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...

Backstory After finishing my 3.5 year stint in Bangladesh very battered emotionally and mentally, I needed some change (and something...

Getting there AQ and I decided to head south to Marietta on the Ohio River. On the way there, we would pass by Cuyahoga Valley National...

Background While Brian and I were living in Jakarta, I befriended some guys in the neighborhood who worked near the Puri Sakti house. I...

January 2020 Hindsight is 20-20. The trip to Valencia was my last before the world shut down due to COVID. Had I known, I would have...

September 2001 I remember just bits and pieces of that first journey to London since Brian and I returned to New York and 9/11 occurring...

February 2019 I'm still not sure how I found Porto Venere. Perhaps after my disappointment with Cinque Terre I was hoping to find...

Lakewood Park West of downtown are lovely suburbs built on the bluffs overlooking Lake Erie. AQ had visited before and said they...

July 2014 Covering over 125 hectares and comprising more than 15,000 trees, El Retiro Park–recently named a UNESCO World Heritage Site–is...

July 2014 On one of my solo London walkabouts while visiting AFVdR, I passed through St James' Park. It might be one of my favorites in...

April 2017 After a great time in Bolzano, I stopped in Trent on the way back to Verona. The train ride between the two cities was...

East Side The second day in Cleveland AQ wanted to show me something nice. We drove out to the neighborhood near Case Western Reserve...

January 2020 The village of Segorbe is immersed in a fertile plain, washed by the Palancia river. Its medieval layout conceals several...

April 2012 On one walkabout in London with AFVdR (Brian was with us), we saw a lot of tourist London. We passed under the London Eye...

February 2019 Sanremo has already enjoyed its five minutes of fame (actually several decades). The Sanremo Casino (Casino Municipale di...

December 1985 Background If I didn't believe in fate before, my first trip to Southeast Asia made me at least begin to consider that some...

June 2021 AQ drove us to the lake as it was a part of town he had visited frequently with friends. He noted Cleveland's Amtrak station -...

July 2015 Some historians date the construction of the bridge to the first century A.D. in the times of Emperor Trajan. The bridge...