TWA Hotel Review
The old TWA terminal in JFK Airport, designed by Eero Saarinen in 1962, has been restored and repurposed into the TWA Hotel: a review of the new hotel.
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An outstanding art museum in the Hague: Mauritshuis
My initial interest in visiting Mauritshuis, an art museum in the Hague (Den Haag), had to do with one single painting: Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Johannes Vermeer, painted in about 1665. But this outstanding little Den Haag museum has many more gems of Golden Age painting. A disclosure: This is a sponsored post:…
Don’t tar all “influencers” with the same brush.
I hate the word “influencer.” It has taken on a bad connotation: young people, generally female and white, who claim “influence” through pretty poses on Instagram. Articles circulating on social media accuse them of all sorts of bad behavior: buying followers and demanding free rooms and meals from hotels in exchange for pictures, posing for…
Special places in Lebanon: two full-day tours
Recently I made a short trip to Lebanon, despite a lot of “But is it safe?” from everyone I mentioned it to. I’ll write about the travel warnings at the end of this article, but first I want to report on all the special places in Lebanon that I saw in the two free days…
Baalbek Ruins, Lebanon: an extraordinary UNESCO site
On my recent trip to Lebanon, I was just blown away by the Baalbek ruins: a magnificent set of Roman temples in the Beq’aa Valley and a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. I saw Baalbek on a full-day small-group tour, which included other stops, but right now I just want to write about the Baalbek…
WWII and Cold War sites in Berlin
Berlin is a wonderfully diverse and dynamic city and, for a tourist with an interest in history, there are plenty of WWII and Cold War sites to visit. Here’s a complete list!
Dramatic Dunnottar Castle
As I wrote in my overview of Aberdeenshire castles, my expectation was that the Dunnottar Castle ruins would be worth about a half-hour’s visit. I’d seen photos, and its setting – on a cliff-edged finger of land extending out into the North Sea – made for some very dramatic photography. In those photos, however, it…
Balmoral Castle tour: a review
If you’ve ever seen a film involving Queen Victoria, you’ve heard of Balmoral Castle. This is the place the queen used as her escape: her place in the country. She loved Scotland, and this location in Aberdeenshire is stunning, with its rolling hills and deep forests. Note added September 9, 2022: Queen Elizabeth died today….
Flying EasyJet: a review
For years I’ve assumed that all budget airlines in Europe are essentially the same. Not so! Click to read my review of EasyJet.
A maritime-themed weekend in Hamburg
A weekend in Hamburg delving into its history as a maritime center. With lots of recommendations of things to see and do in Hamburg.
Discovering the Legend of King Arthur in Cornwall
Discovering King Arthur in Cornwall, UK. Read here about Arthurian sights in Cornwall!
Best things to do in Guadeloupe: A Guadeloupe guide
I have many articles on this website about things to do in Guadeloupe, yet I’ve never compiled them into an overview. After updating all of the separate articles, I figure it’s time, so here it is: a Guadeloupe guide. Note: at the bottom of this list you can find a map with all the sights…
Craigievar Castle, Scotland
There’s something about the fact that Craigievar Castle in Aberdeenshire is pink that makes it conjure fairy-tale visions. Or maybe it’s that it’s taller than it is wide: think “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” Either way, it’s an enchanting sight when you first spot it from a distance and do a double-take at its…
Aberdeenshire castles worth visiting
Aberdeenshire, Scotland has dozens of castles, but many are them are either private or in ruins. Here are the 14 Aberdeenshire castles that are most worth seeing.
Wick Heritage Museum, Scotland
The leaflet advertising the Wick Heritage Museum compares the museum to the TARDIS. If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you’ll know exactly what that means: Doctor Who’s form of transportation, a blue police box (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), is bigger on the inside than the outside. Outside, the museum is small and unimpressive:…
Dunrobin Castle, Scotland
In my last post – about the Scottish Highland heritage tour that I took with my friend, Kate – I mentioned Dunrobin Castle as one of our stops. In reality, we stopped there twice: once on the way north and again on the way south. The first time we tried to see Dunrobin, the electricity…
A Scottish Highland Clearances tour
When I told my friend Kate that I was planning to visit my son in Aberdeen and spend a week exploring Scotland, she immediately wanted to come along. Kate has Scottish heritage and was curious to see some of the history of her family and why they left Scotland. Our trip turned into a wonderful…
Expat wellness: Life as an expat
Some ruminations on life as an expat, with a few words of reassurance for those moving to a new country.
11 stunning UNESCO sites in the Czech Republic outside of Prague
There are 11 UNESCO sites in the Czech Republic outside of Prague. I’ve visited most, but thanks to two other bloggers, you can read about all of them here.
Kutna Hora UNESCO site and a macabre church
Kutna Hora UNESCO site isn’t just about a pretty old town. The UNESCO designation focuses on two churches, but there’s a macabre Bone Church to see too!
Trebic, Czech Republic: A 3-part UNESCO site
Trebic, Czech Republic has a UNESCO site made up of three sites: the old Jewish Quarter, the old Jewish cemetery, and a Catholic Basilica, and they’re all worth seeing.
A UNESCO site in Olomouc (and other things to see there)
The Holy Trinity Column, a masterpiece of the Moravian Baroque style, is a UNESCO site in Olomouc, a small town in the eastern end of the Czechia.
Visiting Turtle Sanctuaries in Malaysia (and elsewhere)
When we booked a stay at Lankayan Island, off the east coast of Malaysian Borneo, our intention was a little rest and relaxation and a little diving. That’s all. What we didn’t think about was visiting turtle sanctuaries or seeing sea turtles hatching. Yet the turtle sanctuary on Lankayan became a highlight of our trip….
10 Travel Risks NOT Worth Taking
Travelling opens you up to the world and challenges your world view, yet some things are just not worth the risk. 10 top risks NOT to take!
Gomantong Cave in Borneo: A warning
Bat guano, cockroaches and other grossness. That’s what awaits you at Gomantong Cave in Borneo. A standard stop on the adventure tourism circuit in Sabah, the eastern part of Malaysian Borneo, Gomantong Cave is near enough to the popular river boat rides on the Kinabatangan River to make a relatively short detour. So that’s what…
Lankayan Island Resort in Malaysian Borneo
At Lankayan Island Dive Resort, we both felt we’d found paradise. A tiny dot off Malaysian Borneo, it’s great for a peaceful island holiday.
Bitemojo app Singapore food tour: a review
A food tour unlike others – it’s self-guided, through an app leading you from bite to bite, pointing out sights along the way.
Prague Airport tour and a teeny-tiny airplane
Despite my fear of flying, I jumped at the chance to take a Prague Airport tour, including a flight in a small airplane. “Face your fear” and all that. Read all about it here!
A self-guided Rotterdam walking tour: Architecture and art
Rotterdam is famous for its post-war architecture, mostly because a World War II bombing in 1940 destroyed much of the city. Yet it didn’t just rebuild and settle in; it is still constantly changing, expanding and reinventing whole neighborhoods. On a recent visit, I took a tour of a few new buildings, but I also…
De Rotterdam Architecture Tour
Very little of Rotterdam survived World War II. While this means it is not the place to see the Netherlands you expect – charming streets along canals, 16th century merchants’ homes, or picturesque windmills – it is the place to see post-war architecture. This is why I signed up for a tour with De Rotterdam…
Rynek Underground Museum at Krakow Main Square
Krakow’s Old Town is centered around a lovely main square called Rynek Główny, which means main market. It dates to 1257, when it was rebuilt after the Mongol-Tatar invasions. Krakow Main Square Krakow Main Market Square forms the focal point of Krakow Old Town, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the center of the…
Wieliczka Krakow salt mine isn’t just a salt mine!
The Wieliczka Krakow salt mine is much more than tunnels carved into salt. It has a history all its own, and, surprisingly, it has artworks made of salt!