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

George Hutchins (moved and restored in a local park). Mink Hollow Hanaway Rock Mill. June 2021 After our great visit to Hocking Hills State Park [see: Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio ], we were Columbus-bound. Then I noted on Google Maps that we would be passing near Lancaster, Ohio and it has a collection of covered bridges just like Pennsylvania. We made a detour to see four of them. I actually wouldn't have minded seeing them all (eight in total), but AQ found they "all

July 2015 On my first visit to Madrid, AFVdR and I visited Segovia and saw its famous aqueduct that cuts right through the center of town. That "ruin" impressed me immensely. Spain holds one more equally complete aqueduct outside of Tarragona - I wanted to see it (especially after discovering that Tarragona's old town, while lovely, was extremely small and I had time on my hands). The Ferreres Aqueduct, also known as the Pont del Diable; English: "Devil's Bridge"), is an a

Old Royal Naval College. September 2001 Literally across from Canary Wharf is Greenwich - the Greenwich of GMT and the observatory that marks the Prime Meridian. Brian and I took the ferry across the river to see it since it was near our hotel and it was famous (in a kind of nerdy way). It was on that trip that I discovered the Old Royal Naval College - a gorgeous leftover from another age. I instantly would have preferred to visit that than the observatory! We didn't

Fountain of the Tritons Temple of Hercules Victor Temple of Portunus. November 2016 I set out to find the iconic "Mouth of Truth" in Rome - the famous relief in whose mouth people place their hands and, supposedly, it will bite them off if a lie is detected. I wanted to see it out of curiosity. When I reached the square, however, I completely forgot about the "Mouth of Truth" and was swept away by two lovely temples and a fountain all located on a small square in front of

Cedar Falls walking path Old Man's Cave. June 2021 The hollows and caves of the park complex have long attracted the peoples of Ohio. Evidence of the ancient Adena culture illustrates man first inhabited the recesses more than 7,000 years ago. In the mid 1700's several Indian tribes traveled through or lived here including the Wyandot, Delaware and Shawnee. Their name for the river from which the park gets its name was Hockhocking of "bottle river." The name comes from the b

City Hall (ex-casino) August 2017 I arrived in San Sebastian by bus on a day trip from Bilbao. Riding the little Feve narrow gauge train (I loved it) was an option, but time was limited and the journey was long. By bus it was fast and easy. I arrived and oriented myself. San Sebastian is right over the border from France and glitzy Biarritz is easily reachable (although I actually wanted to see the more laid-back Saint Jean de Luz). The problem was limited time and slow

April 2012 Trafalgar Square is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early 19th century around the area known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the British naval victory in the Napoleonic Wars over France and Spain that took place on 21 October 1805 off the coast of Cape Trafalgar. The area around Trafalgar Square has been a significant landmark since the 1200s, as distances from London are meas

November 2016 Saint John Lateran is the first Christian Basilica built explicitly to gather the entire city community around its bishop, although Christians had already started to build churches before Constantine came to power: there is mainly literary evidence of them, affirming that forty already existed in Rome, whereas the artistic development is demonstrated by art from the catacombs. This sufficiently shows how Christianity, although persecuted, was so vital that it ne

The first permanent European settlers arrived in Athens in 1797, more than a decade after the United States victory in the American Revolutionary War. In 1800, the town site was first surveyed and plotted and incorporated as a village in 1811. Ohio had become a state in 1803. Ohio University was chartered in 1804, the first public institution of higher learning in the Northwest Territory. Previously part of Washington County, Ohio, Athens County was formed in 1805, named for

August 2017 Santillana del Mar is a historic town situated in Cantabria, Spain. Its many historic buildings attract thousands of visitors every year. There is an old saying that Santillana del Mar is The Town of Three Lies, since it is neither a Saint (Santa), nor flat (llana), nor is it by the sea (Mar) as implied by its name. However, the name actually derives from Santa Juliana (or Santa Illana) whose remains are kept in the Colegiata, a Romanesque church and former Bened

April 2012 Every traveler to the British capital needs to have a selfie with the Palace of Westminster somewhere behind them - if not, they haven't really been to London. For all my walking around the city, I did not pass near this iconic spot more than a handful of times. On most of my visits with AFVdR, we were seeing "non-tourist" London - which I greatly appreciated. From that first visit to London with Brian in 2001 (of which only bits and pieces of memory remain), I r

July 2017 “The School of Bologna was established independently, it arose and stood out as a private school.” It was with these words that Carducci celebrated the birth of the Alma Mater Studiorum, during celebrations for its 8th Centenary in 1888. The prophet-poet himself admitted the artificiality of the centenary, as he acknowledged that it was impossible to determine the exact date it was founded, given that the Studium of Bologna was not established at the behest of a sov

History After US independence from England, the new country also inherited the Northwest Territory which stretched between the Ohio and the Mississippi and to the Great Lakes. At that time, the land was mostly untouched by the Europeans except for French fur traders and a few intrepid explorers. Right on the Ohio River, across from Virginia (and close to Pennsylvania) Marietta was the only town of substance. In fact, it served as the capital of the entire territory unti

February 2017 The Alcazar of Seville is one of the most spectacular monuments in Spain. A splendid example of the Mudejar style of architecture, the Alcazar is a must on any Seville itinerary! Also known as the Reales Alcazares de Sevilla, the Royal Alcazar, or the Real Alcazar, the Seville Alcazar is the oldest European royal palace that’s still in use. Located in the heart of the historic core of the Andalusian city, the Royal Alcazar of Seville is part of Seville’s UNESC

September 2014 The Royal Albert Hall was built on what was once the Gore estate, at the centre of which stood Gore House. The three acre estate was occupied by political reformer William Wilberforce between 1808-1828 and subsequently occupied between 1836-1849 by the Countess of Blessington and Count D’Orsay. After the couple left for Paris in May 1851, the house was opened as the ‘Universal Symposium of All Nations’, a restaurant run by the first celebrity chef, Alexis Soye

November 2016 The Basilica of The Holy Cross in Jerusalem is located in Rome, in the Esquilino quarter, close to the Aurelian Walls and...