Roy Lichtenstein? No. Advertisement for the Valparaiso equivalent of Home Depot. This is a city of a million steps. I was here in 2017 and I fear I may not return because walking is treacherous. First, the sidewalks are uneven, second, the streets are at a 75 degree incline- at least, and third, dogs are ..

Iceland’s winter, August to April, is the only opportunity to see the northern lights. As well, they are visible primarily in the dead of night and the sky must be totally clear. It has been mostly cloudy this trip with intermittent rain. Last night the sky cleared and we were told we might catch a ..

As mentioned in a previous post, the tony South Side of La Paz is unwelcoming to indigenous Aymarans. And the newly wealthy Aymarans do not want to live on the South Side because, money or not, they wish to preserve their local customs, which includes washing clothes by hand and hanging them out to dry ..

The featured image shows the gate house of the old Uruguayan prison, Punta Carretas. It is now an upscale shopping mall in an upper middle class neighborhood. That a McDonald’s is housed there I find amusing. What I learned on a recent tour, and did supplemental reading about on the internet, was that there was ..

The featured image was taken inside the Museum of Tomorrow, an extraordinary experience. Very difficult to photograph. What you are looking at is a rotunda that contains six floor to ceiling screens showing rotating films about the impact of population growth on the planet. This is only one of fifty or so permanent exhibits. It ..

Starting with the best part of driving from Ellicott City, Maryland, to Toronto and back:  the scenery. There is really only one  four lane road from Pennsylvania through Western New York, US 11/15.  All the tiny towns nestled among windmills, lakes, mountains  dotted with freshly painted red barns, made for a beautiful drive.  The problems ..

Fourteen days in Santiago turned out to be way too long a visit. The problem was that nearly all the museums and art galleries, which is the reason I went there, were  closed. Not even the tourism office knew they were closed. Stranger still, neither do the museum websites let the public know.  One day ..

When I think of Patagonia, one image that comes to mind is cypress wood, such as shown in the featured image.  This door is the entrance to a private home on a hillside in San Carlos de Bariloche.  My decision to take a 1,000 mile, 24 hour bus trip from Bariloche back to Buenos Aires ..

Neil Dawson’s steel sculpture, Chalice, was installed in Christchurch’ Cathedral Square in 2000.  It survived the devastating earthquake in 2011, whereas 80% of the surrounding buildings are doomed to demolition.  We went to the Quake City Museum where I felt similarly to my experience of being in the Katrina Museum in New Orleans. Through the ..

Unless you already know this true story, I am here to tell you that you can’t make this stuff up.  The featured image is part of the permanent collection at MONA, Museum of Old and New Art. The brainchild of David  Walsh, an eccentric professional gambler and math genius (much online about him),  MONA brings ..

The featured image shows a rifle and the Arabic lettering spells “gun gallery.”  I took this photograph in the Nizwa Souk, or bazaar. Oman men love rifles and swords, especially to wear at weddings. Wearing both a rifle and a sword, as well as your family dagger tucked in your waist scarf,  at a wedding ..

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is a World Heritage Site and is ranked the 7th most beautiful garden in the world.  It is the only botanical garden with mountains as a backdrop. I took the free two hour tour and was enchanted. The show stopper for me was this unlikely couple.  I like to imagine they ..

German food, mostly.  Lots of beer gardens and lots of sausage.  Above is a hearty breakfast I ordered my first morning in a coffee house in Swakopmund.  It was the least amount of food. The brown bread cost extra, bringing the cost of breakfast, including coffee, up to $4.00. A word about the coffee.  There ..

The Omani hijab is modified for the flight attendants on Emirates Air. A sexy look, don’t you think? The veil is worn while greeting and saying good-bye to passengers, not while serving food. That would not work well. The rest of the outfit is smart: knee length form fitting skirts, medium high heels and a ..

The best preparation for jet lag is to not believe in it. Yeah, I know, drink lots of water, eat light, don’t drink alcohol, etc.   For my first visit to Argentina, I asked my doctor for Ambien for the overnight flight.  She consented and wrote me a script for two pills. Two?  Yes, she ..