Travel Articles
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: 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 – 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: 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: 2 minutesITALY TOUR: PISA IN A DAY Can you visit Pisa on an Italy Tour in a single day? Yes, a day trip will do it quite easily. Cruise ships regularly dock at the nearby Port of Livorno. Pisa is a Tuscan city passed through by the Arno River, which also passes through Florence further…
Reading Time: 3 minutesITALY 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…
Reading Time: 4 minutesITALY 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.
Reading Time: 3 minutesITALY 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…
Reading Time: 8 minutesITALY 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…
Reading Time: 4 minutesHOW 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.
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY 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…
Reading Time: 2 minutesFLORENCE 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…