Sometimes in travel, plans don’t quite manifest the way we would like. An attraction is unexpectedly closed. Weather doesn’t hold. A place is much different - in a worse way - than its photo. For anyone who has spent any significant time traveling, these things will be part of their experiences; there’s no way to…
In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu became Shogun, political leader of Japan, by conquering the other factions that made up the home islands. After doing so, he moved the Imperial capital to his home city of Edo, now called Tokyo. This launched the period of Japanese history known as the Edo Period. (Japanese eras are named for…
Sometimes, things just work out. Timing is fortuitous and what might have been a fun activity becomes something incredibly meaningful. This is one of those stories. As regular readers of this website know, I’ve been endeavoring to explore each of Los Angeles’ official historic ethnic neighborhoods. It is one of my favorite parts of my…
Editor’s note: I visited Barcelona in March 2019. However, just a week in - with two weeks remaining in the city - COVID 19 captured the world, and I fled back to California. Sadly, Montserrat was one of the things left unfinished for me. So it is both wonderful and a little sad to read…
Editor’s note: when visiting a major city, I like to plan at least one day trip. It’s a pleasant change of scenery and pace, as well as a chance to see something new while not changing my lodging. This day trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya is exactly the sort of thing I’d love, and I’m…
In 1453, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II and his army conquered Constantinople, putting an end to the Byzantine Empire. (Read more about Constantinople and Byzantine Istanbul here.) The victorious Turks renamed the city Istanbul, moving their capital here, where it remained until the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War One. While…
Editor’s note: Sam Spector captures his take on a place I’ve written about a lot: Cincinnati. My father has lived outside Cincinnati for years, so I am in the area frequently. For a full guide on the city, click here for the Ultimate Guide to Cincinnati. And for more of Sam’s writing, click here to…
It’s a tale as old as time, one seemingly repeated everywhere I go. Jews settle in a place, and all is well for a while. Then we become scapegoats, used by the political powers as outsiders, as people to blame for whatever is going on. This escalates into forced conversions, ghettos, expulsions, and attempted exterminations.…
Rome has more than 900 churches. Yes, more than 900! This is the most of any city in the world, and it isn’t especially close. It is an overwhelming number, and given how many of them are considered beautiful or important - or both - seeing churches can become an all-consuming part of a trip…
From inside the complex, it’s hard to remember that I’m less than a half hour from downtown Los Angeles. The Ming Dynasty style pagodas and shrines of the Hsi Lai Temple gleam in the sun. The gardens, ornate and calming, stand in contrast to the literally dozens of statues lining almost every passageway. Brown clothed…