Tag: travel
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Greeting Autumn at the Heidelberger Herbstfest
What a splendid day for an autumn fest on Heidelberg’s Hauptstrasse! With our bellies full with Neuer Wein (new wine), Zwiebelkuchen (onion pie), Bier, Bratwurst, and Thai fare, we’re now at home resting, watching all the Herbstfest revelry from our fifth-floor apartment.
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Photo du Jour: The Gargoyles and Grotesques of Notre Dame
In the shadows of Notre Dame, we waited for just under an hour to ascend the 387 stairs of the cathedral’s north tower. Once high above the rooftops of Paris, we strolled about the Galerie des Chimères marveling at the figures there. The statues gazing at La Tour Eiffel and Sacré Coeur are technically not gargoyles since…
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The Beauty and Tragedy of Sevilla, Part I
Sevilla. The name evokes a variety of passionate images: Flamenco-dancing women clad in vibrant, polka dot-studded dresses, their feet striking a floor with thunderous blows… A matador de toros poised to enter a ring facing possible goring or death… Spirited bodega-goers clinking glasses overflowing with jewel-toned sangria and amber cerveza… On a balmy long weekend earlier this summer, Shawn…
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Candy Apples, Saloons, and a Sagebrush Cemetery: A Day Trip to Virginia City, Nevada
For a scribe who’s been in Germany for the past ten years, there isn’t much of a better way to reconnect with her American roots than to visit the wild, wild west. That’s just what Shawn and I did exactly one year ago when we spent the day playing in Virginia City, Nevada… Once a…
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Our Peterhof Gardens Promenade
Often referred to as Russia’s Versailles, the Peterhof Palace gardens (Петерго́ф) offered us a picturesque — albeit congested and hectic — spot to stroll during a visit to St. Petersburg earlier this month. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Peterhof was commissioned by Peter the Great in the 18th century.
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Golden Moments in Burgundy, France
It is no wonder why one of the counties in France’s Burgundy region is known as the Côte d’Or. During our July sojourn in France’s ‘Golden Hills,’ the fields were ablaze with vibrant tournesols (sunflowers), freshly-groomed wheat, and vineyards — where still-maturing grapes glistened with dew. In the villages of Burgundy, sand-colored stone homes were accented with shutters painted…
