It’s quiet here. The weekday morning in Claremont, California is cool, although the sun is out, so I ditch my jacket in the car and enter the gardens. I am soon lost; physically I know roughly where I am, although my aimless wandering along non-straight pathways has me a bit turned around. But my cares…
Cherry blossom season in Japan is a magical time. For a couple brief weeks in early spring, the country is transformed both by the physical blooming of these stunning flowering trees, and by the excitement of locals and visitors in getting to experience them. Here in Tokyo, a few places seem to be the most…
People will often say that there is nothing to do in Phoenix, Arizona. They will tell me that it’s just a place to drive through, on the way to somewhere better. They will claim that the desert sprawl is hideous, and that it hides a woeful dearth of culture. They are wrong. I’ve written extensively…
It is easy to see why this place has been a retreat for Rome’s elite since imperial days. Tivoli, a small town in the hills about twenty miles outside the city, is - quite literally - a breath of fresh air from the chaotic Italian capital. Today a town of about 50,000 (although walking around…
I suppose it’s pretty cliche to come to a European capital and see a palace. Another gaudy building honoring a family who had everything, largely while the poor starved. I get it. And yet, each of these terrible beautiful structures has a story to tell, a unique tale, if only we listen. Berlin’s Charlottenburg Palace…
“Why are you going to Texas?” The question came at me from nearly every quarter when I announced my intention to spend a few days visiting the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Austin perhaps would be understandable. After all, Austin seems to be populated largely by liberal west coast expats. But Dallas? Dallas is “real” Texas. To…
Editor’s note: I am so envious of Mandy and the incredible stately homes of the UK she gets to explore, like this one. For more of her adventures, click here to visit Mandy’s index page. This summer in the UK has been a very odd one weather-wise, so I had been hesitant to plan any…
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…
Just walking in, the birds are easier to hear than they are at home, a pleasant chirping that is somehow audible over the gentle hum of people going in and out of Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles' La Canada Flintridge suburb. The steam of people is slow right now, as coronavirus scares keep admission down,…
While China and Japan get most of the publicity and tourism dollars in East Asia, Korea has just as long of a history, and just as proud of an empire. Visitors to Seoul, the bustling capital of South Korea, will still find remnants dating back to those imperial days. While there have been people living…