Is normal travel becoming a yawn? Well why not try a new era as well as a new place. Head to the Roman ruin of Jerash to experience gladiators battling it out or joust-it-up with the knights of Kaltenberg Castle; from local festivals to historic re-enactments, the world is full of wacky ways you can journey back in time, not just across oceans.
Up Helly Aa Festival, Shetland Islands, UK
Pillaged, plundered and then settled …
Needing to escape the cramped, airless Mach-4 lifestyle of our giant anthill capital where nothing works properly and everyone gets in everyone’s way, I headed to Dover. I was reliably informed that other than the war-time tunnels beneath Dover Castle few outsiders ever willingly visited as the only other thing to do was board a ferry to France.
Apart from fortifications, galleries, gardens, restored structures, a nature reserve and discount shops on Wellington Dock, what …
If there is one city that is on every traveler’s bucket list, it is probably Paris. The Eiffel Tower, romance, the Seine, Notre Dame… how can you resist the charms of the City of Lights? I certainly can’t and I know lots of other people can’t either, and that is exactly the problem with Paris. Its greatest draws directly result in its greatest downfalls: crowds, rude waitstaff, picture-snapping tourists and overpriced food.
To find the …
Barcelona is an expensive city where museum tickets, meals, tours, and taxi rides add up fast. Here are some local tips for saving big time on sightseeing in one of Europe’s most dazzling destinations.
1-Free Runner Bean Tours:
This is a new tour concept in the city offering up free tours of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter and Antoni Gaudí hot spots. Your guide, who gives the tour in English a couple times a day, is paid …
In Greece, the past is always with you. Where ever the traveler looks there is a reminder of not just centuries but thousands of years of history. In some locations, shards of ancient artifacts still lay on the ground like so much rubble, and the ruins of temples and great buildings are so abundant you have the feeling of being in a vast, singular outdoor museum.
From the seaside taverns and restaurants to the wonderful …
There isn’t a single wisp of smoke curling out of the top of Mount Vesuvius as we walk up its stony brown slopes.
A few birds are twittering in the bushes, but we leave we them behind as the path rises above fertile ground. It’s silent, except for the scrunch of feet on clinker. It’s too quiet, too calm. Are we about to get taken out in an unexpected rumble of smoke, ash, flames and …
Northern Spain gets chilly from December to March. Sure, it’s not Berlin, but there is snow on the Pyrenees and the good people of Barcelona are wearing their most stylish winter coats. In northeastern Spain, Catalonia is gushing with hot spots where water, wine and relaxation promise to cure whatever ails you and warm up frosty fingers. Soaking it up in hot springs is nothing new in the region, and many current balnearis and spas …
The charming little village of Grindelwald offers a close-up view of life in the Alps. We were invited on a tour to visit a dairy farm to experience how cheese was made. I am a city gal and have never visited a farm before. Most everyone has seen pictures of the dairy farms in the United States, but this was very different. Grindelwald Mountain Cheese is prepared the traditional way, a ritual as the farmers …
Whilst on a tea safari in Holland Cindy-Lou Dale soon discovered the meaning of a cake hang-over.
I’ve heard much about the Dutch tea drinking culture, even more so about their idyllic afternoon tea shops. I saddled up my photographic assistant, Heather, booked a couple of Eurostar and Thalys train tickets to take me from London to Amsterdam (via Brussels) and sought accommodation advice from the tourism office there. A few days later, Heather and …
Ah, weddings. Dreams and decisions. White dress, or ivory? Tie and vest, or cravat? 20 guests, or 200? Chapel or castle in Ireland? Really? With some planning a destination wedding in Ireland seals the deal in an amazing country surrounded by centuries of heritage.
More and more brides and grooms, as well as couples renewing their vows, choose to take a different path than the chicken dinner for two hundred, and celebrate with an intimate …
In the morning for breakfast a café con leche and a croissant is the standard, after lunch a quick cortado, and maybe an espresso in the evening for a little something to tide the hungry over until dinner time. Café culture is an intricate part of Barcelona residents’ socializing and snacking routine and the city has limitless options for a caffeine fix. Standing at the bar or sitting at a smoky table is inevitably the …
The next time you find yourself in a European church or cathedral, there is someone you should see. Forget “The DaVinci Code”. A real puzzle stares at you from the walls, architecture, and furnishings throughout these old places of worship. The mysterious Green Man, a carved foliate face from ancient times, appears in various guises and apparently independently, all over the world. His best known and most accessible incarnations are found – by the thousands …
On a glorious spring trip to Paris when the “Davinci Code “ movie was first coming out, I was able to take an incredible walking tour based off of the novel by Dan Brown. Our guide was an American who relocated to Paris when her husband received a job offer to live and work in France. I was green with envy because I thought it was a grand opportunity for both of them to …
The dream of skiing in St. Moritz, Europe’s winter glam capital, seems impossibly expensive to most of us. Yet this unbridled wealthy Swiss mountain village, where furs predominate, caviar is sold in supermarkets and snow-chained Bentley’s jockey with Porsche’s for parking, is affordable, very affordable – the trick is knowing where to look, and when to go.
From Zurich airport take the little red train, which gently threads through the Swiss Alps, gently clickedy-clacking higher …
