Bru na Boinne, Ireland

Editor’s note: like Sam, I just finished a wonderful trip through Ireland. However, unlike Sam, I didn’t get a chance to stop at Bru na Boinne, nor did I even know it existed. This is why there are always return trips! For more of Sam’s amazing adventures, click here to visit his index page. Just…

Paris’ Musee D’Orsay

What qualities go into a great museum? For me, there are a few. A great museum has to start with a great collection. Whether it’s art, antiquities, or anything else, a museum cannot be truly great without a world class collection. Secondly, it has to have a good physical space. A beautiful view, a historic…

Burlesque Berlin

Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome! Fremder, Etranger, Stranger Gluklich zu sehen. Je suis enchante. Happy to see you. Bleibe. Reste. Stay. Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome! Im Cabaret, Au Cabaret, To Cabaret. Cabaret The famed Broadway musical Cabaret starts with this greeting. Based on the Christopher Isherwood novel Goodbye to Berlin, Cabaret confronts the realities of the huge Berlin…

Pittsburgh’s Uptown

Editor’s note: ever since I met Dr. Jonathan Cassie when we worked together in my prior life, I have been impressed with the way he perceives the world. As such, I have been - literally - begging him on at least a quarterly basis to write for us at The Royal Tour. He finally gave…

My Immersive Van Gogh Experience

Now I understand what you tried to say to meHow you suffered for your sanityHow you tried to set them freeThey would not listen, they did not know howPerhaps they’ll listen nowDon McLean, “Vincent” It’s a bit of a surprise to me that Don McLean’s song about Vincent Van Gogh isn’t part of the Immersive…

The Best Garden in Los Angeles

In 1913, railroad magnate Henry Huntington and his new wife Arabella moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles, having purchased 500 acres of land in what was called the San Marino Ranch. Arabella didn't like life in Southern California, and persuaded her husband - the nephew of her second husband Collis Huntington - to create…