DAMAGED BUT UNDAUNTED,  MORELOS BECKONS TOURISTS, October 3, 2017­­­

On September 19, 2017, an earthquake struck Mexico causing severe to moderate damage in Mexico City and the states of Puebla and Morelos. The estimated 7.1 Richter-scale quake damaged about 150 thousand homes, some completely destroyed. Government sources confirm 366 lives lost, including 225 in the capital and 74 in Morelos.   Mexican first responders, the army,…

THE DALE CHIHULY EXHIBIT AT THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN

The New York Botanical Garden is a treasure by itself, but adding the brilliant jewels created by glass sculptor Dale Chihuly makes the shine even brighter. His colorful and impressive works decorate the garden and especially the conservatory, where they nestle among the greenery or float in ponds, competing with mother nature. The exhibit closes…

A DUORO-RIVER CRUISE with CROISIEUROPE, May 22-29, 2017

(All photos by the author. Click on them to enlarge and read the captions. Forgive me for not switching to a Portuguese keyboard so the text is missing proper accents and diacritical marks).  I spent four days in Lisbon in May 2016 and it sparked my interest in seeing more of Portugal.  Additionally, my bio…

THREE NIGHTS IN THE PORTUGUESE PARADISE OF FUNCHAL, MADEIRA

(All photos by the author. Click on them to enlarge them and to read the captions, and use your arrows to scroll forward and reverse. I did not switch to a Portuguese keyboard so the text lacks proper accents and diacritical marks). Friends who had visited the Portuguese island of Madeira had raved about it…