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Germany: A bird’s-eye view
Hamburg boasts an exotic new concert facility, opened in early 2017. It is a huge modern glass structure that sits atop a former warehouse. It is popularly known as the “wave” because its roofline is indeed wavy. And this wave-sitting-on-a-warehouse is perched right at water’s
England: Seeing America (and a queen) in London
The following is a blog I wrote for another site in 2012. Except for the sighting of the queen, which I could not have planned, everything in the narrative below remains valid for a visitor today. # # # I went to London to visit
Sicily: Taking the wheel
Two friends and I, during a driving trip to Sicily, visited Taormina on the island’s northeastern coast. The severely perched Taormina is approached via roads (good roads, BTW) that swirl and sweep in daring arcs as one climbs into town. Dramatic view from the
Sicily: The mosaics of Monreale
One of the top tourist attractions in Palermo, Sicily, isn’t in town. It is the suburban UNESCO-protected Monreale Cathedral, a medieval structure boasting interior walls literally encrusted with mosaics and a lot of gold. I had to see it. On arrival in Palermo, my hotel’s
Mexico: Ajijic and its paint jobs
When I arrived at the Santiago, Chile, airport nearly a year ago, I was witness to a scam. Men with fake IDs claimed to be cab drivers, led arriving passengers to their cars and charged two to three times the normal fare to downtown Santiago.
Sicily: Medieval Erice
Sicily’s hilltop town of Erice is one of those places that has retained much of its medieval appearance, plus it has great views of Sicilian farmland, hills and the sea off Sicily’s western coast. Besides, it offers charming hotel choices and numerous restaurants with good
Shanghai: Sky-high views, Art Deco dining
My recent all-too-short (one day) visit to Shanghai focused on the oldest section of the city in the morning, then shifted to the modern in the afternoon. I was traveling with a group of U.S.-based travel sellers who had participated in an industry conference in
Shanghai: Revisiting Old Town
This is about a one-day visit to Shanghai, an ambitious undertaking in a city of 24 million to 25 million. But one can do quite a lot on a well-planned itinerary. I had attended a travel trade conference in nearby Suzhou, after which the Shanghai
Portsmouth, N.H.: Beyond Strawbery Banke
During a day visit to Portsmouth, N.H., this July, my sister and I spent an enlightening two hours at the Strawbery Banke Museum, an outdoor facility right in the heart of town. But we wanted to see more of the city. One of America’s oldest