The acropolis in Athens is ground zero for the culture of the western hemisphere. The Parthenon affected me as deeply as it did when I saw it the first time as a twenty-one-year-old student. TheRead more
The acropolis in Athens is ground zero for the culture of the western hemisphere. The Parthenon affected me as deeply as it did when I saw it the first time as a twenty-one-year-old student. TheRead more
The museum at Athens makes every other exhibition of ancient Greek artifacts look pale. This is the mother lode. Here we see the development of Greek statuary from its stiff Egyptian antecedents allRead more
Walking on the Plaka, sipping coffee at an outdoor cafe, seeing the lights of the Piraeus, and enjoying the re-creation of a Greek stadium for the modern Olympics--all of these are part of the modernRead more
Katakolon is the gateway to Mount Olympus. The day we were to visit the weather was rainy and stormy with heavy winds. Our captain wanted a particular berth. He was advised that to get it he must goRead more
Empress Elizabeth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, known to friends as Sissi, was a beautiful woman with a very unhappy life. Her husband was not interested in her. Yet she dutifully bore an heir, whoRead more
The Paleokastritsa is a roadway on the island of Corfu (Kerkyra) that goes up into the mountains, past monasteries, extravagant vistas, and quaint coffee shops. We took advantage of all of theseRead more
The island of Corfu (Kerkyra) is a wonderland. It has been domanated by Venetian, Austro-Hungarian and English rulers. The result is a wonderfully cosmopolitan island that bears the stamp of the wholeRead more
One of the joys of taking a cruise occurs when the ship offers something akin to what Princess Cruises calls "The Chef's Table." On the Ruby Princess it involves a trip back to the kitchens to see howRead more
We were not expecting much from the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia. How surprised we were! I had heard that there were some buildings here from the ninth century. I did not realize that the wholeRead more