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...

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...