger tax return, or a win for your sports team. Money, friends, revenge, there’s a spell for that.
This week, both The Infatuation and Cabana have announced their presence on Substack. I’m curious to see how they differentiate their offerings from what they already publish. I love Cabana, but I’m not sure that I want to pay $50 for their magazine and then pay again for their Substack. It seems that a very high standard of content (higher than that of an individual who doesn’t publish a magazine) would be required for me to do that, but stranger things have happened! I do currently prefer supporting individuals on this platform, though.
21c hotels are so interesting. I have only ever heard really good things from people who have stayed at them, and now I might need to visit the one in St. Louis, as they are hosting an exhibition titled The Future Is Female. It just opened and features “94 works by 50 artists from around the world, investigating identity, consumer culture, ecology, history, mythology, and power, revealing both the legacy and the persistence of the struggle for equality and inclusion.” It is on view through June 2026!
Thank you for reading! Please share with an interesting and interested person in your life. xxx