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DESTINATION: Revisiting the South of France
Exploring the South of France in September offers travelers discounts, unique seasonal delights and a welcome respite from the summer crowds.
Read MoreRediscovering Morocco
Text and pictures by Michael Webb Nearly sixty years after a first youthful tour of Morocco, I returned to that enchanted land in March. Covid restrictions forced me to reschedule the trip three times and I decided to go at the earliest opportunity. I struck out with the weather, which was cold and wet, giving…
Read MoreDriving Around SICILY
The first time I explored Sicily, nearly 60 years ago, I stayed in cheap pensions, walked around the cities and took local buses and slow trains from one place to the next. This past September I returned with a friend and we retraced a similar route with an experienced driver in the comfort of a…
Read MoreGoat Yoga and Glamping on a Peach Farm in ARIZONA
Liz Laing explores local farms throughout Mesa and Queen Creek, staying in a decked out 1969 Airstream, and marveling at Sonoran Desert sunsets. The Cozy Peach at Schnepf Farms (Queen Creek, AZ) Have you ever wanted to spend the night in a 1969 airstream? Now’s your chance… Schnepf Farms recently opened The Cozy Peach, a unique glamping…
Read MoreDiscover CAMBRIA on California’s Central Coast
Drive along the Pacific Coast Highway on California’s central coast and discover the best of California: incredible ocean views along rugged coastlines, dense pine forests and unspoiled beaches.
Read MoreArt and Nature in Northern ENGLAND
If you want to enjoy England as it was a century ago, skip the overcrowded, domesticated south-east and head north to Derbyshire and Yorkshire. Those counties cradled the Industrial Revolution, growing prosperous on coal and steel, manufacturing and trade. The mines and mills have shuttered, the great cities are trying to reinvent themselves; in between…
Read MoreFusing Old and New in CHINA
In China, historic landmarks alternate with a few spectacular new buildings by top Western architects, which mark a sharp break with the past. On one side is the Forbidden City and the gardens of Suzhou, with their still ponds and moon gates; on the other are towers that twist and swoop as though they were…
Read MoreOMAN- Not a Thousand and One Nights
Lawrence of Arabia would be delighted if he flipped through this year’s travel magazines that all seem to point to the Arabian Peninsula’s politically neutral sultanate of Oman. It’s one of 2019’s hot destinations and Jane Adams has journeyed from its azure Arabian Sea coast through red desert sands to jagged mountain peaks. No camels…
Read MoreJAIPUR or Bust!
Review your bucket list. Does it include Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan? This is one list entry considered mandatory by Jane Adams, a recent delegate at the world’s largest writers’ festival held every year in the ‘Pink City’of the Rajputs. It was the sci-fi writer Stephen King who wrote, “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” The…
Read MoreOff the Beaten Track in SPAIN
Discover Spain’s northern provinces with Michael Webb. I’ve explored Spain pretty thoroughly over the years, but it never fails to surprise me. The northern provinces, from the Basque Country to Galicia are far less traveled than Barcelona, the Mediterranean coast and Andalusia. Art lovers flock to the Bilbao Guggenheim and pilgrims still trudge the…
Read MoreTOKYO Translated
The world’s most populous metropolis that sprawls across 23 city wards, islands and other towns and villages, boasting 9.26 million citizens can seem daunting but only from the outside. Gently peel off its layers, and every day will deliver the unexpected, treasured moments and memories, from shochu shared with sumo wrestlers to retired military-uniformed soldiers…
Read MoreSybaritic SRI LANKA
Michael Webb enjoys the more luxurious side of the cities of Sri Lanka. My first visit to Sri Lanka, many years ago, was a frugal adventure, bumping around in crowded buses from one ancient site to another, exploring the historic city of Kandy, and staying in a vintage guest house in the hill country of…
Read MoreHOKKAIDO Haiku
Most travelers head to Hokkaido for the world’s best powder skiing, but Japan’s northernmost and volatile volcanic island beguiles in the tranquil summer ‘green season’ too. Home of the indigenous Ainu, Hokkaido boasts the longest prefectural coastline in Japan, a remarkable 4460 kilometers of cliffs, bays, curvaceous peninsulas, remote fishing villages and evocative waves and…
Read MoreSALENTO: Italy’s Cool Heel
Puglia in southern Italy is big on bucket lists – but it’s the sub-region Salento, the tip of Italy’s heel that is quietly strutting its charms. Jane Adams heads down to where the Adriatic meets the Ionian Sea. Waking to an Adriatic dawn atop the rocky corniche south of Tricase, the mirror calm sea glowing…
Read MoreDriving around POLAND
Michael Webb embarks on a 10 day road trip around Poland. Resilience is the greatest asset of the Poles, who retained their pride and sense of nationhood during two centuries of foreign occupation. Twenty years of independence between the world wars were succeeded by the brutal onslaught of the Nazis and the Red Army, devastation…
Read MoreMYANMAR: On the River from Mandalay
‘Can’t you ‘ear their paddles chunkin’ from Rangoon to Mandalay? On the road to Mandalay, Where the flyin’-fishes play, An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ‘crost the Bay! -RUDYARD KIPLING Any list of the world’s great rivers includes the mighty Irrawaddy (aka Ayeyarwady), the backbone and lifeline of the embracing troubled land…
Read MoreEnjoy the Modern Architecture of MILAN
From apartment buildings to museums, learn why Michael Webb keeps returning to Milan over Italy’s many other cities. Milan is my favorite Italian city (with Turin running a close second) for the way it reveals its treasures slowly. It has a few of the attractions that lure tour groups, including Leonardo’s over-restored Last Supper and a spiky…
Read MoreOld Meets New in HAMBURG
Hamburg never gets old – it is a feast for lovers of vintage and contemporary architecture, music, and everything maritime. This Hanseatic city continues to renew itself with the development of new quarters like HafenCity making it an exciting stop-over on any European tour.
Read MoreBig and Little in JAPAN: Why Tokyo is Good for Kids
From cute hedgehog cafes to the giant Pokémon headquarters and the city’s most urban shrine, little travelers can see curious places that are big in Japan.
Read MoreThe Maria Island Walk, TASMANIA
Take a four-day luxury guided walk through one of the regions most beautiful and unspoiled nature reserves on the East coast of Tasmania.
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