Travel Articles

Pizza_Margherita

Italy Tour: Naples in a Day? Pizza!

By billpetro / August 5, 2022 /

ITALY TOUR: NAPLES IN A DAY Can you visit Naples on an Italy Tour in a single day? Yes, but you are required by law to eat pizza while there.   I went to Naples by mistake (see my funny story here), but while there, I had some pizza; it was invented there. Very popular there…

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Venice

Italy Tour: Venice in a Day

By billpetro / August 4, 2022 /

ITALY TOUR: VENICE IN A DAY Can you visit the major sites of Venice on an Italy Tour in a single day? It is quite doable; “Venezia” is a smallish island.

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Florence

Italy Tour: Florence in a Day

By billpetro / August 3, 2022 /

ITALY TOUR: FLORENCE IN A DAY (OR TWO) Can you visit the major Florence sites on an Italy Tour in a single day? If you’re fast or have a bit more than a day. Think of Florence as “Renaissance with a capital R.” Thanks in part to the patronage of the Medici family, the city…

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Rome

Italy Tour: Rome in a Day

By billpetro / August 2, 2022 /

ITALY TOUR: ROME IN A DAY (OR TWO) A friend of mine is going on an Italy cruise and asked me to suggest some places for the cities where he has a day or two. I was going to put together a spreadsheet, but I didn’t have enough time, so I wrote this Italy Tour…

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Auschwitz

History of Holocaust Remembrance Day

By billpetro / April 8, 2022 /

History of Holocaust Remembrance Day Today, April 8, is Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is a part of Holocaust Days of Remembrance, established by the U.S. Congress as the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust. The U.S. Army remembers the six million Jewish and millions of other victims of the Holocaust and honors the survivors’ resilience. In…

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Reek Sunday

History of Reek Sunday, part 3: Location

By billpetro / July 26, 2019 /

HISTORY OF REEK SUNDAY, Part 3: LOCATION In our previous article on Reek Sunday, we discussed the Pilgrimage to County Mayo, Ireland for Cruach Phadraig — as it is known in Irish — that is also called “The Reek.” It stands at 764 meters or 2510 feet elevation. It is located about 5 miles from…

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Reek Sunday: Croagh Patrick

History of Reek Sunday, part 2: Pilgrimage

By billpetro / July 25, 2019 /

HISTORY OF REEK SUNDAY, part 2: PILGRIMAGE Pilgrims, nature lovers, archeologists, historians, and hill climbers come from all over the world to climb the mountain on Reek Sunday. In our previous article, we discussed the Tradition. Here we discuss the pilgrimage that has been going on for centuries, and an older one for millennia. More…

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13-PEI

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

By billpetro / August 19, 2018 /

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION This summer, I spent an extended two-week period in New England and Canada, particularly Maine and Prince Edward Island. Here is my travel log.  

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Reek Sunday

History of Reek Sunday

By billpetro / July 27, 2018 /

HISTORY OF REEK SUNDAY Several years ago at this time of the Summer, I was on the west coast of Ireland, where they say, “West o’ here, ta next parish over, tat’s Boston.” This Sunday, the last one in July every year, marks Reek Sunday, or Garland Sunday in Ireland. At this time between 25,000…

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Michalangelos David

Florence Galleria – Michelangelo’s David

By billpetro / November 4, 2008 /

FLORENCE GALLERIA – MICHELANGELO’S DAVID To see the statue of David for the first time takes your breath away. In the tribune at the end of a long gallery lit naturally from above by a glass cupola, this statue is the most beautiful man-made thing I’ve ever seen. You know the familiar story from the Bible…

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SmartCars

Driving In Italy

By billpetro / November 4, 2008 /

DRIVING IN ITALY It has been said that you have to be CRAZY to drive in Italy, but I tell you that you MUST be crazy to drive in Italy — preferably homicidal. Drivers here are assertive and aggressive, believing it is more blessed to take the right of way than to give it. Indeed,…

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Let’s Float Down to Peru

By billpetro / June 15, 2008 /

LET’S FLOAT DOWN TO PERU In Frank Sinatra’s song “Come Fly With Me,” the second verse starts with: Come fly with me, lets float down to Peru In llama land, there’s a one man band And he’ll toot his flute for you Come fly with me, well float down in the blue While no one-man…

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