Travel Articles
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF THE IDES OF MARCH According to the ancient Roman calendar, the ides fell on the 13th of the month except for March, May, July, and October, when it fell on the 15th of the month. Something epochal occurred in 44 B.C. Et tu, Brute? On March 15, 44 B.C., the Roman dictator…
Reading Time: 3 minutesParis in a Day – part 1 For Summer vacation, you may be interested in visiting Paris. Can you do it in a day? Other than visiting a few museums and a couple of fabulous meals, you can’t really see Paris in a day. But if you only have a day in Paris, here are…
Reading Time: 3 minutesParis in a Day – Cathedrals: Day Two You can’t do all of Paris in a day, but you can see a few cathedrals. Notre-Dame de Paris This is the most famous cathedral in Paris, reopened in 2024 following a 2019 fire. It is an 800-year-old medieval Catholic cathedral. Known for its rib vault,…
Reading Time: 3 minutesParis in a Day – Monuments: Day Three While you can’t do all of Paris in a day, you can visit a few Museums, Cathedrals, or Monuments. The two most famous monuments in Paris are within walking distance of each other. First: The Eiffel Tower La Tour Eiffel is France’s most popular tourist destination…
Reading Time: 6 minutes HISTORY IN JERUSALEM: CHRISTIAN TRADITION Is it possible to see Jerusalem in a day? I did. Twenty eight years ago, following a trip to Israel, I published three articles. I was speaking on technology in Tel Aviv and had only 24 hours to visit Jerusalem. The city may have changed, but the historical sites…
Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY IN JERUSALEM: JEWISH TRADITION In Part 1, I discussed some of the Christian sites in the city of Jerusalem. Here, we discuss the Jewish tradition. In 1995 Jerusalem celebrated 3,000 years of the City of David, commemorating when King David entered the city and made it his capital, rather than Hebron. It was a…
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY IN JERUSALEM: ISLAMIC TRADITION In Part 1, I discussed some of the Christian sites in the city of Jerusalem. In Part 2, I discussed the Jewish tradition. In this final article, I’ll examine the third most important Muslim site in the world, after Mecca and Medina. Urusalim (Jerusalem) gets its name from the Canaanites,…
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF REEK SUNDAY Several years ago, at this time of the Summer, during one of my teaching trips to Ireland, I found myself in Westport on the West Coast, where they have a saying, “Ahh… west o’ here, the next parish over is Boston.“ On the last Sunday of July every year, Reek Sunday or…
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY 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…
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF REEK SUNDAY, Part 3: ST. PATRICK’S LOCATION In our previous article on Reek Sunday, we discussed the Pilgrimage to County Mayo, Ireland, for Cruach Phadraig – as it is known in Ireland – that is also called “The Reek.” It stands at 764 meters, or 2510 feet elevation. It is located about 5…
Reading Time: 3 minutesLondon in a Day, part 1 – Introduction So You’re Going to London Several years ago, some friends who knew I traveled a lot asked me: ”We’re going to London, what should we see?” After asking how long they’d be in the city, they replied: ”Two days.” I said: “Don’t even bother.” Stunned,…
Reading Time: 6 minutesLondon in a Day, part 2 – Museums As I said in my introductory article, you can evaluate your London excursions by ratings: A: must see if you have only one day in the area B: valuable to see, but might require a second day C: interesting, if you have more time London is…