Vivid colors and crisp daytime temperatures signal the onset of autumn at Lake Tahoe, California.
View this post on Instagram Lone surfer hitting the waters of Lake Tahoe at Incline Beach on Saturday, December 7, 2019. Elevation 6,229 feet. A strong storm front kicked up a sizeable wind swell – enough to be rideable. Water temp: 49F (9C) Air temp: 39F (4C) Wind: Steady at 20 mph (32 kph). For […]
Twenty-eight foot tall bronze statue of Grgur Ninski (Gregory of Nin) located in Split, Croatia. The statue was originally erected in 1929 within Split’s Diocletian’s Palace, but was moved in the mid-1950s to its current spot just outside the Old Town’s Golden Gate. The statue was created by Croatia’s most famous sculpture, Ivan Meštrović. Other […]
Pumpkins rioting at Rodoni Farms, Santa Cruz, California, October 2019. This photo shows the leaders of the mob trying to hotwire the farm’s pickup truck to make their escape. The uprising was apparently thwarted when the pumpkins realized they needed hands, eyes, and feet to drive. Rodoni Farms declined to comment on the incident, but […]
L’homme de Pierre (Stone Man) statue in the courtyard of the Chapelle-Saint-Elme in Villefranche-sur-mer. Created by artist Max Cartier, it is one of a number of stone men statues created in the late 1980s. Visitors who fly into Nice will have seen a similar statue, Le Voyageur (The Traveler), in the roundabout between Terminal 1 […]
The Villefranche-sur-mer Naval Flower Battle is one of those quirky small-town festivals that most tourists hope to run across. Usually held the first Monday after the start of the three-week Nice Carnival celebration, the action is centered on the seafront of the tiny town of Villefranche-sur-mer (population 5,500) a couple of miles east of Nice. […]
The purpose of this walking tour of public art in Nice is to introduce you to some of the more interesting artworks on display in town. With the exception of the stairs at the beginning and end, the tour takes place on level ground. The entire tour can be completed in about an hour, but […]
Snow clouds building over the Gar Woods pier on Lake Tahoe at sunset. Located in Carnelian Bay on the northwest side of the lake, Gar Woods has an outdoor patio ideal for drinking and dining during the short but spectacular summer season.
The Nice Carnival celebration is one of the largest carnival events in the world, attracting over a million visitors during it’s 15-day run. The theme of Carnival changes each year. In 2017, it was Energy. This year, it was Space. In 2019, it will be Cinema. Despite the different themes, the overall style of the […]
Godzilla “walking” through Place Massena during Carnival in Nice (2018). The celebration is one of the largest carnival events in the world. Each year, over a million visitors come to cheer on the bands, gape at the floats, and marvel at the giant balloons during the festival’s 15-day run. The theme of Carnival changes each […]
What is Into the Wild about? Into the Wild is one of those books that speaks to people on a lot of levels, depending on who they are and where they are in life. But one way to view it is as one man’s attempt to figure out how to live the richest, fullest life […]
Ceiling of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. Consecrated in 1888 after 17 years of construction, this neo-gothic landmark now attracts over 50,000 visitors a year. The 116 stained glass windows, created by Carmelite nuns in Le Mans, France, add color, light, and airiness to […]
View out over County Wicklow, Ireland. Despite being just south of Dublin, which is experiencing a huge internet-fueled building boom, much of Wicklow remains undeveloped. Small towns and patchwork fields bounded by hand-built rock walls line the coast. Inland, wild scrubland prevails, with soft bracken and hearty gorse covering the gently rolling hills.
One of three large statues on the rooftop of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris looking across the Seine to the Louvre Museum. This statue, entitled Orleans, was created as an allegorical representation of the city of Orleans, which was one of three major cities served by the train line that originated in the building when it […]
View out over Nevada from the top of the 7,600 foot mountain ridge that forms the divide between California and the Silver State at the southern end of Lake Tahoe. Although the valley in view is only 1,500 feet lower than the lake, the Sierra Nevada mountains block much of the rain and snow that […]
Young skiers at Isola 2000 ski field, 60 miles (96 km) north of Nice, France. Set in a high valley inside Mercantour National Park on the dividing line between France and Italy, the ski field gets its name from its altitude (2000 meters/6560 feet) rather than from any association with the year 2000. For full […]
Canal and classically inspired buildings in the Souk Madinat Jumeirah, located just south of the landmark Burj Al Arab Jumeirah hotel. This relatively new souk is designed to look like a traditional Arabian market. In it you’ll find an eclectic mix of quirky shops, art galleries, antique stores, and high-end clothing boutiques. There are also […]
Before leaving on any major trip, I always run through a pre-departure checklist that I’ve put together over the nearly 25 years I’ve been traveling. Some of the items on the list are fairly obvious, but I include them anyway on the assumption that nothing is too obvious to be overlooked. I learned this the […]
Sacre Coeur Basilica (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) in the northern suburbs of Paris. Completed in 1914, it’s the second most visited monument in town, with 10 million visitors a year. Only Notre Dame Cathedral had more last year (12 million). With Notre Dame closed for repair following the disastrous April 2019 fire that gutted […]
Figuring out how to meet people when you travel is one of the hardest but most enjoyable aspects of being a solo traveler. Going beyond checklist tourism to actually experiencing the local customs and culture firsthand. As a solo traveler, you’re in a good position to gain entry into the local community. It’s much easier […]
The Chagall Museum (Musée Chagall) is one of Nice’s two most popular museums, along with the Musée Matisse, which is located just up the hill. Although the collection is relatively small, it provides a satisfying and intimate glimpse into the magical and mystical world that Chagall envisioned. Chagall was closely involved in the design and arrangement […]
Marc Chagall’s mosaic Le prophète Elie (The Prophet Elijah) on the wall of the Musée Marc Chagall in Nice, France. Created in 1970 specifically for the outer wall of the museum, the mosaic depicts religious scenes relating to the many miracles God performed through Elijah. The beauty and simplicity of the work is enhanced when […]
The Matisse Museum (Musée Matisse) is one of Nice’s two most popular museums, the other being the Musée Chagall, which is located nearby. Originally housed in a 17th century villa on the outskirts of Nice, the museum was expanded in the early 1990s and now includes a large modern wing where some of Matisse’s larger […]
Mgarr Harbor on the southern side of Gozo island, Malta. The 25-minute ferry service from the island of Malta runs between this small harbor and the town of Cirwekka.
Budapest skyline, showing Buda Castle on the western side of the Danube. The current castle and palace complex was constructed in the 18th century and is now home to the Budapest History Museum and the Hungarian National Gallery. Pedestrians coming from the Pest side of the river can get to the Castle by crossing the […]