As the myth goes, the ancient king of Athens held a competition between the gods as to whom to worship and name his city for. Poseidon and Athena entered, each tasked with giving a gift to the city that would help it, thereby proving their worthiness of worship. Poseidon, god of the sea, struck a…
Editor’s note: today is November 7, 2024. The U.S. presidential election was two days ago, and I am still both sad and angry. And both of those emotions make articles like this one about a Greek island, written back in August, seem meaningless and out of place in the context of my current existence. But…
Before coming to Scotland, I’d never heard of Dundee. It is Scotland’s fourth largest city (after Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen), a UNESCO City of Design, and boasts a couple of sights that are truly worthy of planning a day around. And yet for me, and I’m guessing for most Americans, the mention of Dundee would…
If you could sum up what the Scottish Highlands means in a single day, this might just be it. Craggy peaks, pristine waters. Blue skies, dark rain clouds. Castles and villages, shaggy cows and friendly people. Winding, meandering roads all seeming to lead somewhere beautiful and magical. I set out from Inverness, at 50,000 the…
An early morning on the shore of Loch Ness feels magical. I am standing near the ruins of Urquhart Castle, overlooking a shallow bay in the lake that gives way to a deep trench. It is misty, the perfect weather for the most famous denizen of the deep to feel safe coming to the surface.…
“He who holds Stirling holds Scotland.” Attributed to Robert the Bruce, although without any direct evidence he actually said it, this quotation fairly accurately sums up the importance of this place. Repeatedly fought over and conquered, Stirling has been at the center of Scottish intrigue and independence for centuries. And as it sits less than…
It is insane to think that I began the day in a city with buildings dating back to the eleventh century, and that by the afternoon, these would seem downright modern. And yet, that is just what happened when I left Edinburgh for a day trip south. My destination: Hadrian’s Wall and the Roman fort…
There is no shortage of places of historical interest in England. But here in the north, one city shines above the rest in that respect: York. Well preserved, beautiful, and fascinating, York could easily be a destination in and of itself, with more than enough to do to last a week or more. Well, I…
In approximately 800 BCE, a highly sophisticated culture of navigators and traders from what is now Lebanon landed on the northeastern tip of Sicily. They built a trading colony on a small island in the middle of a shallow lagoon. For the next 400 years, Motya (Mozia in Italian) would be one of the most…
Gina isn’t exactly a normal welcome ambassador to a town. But then again, Castelbuono isn’t exactly a normal town. Unlike many hilltop - or hillside - towns in Sicily, Castelbuono is not just surviving, but thriving. So many similar towns are so desperate for people to move there that they offer houses for €1, as…