Travel
Back to those Prague cafés and restaurants
I was recently back in Prague for a couple of days, and took the opportunity to return to a few of my favorite cafés – and discovered some new restaurants serving Czech favorites. Obecni dum café in Starometska (Old Town) was one of my old hangouts, back when it was all dark, with red velvet…
Read MoreMozart in Venice…
I was in Venice this past February, during Carnival. As always when in Venice, the best part of the visit is to wander the winding streets around La Serenissima and to climb the countless bridges over picturesque canals. It was on one of these mapless wanderings on this last visit that we bumped into this…
Read MorePrague’s Clam-Gallas Palace
When I was last in Prague last spring, I was surprised to see that Prague’s Clam-Gallas Palace was open to the public for visits. Sadly, in the days I was there, it was undergoing some renovations and was not open to visitors. So when I returned this year, I made a point of going to…
Read MoreStunning Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice
On my last visit to Venice last month, I returned to a magical place – the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. This was founded in 1458, as part of the networks of “Scuole” that existed in the Venice of the time. To grace the grand halls of this space, Venetian painter Tintoretto was commissioned to…
Read MoreThe gnomes of Wroclaw, Poland
This past weekend I visited the town of Wroclaw, in southern Poland, for the first time. I’ve always been curious to visit this pretty town, and my husband and I were staying in Prague and I convinced him to take the bus up for a daytrip … a four-hour bus trip departing at 6 am.…
Read MoreTodi’s beautiful Palazzo del Popolo
Todi is a picturesque medieval hilltown in Umbria – and its central square, Pizza del Popolo, is wonderfully picturesque. It’s a great place to sit and watch life pass you by. I was here recently on a lovely autumn day, and, when I got tired of walking up and down the steep hills, I enjoyed…
Read MoreCentral Park’s Conservatory Garden
New York’s Central Park is a wonderful place to explore. One of the places I always enjoy returning is Central Park’s Conservatory Garden, in the northeastern corner of the park (between 104th and 106th Streets). The name comes from a glass conservatory that was installed in this spot in the late 1800s. That was removed…
Read MoreSite of the Battle of The Pigs in the Marche’s Offagna
A couple of years ago, my younger son and I had planned on visiting medieval Offagna after having explored nearby rival, Osimò. A flat tire put a monkey wrench in those plans, as did the discovery that, should you get a flat in the Marche region’s rural areas on a Saturday – good luck to…
Read MoreOn this Mardi Gras, celebrating Venice’s Carnival
I’ve just returned from visiting Venice during Carnival season … and since today we’re already celebrating Mardi gras (thanks to a super-early Easter this year), I’d better post about Carnival before the more serious Lenten season begins… It has been years – decades, really – since I visited Venice during the Carnival season, but I’m…
Read MoreVisiting Via Tasso’s Nazi Prison Museum in Rome
Recently, I visited for the first time Rome’s Museo Storico della Liberazione (Liberation Historical Museum). During WWII, the Germans occupied Rome between September 1943 and June 1944. During that time, the SS headquarters on Via Tasso served as a prison, interrogation facilities and the place where prisoners were tortured and killed. During that time, being…
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