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

April 2017 Porta Nuova is a gateway to the historic center of Verona, built between 1532 and 1540. It was designed by architect Michele Sanmicheli. Giorgio Vasari remarked on the gateway in his work Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architettori, stating that "never before [had there been] any other work of more grandeur or better design." (Wikipedia) Verona was founded on a sharp bend in the Adige River on relatively flat land (while the opposite bank rose sharp

November 2025 Two big gaps existed in my travels: one, to complete the last bits of traveling across Eurasia by train and ferry [see: two-weeks across Europe ]; and two, taking a transatlantic voyage. I arrived in Barcelona tired after two weeks of intense travel. All the upcoming sea days with nothing to do would suit me fine. I navigated the city's metro and walked to the famous T3 bus that shuttles passengers to the massive cruise terminal pier. Barcelona has invest

October 2025 Backstory During my time working in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, I travelled through Europe often - it was "nearby" and I was earning good money. That all ended with COVID. I returned to Pennsylvania and stayed with my brother for a time to help him with our fading mother and then moved to the Perry Place Refuge to figure out what I was going to do next. I ended up in Bangladesh working non-stop for three and a half years. In the end, my last trip to Europe had b

Quite honestly, the only thing I knew about Columbus was that it is a frequent choice for restaurants wanting to "go franchise" as a testing ground. Columbus is "America" and if a business is successful there, it likely will be anywhere. Hence, Columbus is a kind of "foodie paradise" with places attempting to make it big that cannot be found elsewhere (yet). AQ and I found a hotel on the edge of town after our multi-stop drive from Marietta and called it a day. We had done

January 2020 The Market of San Miguel is a covered market located in Madrid, Spain. Originally built in 1916, it was purchased by private investors in 2003 who renovated the iron structure and reopened it in 2009. San Miguel Market is the most popular market in Madrid among tourists since it is located in the centre of Madrid, within walking distance from Plaza Mayor. The market is not a traditional grocery market but a gourmet tapas market, with over 30 different vendors se

Zombies. April 2012 One of my favorite orchestras is the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, so the church's prominent position on Trafalgar Square [see: Trafalgar Square, London ] aside, I always associated it with music and not much else. I had passed by it on earlier visits to London with AFVdR because there was a great pub nearby, Halfway to Heaven. When Brian was with us and we were walking around the London tourist sites, I noted an "art installation" on the portico

July 2016 On that crazy day-trip to Venice to hang out with dear friends CM and CM (and family), I tagged along on their private tour of the canals via boat. The best was stopping by a "gondola yard" and meeting a master craftsman who explained how those traditional boats were made and maintained. The boats are built according to a centuries old process that actually has not changed too much over the years - given the boats are not motorized, there really is no reason. I