ALL I NEED IS MY PASSPORT

September 2025 There is so much of Paris that just pops up while wandering.  These are some of the moments I caught on Camera. It is not often you get a view over the tracks in a metro station. I had a lot of fun with these. The first Space Invader mosaic appeared in Paris […]

September 2025 The First Arrondissement is also called The Louvre The Cauldron Two years after the Paris 2024 Games, the cauldron, designed by Mathieu Lehanneur, was lit up in the Tuileries Gardens. French President Emmanuel Macron has said it will fly over the Tuilleries each summer until the Los Angeles Olympics. I took a picture […]

September 2025 The 2nd – The Bourse The Bourse refers to the Palais Brongniart, the seat of the Paris stock exchange, dating from 1826. This arrondissement is also the smallest in the city, with only 99 hectares. The Tour Jean-sans-Peur or Tour de Jean sans Peur is the last vestige of the Hôtel de Bourgogne, […]

September 2025 The 4th is called Hôtel-de-Ville. It refers to the city hall at the corner of rue de Rivoli and rue de Lobau. The site has been the center of municipal authority since the Middle Ages. Maison de Victor Hugo I am always so embarrassed when I realize how close Victor Hugo’s home was […]

September 2025   The 5th is called Panthéon. The name comes from the grand monument on the hill built for Louis XV and later turned into a national mausoleum after the French Revolution. One of the more important and fun things to do in the 5th is to stroll Rue Mouffetard. * This pedestrianised street, […]

September 27, 2025 The 6th is called Luxembourg. It takes its name from the palace built by Marie de Médicis in the early 1600s, which today serves as the seat of the Senate. The 6th Arrondissement is probably my favorite.  I lived in the 6th for a while in the 70s and always find myself […]

September 2025 The 7th The 7th is an interesting Arrondissement. It is called Palais-Bourbon in reference to the seat of the National Assembly. It is also one of the most affluent and prestigious arrondissements of Paris. It includes some of the more well-known tourist attractions, the Eiffel Tower, the Hôtel des Invalides, the Chapel of […]

September 2025 The 10th The 10th is called Entrepôt. The arrondissement once contained the central customs warehouse on rue Léon-Jouhaux. This depot processed goods entering the capital and shaped the area’s working-class identity. The 10th is home to Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est, so many people pass through the arrondissement even if they don’t […]

August 2025 Paris has five vineyards within the city limits.  This trip, I made it a goal to see all 5. Close Montmartre – the 18th Arrondissement I have visited the vineyards of Montmartre many times, thinking they were the only ones in Paris.  I was wrong, there are currently five. So this trip, I […]

September 2025 The 13th is called Gobelins after the Gobelin family, whose factory is described below. I got off the raised metro at the Chevaralet station and began my walk along this gorgeous promenade under the metro tracks. My first stop was the hospital for nothing more than to set eyes on a very historical […]

September 2025 The 14th is called Observatoire. It refers to the Paris Observatory Plaisance The little area of Plaisance contains the street Rue de Thermopylas and Cité Bauer. It is a quiet, quirky neighborhood you would expect in such an arty arrondissement. Rue des Thermopyles was a private road until 1959, when it opened to […]

September 2025 In 2021, I took a walking tour with Flo through some artistic areas in both the 15th and 14th Arrondissements.  We didn’t hit them all so I wanted to go back and explore a few in the 14th in more detail. Villa Seurat Villa Seurat was a focal point for Parisian artistic and […]

September 2025 The 15th is called Vaugirard, a commune annexed in 1860. Parc Andre Citroen In 1915, Citroën built its factory on the banks of the Seine. It operated there until the 1970s. The abandoned space ultimately gave rise to the Parc André Citroën. The park was designed in the early 1990s by landscape designers […]

September 2025 Exploring the 15th is exhausting. At 3.3 square miles, it is the third-largest arrondissement in Paris; it would be the largest if the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes were not counted as part of the 16th and 12th arrondissements, respectively.  It is also the most populous.  So it isn’t hard to […]

September 2024 Called Passy, the 16th was once a spa village known for mineral springs and countryside retreats; it was absorbed during Haussmann’s expansion. The 16th is home to the Arc de Triomphe, the Bois de Boulogne, the Maison de Balzac, and a lot of really great museums.  From there, it is a primarily quiet […]

September 2025 I once again had the pleasure of taking a walking tour of Paris with Flo.  It was a private tour of what it was like to be in Paris during the occupation. On May 10, 1940, when Germany attacked France, the French government moved its headquarters to Vichy. From there, a nominal French […]

September 2025 I went to Parc de Bercy to find its vineyard and found oh so much more. Parc de Bercy is located along the Right Bank in the 12th arrondissement. Development of the park began in 1994 on the site of a former wine depot (the wine warehouses of Bercy, which in the early […]

September 2025 I try to visit The Bourse de Commerce if for no other reason than the exhibitions that they have under the rotunda never cease to amaze.  This time, I was able to see clinamen, an aquatic and musical installation by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot. The installation was so soothing that one could sit all day […]

September 25, 2025 The Cirque d’Hiver The Cirque d’Hiver was inaugurated by the newly crowned Napoleon III on December 11, 1852, and is said to be the oldest circus in the world. Duc de Morny, half-brother of Prince Louis-Napoleon, obtained a building permit to build on the site of an old water tower on the […]

September 2025 This is one of the more magical places you will step into. Unfortunately, like so many magical places, the pictures will not do it justice; you just have to go see for yourself. Le Musée des Arts Forains, Paris, is dedicated to fairground arts, theater, and other curiosities. This is a step back in […]

September 2025   The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was the traditional location for the coronation of the kings of France. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.   The cathedral is considered to be one of the most important works of Gothic architecture, and the  Sculptors were pioneers of […]

September 8, 2025 This will have been my third visit to Versailles.  I seem to put between 2o and 30 years between each visit, and yet, nothing has changed. I came with some friends who had never been, so I left them to tour the house while I decided to concentrate on the gardens. I […]

September 6, 2025 I have met so many lovely expats on this trip.  Peter and François invited a group of us for lunch on a hot, but lazy Saturday with a little tour of the area. The Saint-Martin d’Herblay church was built in the 12th century in the Gothic style, on a Latin cross plan. […]

September 2, 2025 Parc Monceau is one of my favorite parks in Paris.  I had written about it when I was here in 2021. Today I found other parks in the 17th. Square des Batignolles The 17th is named after Batignolles-Monceau. A pair of former villages merged into Paris as it grew. The Square des […]

September 2, 2025 The 17th is known as the Batignolles-Moncea, a mouthful for sure. The 17th is anchored by the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc sits on a plaza known as L’Étoile due to the eleven streets that lead off of it, like rays from the sun. During the second half of the 19th century, […]

August 2025 The 18th is called Buttes-Montmartre. The name refers to the hilly terrain shaped by gypsum quarries long before artists arrived. The 18th is best known for Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge.  But there is more. The windmill Moulin de la Galette, also known as Blute-fin, was built in 1622. The name Blute-fin […]

August 30, 2025 I had been to Montmartre Cemetery many years ago, so it was a pleasure to return and refresh my memory.  I had always liked this cemetery for its calmness and beauty. In the mid-18th century, overcrowding in Paris’s cemeteries had created numerous problems, ranging from impossibly high funeral costs to unsanitary living […]

August 28, 2025 The 19th is Buttes-Chaumont. It takes its name from the steep heights that later became the park inaugurated under Napoleon III. In December of 2021, I explored the Buttes-Chaumont and more and wrote about the 19th Arrondissement.  I went back today to spend a little more time. Parc De La Villette La […]

August 2025 La Campagne à Paris means “The Countryside in Paris” in English. This little neighborhood was founded as a cooperative intended for working-class families by pastor Sully Lombard in 1907, and consists of 92 charming garden houses built of bricks or millstones. The site chosen for this venture was once a gypsum quarry, abandoned […]

August 2025 The 20th is called Ménilmontant. A hillside hamlet named for its rising slope (“montant”). It was once known for vineyards and windmills. I spent the day walking the 20th.  As I said, it was in the 80s,  a temperature I do not fare will in.  I have written about the parks I took […]

August 2025 I am back in Paris for 5 weeks.  It is in the 80s, not something I am very UNcomfortable with.  So I decided to start my exploration in the 20th because it is known for its parks, and I had hoped it would be slightly cooler than the 16th, where I am staying. […]

August 17, 2025 Baddesley has Saxon origins, although no buildings from the time remain. A man called Baeddi, Badde, or Bade drove his cattle up to the Forest of Arden and made a protected clearing in the wood for extra grazing. Such a clearing was known as a ‘leah’ or ‘ley’ – hence Badde’s Ley. […]

August 16, 2025 Newstead Abbey was formerly an Augustinian priory. Converted to a domestic home following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it is now best known as the ancestral home of Lord Byron. As with all historic houses in the UK, one needs to attempt to grasp the lineage of the family. Sir John Byron […]

August 15, 2025 The current church is the successor to one built in 956 by Oscytel, archbishop of York. Some late eleventh-century fabric survives from this church, but the majority of the building dates from between 1108 and c. 1150, when it was reconstructed in the Romanesque style. The Norman reconstruction of the church began in […]

August 14, 2025 Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle is pronounced beaver castle. Belvoir Castle is considered a  faux historic castle. A castle was first built on the site immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and has since been rebuilt at least three times. The final building is a Grade I listed mock castle,  dating from […]

August 13, 2025   Wollaton House Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire was built between 1580 and 1588 for Sir Francis Willoughby and is believed to be designed by the Elizabethan architect, Robert Smythson. The floor plan has been said to derive from Serlio’s drawing (in Book III of his Five Books of Architecture) of Giuliano da […]

August 12, 2025 Hardwick Hall is a rather awe-inspiring and overwhelming place. It begins with Bess of Hardwick. Four highly profitable marriages, Bess of Hardwick rose to the highest levels of English nobility and became enormously wealthy. The woman was a shrewd businesswoman in her own right, increasing her assets with business interests including mines […]

August 12, 2025 Bolsover Castle The Peverel family built the original castle in the 12th century. It became Crown property in 1155 when William Peverel the Younger died. When a group of barons led by King Henry II’s sons revolted against the King’s rule, Henry spent £116 on building at the castles of Bolsover. The […]

August 2025 Susan and I began this week traveling with a dear old friend of mine, James. It is hard to explain how vast James’ knowledge is when it comes to history, so I will let his bio with a publishing company speak to it. James Hargrave has a PhD in Economic History from the […]

August 1, 2025 What is there to say about Giverny that hasn’t already been said by far more eloquent people than I?  So I am going to do something I never do, and frankly abhor, a photo dump of my pictures. * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * […]

August 1, 2025 It is a lovely country drive from Rouen to Giverny with some sightseeing along the way. Chateau Gaillard Château Gaillard is a medieval castle ruin overlooking the River Seine above the commune of Les Andelys. Construction began in 1196 under the auspices of Richard the Lionheart, who was simultaneously King of England […]

July 31, 2025 The town of Rueon is absolutely magical, and I wish I had many more days to explore. The Church of Saint Joan of Arc was completed in 1979 in the centre of the ancient market square, known as the Place du Vieux-Marché, where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for heresy […]

July 31, 2025 Rouen is absolutely magical. Rouen Cathedral One of the more popular sites in Rouen is the Rouen Cathedral. The Cathedral is renowned for its three towers, each in a distinct architectural style. The cathedral, built and rebuilt over more than eight hundred years, features elements ranging from Early Gothic to late Flamboyant […]

July 30 and 31, 2025 It was a long day driving from Bayeux to Rouen, but it was filled with gorgeous things along the way.   When Americans think of Normandy, they think of WWII and the beaches.  It is, of course, so much more. Normandy is divided into five official départements—Eure and Seine-Maritime in […]

July 2025 Bayeux Cathedral With its combination of Norman and Romanesque architecture, as well as Gothic spires, the Cathedral dominates the skyline of Bayeux.  The site is an ancient one and was once occupied by Roman sanctuaries. The present cathedral was consecrated on July 15, 1077, in the presence of William, Duke of Normandy. Following serious […]

Scenes From Around the City of Bayeux The city of Bayeux is on the English Channel, a mere seven miles from the English Coast. Bayeux was founded as a Gallo-Roman settlement in the 1st century BCE under the name Augustodurum, The building below is the side of the building belonging to the Bayeux Augustinian Hospital […]

July 29, 2025 The Bayeux Tapestry Making headquarters in the small town of Bayeux for 3 nights is a lovely thing to do.  It is a quaint town, albeit filled with tourists.  Some to see the beaches of Normandy and some to see the Bayeux Tapestry. Photos are not allowed in the gallery of the […]

July 28th 2025 This was a full box of Kleenex, mascara running day. Omaha and Utah Landing Sites I am standing at the Omaha landing site, approximately where the Western and Eastern Task Force dotted white line is on the above map, at the far end of the American landings. This is looking towards the […]

July 28, 2025 The mosaic is by Leon Kroll. Completed in 1953, it comprises 500,000 tiles and tells a full round story “of war and peace.” One side depicts Columbia (Goddess of Liberty) allegorically representing America blessing “her rifle-bearing son before he departs to fight overseas. Above him, a warship and a bomber push through […]

July 27, 2025 The day began with a stop in the town of Avarnches, and in particular, the Scriptorial. The Scriptorial Museum is the only museum in France dedicated to the presentation of ancient manuscripts and in particular the collection of manuscripts of the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel. Hombye Abbey The Abbey of Notre Dame of […]

July 26, 2025 It is hard to believe, but I had never been to Mont Saint-Michel.  Sadly, we arrived late in the evening, and the monastery was not open; however, there was still plenty of time to explore the island. The island was originally called Mont-Tombe but became known as Mont-Saint-Michel in the 8th century, […]

July 26, 2025 Temple of Lenleff Lanleff’s temple is a pink sandstone ruin in Brittany. It is a round church said to be reminiscent of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The exact age and the exact usage of this building are unknown. The earliest known references to the building date back to […]

July 25, 2025 This stop was probably more about relaxing than visiting and sightseeing. We are staying at the Grand Hotel Perros-Guirec with rooms right on the sea. * * * The Pink Granite Coast spans approximately 18 miles and is aptly named due to the immense pinkish-gold granite boulders. The Men Ruz Lighthouse sits […]

July 23, 2024 I read about this site without conducting enough research.  When we arrived, I was surprised to find it was a modern site of sculptures of Saints.  After just a short time, I went from being disappointed at being lured into what felt like a tourist trap to having a fascinating and fun […]

July 22, 2025 The day was spent wandering between Le Petit Mont and Gavrinis and visiting sites in between.  Gavrinis requires a reservation, and the last we could capture was 6:30 at night.  The sun does not set until nearly 10:00 pm at this time of year, so it wasn’t as late as it seemed. […]

July 22, 2025 It was another full day of cairns, lovely towns and gorgeous scenery. Auray and Le Bono The day began with a little American history in the Port of Saint Gustan. In 1776, when Benjamin Franklin set foot on French soil to seek support in the American War of Independence, he came ashore […]

July 21, 2025 I am traveling with my friend Susan.  You know you have a good travel buddy when you both get excited about spending the day looking at rocks.  Today, we spent the day driving from one end to the other of an area of Brittany known for its stone structures—the Alignements Du Carnac. […]

July 12, 2025 I have wanted to ride this silly mail train for years, and finally found the time. The Post Office Railway—commonly known as “Mail Rail”—was an automatic narrow-gauge, electric railway created to speed Royal Mail delivery in London by bypassing the city’s congested streets. It was built by the Post Office with assistance […]

July 11, 2025 I wrote of the Crystal Palace when I was here in the summer of 2024. At the time, I was exploring the Albertopolis. This trip, I went exploring the grounds where the Crystal Palace had been relocated after the 1851 exhibition. The temperatures were in the high 80s, and much of the […]

July 10 and 11 2025 These finish my quest to see all of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries of London. The 7 are Kensal Green Cemetery, West Norwood Cemetery, Highgate Cemetery, Abney Park Cemetery, Brompton Cemetery, Nunhead Cemetery, and Tower Hamlets Cemetery. Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery was opened in 1840 as the West of London Cemetery. […]

July 9, 2025 The V&A East Storehouse is a purpose-built public space designed by architects Diller Scofidio+Renfro with support from UK-based architects Austin-Smith:Lord. Opened just a month prior to my visit, the storehouse took over a section of the former London 2012 Olympics Media Centre in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.   Just a very […]

February 2025 Here are some more random things from Tokyo that caught my eye. Fifteen years ago, Tokyo architect Keisuke Oka began to construct a tower of concrete entirely by hand. It is ocated just a short walk from Mita Station. The name Arimaston is a combination of the Japanese words for ant, trout, and […]

March 2, 2025 Kira Yoshinaka was a high-ranking samurai immortalized in Japan as the notorious villain in Chushingura, the story of the 47 Ronin. In truth, Kira was greatly admired as a fair and good lord.  He created a salt industry and expanded rice paddies for cultivating. This statue sits on a tiny patch of […]

February 2025 I love Sumo and was able to visit the Tatsunami beya (stable) for a practice.  It was 1 and 1/2 hours of watching mem do rather incredible things with their giant bodies. The stable is one of the most prestigious in sumo. It was founded in 1876 by Onigazaki, but the current incarnation […]

February 2025 I have been to Tokyo several times, so this trip involved showing my sister and niece around, shopping with them, and observing oddball things that evoke that “only in Tokyo” thought. Shibuya Yoyogi Park  Yoyogi Park stands on the site where the first successful powered aircraft flight in Japan took place.  At the […]

Hoshino Resorts Kinugawa Nikko, Japan February 27, 2025 Onsens are hot springs, often with bathing facilities and traditional inns, hotels, or resorts around them. They can be found throughout Japan. I have stayed at many, but I am writing about this one because it is currently my favorite. There are many types of onsens, often […]

Kanbayashi – Nagono – Japan February 24, 2025 Snow Monkey Park was established in 1964 as a conservation area. It is a one-mile walk from the entry to the park itself.  It had been snowing heavily, so the large clods of snow falling from the trees were a tad scary. When they did fall, it […]

February 2025 Tokyo Toyokawa Inari Akasaka Shrine The Toyokawa Inari Shrine was established in 1828 at its present site.  The temple’s origins can be traced back to a vision of the third son of Emperor Juntoku in the 13th century, who saw the deity Dakini-Shinten riding a white fox. During the Meiji era, when Buddhism […]

February 12 and 13, 2025 When I was in Otaru in 2017, I read about the Yuki Akari no Michi which means “snow light path” in Japanese.  I knew I wanted to return someday. The Otaru Snow Light Path Festival began in 1999 as a grassroots initiative by local residents and volunteers. The event’s goal […]

February 13, 2025 I fell in love with Otaru on a trip in 2017. It has so much history and an incredible amount of charm, even in the snow. While I was here for the snow light path festival, I enjoyed the town during the day as well. Kitaichi Hall Kitaichi Glass is a long-established […]

February 2025 Shiroi Koibito Park – Sapporo Aside from the world’s best cold water fish, milk, and chocolate are two famous products of Hokkaido. Dairy farming dates back to the Meiji Restoration, when Western methods of agriculture were introduced, transforming Hokkaido into Japan’s dairy hub. Hokkaido milk is famous for its distinctive taste and texture […]

February 2025 The Sapporo Snow Festival has three venues.  The Suskino Site is lined with ice sculptures. This site is far more crowded at night, with a considerable bar scene and an “ice” theme. * * * * * * * The weather was sporadic for the three days I was there—snow, wind, hail, and […]

February 2025 The Sapporo Snow Festival is one of the largest snow sculpture festivals in the world. The Festival started in 1950 when local high school students built six snow statues in Odori Park. It has grown in scale to a major international event that includes as many as 200 sculptures, some as tall as […]

October 2024 October 7th, we headed south and crossed back across the Arctic Circle at 8:45 this morning. The Arctic Circle passes though Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Alaska (USA), Canada, Greenland (Denmark), and Grimsey Island (Iceland). There are markers and even tourist attractions at a few of these places.  This is the one I saw […]

October 2nd 2024 I am on a ship to see the Northern Lights. Sadly, the weather has not cooperated. Clouds make it difficult for the lights to be seen. On the 2nd, the clouds broke for a small period of time, and I was able to shoot these. It is very important to know that […]

October 6, 2024 Vesterålen is an archipelago in Northern Norway. Its name comes from Old Norse. The first element is vestr, which means “west,” and the last element is áll, which means “(deep and narrow) sound” or “strait”.   I came on this excursion to see Trondenes Church, although all of Vesterlain proved to be […]

October 5, 2024 Hammerfest is one of three cities in the world that claim to be the Northernmost.  I will leave that argument for the pub. However, Hammerfest history is worth delving into. The town received its first doctor in 1792, but within a couple of decades, the population had been ravaged by plague and […]

October 4, 2024 Vardø – Norway’s Easternmost Town On Christmas Eve, 1621, the northern coast of Norway suffered a vast and sudden storm. At the time, many of the local male population were at sea. Forty men on ten boats drowned. This tragedy coincided with new laws on sorcery and witchcraft that came with the union […]

October 2024 The ship crossed into the Arctic Circle in the middle of the night. The word Arctic has a fascinating etymology. The word “artik “pertains to the north pole of the heavens,” from Greek arktikos “of the north,” literally “of the (constellation) Bear,” from arktos “bear;” also “Ursa Major; the region of the north,” […]

September 2023 Trondheim Like other cities in Norway, Trondheim has its own manhole covers. Their’s contain the Trondheim city coat of arms. The coat of arms represents the two important kings in Trondheim,  Olav Tryggvason, who founded the city, and Olav the Holy, who, after his death, was declared a saint. Trondheim is the third most […]

September 2024 I boarded the MS Richard, a boat with the Hurtigruten Line, for their Astronomy Voyage along the Western Coast of Norway and into the Arctic Circle, focusing on the Northern Lights. Hurtigruten has a long and fascinating history. It began in 1893 with a steamer owned by Captain Richard With. Today, their coastal […]

September 27, 2024 Bergen, also known historically as Bjørgvin, is believed to have been established by Olaf III of Norway. Bergen is where trade took off in the country, and it was the largest settlement in Scandinavia until the 16th century.   It was a gorgeous day in Bergen.  Considering that it rains 239 days […]

September 27, 2024 The very first buildings in Bergen were at Bryggen, a vibrant and important area of the city for many centuries. It is also a highly visited and photographed area. Thanks to wooden houses, Bergen, including the neighborhood of Bryggen, burned down several times throughout history. There are 61 buildings in Bryggen, and […]

September 2024 You have to love a town that takes this much care with its bandstand in the public park. The music pavilion is cast iron and was given to Bergen by F.G. Gade in 1899. St. Jørgen´s Hospital St. Jørgen´s Hospital has existed in Bergen since the 15th century, but nothing remains from the […]

September 24, 2024 Gol Stave Gol Stave is a 12th-century stave church originally from Gol in the region of Hallingdal, Norway. The reconstructed church is now located in the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. Although stave churches were common throughout Northern Europe in the Middle Ages, only about 30 stave churches survive in Norway, nearly […]

September 2024 The sculpture park is the embodiment of the life work of Gustav Vigeland. The park contains over 200 of his sculptures in granite, bronze, and wrought iron installed mainly in the period 1940-1949. Born in 1869, Gustav Vigeland is the most celebrated sculptor in Norway. He conceived the idea of creating an outdoor […]

September 2024   On the side of the main train station is Knus Nazismen. It was dedicated by five remaining members of the Osvald group,  a Norwegian organization active during World War II. The organization committed at least 110 acts of sabotage against Nazi occupying forces and the collaborationist government of Vidkun Quisling. On February […]

September 2024 The Nobel Peace Center building was purchased from Consul General Christophersen in 1903. The architects Carl and Jørgen Berner were commissioned to reconstruct it. Carl Berner designed much of the interior in the “art nouveau” style popular at the time, as opposed to the neo-classical design of the exterior. When the Nobel Committee […]

September 2024 Kon Tiki Museum I grew up with stories of Thor Hyerdahl and Roald Amundsen, so visiting these museums on a very rainy day was a real education. Hyerdahl was a handsome adventurer and Norwegian ethnologist who became famous by organizing and leading the famous Kon-Tiki (1947) and Ra (1969–70) transoceanic scientific expeditions. On […]

The Norse Folk Museum September 24, 2024 I could have spent an entire week at the Folk Museum. It has 160 historic buildings and focuses on the period from 1500 until the present. There is also room upon room with art, clothing, and items related to Norway’s history. Norsk Folkemuseum was founded by Hans Aall […]

September 2024 I have never been to Norway, so this is a new adventure.  I have come to view the Northern Lights, but that will be in another week.  For now, I am enjoying Oslo.  It is a fascinating city with incredible architecture, delightful people, and perfect weather. According to legend Thorny Hallvard, the cousin […]

July 2024 There are two of these unique huts in Grosvenor Gardens. The Gardens have been known as “London’s French Garden” since at least 1952. The Gardens were used as air raid shelters during the Second World War. After the war, it was decided that the gardens needed smartening up, and the huts were installed […]

July 28, 2024 My friend Susan arranged for us to attend the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. It is a humbling experience that takes months to obtain tickets, and only 50 people are allowed to attend per evening. The Ceremony of the Keys is an ancient ritual in which the main […]

July 2024 I managed to squeeze in my sixth of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries in London before my departure. Abney Park in the Borough of Hackney was laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney, Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighboring Hartopp family.  The architect was John Hoskins. The cemetery is named […]

July 2024 Where do I start?  A few days ago I was touring Buckingham Palace with my friend Susan (no photos allowed). I was absolutely gobsmacked by the East Wing (a tour you need to sign up for weeks in advance; thank you, Susan).  As I kept attempting to pick my jaw up from the […]

July 2024 In a, not quite accomplished yet, attempt at seeing the Magnificent Seven, I was able to get to four on this trip. The Magnificent Seven is an informal term applied to seven large private cemeteries in London. These are Kensal Green Cemetery, West Norwood Cemetery, Highgate Cemetery, Abney Park Cemetery, Brompton Cemetery, Nunhead […]

July 2024 Crossbones Cemetery Wandering near the Tate Modern, I found this small graveyard that is only open three days a week for a few hours, and then, only if they can find volunteers.  I was lucky! Depending on what/who you read, the stories vary, but the gist is that Cross Bones is a disused […]

July 2024 I have spent the last week at Oxford Experience, and the class I chose was Modernist Literature Through Oxford and London, concentrating on Dorothy Sayers’s Gaudy Nights, T.S. Eliot’s Wasteland, Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and the writings and paintings of Wyndham Lewis. Virginia Woolf and others of her era were part of what […]

July 2024 Busbridge Church was founded by John and Emma Ramsden of Busbridge Hall. Building work took place between 1865 and 1867 and finished with the building’s dedication in 1867.  The church was designed by George Gilbert Scott a leading Gothic Revival architect. The front porch’s oak frame was carved by William Farmer, who worked […]

July 2024 Watts Gallery is a gallery and  an Artists’ Village in the village of Compton. Mary Fraser-Tytler Watts created it as an homage to the work of her husband, Victorian-era painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts. The chapel, designed by Mary and assembled by the local villagers, is the center and most awe-inspiring thing […]

July 2024 Norney Grange was designed in 1897 by Charles Voysey, a Arts and Crafts Movement member, for the Reverend Leighton Crane. The name Norney Grange is probably a corruption of Reverend Crane’s name, as it is clear that there has never been a barn or ‘grange’ on this site.   Voysey built several houses […]

July 2024 Munstead Wood Munstead Wood is a collaboration between Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens. A collaboration of the finest quality and achieved perfection. The garden was the creation of Jekyll, who became widely known through her books and prolific articles in magazines such as Country Life. The Arts and Crafts style house in which […]

July 2024 The Crossness Pumping Station is a former sewage pumping station designed by the Metropolitan Board of Works’ chief engineer, Sir Joseph Bazalgette, and architect Charles Henry Driver. In the 19th century, London’s population numbered around 2 million. The city suffered fatal epidemics of cholera, and thousands died as the Victorians had no known […]

July 2024 Philip Webb designed this house between 1891 and 1894 for London solicitor, James Beale, his wife Margaret, and their family of seven children. The house is constructed in the Wealden vernacular style with sandstone quarried from the estate and locally made bricks and tiles. The interior is decorated with Morris carpets, fabrics, and […]

July 2024 Bedford Park Bedford Park in Chiswick began in 1875 under the direction of Jonathan Carr. It has many large houses in the British Queen Anne Revival style by Norman Shaw and other leading Victorian-era architects, including Edward William Godwin, Edward John May, Henry Wilson, and Maurice Bingham Adams. Its architecture is characterized by […]

July 2024 18 Stafford Terrace was the home of the Punch illustrator Edward Linley Sambourne (1844–1910) and his wife Marion. The house is an excellent example of middle-class Aestheticism and a lot of eclecticism. Throughout are decorative Sunflower motifs in the stained glass windows, William Morris wallpapers, a collection of blue-and-white Chinese import porcelain, and […]

July 2024 Leighton House is part of Holland Circle but deserves a post of its own. Leighton House was once the home of painter Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton (1830–1896). Leighton commissioned the architect and designer George Aitchison to build a combined home and studio for him. On the ground floor is a spectacular tile-covered […]

July 2024 Holland Park is an area of Kensington, surrounds its namesake park, Holland Park and colloquially referred to as ‘Millionaire’s Row’ as it is one of the most expensive areas of London. Sir Walter Cope built Cope Castle, which was a Jacobean mansion hidden in the woods of Holland Park, around 1605-1608. Sir Walter […]

July 2024 It is impossible to study the 19th Century without a good dousing of William Morris.  Kelmscott Manor was one of two country estates owned by Morris. Kelmscott Manor dates from around 1570 and has a late 17th-century wing. From 1871 until he died in 1896, it was the country home of the writer, […]

July 2024 Fortunately, this was not my first or last trip to Oxford. Today, I am here with the VSA and getting a very small taste of the Victorian aspect of Oxford from the delightful Classicist and architectural historian Peter Howell.  It was a mere 4 hours. Pusey Memorial Hall * Pusey Memorial House was […]

July 10, 2024 Buscot Park was built in an austere neoclassical style between 1780 and 1783 for Edward Loveden Loveden. The house is constructed of local stone and materials with Portland stone adornments. The roof is of Westmorland slate. The mansion’s interior has been considerably altered and restored since its completion.   The Lord and […]

July 2024 Rodmarton Manor Rodmarton was built for the Biddulph family, who still reside there. For this reason, photos are not allowed inside. The manor was constructed in the early 20th century in an Arts and Crafts style, to a design by Ernest Barnsley. After Ernest died in 1925, it was completed by Sidney Barnsley, […]

July 2024 This church in the rolling hills of Gloucestershire is most notable for its collaboration amongst the greats of the Arts and Crafts Movement in England. It is a celebrated early work by the important church architect G F Bodley, incorporating notable stained glass by William Morris and his company Morris & Co. You […]

July 2024 Ullet Road Unitarian Church * The Ullet Road Church was the first place of worship in the United Kingdom to register a civil partnership for a same-sex couple. The interior of the church is lined with sandstone from Runcorn quarries. The architectural style is Gothic Revival, with Art Nouveau features. The architects Thomas […]

July 8, 2024 The last many days have been an overwhelming marathon of architecture.  Today, we were at Wightwick Manor, and I discovered the gardens.  While the house had some wonders, I needed to sit and take in the garden, which was ideal. As a background: Wightwick Manor is a Victorian house commissioned in 1887 […]

July 8, 2024 Sunlight household soap was introduced by the British company Lever Brothers in 1884. It was the world’s first packaged, branded laundry soap. Before this, one had to go to the grocery store and buy a chunk of soap, keeping in one’s budget. Sunlight came prepackaged and was easy to purchase. The soap […]

July 2024 Liverpool Cathedral, the longest cathedral in the world, was constructed between 1904 and 1978, based on a design by Giles Gilbert Scott. The pictures will never do it justice. St James Cemetery The Cathedral towers over St. James Cemetery, which opened in 1829 and contains 57,839 recorded burials. It closed in 1936. Downtown […]

July 2024 The first thing that comes to mind for many when speaking of Liverpool is The Beatles.  But Liverpool is so much more. The city is located on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary (Think Gerry and the Pacemakers) adjacent to the Irish Sea and is approximately 178 miles from London. Liverpool was […]

July 2024 I want to begin this post with an apology.  Manchester is an amazing city. My group had two guides from the Victorian Society of the UK, and their knowledge, not only of the sites but their weaving of British history into the entire day, made it long but one of the more educational […]

July 2024 St Giles was designed by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812- 1852) and is considered his most splendid work. This Gothic Revival wonder was created by the same man who created the interiors of the House of Parliament. St. Giles was originally to be a modest-sized parish church sufficient for the Catholic population of […]

July 2024 It is often difficult to travel long distances and visit building after building and not have them run together.  Then there is someone or something that makes the place, special and something you know you will remember for a very long time. Canon Paul Greenwall is the Vicar of Hoar Cross and he […]

July 2024 We visited four churches in Staffordshire all in one afternoon.  It was very overwhelming but fascinating to observe the vast differences in design and style back to back. All Saints Leek All Saints Leek is one of sixteen churches designed by Richard Norman Shaw (1831-1912).  Shaw was a dominant figure in nineteenth-century architecture, […]

July 5, 2024 Birmingham—or ‘Brum’ as it’s affectionately known—is an incredibly architecturally varied city. It was once called the City of a Thousand Trades.  I am traveling with the Victorian Society in America so the buildings we are seeing and what I am writing about here are primarily of that era. The foundation stone of […]

July 4, 2024 According to the Birmingham Directory of 1780, there were 26 jewelers at the time. Because the definition of a jeweler was not explained in the directory, it is thought that the number of actual jewelers may be lower. It is thought that by the start of the 19th century, there were around […]

July 4, 2024 We were only able to stand outside the Northhampton Guildhall, and even then, it was too huge to photograph in its entirety. The building, the third guildhall, was designed by Edward William Godwin in the Gothic Revival style and officially opened on May 17, 1864. The stone carvings are the most impressive feature […]

July 4, 2024 The Panacea Museum The Panacea Museum was once the home of Joanna Southcott. It still houses her box of revelations. The house is a wonderful example of middle-class Victorian life, but her box and her preachings were the most interesting to me.* Joanna Southcott was born in 1750 and began having religious […]

July 3, 2024 The East End After revoking the Edict of Nantes, which granted Huguenots civil rights in October 1685, Louis XIV forbade them to leave France on pain of imprisonment, torture, and death. Despite that, around 50,000 came to England. They settled in small houses like this and began the trade of silk weaving. […]

July 3, 2024 Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the largest Roman Catholic church in England and Wales and the seat of the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. Designed by John Francis Bentley in the 9th century. The building is in the neo-Byzantine style and made almost entirely of brick without steel reinforcements. Sir John Betjeman called […]

July 2, 2024 Knightsbridge Fire Station functioned from 1907 to 2014. These stunning terracotta columns and pilasters are on the backside of Harrods. The front of the building is a riot of ornamentation, but it is also scaffolded and is undergoing a large restoration. The Cadogan, a five-star hotel, holds the legacy of Oscar Wilde […]

July 1, 2024 Fleet Street is one of the oldest streets in London. It was established in the time of the Romans as an important thoroughfare route. By the Middle Ages, it had begun to thrive, with senior clergy locating their palaces there. Fleet Street was also known for its general culture of debauchery, as […]

June 30, 2024 Albertopolis is the nickname given to the area centered on Exhibition Road in London, named after Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s consort (husband). It contains many educational sites, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum, and the Natural History Museum. Exhibition Road gets its name from The Great Exhibition of the […]

June 28, 2024 I am back in London for a month.  Three of those weeks will be spent in school, but on my first day, recovering from a long air flight, I simply wandered around.  I was staying at the Strand Palace in Westminster and that is where my roaming took me. * This is […]

May 2024 This Washington Monument has graced Baltimore’s historic Mount Vernon neighborhood since 1829. It was based on a design submitted by architect Robert Mills. The 178-foot-tall landmark is the first in the U.S. dedicated to President George Washington.  Four small parks surround the monument. Washington faces south towards Annapolis and is depicted resigning his […]

May 2024 In 1788, Maryland ratified the the U.S. Constitution. On that day, 4,000 Baltimoreans gathered to celebrate, and the celebration concluded on the hill, giving it its name. In 1797, an observatory was opened at the hill’s peak, enabling merchants to receive advance word of ships approaching the harbor. During the War of 1812, […]

May 2021 The Fells Point Neighborhood   Fell’s Point is one of Baltimore’s oldest neighborhoods and was once a bustling shipbuilding port. It was home to jazz singer Billie Holiday and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Today, there are more bars in Fells Point than in any other part of Baltimore, and many streets are still lined […]

May 2024 Prohibition began on January 17, 1920, and for the next 13 years, the bar operated as a speakeasy. At the time, owner Colonel Consolvo placed two large plaster owl statues on the cash registers. The owls were named Sherry Belle and John Eager Howard, and they had electric glass eyes that signaled the […]

May 2024 I am on a tour, so the trip to Annapolis was brief, which is a shame because driving through Annapolis, it looked very intriguing; I will have to return one day. The Naval Academy Why a goat? There is a legend that a Navy ship once sailed with a pet goat and that […]

April 2024 Just a few years ago, I spent a very long time in Morocco. However, I had an opportunity to return with a wonderful gentleman, Professor Trevor Marchand.  We visited many places I had seen, but we also ventured into and through the Atlas Mountains to the Sahara Desert and the home of the […]

April 2024 Ancient water systems are fascinating. The Qanat system originated approximately 3,000 years ago in what is now Iran. On the margins of the Sahara Desert in Morocco, the isolated oases of the Draa River valley and Tafilalt have relied on qanat water for irrigation since the late 14th century. The Qanat is a […]

April 2024 Berber Architecture The Berbers built traditional kasbahs and fortifications. The Berber clans were often fending off invaders, so they were assembled for practical purposes, built with protection and security in mind. They functioned as trading posts or were strategically located to ward off adversaries. In Morocco, the term “kasbah” in the Atlas Mountain […]

April 2024 Zellij Tile Morocco isn’t Morocco without the Zellij tile. Zellij is a style of mosaic tilework made from individually hand-chiseled tile pieces. The pieces were typically different colors and fitted together to form various patterns, most notably elaborate Islamic geometric motifs such as radiating star patterns. This form of Islamic art is one […]

April 2024 Valley of the Roses The M’Goun Valley is known as the Valley of the Roses in Morocco and is famous for its roses. No one knows how roses first came to the Atlas Mountains; however, according to legend, they were carried here centuries ago by a Berber merchant from Damascus; the species that […]

January 2024 Chiyoda City, Tokyo All shrines are packed to the gills during New Year’s, and Hie is no different.  The shrine is close to the New Otani Hotel, and because of its 90 Tori gates, I love just stopping by and walking down the stairs. Asakusa Tokyo I remember these from my first visit […]

January  2024 It is my last full day in Japan, and I spent it at the Aoyama Cemetary.  If you know me, you are thinking, of course you did. This is a wonderful walk of small Japanese gardens and history. Aoyama was originally a burial site exclusively for the Japanese nobility at the beginning of […]

December 2023 I love the uniqueness of Japanese fences. Japanese-style fences, or “Sukiya-zukuri,” are rooted in traditional Japanese architecture—their origins date to the 16th century, when they were used to create boundaries and provide privacy. Over time, Japanese-style fences have become an essential element in Japanese landscape design. The fences above and below are called […]

November 2023 I love Tokyo for its rich history and cutting-edge modern architecture, and it is all jumbled together. Much of the outré architecture of Tokyo can be found on Odaiba. An artificial island, Odaiba was initially built in the 1850s for defensive purposes. The land was dramatically expanded during the late 20th century as […]

December 2023 There are always things when you travel that catch your eye. In the garden at Nijo-jo Castle, there are sotetsu (Sago palm) trees. These trees were the offerings from a Daimyo (regional feudal lord) for the Tokugawa Shogunate in the early Edo period. Quite obviously, they would never last the winters of Kyoto, […]

Tokyo January 2024 New Year is the most important holiday in Japan. I have moved to the New Otani Hotel as most businesses shut down from December 29th to January 3, so unless you are in a hotel with a restaurant, you are going to have to do a lot of cooking on your own. […]

December 2023 Tamozawa Imperial Villa is one of the largest remaining wooden buildings in Japan. It was the largest mansion of the Meiji Era.  So, this post will be a very long look at this stunning Japanese residence. There is a mix of both Japanese and European designs, such as carpets and chandeliers, but I […]

December 27, 2023 At the invitation of a Japanese friend who lives in Shimotsuke, Tochigi, my travel friend and I spent a day as her guest. Strawberry Picking It began with Strawberry picking at a pick-your-own, eat-all-you-can greenhouse farm. Tochigi is Japan’s top producer of strawberries. Japanese strawberries are considered one of the most delicious […]

December 2023 Kabuki is thought to have originated in the early Edo period, when the art’s founder, Izumo no Okuni, formed a female dance troupe that performed dances and light sketches in Kyoto. The art form later developed into its present all-male theatrical form after women were banned from performing in kabuki theatre in 1629. […]

December 2023 Ningyocho, Tokyo’s Doll Town Ningyocho is a neighborhood in the Nihonbashi district in Tokyo’s Chuo ward.  Ningyocho (literally “Doll Town”) was licensed by the city as a pleasure district of Japan during the Edo period. The area had puppeteers, dollmakers, and craftsmen necessary to support the industry, as well as Kabuki. On the […]

December 2023 I love the off-beat you find in our world, and Japan specializes in it.  Here are just a few random things that made me smile. I have touched on the manhole covers of Japan in many posts.  This is for Taito City, which is a ward within Tokyo proper.  These are characters from […]

December 25, 2023 Nikko is a two-hour train ride from Tokyo.  Much of the town is a World Heritage Site.  If one is to do it right, one should have at least two days with a night or two in an Onsen; however, I only had one day, and it was much too short. Nikko […]

December 2023 I have a passion for Edo Era architecture and gardens.  Hama-rikyu Gardens has three beautifully restored Edo-period buildings. Hama-rikyu Garden was once the property of the Tokugawa family and then the Imperial family. It was almost completely destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake and in the bombings of World War II. After the […]

December 2023 More than 100 rivers and canals flow beneath Tokyo.   According to the Government of Japan in 2015: “The Sumida River, though only 23.5 kilometers (about 15 miles) long, flows through a densely populated area of central Tokyo, with about 3 million people living in its basin, and it is one of the […]

December 22, 2023 I had the privilege of visiting the original inner Tsukiji fish market fifteen years ago when you could walk the floors with the chefs and the buyers.  That era is gone. Tokyo’s Tsukiji wholesale fish market, one of the city’s most popular destinations for international visitors, closed in October 2018.  It had […]

Nara Japan December 17th, 2023 I arrived in Nara with no idea that I had arrived for one of the most important festivals of the year. Kasuga Wakamija Onmatsuri is a Shinto festival that was originally created to pray away a disease epidemic. It later became associated with guaranteeing a good harvest because of the […]

December 17, 18, 2023 I have been to Nara before, as has my travel friend Susan, so here is a look at some of the typical tourist places we managed to re-visit.  The next post will be an area of Nara I had never seen before. Nara Sento-kun is a mascot of Nara. It was […]

December 17, 18, 2023 Having been to Nara before, I was in Nara for some R&R this time.  On arrival I discovered I had arrived for the Kasuga Wakamija Onmatsuri festivities.  So, after re-visiting some of the highlights of Nara and spending many hours at the festivities, I managed to squeeze in a walk in […]

December 11 and 12, 2023 Osaka is a 28-minute train ride from Kyoto, and yet it is a world away. This was a quick trip to Osaka to see the illuminations and try the street food.  It was also my first trip to Osaka, and I was blown away.  It is a vast and dense […]

December 2023 Long-standing stereotypes about Kansai (Western Japan) folks run as follows: Kyoto-ites spend their money on clothes, Kobe people on shoes, and Osakans blow all their cash on food. If this trip is any indication, that is very true.  There are several food areas in Osaka, and they are as entertaining as they are […]

December 2023 Chion-in ( Monastery of Gratitude) Yasaka Pagoda Yasaka Kōshin-dō The temple is dedicated to Shomen Kongo, a guardian warrior, and to the three wise monkeys. The colored balls are kukurizaru. They represent control over playfulness and desire-driven behavior. Visitors make a wish by placing one of their (bad) desires into a kukurizaru and leaving it with […]

December 2o23 While the Bamboo Forest and other attractions of Arashiyama are jam-packed, Okochi Sanso is a serene oasis and a must-visit for a mere $7.00. Ōkōchi Sansō Villa is the former residence of Japanese film star Ōkōchi Denjirō (1898-1962). A period actor from the film “The Tale of Genji”, he was part of the […]

December 10, 2023 Higashi Hongan-ji Higashi Hongan-ji, the head temple of the Ōtani-ha branch of Jōdo Shinshū, was most recently constructed in 1895 after a fire burned down the previous temple.  In fact, Various parts of Higashi Honganji, including the Founder’s Hall and Amida Hall, burned down four times during the Japanese Edo Period. This temple […]

December 2023 Uji is a small city between Kyoto and Nara, two of Japan’s most famous historical and cultural centers. Its proximity to these two former capitals resulted in Uji’s early development as a cultural center. In the Heian era (794-1185), Heian aristocrats maintained country houses in Uji. At the height of the political power […]

December 3, 2023 You can not enter any of the buildings on the Palace grounds, but you can stroll to your heart’s content.  Years ago, I was struck by two things at the Imperial Palace: the architectural elements and the garden.  Those are the two things that struck me as I walked through again fifteen […]

December 3, 2023 I have a passion for Japanese Gardens that verges on obsession.  As one would expect, the garden of the Imperial Palace is near perfect. The development of gardens in Japan is closely connected to the changing lifestyle of Japan’s nobility and the changes in who holds the power. During the ninth through […]

December 2, 2023 The one thing you can get overwhelmed with and then exhausted from is the vast amount of temples in Kyoto. Over 1600 Buddhist temples are scattered throughout the Kyoto Prefecture, as well as 400 Shinto shrines.  Those are the ones big enough to count. There are countless other small ones. How do […]

December 2023 I spent this morning just doing a Sunday Saunter. It was nice to see a side of Kyoto that has history, beauty, and serenity. These are a few things that caught my eye. A random sign on one of the many, many shopping streets. During the Edo Period, the Tōkaidō road became the […]

December 2, 2023 I have discussed the fact that it is Momiji-gari season in Japan.  I have attributed a large portion of the crowds to this since the lesser temples appear to be quiet and peaceful. Today was so bad that it gave even this seasoned traveler pause.  I do not travel to be a […]

November 30, 2023 I was in Kyoto with my late husband in 2009, and I have nothing but wonderful memories. I fell in love with Kyoto.  I was not maintaining a website at the time, so my photos, as lovely as they are, sit in photo albums on a shelf. For this reason, I look […]

December 1, 2023 The tourists are rather overwhelming in Kyoto at present, and the reason is Momiji-gari. Momiji-gari literally means “hunting red leaves’. It derives from momiji (red leaves or maple tree) and kari (hunting). I visited three major temples today, and once you realize there is nothing you can do with the teems of […]

December 1, 2023 I would have loved to have taken photos of the structures and walkways of this temple.  However, it was wall-to-wall people, and photos were almost impossible, with the exception of looking out over the rails. I had to go with the flow and simply enjoy the momiji-gari. Eikando belongs to the Jodo […]

December 1, 2023 Walking the Philosopher’s Path between Eikando Zenrin-ji Temple and The Silver Pavillion The Philosophers Path The Philosophers Path follows a canal which is lined by hundreds of cherry trees. It must be spectacular when the cherry blossoms bloom.  It is one of the city’s most popular hanami (cherry blossom viewing) spots.  It […]

November 2023 I have been on the art islands before and have written extensively about it.  However, there are a few new installations that deserve to be written about. One of the more enjoyable is Narcissus Garden by Yayoi Kusama.  This is part of a new area titled Valley Gallery, which encompasses another of my […]

November 26, 2023 Sometimes, you trip upon a magical space and relish in its uniqueness.  I am at Nashima for the second time because I was unable to get to the island of Inujima on my previous trip. I am so glad I returned. It was worth it just to explore this amazing project. The […]

November 26, 2023 Inujima, while centered on the museum, also has a few scattered “art houses”.  This is, after all, a Benesse Project. The three islands hold a Triennale with site-specific art that remains after the show is over. Art House F This piece is by Kohei Nawa. The architect was Kazuyo Sejima. The description […]

November2023 I have been to Naoshima and Teshima before, and this visit was to explore Inujima. Here are some photos from all three islands that show their beauty and serenity. * * * * * * *

November 19, 2023 This is not my first trip to Japan. It is one of my favorite countries to explore.  However, this time, I am staying for seven weeks and concentrating on getting to know the country in a more relaxed and deeper way. That being said, there are always the typical things one must […]

November 19, 2023 Zojoji was founded by the priest Yuyo Shoso in 1393 as the first Jodo Buddhist practice hall in the area. During the Edo period (1600-1868), it was the family temple of the Tokugawa shoguns, becoming the center of all Jodo Shu temples in Japan.  At its peak, the temple grounds held more […]

November 2023 For my first week in Tokyo, I am staying in the Ueno district in Taito Ward.  The biggest attraction is Ueno Park.  Ueno is a working-class area that is beginning to become popular and is adjusting to a tourist clientele. There are two central portions of Ueno, the Park, and the Ameyoko area. […]

November 2023 Ueno Park sits on land that once belonged to Kan’ei-ji, founded in 1625 in the unlucky direction to the northeast of Edo Castle. Most of the temple buildings were destroyed in the Battle of Ueno in 1868 during the Boshin War when the Tokugawa shogunate was defeated by those wanting to restore the […]

November 2023 I am in London to enjoy the company of friends, see a few plays, eat some good food, and just enjoy the architecture and people of this wonderful city. I am staying right on the Thames at Broken Wharf, looking down on a spot where I went mudlarking last year.  It affords me […]

November 14, 2023 I began my day at Blackfriars Bridge.  Blackfriars originated as a Dominican friary founded in the year 1278. The name Blackfriars comes from the color of the robes that the Dominicans wore. I had the best of intentions of wandering the Farringdon Neighborhood all day today.  The rain began around noon and continued […]

November 2023 I am leaving London with a heavy heart, despite the knowledge I will be back in a short seven months. This trip was to visit friends, dine out, and see a few plays.  I managed to do a lot more, but here are the plays I saw and the places I dined, none […]

November 10, 2023 I traveled to the Isle of White via ferry, leaving out of Portsmouth to Ryde. Once you disembark from the ferry, you have a long walk to town on the Ryde Pier. Ryde Pier is an early 19th-century pier and is the world’s oldest seaside pleasure pier. The pier was designed by […]

November 10, 2o23 Portsmouth’s history dates to the Roman times. It is said that Portsmouth was founded c. 1180 by Anglo-Norman merchant Jean de Gisors. The city is home to the first drydock ever built. It was constructed by Henry VII in 1496. Portsmouth has served as a significant Royal Navy dockyard and base for centuries. […]

Portsmouth, England November 9, 2023 The HMS Victory is undergoing a massive overhaul, so I was not able to see her as a whole ship from the outside.  The inside, however, is an amazing walk through history.  It is difficult to convey through pictures or even words, but the 2-3 hours I spent on The […]

Portsmouth UK November 9th, 2023 If you want to get an honest and complete look at what naval service and war were like in the 1600s, 1700s, and early 1800s, visit Portsmouth, England. The quality of education you receive while touring both the Mary Rose and the Victory is second to none. The Mary Rose […]

November 7, 2023 I am here to visit an old friend, James.  While he lives in Wales, we have agreed to meet in Coventry so we can gather with other friends in the area. The town of Coventry was bombed rather heavily during WWII and then suffered from the classic concept of modernization, also known […]

October 2023 Homewood Cemetery was established in 1878 from William Wilkins’ 650-acre estate, called Homewood. This is the final resting grounds of the robber barons of the Pittsburgh Golden Age, as well as noted politicians, artists, sports figures, scientists, and others. Section 14 of the cemetery sits atop a hill and houses the largest plots […]

October 2023 The Emmanuel Episcopal Church, completed in 1886, is by H. H. Richardson.  Richardson did not live to see the church completed, and had he; there might have been a few changes.  While the design is perfect, the slate roof is so heavy it has caused the walls to bow.  It actually adds a […]

October 2023 Standing on the grass of Carnegie Mellon, you can see the University of Pittsburgh’s (Pitt) Cathedral of Learning. The 42-story Late Gothic Revival Cathedral is the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere and the second-tallest university building in the world. The entrance to the Margaret Morrison Building, which houses the School of […]

October 2023 The Monongahela and the Allegheny meet and become the Ohio River. This is what defines Pittsburgh today and fueled its history and growth. The 40-year period from 1870 until 1910 marked Pittsburgh’s Golden Age. With the rivers for transportation and the Connellsville coal seam that runs through Pittsburgh, the business of glass and […]

May 2023 The Boston Common is a 50-acre public park in downtown Boston, a perfect place to spend a lovely sunny day. Central Burying Ground On one end of the Common is the Central Burying Ground. The cemetery was established in 1756 and is located on Boylston Street between Tremont Street and Charles Street. Famous […]

May 2023 Trinity Church and HH Richardson Our group has a tendency to drift toward H.H. Richardson buildings, and that is a good thing.  Boston is full of Richardson projects. Henry Hobson Richardson (1838 – 1886) was an American architect best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along […]

May 2023 We spent the day in Concord area looking at several very interesting homes, all of which I will get to in another post.  However, I am a fiend of architecture from the Bauhaus school, and to see the home of the master himself was such a joy. Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (May 1883 […]

May 2023   PEM is one of the oldest continuously operating museums in the United States and holds one of the major collections of Asian art in the US. Its total holdings include about 1.3 million pieces, as well as twenty-two historic buildings. It is worth a visit! The museum was remodeled by Safdie Architects […]

May 2023 A day spent outside of Boston in Gloucester was a quick but interesting day. The Sleeper-McCann House – Beauport This home, designed by its owner, Henry Sleeper, beginnings date to 1907.  Like many, he was never happy and altered and modified throughout his life. The home was originally built as a modest Arts […]

March 2023 The Nashville Union Station and Trainshed were constructed in the 1890s as part of the Louisville and Nashville (L&N) Railroad’s construction program.  Nashville Union Station was a major transfer station on the Louisville and Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis lines.  The station was designed by Richard Montfort, an engineer employed by the railroad. Montfort […]

January 2023 This post is just a placeholder for my memory.  I spent just a few days on this trip in Istanbul as my layover from Oman to home would have included ten hours in the Istanbul airport; I decided to drop in on one of my favorite cities in the world. A city I […]

January 2023 Oman’s Al Said Haitham bin Tariq Al Said replaced his uncle, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, upon his death in 2020. Qaboos was a much-loved Sultan. Using rents from the natural resources of Oman (petroleum, natural gas, and minerals), Qaboos modernized and transformed Oman, developing its infrastructure, healthcare, and educational systems, as well as various income-generating sectors, […]

January 2023   The Sultanate of Oman is the largest country in the world with a majority Ibadi Islamic population. Ibadhism formally established itself around 750 in what is now Oman, with its center in Nizwa. The Fort of Nizwa was built in the 1650s by Imam Sultan Bin Saif Al Ya’rubi, although its underlying […]

December 2023 Khasab and the Musandam Peninsula Khasab is an exclave of Oman at the tip of the Musandam Peninsula, very near the Strait of Hormuz. It has been dubbed the “Norway of Arabia” because of its extensive fjord-like craggy inlets and desolate mountainscapes.   Oman is very fractured geographically. This is where Khasab, on […]

January 2023 Abu Dhabi is an Emirate in the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi has 200 islands, and the country is developing the larger ones as, essentially, theme parks. There is a conservation island with an Arabian Wildlife Park,  Zaya Nurai, a boutique island resort, Al Maryah Island for business and high-end shopping, Yas Island […]

December 2023 As I mentioned in my last post, there is some excellent architecture in Abu Dhabi, and this post is going to concentrate on that. Designed by the firm Aedas, one tower is the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, an investment arm of the Government of Abu Dhabi. The other serves as […]

December 2023 This was finally a day of history. Fujairah is in the easternmost part of the UAE; the geography is one of craggy mountains often covered in greenery, interspersed with date palm-tree-filled oases.  Fujairah received its highest rainfall in 27 years in July of 2022, causing flooding in many areas. This area is replete […]

January 2023 Dubai is one of the Emirates that makes up the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  There are seven emirates, consisting of Abu Dhabi (the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm Al Quwain. One sees images of Dubai in mass media, and these glossy photos, highly photoshopped, look intriguing.  My impression […]

January 2023 By now most people are familiar with Qatar thanks to the 2022 World Cup.  The capital, fastest growing city, and financial hub, Doha, is a truly lovely city with sensible planning, buildings by some of the world’s greatest architects, campuses of some of the world’s greatest universities, and greenery everywhere. Historically, Doha, like […]

January 2023 Sir Bani Yas is an example of what you can do when you have mountains of oil money at your disposal. The name Sir Bani Yas originates from the Bani Yas tribe, who first inhabited Abu Dhabi 7,000 years ago and left at least a century ago. The island is the crest of […]

December 2022   I took a Christmas-Food-themed walking tour put on by London Walks.  When discussing Christmas geese, we were brought to this very interesting little spot in Leadenhall. In the 1800s, Old Tom, a gander from Ostend, Belgium, became a fixture in the market. Somehow Tom never made it to anyone’s dinner table and […]

December 2022 I am an avowed taphophile, so visiting cemeteries is part of my travels wherever I go.  I made an intentional trip to Highgate, tour and all, but the others were pleasant happenstances. Highgate An act of Parliament created The London Cemetery Company in 1836. Stephen Geary, an architect, and the company’s founder appointed […]

December 2022 Eltham Palace Eltham Palace consists of the medieval great hall of a former royal residence, to which an Art Deco extension was added in the 1930s, described as a “masterpiece of modern design”. The original palace was given to Edward II in 1305 by the Bishop of Durham. It is said that is […]

December 2022 Taxis With the advent of Uber and Lyft filling the world with cheap rides from underpaid drivers, the London Cabbie is still a wonder and should be used as often as possible while in London. One of the reasons is Knowledge. The Knowledge was introduced as a requirement for taxi drivers in 1865. There […]

December 2022 The Lights at Kew Gardens * * * * * *** * * * * * Christmas Around Town * * **  

December 2022 A trip from downtown London to Greenwich is about one hour.  As the sun was shining and the temperatures have risen to the low 50s, a boat down the Thames seemed the most delightful way to get to Greenwich today. Of course, there are bridges across the Thames; in fact, there are more […]

December 2022 We walked into this churchyard because we were looking for a plague pit, we found so much more. St. Bartholomew Church is very intriguing from the street, and one can’t help but want to walk through that arched doorway even if you didn’t know what lay behind it. The building was founded as […]

December 2022 I have taken a flat in London for the month.  London, like most major cities in the world, has been visited, photographed, and Instagrammed to death.  I will not be writing about the major attractions while here, but the odd and obscure. I am staying in the Camden Borough of London, it is […]

December 2022 Roman Walls and the Tower of London Some kind of fortification most likely completely surrounded the Roman city of Londinium. The portions of the wall still remaining date from between CE 190 and 225. This section of the wall is built of rubble (mostly Kentish ragstone) bound in a hard mortar and faced […]

December 2022 Hill House When I was here just two months ago, I concentrated on the architecture of Alexander Thomson as I had too little time to discover the works of Glasgow’s most famous architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh.  At the time, I knew I was coming back for three days of a whirlwind through Mackintosh. […]

December 2022 This is just one small section of the books from King George III’s library.  The display dominates the British Library and is just one of many reasons to visit the library.  They have rotating exhibitions and a permanent area filled with treasures from the British Library, ranging from the Magna Carta to handwritten […]

November 29th 2022 Saint Nicolinas We are here for the beginning of the festivities of Saint Nicolinas. The Nicolinas Celebrations have their origin in the 3rd and 4th centuries and were centered on people’s religious devotion to St. Nicholas, the protector of poor girls, persecuted, merchants, children, prisoners, the unfortunate, those abandoned by luck, and […]

November 2022 Guimarães was originally settled in the 9th century and called Vimaranes. It is thought the name may have had its origin in the warrior Vímara Peres, who chose this area as the main government seat for the County of Portugal which he conquered for the Kingdom of Galicia. Guimarães is often referred to […]

November 2022 The dominant white grape varieties of this area are Alvarinho, Arinto (locally known as Pedernã), Avesso, Azal, Loureiro, and Trajadura, while the red varieties are Borraçal, Brancelho, Espadeiro, and Vinhão. The white wines are particularly refreshing, many of which, when tasting, were referred to as swimming pool wines. The region began producing sparkling […]

November 2022 Peneda-Gerês National Park   Soajo My traveling partner Susan and I picked up a dear friend Katherine who is accompanying us for the next few days.  Our first stop after a lovely night in Fortaleza de Valença was the town of Soajo.  While there are signs everywhere warning you of wandering cows, it […]

Citânia de Briteiros The Citânia de Briteiros archaeological site of the Castro Culture is one of the more excavated sites in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula.  I first encountered excavations of the Castro Culture when walking the Camino de Santiago. I had no idea there were so many sites on the Iberian Peninsula of this particular […]

November 2022 The Walled Portion of the City of Valença, Portugal Valença dates from Roman times. Inside the fortified walls, a Roman milestone marks the XLII (42nd) mile of an ancient Roman road that connected the town of Braga to Tui. i[berius] Claudius Caesar Aug[ustus] Germanicus Pontifex Max[imus]. Imp[erator] V Co[n]s[ul] III, Trib[unicia] Potest[ate] III. […]

November 2022 This was a day of exploring the Minho Region, the oldest part of the country of Portugal. Originally settled by the barbarian Suevi, this early reconquered part of Portugal has the highest concentration of Romanesque churches in the country and some of the most significant historic sites in the Iberian Peninsula. There isn’t […]

November 2022 There are at least 42 aqueducts in Portugal.  Fifteen were built for public water supply and 26 for private supply. The word aqueduct comes from the Latin “aqua” for water and “ducere” which means to lead. Even though aqueducts are very much associated with the roman empire this one was built much later. […]

November 2022 This is my second trip to Porto and this trip is less about discovering the city and more about discovering the wine. I did not get to the famous bookstore, Livraria Lello, on my last visit, so I will begin there.  You can now buy 5€ jump-the-line tickets with the money going towards […]

November 17, 2022 The City of Parma is lovely but you come to Parma for Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, and Aceto Balsamico. We spent one full day with Stefania of Cooking with Stefania, and I mean a whole day.  We began in a Parmigiano Reggiano factory, proceeded to Stefania’s house to cook lunch, then […]

November 2022 I have already discussed the tour of Parmigiano Reggiano, but on the same day spent Cooking with Stefania we visited two more food production locations. Prosciutto di Parma It was in 100 BCE that Cato the “Censor” first mentioned the extraordinary flavor of the air-cured ham made around the town of Parma in […]

November 19, 2022 Parma is a university city and one of the largest cities in the Emilia-Romagna region, with a population just under 200,000. The city is of course famous for Parmesan cheese and Parma ham, and it is the first Italian city to become a UNESCO heritage site for Gastronomy. The city was founded […]

November 2022 The walls of Lucca (Mura di Lucca)  are a series of stone, brick, and earthwork fortifications that are among the best-preserved Renaissance fortifications in Europe. The construction of the current walls of Lucca, which replaced earlier medieval and Roman fortifications, began on May 7, 1504, and ended a century and a half later […]

November 2022 San Michele in Foro is a Roman Catholic basilica built over an ancient Roman forum, dedicated to Archangel Michael. The church is mentioned for the first time in 795 as ad foro (in the forum). The church was rebuilt in 1070 under the orders of Alexander Pope II. What takes one’s breath away before […]

November 2022 At one time Lucca had as many as 30,000 people living in its downtown behind the walls, once cars were banned that population dropped precipitously.  It is growing back but is still nowhere near its original numbers. Lucca has always been a wealthy area, as has all of Florence.  During the early 20s, […]

November, 2022 Bagni di Lucca is a respite and a divine little spot to unwind. The area has been known for its thermal springs since the Etruscan and Roman Times.  It was first mentiond in an official document of 983 AD as “Corsena”, with reference to a donation by the Bishop Teudogrimo of the territory […]

November 2022 In 402 CE the reality of barbarian invasions compelled the Western Roman emperor Honorius to move his court from Rome to Ravenna. In 438 the city was raised to the status of an archbishopric.  With the fall of the Western Empire in 476, it became the capital of the first barbarian ruler of […]

November 2022 Ravenna is a very quiet town at this time of year.  There are very few people and almost no cars, making access to everything easy, and fairly clear of tourists. The main reason people come to Ravenna is the mosaics. And rightfully so, as they are worth a trip.  However, the city holds […]

November 2022 Basilica di San Vitale Gustav Klimt visited Ravenna twice in 1903, after which began the period of his painting called “aureus”. Many speculate that he did so after seeing the gold of the mosaics in the Basilica di San Vitale.               Yesterday I came here. It was […]

November 8, 2022   I am a lover of Dante.  I have read Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy) at a minimum, three times, which means I have only begun to read Dante.  I spent lockdown walking in my living room and reading aloud, the best way to read Dante in my humble opinion. I will […]

November 2, 2022 Il Campianto sul Cristo Morto by Niccolò dell’Arca 1463 Inside the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Vita are two spectacular works of art in terra cotta. First is the Il Campianto sul Cristo Morto (Lamentation Over Dead Christ) by Niccolò dell’Arca. This dramatic depiction of sorrow and death was commissioned by the […]

November 2022 A 30-minute walk from Piazza Maggiore, sitting in an open field, is the Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau. Originally the project was a model home constructed for the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, designed by Swiss architects Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. The Pavillon was conceived as a […]

November 6, 2022 I went through Bologna in May of this year at a pace that would defy the speed of light.  This trip, 4 full days, was spent seeing the city at any pace I wanted, drinking glasses of Pignoletto, and watching the world go by. No matter the slow pace, one eventually sees things […]

As a tourist, I must admit I prefer Cambridge over Oxford.  Very simply because its entire downtown is pedestrian and it is not growing upwards so it still has a very comfortable spatial feel to it. However…bicycle usage is overwhelming, which under normal circumstances I would applaud, but I am afraid the youthful, unfettered cyclists […]

October 30, 2022 The city of York gives its name to the County of Yorkshire. While the House of York was one of the two protagonists’ family clans in the Wars of the Roses, during the 15th century, it was primarily a Roman military encampment known as Eboracum. The keep of the medieval Norman castle […]

October 28, 2023 Driving south to Glasgow The Glenfinnan Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Inverness-shire. It was built between 1897 and 1901 and overlooks the Glenfinnan Monument and the waters of Loch Shiel. The viaduct is built from mass concrete and has 21 semicircular spans of 50 feet. […]

October 2022 6 TIMES is a series of six sculptures created by Turner Prize-winning artist Antony Gormley (b. 1950). They were initially installed in 2010 and reinstalled in 2019. The sculptures are life-size cast iron sculptures of the artist’s own body. The works are placed across the city.  They begin with the first at the […]

October 2022 Edinburgh Holyrood Castle Holyrood Palace (sometimes called Holyrood House) is the official residence of the British monarchy in Scotland. The palace has served as the principal royal residence in Scotland since the 16th century and is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining. Taking a tour of Holyrood is a walk through […]

October 21, 2022 My first day in Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh Castle You can not miss the castle when in Edinburgh. Edinburgh Castle stands on Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. The castle has served a royal purpose since the reign of David I in the 12th century […]

October 22, 2022 Today was rainy and foggy making picture-taking problematic. But there is so much to see in Edinburgh I couldn’t let a little weather deter me.  Day 2: Edinburgh is notorious for its unsavory past and has been called the most haunted city in all of Europe.  Add to that the dark stone […]

October 20, 2022 Leaving Oxford on the way to Edinburgh is a lovely drive, sadly it was pouring rain.  Two stops were required on this little strip of the road.  Chatsworth House and Hadrian’s Wall.  A third, was simply because it was convenient. Chatsworth House is lovely but with limited time I decided to spend […]

October 17, 2022 The buildings of Oxford are well known if one watches British television, in particular Inspector Morse.  It isn’t quite like on television because when you wander town there are actual people populating every square inch of the town, but the sense of history and the magnificent architecture isn’t lost on anyone despite, […]

October 17, 2022 I walked all day on the 17th and decided to break this into two posts, one architecture and the other all the other fun stuff I saw.  Here goes with the Odd and Fun. Jane Burden was a major figure in the 19th-century Pre-Raphaelite art movement. She was the favorite model for Dante Gabriel Rossetti, […]

October 18, 2022 The University of Oxford has thirty-nine colleges and six permanent private religious halls. These institutions are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university. The colleges are not only student residences but have the responsibility of teaching undergraduate students. Most colleges take both graduates and undergraduates, but several are for graduates only. Behind the […]

October 15, 2023 There is a legend that Bath was founded in 860 BCE when Prince Bladud, the father of King Lear, caught leprosy. He was banned from the court and was forced to look after pigs in a faraway location. The pigs caught the skin disease from him, but when they went rooting for […]

Queen Mary 2 The Week of October 7 to 14, 2022 A crossing is simply that. Cross the Atlantic Ocean from New York City to Southampton, England, with no ‘cruise’ stops. Site while sitting in Port * * Getting Under Way Going under the Verazzano Narrows Bridge The longest suspension bridge in the United States, […]

October 6, 2022 If one begins the High Line at West 29th you start at Hudson Yards.  While Hudson Yards if filled with many attractions, the reason I was there was to see the Vessel.  The Vessel is a spiral staircase, designed as an interactive piece of art by Thomas Heatherwick of Heatherwick Studio.  Sadly, after […]

June 2022 Kirkjugólfið Kirkjugólfið (the church floor) is a basalt column rock formation located in Kirkjubæjarklaustur. It was originally believed to be an old church floor but research showed there had never been any building there. The name is probably related to many of the other names in the area that have relation to Christianity […]

June 2022 Discovery Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarsson was the first Norseman to intentionally sail to Iceland. His story is documented in the Landnámabók manuscript; however, the precise year of his arrival is not clear. It is told that Hrafna-Flóki began his journey with three ravens.  At some point he decided to use his ravens to find the […]

June 2022 Westfjords are the oldest part of Iceland.  They originated during a series of volcanic eruptions which took place during the Tertiary Period, around 14 to 16 million years ago.  After an ice age which ended about 10,000 years ago, the progression of the glacier carved deep valleys and fjords in the landscape leaving […]

June 2022 Öndvegissúlur, or high-seat pillars, were wooden poles placed on each side of the chair of the head of household in a Viking-period Scandinavian house. According to writings in Landnámabók and sagas, written after the settlement of Iceland, some of the first settlers brought high-seat pillars with them from Norway. Once the land was […]

June 2022 Many people told me that the food in Iceland was blah and uneventful, if not downright bad. I beg to differ.  I NEVER take pictures of food, but I felt I needed to to show how lovely the food was. * I will let you make your own opinion, but even Stanley Tucci […]

June 2022 Iceland roads are excellent until they are not.  They are nicely paved, and the traffic is almost non-existent, but then you get to the western fjords. There a gravel road is not uncommon and should you want to explore things on the coast a very poor dirt road might be your only option. […]

June 2022 Iceland is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the North America Plate and the Eurasia Plate drift apart.  Essentially, due to the drift, the crust at the plate boundary is gradually stretched until it fails. Then magma rises to the surface to fill the gap.  The drift is about 2 cm per year, […]

Northern Iceland is dominated by Fjords. Defined as narrow and long inlets surrounded by cliffs and steep sides, fjords are so varied in their topography and vegetation as to be gorgeous and yet indescribable. * They are mesmerizing but also frightening to drive at times. Farm houses dot the sparsely populated roads. Fjords form as […]

June 2022 Driving through Iceland, one comes upon these “furrows” that are regular and yet mysterious.  They are created to dry fields mostly for hay-making and grazing. Excavators cut deep trenches into low-lying wetlands. Interestingly, some money from the Marshall Plan was originally used for this purpose. The trenches are connected to a brook or […]

June 2022 Skaftafellsjökull Or Skaftafell Glacier The glacier tongue Skaftafellsjökull sits in the nature reserve in Öræfi, Vatnajökull National Park. It is one of many tongues stretching out from the largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajökull. This ice cap covers eleven percent of the surface area of Iceland. Skaftafellsjökull is an excellent but concerning example of how […]

June 2022 It is always interesting when ones preconceived notions are tossed to the wind and then brought back again.  In the first two days of driving in Iceland, I was awestruck by the green hills, fertile valleys, and luscious hills.  But this is not what I had expected.  I had expected black sand, black […]

June 2022 Iceland is overwhelming on so many levels.  Driving the Ring Road, which is essentially circumnavigating the island, every 5 miles is different, and I am frankly, overwhelmed.  I needed to begin this blog somewhere because if I wait to process all that is coming at me I won’t be able to do so […]

June 2022 I fell in love with Reykjavik the moment I stepped out of my hotel.  It is at a scale that is so very livable.  Most of the streets are car free and those that are not are pedestrian, scooter and bike dominated so that the cars go so slow you wonder why they […]

June 2022 When I mentioned I was looking forward to spending time in Reykjavik to explore the architecture, most people expressed surprise.  There is far more here than you can imagine. The architecture of Reykjavik needs a little history. From the landing of the Norwegian Vikings in CE 870 people resided in wooden longhouses protected […]

June 2022 I saw a picture of the Fogo Island Inn in 2013 when it was completed, right then and there I knew I had to visit.  It took a while but I finally had a chance to stay at the Inn. The most beautiful way to see the building is from the water, to […]

June 2022 There are always things I see that don’t fit in a specific post, so here we go with some fun things. I love dogs, but I will admit I know very little about them, so the education I received when admiring these two was edifying. Nobody knows the origins of the Newfoundland. They […]

June 2022 Cod is such a huge part of Newfoundland’s history, and some of it is tied up with Port wine from Portugal. After his voyage in 1497, John Cabot’s crew reported that “the sea there is full of fish that can be taken not only with nets but with fishing-baskets.” The Newmans of Dartmouth […]

June 2022   Specific to Port Union Port Union was established in 1916. It is the only “union-built town” in North America. William Ford Coaker and the members of the Fishermen’s Protective Union (FPU) settled the town with the aim of developing a new type of commercial and economic footing for Newfoundland’s fishermen.  The row […]

May 2022 Sometimes you have to complete a journey to realize it might not have been the best idea.  I decided to drive from Bay of Fundy to my final destination in Newfoundland. So far it has been an interesting experience.  It began with a 7 hour ferry ride from Sydney Harbor, Nova Scotia to […]

May 2022 A quick geography lesson before the geology lesson. This area is actually called Newfoundland Labrador. The island of Newfoundland is the easternmost region of Canada, while Labrador is located on the mainland to the northwest. This post is about the Newfoundland portion of the province. With John Cabot’s arrival the island has been […]

May 2022 This stop is for my late husband Michael.  He loved to sail, and he had so much fascinating information in his brain it was hard to keep up.  One day in passing he mentioned that the Bay of Fundy had the world’s largest tidal difference.  I do not know if that was a […]

May 2022 Munich is Germany’s third largest city and has a population of over 1.5 million people. It is also a very densely packed city making architectural photography a real challenge. The city has a relatively short history, only first mentioned in the 12th century, however, it was an important power within the former Holy […]

Dealing with Difficult Times I often find it unsettling to be in Germany.  The people are absolutely wonderful, and the beer is grand, but their history weighs heavy.  That being said, I feel that the Germans are far better than many societies at confronting the horrors of the past and honoring those that suffered. World […]

May 2022 The Nymphenburg Palace and Park served as the main summer residence for the former rulers of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach. Commissioned by the electoral couple Ferdinand Maria and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, it was designed by Italian architect Agostino Barelli in 1664 following the  birth of the electoral couple’s son Maximilian […]

May 2022 The city of Ulm was founded in 850, it is a small city with a population of just 126,000, and is the home of Ulm University. In the wars following the French Revolution, the city was alternately occupied by French and Austrian forces, with the former ones destroying the city fortifications. There was […]

May 2022 Vienne is a mere 18 minutes by train from Lyon and yet it is a million miles away. Vienne sits on the Rhône River where it eventually joins the  Gère River, about 20 miles south of Lyon. In ancient times Vienne was the capital of the Celtic tribe known as the Allobroges. It was […]

May 2022 Annecy, France is one of those towns that simply stepped right off of a movie screen.  It has an historic district that sits on a clear blue lake and hardly seems real. Annecy is billed as a city of Art and it does have a considerable amount of lovely public art, but I […]

May 2022 In all my many travels around Italy, I had never been to Genova.  I wish I had more time to discover its secrets. I am on a whirlwind trip, not of my planning.   I always say, one must return, I look forward to peeking behind the curtain some day in the future. […]

May 2022 This is a whirlwind trip via train through Europe.  While I am accustomed to slow travel, I am traveling with a special friend for a special reason and I have put myself in her capable hands.  This was an eight hour day in Bologna, a lifetime would not be enough. The lunch meat […]

May 2022 Bern, Switzerland   Bern is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to as the “federal city”.  It has a population 144,000 (as of 2020) and is the fifth-most populous city in Switzerland. And according to legend it got its name from the actual animal the bear. For that reason you will see […]

May 2022 The Bernina Express or Red Train has been on my list for a while, thanks to my friend Bruce M.  It is touted as the most beautiful train ride in the world.  I have taken many a train ride, and I would not go so far as to say this is the most […]

May 2022 Lucerne One of the most iconic sites of Lucerne is the Spreuer Bridge (Or Chapel Bridge).  The original was erected around 1400 but destroyed by a storm and rebuilt in 1568. Under the roof of Spreuer Bridge, 67 paintings dating from 1626 to 1635 represent a “Dance of Death”. Death urges everybody to dance […]

May 2022 During the 17th century and Amsterdam’s economic boom, the city created a concentric canal belt. Four ditches were dug around the Dam, connecting up the river Ij and Amstel. All to encourage water traffic and the rapid transport of goods throughout the city. The buildings were always a combination of residence and business, […]

May 2022 The De Waag was built in 1488 and served as one of Amsterdam’s main city gates.  It closed at exactly 9:30 at night to keep out bandits, the poor and the diseased. By the 17th century the city had expanded making the gates superfluous.  At that time the building became a weighing house. […]

April 2022 I arrived in Antwerp at the Central Rail station. Originally built between 1895 and 1905, and first used in 1905 the station was designed by Louis Delacenserie, the station is also known as the Middenstatie (Middle station) or Spoorwegkathedraal (Railroad Cathedral). Built in a rather eclectic style the station was completely renovated and […]

April 2022   Bruges is known as Venice of the North and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an ancient and stunning city.  Founded by the Vikings in the 9th century it is thought the name Bruges (Brugge) derives from the old-Scandinavian word ‘Brygga’ meaning ‘harbor’ or ‘mooring place’. Canals were […]

January 2022 I have traveled from the coast to the rain forest over the last few days.  The beauty of the land is why you come to see in Costa Rica, so enjoy. BIRDS I am not a birder so I will fail to name most of these, I apologize.  Many that I saw were […]

January 2022 The French were not the first to think of building a canal through Panama, but they were the first to try.  Their effort that began in 1880 ended in disaster and resulted in over 25,000 deaths. In 1902, once the French pulled out of the project, Teddy Roosevelt pushed the US to purchase […]

January 2022 My first stop in Panama was the San Blas Islands.  The accommodations were booked as a primitive over the water hut, which is exactly what they were. The huts are comfortable to sleep in, and delightful to just laze on the back deck.  The walls do not reach the ceiling, so the gentle […]

December 2021 Christmas in Paris is Magical.  Lights are everywhere, stores, and neighborhoods get in the spirit, trees grace many windows and interesting decorations pop up here and there. There are Christmas Markets everywhere with the smells of Christmas and hot mulled wine and roasted chestnuts on most every corner. Enjoy! * * Festival Des […]

December 2021 There are always pictures you take, and places you go that never quite fit into the narrative you have chosen to tell on any given day.  Here is a roundup of those things I want to recall but had no place to put them. What is with the French and their Mice? If […]

December 2021 The 19th  is crossed by two canals, the Canal Saint-Denis and the Canal de l’Ourcq, which meet near the Parc de la Villette. On the Canal de l’Ourcq, one will find a metal lift bridge, the Pont de Flandre, linking the Quai de l’Oise to the Quai de la Marne. Commissioned in 1885 […]

December 2021 I am all for walking in Paris, I love getting lost, I think that is what Paris is all about.  If I need to get crosstown I prefer the bus, you can look out the windows and see the world.  But…sometimes the Metro is the only way to get where you are going, […]

December 2021 The Panthéon Architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot designed the Pantheon to fulfill  Louis XV’s wish to glorify the monarchy in the form of a church dedicated to Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. The church was to also house her relics. The building was placed in the center of the Place du Panthéon which […]

December 2021 While Montmartre was the center of the art world of the late 1800s, it moved to Montparnasse in the early 1900s. In the early 1900s Paris was the home of the avant-garde with the advent of Cubism, Surrealism and Dadaism – Picasso and Matisse, Chagall, Giacometti, Miró and Calder, Man Ray and Foujita […]

December 2021 It is rather ludicrous to write about art in Paris since the city is filled with art on every street corner, every building and every park.  There is also great street art if you look around.  There really are too many to even begin to consider writing about, but here are a few […]

November 2021 It is difficult to write about Paris, as the city and its sites are so famous, but there are always little unknowns.  Take for example the guillotine, Lafayette and the US Revolutionary War. The guillotine is a well known instrument of death.  Physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin did not invent the machine, he simply suggested […]

November 2021 Notre Dame du Travail The exterior of Notre Dame du Travail looks like any church in any town built in this time period, but it was the interior that brought me here. The parish that served this area was originally known as Notre Dame de l’Assomption de Plaisance. When the quartier became part […]

December 2021 I am in Tübingen to visit an old friend.  What a delightful little diversion to my hectic schedule.  The town is around four hours from Paris on the TGV. It is the quintessential fairy tale town with castle and all. Tübingen first appears in official records in 1191. And the Hohentübingen Castle, has […]

November 2021 Bilbao,  or Euskaltzaindia in Basque,  was founded in the year 1300 by the Carta Puebla. In 1511, when the trade and shipping office or Consulado was created, it became an important city of trade, at the end of the nineteenth century, it was transformed into an industrial city. As a the capital of the […]

November 2021 Donostia – San Sebastián San Sebastián or Donostia in the Basque language is located in the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain on the Bay of Biscay. This area is a culinary heaven. In the world, San Sebastián is only surpassed by Tokyo in the number of Michelin star restaurants. However,  consuming pintxos (pinchos)  […]

The writings of the Greek geographer Strabo, show that people of the Iberian Peninsula were drinking wine over two thousand years ago. The Romans, arrived in Portugal in the second century BCE and made wine on the banks of the Douro River for hundreds of years. Wine in this region has been around for a […]

November 2021 Porto is like a really comfortable sweater, you slip it on as though you have known it for years. Porto is an easy town to navigate and fall in love with.  It is not necessarily a town you come to see the sights, you come to stroll, eat, shop and hang out with […]

November 2021 The Arrabida Bridge was designed by Edgar Cardoso (1913-2000), said to have been the best bridge engineer of Portugal.  When it opened in 1963 it had the longest arch in the world for a concrete bridge. Don Luis I was built in 1886.  It connects the city of Porto to Vila Nova de […]

November 2021 My friend Susan and I met up in Porto.  It is a town where I slowed down, and we just wandered aimlessly. Church of São Francisco One visits this Gothic church for two things its over the top Baroque inner decoration and its catacombs. It has an 8 euro entry fee, with no photos […]

November 2021 This stairway is why you come to Bom Jesus in Braga, Portugal. The first indication of a chapel  on this hill dates from 1373. The chapel at the top of the hill today, dedicated to the Holy Cross, was built in the 15th and 16th centuries.  It took over 600 years to complete […]

November 2021 Coimbra is a lovely town, and like every University town, it is multifaceted. The university was first established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537 by the order of  King John III. The University was expanded in 1544 by occupying the Coimbra Royal […]

November 2021 Convent of Christ Tomar, Portugal To put the Convent in simplistic terms it was originally a 12th-century Knights of the Templar stronghold, which people now call castle. The order was dissolved, and this is where it gets complicated.  In the 1400s, the convent was turned over to the Knights of the Order of […]

November 2021 Alcobaça The Alcobaça Monastery is one of the first buildings to be associated with the Cistercian Order in Portugal. It was founded in 1153 as a gift from the first Portuguese king, Afonso I  (1112–1185)  following the king’s conquest of the city of Santarém from the Moors in 1147. Construction on the monastery […]

Halloween – 2021 I am driving from the south of Portugal to Porto attempting to hit as many UNESCO World Heritage sites as possible. My first stop, Évora.  The entire town is walled and a UNESCO site.  It is also the perfect town for Halloween if you enjoy the macabre. For such a tiny town, […]

October 2021   I have been wandering around Lisbon flummoxed.  I am staying at a very nice hotel in the Braixa area, but directly across the street are old lovely buildings that appear to be, not only neglected, but abandoned. One can travel around the world and never get questions answered but thanks to an […]

October 2021 Calouste Gulbenkian Museum Born in Istanbul of Armenian parentage, Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (1869–1955) built a huge fortune through oil.  He was not an oil baron but a negotiator between companies, and was known as the 5% man, for taking 5% off the top of all his contracts. He amassed an art collection which he […]

October 2021   If you arrive by train, this is the ticket booth.  The town becomes magical with the azulejos, upon arrival. The first building you encounter after embarking from the train is the Town Hall.  The fairytale continues. May I begin with a complaint?  Sintra is one of the most discussed, lauded, and praised […]

October 2021   Comércio Square This is the Rua Augusta Arch because it is found at the end of the street that bears that same name. The arch faces Comércio Square. Designed by Portuguese architect Santos de Carvalho to celebrate the reconstruction of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake. It was not completed until 1873. The […]

October 2021 Azulejos were originally Moorish, then Spanish, and later a Portuguese art form.  These tiles have been produced since the 14th century. At first, the term was used to denote only North African mosaics, but it became the accepted word for an entirely decorated tile about 5 to 6 inches square. Azulejo comes from the Arabic […]

October 2021 Lisbon sits on a Bay fed by the Tagus River and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. For this reason, much occurs on the waterfront of Lisbon. Belém Tower, officially known as the Tower of Saint Vincent, is a 16th-century fortification. The tower served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers […]

October 2021 One of the first things you read of Lisbon is about the 1755 Earthquake.  It was All Saints Day and the churches were packed to the rafters.  The earthquake was followed by a fire, and then a tsunami, killing an estimated 15,000 people in Lisbon alone. The religious overtones regarding the disaster were […]

October 2021 Las Ramblas This sweet little statue is in the very small Placa de Vincenc Martorell just off Las Ramblas. The square has a children’s playground, which is probably the purpose of the statue, but in the same square you will find this. The hole you see in the wall was once part of the House […]

October 2021 Palau de la Musica Catalana The Palau de la Musica Catalana, a stunning example of Catalan Art Nouveau, opened in 1908.  It was designed by architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The ticket booth alone should be a clue as to what an amazing spectacle you are in for. All the sculptures on one […]

October 2021 Montserrat Montserrat ( basically serrated mountain) is a mountain range about ½ hour drive outside of Barcelona. On top of the mountain is a Benedictine Monastery, Santa Maria de Montserrat, that gets a lot of wahoos in tourist magazines.  When I returned to Barcelona I was not sure why I had gone. It is […]

October 2021 Casa Vicens Casa Vicens was designed as a summer home, so looking at the airflow, windows, and screens is a part of understanding the design. In 1883, Manel Vicens i Montaner, a stock and currency broker hired Gaudi to design this summer garden home in what was, at the time, the former village […]

October 2021 Casa Battló When Antoni Gaudi graduated from Architecture school Elies Rogent, the Director of Barcelona Architecture School, apparently said: “We have given this academic title either to a fool or a genius. Time will show.” When walking the streets of Barcelona there is almost no other architectural style that overwhelms you as much […]

October 2021 What do you say about any Gaudi building in Barcelona?  They have been photographed, published, visited, and shown on TV, ad nauseam.  But what would be posts about Barcelona without Gaudi.  Let us begin with his two most well known projects. La Sagrada Familia – Basilica of the Holy Family To begin with, […]

October 2021 Joan Miro Park This large sculpture by Joan Miro draws you to the Joan Miro park.  There is a research library within the park, as well as just stunning areas to sit and relax, and playgrounds for children. This sculpture, Woman and Bird, is typical of Miro’s work and was constructed in 1983, […]

October 2021 Upon my first arrival to Barcelona I was instantly struck by two things.  It would take more time than I could ever allot to see this city the way I would want to, and there is so much more to it than Gaudi. I spent a good part of my day just wandering, […]

September 2021 Today I spent the rainy morning at the L’Arc de Triomphe Wrapped, but the afternoon was spent walking more of this glorious city. The day began with a downpour that lasted quite a while, but eventually the skies cleared, Paris unfolded, and the day truly began. Did you know that Paris has 120 […]

September 2021 Christo and partner Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon’s latest project, L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, came to fruition  a year after Christo’s death, 12 years after Jeanne-Claude’s death, and 60 years after it was first imagined. Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s nephew Vladimir Yavachev, who had worked with the couple on various art projects, made L’Arc de […]

September 2021 Covid is keeping me from doing many activities indoors in Paris, but there is still so much to see and do. First Arrondissement 18 Rue de Louvre The Duluc Detective Agency is the oldest private detective agency in France. It is still family run, the current head, Madame Duluc,  inherited the agency from […]

September 2021 Covid is still running rampant around the world and the Delta variant is making life even more difficult, so right now, when visiting anywhere it is safest to do so by planning as much as possible out of doors.  Here is a little bit of fun around Paris. Tunnel du Pont de l’Alma […]

August 2021 French Polynesia is a self-governing “overseas collectivity” of France that consists of five island groups – the 15 Marquesas Islands, the 14 Society Islands, the 78 islands of the Tuamotu Archipelago, the 14 Gambier Islands, and the 7 Austral Islands – scattered over nearly one million square miles of the South Pacific. The […]

April 2021 Hot Springs, Arkansas, has a very rich history.  It gets its name from the natural thermal spring waters that flow out of the ground at an average temperature of 143 °F, producing almost one million gallons of water each day.  Water flowing from the springs today fell as rain when Egyptians were building […]

April 2021 Eureka Springs is an unusual town.  Its architecture is primarily Victorian, and with its narrow streets and historic trains, it is a fun place to explore. Despite its charm it is filled, primarily, with tacky tourists shops. * Most everything was closed due to COVID so a walk around town was enough, we […]

April 2021 Saint Louis is an amazing city for art! City Garden Between Chestnut and Market Streets and 8th and 10th Streets is City Garden.  Founded by the Gateway Foundation the park consists of a cafe, stunning landscape, a fountain or two and a modern art collection that made this public art enthusiast sing. The […]

April 2021 The Union Station Hotel in St. Louis Now a National Historic Landmark the St. Louis Union Station was opened in 1894. At its opening it was the largest in the world with tracks and passenger service areas all on one level. Traffic peaked at 100,000 people a day the 1940s. The last Amtrak […]

April 2021 I have wanted to see the Gateway Arch in Saint Louis ever since I stood in the Saarinan house at Cranbrook. The arch was designed by Eero Saarinan, son of the great architect Elliel Saarinan, and a rather phenomenal architect in his own right. The Arch sits along the west bank of the […]

April 2021 The trip to Kentucky was to visit Mammoth Caves National Park.  The park has limited their tours due to COVID, and while we were prepared to be disappointed, we were not. The morning began with a trip to the cemetery, a must for this tophophile. It is the best way to also understand […]

April 2021 Fontana Dam, North Carolina The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was a paragraph in my 6th grade history book. The TVA is a federally owned corporation created by congressional charter on May 18, 1933, to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected […]

April 2021 Luray Caves, Virginia Visitors have been coming to Luray Caves since its discovery in 1878. The cavern system is filled to the brim with speleothems such as columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, and mirrored pools. The caverns are perhaps best known for the Great Stalacpipe Organ, made from solenoid-fired strikers that tap […]

April 2021 Congaree National Park – South Carolina Congaree National Park is a 26,276-acre national park 18 miles southeast of the state capital, Columbia. The park preserves the largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States. The trees growing in its floodplain forest are some of the tallest in the […]

April 2021 Shell Oil Clam Shell Station This is the last Shell Oil clamshell station in the United States. A local Shell gasoline marketer, had eight similar stations built in the 1930s by R.H. Burton and his son, Ralph. The buildings were constructed of bent green wood, wire and concrete stucco. The station had a […]

November 23, 2020 The drive home promised to be a long one so we broke it up with the weird and wonderful.  Today was a day to remain curious and open-minded. London Bridge and Parker Dam Lake Havasu, AZ A bridge has spanned the River Thames in London for more than 2000 years. The “Old” London […]

November 22, 2020 Today was dedicated to exploring the South Rim of the Grand Canyon with a special emphasis on architecture. Our first adventure was to the sites of Mary Colter. Colter began working full-time for the Fred Harvey Company in 1910.  She moved from interior designer to architect and for 38 years served as […]

November 21.2020 After leaving our hotel outside the North Rim of the Grand Canyon we headed for the South Rim.  We had to go the long way through Flagstaff because the East Road goes through Navajo Country and they have closed access due to the alarming numbers of COVID cases on their lands. While driving […]

November 20, 2020 We left Zion National Park via the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel. Bored and blasted through the sandstone cliffs above Pine Canyon this amazing engineering feat blows the mind. Construction of the 1.1-mile tunnel began in the late 1920s and was completed in 1930 at a cost of $1, 896,000. At the time of its […]

November 18, 2020 We are staying at Zion Lodge, so after a quick breakfast, we headed out to do the trails closest to the lodge, The Kayenta Trail with stop-offs at the three Emerald Pools.  It is fall, so the colors are spectacular. The Cottonwoods turning their fall yellow is breathtaking. The elevation at Zion […]

November 17, 2020 Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon Weathering and erosion play only a minor role in the development of hoodoos.  These are formed more by the freeze/thaw process than anything else. As the water flows into cracks and re-freezes, it expands and cracks the rock around it, this is called frost-wedging, and that is how, […]

November 16, 2020 Arches to Bryce via a lot of fascinating places. We stayed at Red Cliffs Lodge and woke to this in the morning outside our room. We doubled back to Arches National Park to see the Delicate Arch, which we had run out of time the day before to visit.  It is the […]

November 15, 2020 Today began with a drive from Palisades, Colorado to Arches National Monument in Utah. We took the 139 which is all part of the Dinosaur laden area of Colorado.  When one drives for miles without seeing another car you either become fascinated with the geology, or you turn on rock and roll […]

November 14, 2020 – Day 4 Today was spent searching dinosaurs and geology.  We began at Dinosaur National Monument. The park contains over 800 paleontological sites and has fossils of dinosaurs including Allosaurus, Deinonychus, Abydosaurus, and various sauropods.   As the ranger so poetically put it, when the University Paleontology departments come to dig, it […]

November 2020 I am traveling during COVID, just to get a break.  I am traveling with my cousin and we are staying in well-researched hotels, and eating a lot of picnics.  We also chose to do many out of the way locations to help avoid as much humanity as possible during this scourge. Day 1, […]

January 5, 2020 El Jadida A one and one-half hour train ride from Casablanca is El Jadida. Within the city of El Jadida is the small town of Mazagan, founded in 1506.  Considered one of the Severn Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World, Mazagan was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, […]

December 2019 Morocco has six Medina’s on the World Heritage List, and I started to wonder why. Was it to protect them from Urban Renewal, or was it something else? This brought up a question for me which no matter how many people I asked, or articles I read, I still did not really get […]

December 2019 Gnawa Dancers These dancers can be seen in most every Medina in Morocco.  They are simply creating a form of Gnawa music for the tourists and, as you can see, with hopes you will throw money in their hats. UNESCO added Morocco’s traditional Gnawa to the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of […]

January 2, 2020 Palmeraie If you drive into Marrakech, you will most likely pass Palmeraie (palm grove). It is a palm oasis of several hundred thousand trees situated at the edge of the city’s northern section, it is 5 miles long and easy to spot. Palmeraie was created during the Almoravid period, using a khettara […]

January 1, 2020 Anima is the creation of Andre Heller, an Austrian with a fascinating background.  It is a stunningly designed garden in the middle of the desert ornamented with sculpture.  It is a delight, but frustrating, as there is not one word about who the artists are, and there is no pamphlet handed out, […]

December 31, 2019 The Majorelle Garden was designed by the French artist, Jacques Majorelle (1886-1962). In 1917 Majorelle was sent to Morocco to convalesce from a serious medical condition, and after spending a short time in Casablanca, he traveled to Marrakech fell in love with the vibrant colors and street life and stayed. In 1923, […]

December 30, 2019 There comes a time in a country when you realize that much of what you are seeing is the same.  The historic sites in the Medina of Marrakech is that time for me. Much of the more sought after tourist spots are under renovation, and those that were open were so similar […]

December 26, 2019 Meknes was first settled in the 9th century by the Miknasa a southern Tunisian Berber tribe. In the 11th century, the Almoravids further developed Meknes as a military settlement. They built mosques, hammams and kasbahs, one royal palace and a madrassa. The city was captured by several dynasties but eventually became a […]

December 22, 2019 The Fes el-Jadid is the new part of the Fes Medina founded by the Marinids in 1276 as an extension of the older section, Fes el Bali . Here are some of the highlights of the area. The original gate, Bab Semmarine, that marked the entrance to Fes el-Jadid was destroyed and then […]

December 19, 2019 Fes (Fez) overwhelms when you are 10 miles out.  There are over 1.4 million people living in this, the second-largest city of Morocco. The city consists of two old medina quarters, Fes el Bali (old) (808CE) and Fes Jdid (new)(1276CE), Ville Nouvelle constructed during the French colonial era and then the sprawling […]

December 20, 2019 Volubilis Volubilis was founded by the Berber people in the 3rd century BCE and was part of Mauretania. Mauretania is the Latin name for a region in ancient Northwest Africa. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic and included northern Morocco. After the fall of Carthage, the kingdom of […]

December 18, 2019 Chefchaouen This is by far the most tourist town I have seen in Morocco. There are more tourists and tourist groups in this small town than I have seen in all of my travels in Morocco put together. Yes, it is off-season, but if there are this many tourists in Chefchaouen at […]

December 16, 2019 Cave of Hercules The cave is part natural and part man-made. The man-made part was used by Berber people to cut stone wheels from the walls, to make millstones, thus expanding it considerably. It was believed that the cave is one end of a subterranean ley tunnel over 15 miles long which […]

December 14, 2019 Tangier (French Tanger, Spanish Tánger, Arabic Ṭanjah) has an interesting connection with the United States. Morocco was the first country to recognize the USA as an independent state after the revolutionary war and since Tangier served as Morocco’s diplomatic headquarters the United States dedicated its first consulate here during the George Washington administration. […]

December 13, 2019 Day 2 in Rabat was spent finding a few more UNESCO World Heritage sites and exploring a little history. Chellah Chellah is a walled ruin of a town that was designated a World Heritage Site in 2012, it houses both Roman ruins and a medieval Muslim necropolis. Abandoned in 1154 and damaged […]

December 12, 2019 Rabat is the capital of Morocco and yet it is not really high on the tourism trail.  The major purpose of my visit is that much of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  The World Heritage sites included in this post are The Hassan Tower and Mosque, The Tomb of […]

December 10, 2019 There are many types of travelers and many types of travel, Tunisia requires a unique traveler for the unique things it has to offer. According to Garrett Nagle in his book Advanced Geography, Tunisia’s tourism industry “benefits from its Mediterranean location and its tradition of low-cost package holidays from Western Europe.” This […]

December 8, 9 and 10, 2019 Sitting on the Gulf of Hammamet, Sousse looks out on the Mediterranean, albeit, through its very large working port,  and it is enclosed on the landward side by miles of olive groves. Sousse was an important commercial and military port during the Aghlabid period (800–909) and is a typical […]

December 7, 2019 I am in Kairouan because the entire town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The number one attraction in Kairouan is the Great Mosque, recognized as the third most significant religious site in Islam because it is the first mosque, in the first Muslim town, outside of the then known Arab world. […]

December 6, 2019 One can not drive through the middle of Tunisia without becoming aware of the fact that olive trees go on as far as the eye can see, only punctuated by Prickly Pear, a few citrus and pomegranate. No one really knows when the olive tree arrived in Tunisia. It is thought that […]

December 5, 2019 The Amphitheater of El Jem This Unesco World Heritage-listed amphitheater in El Jem (Thysdrus in ancient times) was the second-largest in the Roman world with three tiers of seating estimated to handle up to 35,000 people, considerably more than the population of the town itself. Built around 238 CE, the amphitheater is […]

December 4, 2019 The south of Tunisia is characterized by an arid climate where rainfall does not exceed 2 to 7 inches per year. There are no significant water sources other than rain. People have struggled for centuries against water shortage, by building wells where possible, but mainly through an ingenious system that makes use […]

December 3, 2019 The far south of Tunisia is sparsely populated and spreads out as a dessert landscape dotted here and there with oases, be it man-made or natural. In the middle-ages travelers avoided this area due to the lawless and ruthless tribes. Even the French in their conquering gave this area a wide berth. […]

December 1, 2019 The Medina in Tunis The Tourbet el Bey  is a Tunisian royal mausoleum in the southwest of the medina of Tunis at rue Tourbet el Bey 62. It is the last resting place of most of the Husainid dynasty rulers of Tunisia.  The building was constructed in the reign of Ali II […]

November 29, 2019 Dougga (or Thugga) was a Punic, Numidian and then Roman settlement outside of Tunis by about 2 1/2 hours.  The current archaeological site covers 160 acres. UNESCO qualified Dougga as a World Heritage Site in 1997, believing that it represents “the best-preserved Roman small town in North Africa”. The site, which lies […]

November 27, 2019   The Bardo National Museum is said to be one of the most important museums in the Mediterranean and the second on the African continent after the Egyptian Museum. The museum houses one of the largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world, from archaeological sites around the country including Carthage, Hadrumetum, […]

November 18, 2019 Carthage is not at all what this author expected.  It is far larger than one can comprehend, and yet the ruins lay scattered amongst a vibrant, very wealthy part of Tunisia. Most people are introduced to Carthage through books 1 through 4 of Virgil’s Aeneid and this alone was my greatest reason […]

November 26, 2019 Tunis is a very approachable town.  It has a sense of ordered chaos about it.  The streets are packed with cars that find signals and laws inconsequential, but as a pedestrian, you feel safe, and oddly in control, as the traffic moves so slowly.  The sidewalks and streets are filled with pedestrians […]

November 23, 2019 The Ear of Dionysus When the painter Michelangelo da Caravaggio, fled from Malta, he sought refuge in Syracuse and was welcomed by fellow painter Mario Minniti. During this time, 1608,  Caravaggio visited the latomìe (quarries) and apparently he named this cave the Ear of Dionysus.   It refers, not to the Greek […]

November 22, 2019 A private tour with Davide, guide extraordinaire of Mount Etna Tours, was one of the most fascinating ways to spend a day in this extraordinary place. Mount Etna is a stratovolcano. Stratovolcanoes are also called composite volcanoes because they are built of layers of alternating lava flow, ash, and blocks of unmelted […]

Caravaggio left Malta and was on the run for the second time in his life. He found his way to Sicily, most likely in a circuitous route to evade those that were pursuing him. He finally stopped in Syracuse and spent time with his friend Mario Minniti. When Caravaggio arrived relationships between religious authorities and […]

November 20, 2019 Hilltowns of Val di Noto In 1693 an earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta with an estimated magnitude of 7.4 It destroyed at least 70 towns and cities, seriously affecting an area of 2,200 sq miles and causing the death of about 60,000 people. The earthquake was […]

November 19, 2019 The ancient Roman Villa of Casale in the town of Piazza Armerina The visible remains of the villa were constructed in the first quarter of the 4th century CE on the remains of an older villa rustica. The owner’s identity has long been discussed with no discernible answer. In late antiquity, the […]

November 18, 2019 Erice Eryx (associated with the Greek hero of the same name) as it was first called, has been recorded in history as a town of little or no importance and renown. And yet it is said to have attracted the likes of Hercules and Aeneas. Thucydides (500 B.C.), writing about events connected […]

February 18, 2019 The colonization of Sicily in the 8th century BCE pretty much kept the Greeks to the East and the Carthaginians. to the West, but by the 7th century BCE, the Greeks began to expand. The Elymian, and inhabitants of Segesta were a local tribe who traced their origins to Troy.  They traded […]

November 16, 2019 After the occupation of Palermo by the Arabs in 831 the Arabs transformed the Cathedral of Palermo into a mosque and banished the Bishop of Palermo. The Bishop was forced to move his seat outside the capital so he chose a small village in the hills overlooking Palermo, today Monreale. Around 250 […]

November 13, 2019 Folk Arts Puppets became popular in Sicily during the fifteenth century, and marionettes are still considered an important part of Sicilian folk culture. Sicilian puppet theatre (opera dei pupi) or, more properly, “marionette theatre,” developed into its present form in the eighteenth century. The marionettes themselves are made of wood and cloth […]

November 14, 2019 The Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria St. Catherine’s of Alexandria has a bakery that is worth finding for one’s first stop in the morning. The church is a synthesis of Sicilian Baroque, Rococo, and Renaissance styles. In 1310 the last will of the rich Benvenuta Mastrangelo created the foundation of a female […]

November 13, 2019 The Arabs influenced the island is in its cuisine, its dialect, its tastes and, its architecture. It was a singular movement that encompassed three diverse styles under the architectural umbrella of the Romanesque: Norman, Arab, Byzantine. And it is not a question of a single monument but several. Norman-Arab was a unique […]

  The layers of history in Sicily are complicated at best.  Like most every country in the world that has ever been “conquered” the architecture, art, language, and culture learn, adapt and integrate, but to understand the layers one must have a grasp of the historic timeline. 20,000-750 BCE Pre Greek History Paleolithic Neolithic – […]

November 12, 2019 The Capuchin Catacombs are a dichotomy.  Everywhere there are signs that the place is a holy area and should be respected, therefore no photographs.  And yet, it is a macabre tourist attraction that belies any form of respect. The ridiculous thing about no photographs is that they are all over the internet, […]