August 2017 After a great time in and around Oviedo [see: Oviedo ], it was time to move on. The next stop was Santander, a resort town along the coast. The little, narrow-gauge FEVE trains went there but took almost five hours - the bus was only two. Even if I dislike bus rides, it didn't make sense to waste that much time when a far faster (and easier) journey was available. In no time, I was in a city that I knew nothing about except that a major bank in the US shared

April 2017 In Milford years, I had a friend for a couple of years, MV from Italy. Eventually, she tired of small town life and moved to the City. As it turns out, she was from Verona, but I knew her long before I visited her home town. Of course, many people love their hometowns, but she always said Verona was special in Italy. I thought to myself, one day I have to visit. She told a joke about meeting someone who was bragging how old their city was because the streets

After leaving our frustrations with Madison, AQ and I stopped at a state park outside of town famous for its cliffs and waterfalls. Clifty Falls State Park is located near Madison with entrances on state roads 56 and 62. The park’s waterfalls change moods with the weather and the seasons and can range from roaring plunges to delicate bridal-veil mists to gleaming frozen titans. Winter and spring visits reveal them at their best. The rugged splendor of Clifty Canyon offers exc

January 2017 Before visiting the Cathedral in Seville, I had no idea it was one of the most significant churches in all of Europe. Indeed, it is one of the largest in the world. The Cathedral - and the Alcazar - of Seville bear exceptional testimony to the civilization of the Almohads and to that of Christian Andalusia dating from the Reconquest of 1248 to the 16th century. The Giralda, which influenced the construction of numerous towers in Spain and America, is a masterpie

July 2016 On the trip to Venice to hang out with CM & CM, our city tour took us to the former Venetian Arsenal. We could not go inside as it is still controlled by the Italian Navy (why?). Its entrance spoke of an age when Venice was a major European power. The Venetian Arsenal is a complex of former shipyards and armories clustered together in the city of Venice in northern Italy. Owned by the state, the Arsenal was responsible for the bulk of the Venetian Republic's nava

the best little town that wasn't AQ agreed to continue the trip to Indianapolis from Louisville. Since we were not in a hurry (and we were oblivious to time - as happens on a long trip), we decided to make a few stops along the way. After all, without traffic it was only a two and a half hour drive to Indy. I found the little town of Madison, Indiana online. Everything written about it waxed lyrical - I felt like I was reading about Milford, PA in a New York Times "Week

April 2017 Sant'Antonio is a giant edifice without a precise architectural style. Over the centuries, it has grown under a variety of different influences as shown by the exterior details. It displays a strong influence of St Mark's Basilica in Venice. The new basilica was begun as a single-naved church, like that of St Francis of Assisi, with an apsidal chancel, broad transepts and two square nave bays roofed with hemispherical domes like that of San Marco, Venice. The exte

July 2015 The Monterrey Palace is one of the best examples of civil architecture of the Spanish Renaissance and the greatest exponent of Plateresco. It has served as an example for other architectural styles such as Neoplateresque or the “Monterrey style”, and as an inspiration for other buildings such as the Cavalry Academy of Valladolid, the current Archaeological Museum of Seville or the Palencia Provincial Council Palace. It was built by the will of Don Alonso de Acevedo

Arrival AQ agreed to continue to Louisville after Frankfort - it was not far from Frankfort by highway and he appeared happy to be exploring a new state. Louisville was just a name for me, not part of the original itinerary. The trip was becoming extremely unplanned and random - and I liked it. I had done too much heavily-scripted travel in my lifetime. The interstate to Louisville passed through farmland. My image of Kentucky as "mountainous" was shattered. It made se

San Isidoro el Real "La Lechera" (The Milkmaid) Oviedo Cathedral. August 2017 The strongest memory I have of Oviedo is the arrival from Lisbon. Portugal had been hot with brilliant sunshine. I arrived to a much cooler and cloudy Oviedo (via a budget carrier like Ryan Air - can't recall - the flight was ridiculously cheap). The plane entering a cloud bank after flying through bright sunshine right until the last minutes of the flight. It was like traveling to another worl

November 2016 Like the Trevi Fountain (not terribly far away), the Spanish Steps in Rome have great staying power as a tourist attraction for a specific activity. At Trevi, visitors make a wish and toss coins - on the Spanish steps, people simply sit and watch Rome pass by. I remember my friends in university talking about how "cool" it was to sit on the Spanish steps - that was a long time ago. I was finally there and, apparently, all those seated had waited for me. A

Surprise After Cincinnati, I asked AQ if he was willing to keep going (it was his car after all). He was game, so I told him that the capital of Kentucky was nearby. After a quick visit, we could move on to Louisville. He agreed enthusiastically. The drive from Covington was through rolling hills of small farms and forests. I never gave much thought to how Kentucky would look but, for some reason, I thought it would be a lot more mountainous. A was happy to visit a ne

January 2018 Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica de la Encarnación de Málaga Málaga Cathedral (or church, or basilica) is one of the few in Europe I visited three times and never entered. Due to Málaga being such a tourist hot spot, the locals must have reasoned that they could fleece visitors for as many euros as possible when in their city. Considering that the cathedral is not that extraordinary compared to other churches in Spain (some of which are free or very cheap), I

November 2016 One of the Seven Pilgrimage Churches of Rome, the Basilica of San Paolo Extramura holds the remains of St Paul. As it is a major religious site, I wanted to see it on my week in Rome. The church (massive) was well worth the detour and although popular, it was also not overly crowded with people. The sacred building ... was constructed outside the walls of Rome to honour the mortal remains of the apostle and martyr St Paul, to preserve his memory and to celeb

Arrival Even if AQ and I were traveling in a time of cheap hotels, we continued to be in "save money" mode. The cheapest places to stay in Cincinnati were across the Ohio River in Covington, Kentucky. We arrived long before check-in time, so we parked in downtown Cincinnati and started our walkabout. We would be in the city for a day and a half. Murals What struck us immediately was the number of murals in downtown. I felt like I was back in Spain. They were both artis

July 2014 Covering 1535.52 hectares, this wonderful natural space to the west of the city is Madrid’s largest public park. Its history dates back to the mid-16th century when King Philip II decided to move his court to Madrid. He created an estate that extended from the Royal Palace to El Pardo hunting ground, acquiring farms and fields in the area. Used exclusively by the royal family for centuries, in the 1930s it was finally opened to the public. King Ferdinand VI declare

December 2018 My visit to Naples was during the Christmas season, so everything was decorated. It truly was a magical time, but not without encountering some head-scratching cultural differences. Christmas markets abounded around the old city and one thing that was not in short supply was "christmas horns" (cornicello). Naples, a city rich in history, culture and traditions, is famous not only for its artistic, cultural and gastronomic heritage, but also for its lucky char

not my photo June 2021 Serpent Mound, in Adams County, is the largest documented surviving example of a prehistoric effigy mound in the world. It is a sinuous earthen embankment 411 meters long, including an oval embankment at one end, which has been interpreted variously as the serpent's eye, part of its head, or a secondary object, such as an egg, grasped in the serpent's open jaws. The effigy ranges from 1.2 to 1.5 meters in height and from 6 to 7.6 meters in width. R

July 2016 The Camino de Santiago (or simply "the Camino") was something I learned about ironically in Saudi Arabia. I was surprised that such a travel "thing" had never been on my (or Brian's) radar. The end point is, of course, the Cathedral of Saint James (the apostle's purported resting place) in Galicia, Spain. I wanted to see it for what it represents and to understand what the place is like as the focal point of a long pilgrimage. I visited on a day trip from A Co

April 2012 When AFVdR and I were getting to know each other, I had not yet visited him in London. He often talked about the small park across from his flat - Powis Square. The neighborhood is definitely chic in Central London not far from Portobello Road and even walkable to many famous places in the city (although mostly we took the tube). Powis Square is a garden square and locality in Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. The c