Con Dao is the name of a group of 16 islands off the southern coast of Vietnam. Here we find ourselves landing on the main island of Con Son, the only inhabited one. Names are…
Cape Town: Mountains & Valleys – Jan, Feb,…
Table Top Mountain Table Top Mountain is, of course, the iconic backdrop to the city. At 3,500 feet, it is often buffeted by winds or in the clouds. But on a beautiful day, it’s spectacular.…
Cape Town Christmas – Dec 2018
The Festive Season in Cape Town, as it’s called in South Africa, is a remarkably quiet time for both locals and tourists. Goverment Avenue is usually busy with students in school uniform, domestics commuting, walking…
Johannesburg- Dec 2018
Two nights in Joahannesburg. Just a tech-stop, really. We’d spent a couple of days here previously and just wanted to take a break on our way to Cape Town. And, as it turned out, it…
Italy & Food – Nov, Dec 2018
Campo dei Fiori, Rome. Just outside the door of the first apartment at which we stayed, and the source of raw material for much self-catering. It is said you can’t find a bad meal in…
Pompei & Herculaneum – Nov 2018
Pompeiian streets, engineered for both wains and water, buried under 30 feet of ash and pyroclastic mud for nearly 2,000 years, here and now in the clear light of morning. Pompeii’s central forum, center of…
Sorrentine Peninsula – Nov 2018
Vesuvius, from our Sorrento hotel room balcony, with at its feet Herculaneum on the left and Pompei on the right. The cliffs of Sorrento. The Amalfi Coast is all the rave with Americans, but the…
Naples – Nov 2018
Naples has gifted two things to the world: pizza and a canvas for graffiti. I’m not sure if the crisp sloppy pizzas currently in vogue are anything like the ones that started the legend of…
The Vatican – Nov 2028
Via della Conciliazione, the Way of Concilliation, leading to Piazza San Pietro and St. Peter’s Basillica. Entering the Vatican through the Vatican Museum. We booked a “very small group, early entry” tour. We were among…