Taormina
How could I have lost the bulk of the photos I took of Taormina? I have not a clue. I lost the photos of Mt. Aetna shot from the balcony of our hotel. Now I am glad I was unable to capture the night the volcano acted up a bit, glowing red, then redder. But […]
From Pistachios to Chocolate – Modica
Palermo and Agrigento pride themselves on their pistachio harvest. You can buy jars of pistachio crème (like Nutella only made with pistachios); pasta has pistachio sauce and desserts are pistachio mousse with ground pistachios sprinkled over. But Modica is all about chocolate. No milk or sugar in their chocolate (except of course the white chocolate); […]
Agrigento
A beautiful small town, founded by the ancient Greeks, made famous by the ruins of the Temples they left behind. Some of the ruins have been reconstructed or partially reconstructed having been tumbled by earthquakes or blown up in wars. We strolled the ruins of five or six temples with our guide, Lorenzo. When built, […]
Palermo
The city I didn’t know I wanted to visit. Our guided tour yesterday took us to palaces, churches and the Cathedral at Monreale. Don’t quiz me. All I know is that everyone has depicted the stories of the old and new testament in the Churches with great skill. Incredible mosaic and gilt work. About 200 […]
Kampong-Khleang Floating Village
On this very last day of our trip, the company that arranged it asked us to participate in a clean water project they underwrite. They shipped us two water filters which we packed. That morning, we went to the bustling wholesale market where everything from jewelry to chickens was available for purchase and bought two […]
Cambodia Day 2
Two very different excursions today — one highlighting a major problem for modern Cambodia, the other visiting the past. Unexploded mines are a menace in Cambodia. Many have been cleared but the efforts are ongoing. A former economics professor from the US has teamed up with Cambodians to organize and fund these efforts. They have […]
Cambodia – Temples, Temples and More Temples
The complex at Angkor Wat has at least 72 temples. The small country of Cambodia has a couple thousand. Our guide would have been glad to show us all of them “Less is more” I told him so we explored Angkor Wat and Ta Proehm, the so called “Tomb Raider” temple since it was made […]
Hoi An
Hoi An is a tourist town attracting Indian, Australian and Asian tourists. Colored lanterns are its hallmark, stemming from the days that the Chinese community would hang out a different colored lantern to mark significant events — births, marriages, etc. At dusk the river fills with boats decorated with colored lanterns. Our hotel room overlooked […]
The Oyster Farm
The Lang Co Lagoon, a stop on the drive between Hue and Hoi An deserves its own entry. A body of brackish water that is, according to our guide, the best environment for farming edible oysters. A young man took us out on a boat through the wooden stakes that line the bay marking each […]
The Empire Comes Back – Hue
Hue in central Vietnam was the locus of the imperial government and the Communist government has decided to preserve of royal tombs, palaces and pagodas of the country’s imperial history. The buildings are constructed with principles of FengSui in mind so that the elements of water air earth and fire are in proper balance. The […]