“It’s been a hard day’s night and I’ve been working like a dog…” The song keeps running through my head as I approach Marylebone Station in London where I am meeting a group tour to follow in the footsteps of the Beatles around London. Marylebone Station was where the opening scenes of the Beatles’ movie, Hard […]
Bodrum, Turkey’s Spectacular Undersea Museum
The port of Bodrum, on the Turkish west coast, is the starting point for spectacular cruises down the beautiful turquoise coast. For yachting enthusiasts, the Bodrum Cup Race is held every October. The boatyards of Bodrum have been famous since ancient times and today the traditional types of yachts are still crafted there. Today Bodrum sports one of […]
Mycenae, Greece: Ghosts and Legends
I’m standing on the crest of Mycenae’s acropolis hill looking out over the ruined ramparts of the ancient citadel. It’s easy to evoke those long-past times and I let my imagination run wild recalling Homer’s tales and the tragedies of the dramatists, Aeschylus and Euripides. The series of treacheries, improper marriages and acts of vengeance […]
Castell Coch: A Victorian Fantasy Castle in Wales
As the car drives up the steep hillside and I glimpse the rounded turrets of a castle through the trees, I feel as if I’m entering a fairy-tale world. I wonder if Walt Disney used this setting as a model for his films. But the knights and handsome princes who lived here were not those […]
A Visit to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
A visit to Anne Hathaway’s cottage near Stratford-upon-Avon is a delightful way to spend an afternoon. In the spacious drawing room of Anne Hathaway’s Cottage is a large, carved, wooden chair. It’s known as the ‘courting chair’ because it is said this is where the young William Shakespeare sat while visiting and courting his future bride, Anne. […]
Mainz, Germany: A Carnival City with Roman Roots
Plan Your Visit to Mainz, Germany I was fortunate to visit a friend who lives in Mainz so he acted as my tour guide as we explored this architecturally rich and scenic city; from the Baroque Gautor Gate built in 1670 that was once part of the city walls, to the Copper Mountain Terrace, an […]
A Day in a Coal Mine: The Big Pit Mine in Blaenafon, Wales
Mining was part of my family’s heritage. Most of the men (and some of the women) were coalminers in the coal-pits of Wales. I grew up listening to my father’s mining stories. But it wasn’t until I visited the Big Pit Mine in Wales that I was able to experience something of what that life […]
An Enchanting Hike on Mount Snowden in North Wales
The view from the summit of Mt. Snowdon is a vista of yellow-brown hills and intensely green meadows. Far below the precipitously steep cliffs, a river flows through a valley where the stone houses of Llanberis village nestle beside twin lakes. As the sun moves out of the clouds, the rocky summit is silhouetted against […]
A Visit to Old Sarum in Salisbury, England
The allure of the mystical stone circles of the Salisbury Plain was what brought me to Salisbury on my first trip 30 years ago. I had been to Stonehenge and stopped in Salisbury to catch my bus back to London. At the bus depot I happened to see a sign advertising an Iron Age hill fort, […]
Wiesbaden, Germany: the Spa City
They say that Weisbaden, Germany is built over seven extinct volcanoes. Because of this, the city is famous for its thermal springs and spas. The earliest of these dates back to Roman times. Through the ages, spa bathing became so popular that by the 1800’s there were 23 bath houses in Wiesbaden. Famous visitors came there to bathe […]