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Originally dubbed the greatest playground in the world by New Yorkers in the early 1900's, throngs of tenement dwellers weren't the only visitors here looking to escape the city's summer heat. J.P. Morgan and the Rockefellers stayed over and entertainment headliners Harry James and Tommy Dorsey made their appearances. Throughout the 1930s and 40s, the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and the New York Knickerbockers basketball team used the park's extensive field as their training headquarters.

With my penchant for museums, I was enchanted to visit the Hunt Museum in Limerick. Has nothing to do with hunting but everything with one of the greatest private collections of art and antiques in Ireland, right up to the the 20th century.

John and Gertrude Hunt were antique dealers and art historians and started, well, collecting and keeping those items they most liked for themselves. This went on for a good long time and suddenly they had more than 2,000 items on their hands. The next proble

There are various good reasons to consider a visit to the tiny country of Honduras in Central America, especially if you’re a fan of diving, adventure, ecotourism, and castaway beaches. But if like me you’re fascinated by the Mayans and the magnificent archaeological sites they left behind, a visit is not simply worth considering but at some point almost obligatory, and mostly because of this: glorious Copán.

In the west of the country some three hours by road from San Pedro Sula (six or so fr

When it was time to start planning our family’s summer ‘14 adventure, we decided to expand our borders beyond tours around the Northeast to a destination down South.

My wife Sue and I felt that we were ready for such an expedition.  Our excursions to Vermont, the Poconos, and the Jersey Shore were successes, and we figured that a location below the Mason Dixon line that offered new experiences, culture, and surroundings was worth the longer drive.  Also, our kids were at ages (Eli – 16, Doris – 1

If you have managed to spend the weekend in London and planning to experience the city in these 2 days then gear yourself up, because there is too much to see in a very short span. There is no shortage of tourist staples in this regal city. Being one of the most populous cities, it has lots of attractions for travellers of any age. If you love history and the royal culture, Palace of Westminster, Tower of London and Buckingham Palace are some of the heritage sites you just cannot miss. On the ot

by Javier Pedreira

That air travel is the safest form of transportation going is not mere happenstance but rather due to rigourous maintenance of equipment and exhaustive training of personnel.

Although in 2010 Iberia added a major maintenance hangar at Barcelona airport, since the 1970s the primary maintenance facilities have been headquartered adjacent to Barajas Airport in a suburban Madrid industrial zone called La Muñoza. This 220,000-square metre (54-acre) is where aircraft engines constantl

Nestled along the banks of the Arroyo de las Vacas river creek, Carmelo is a small town located in western Uruguay, noted for its wineries, beaches, and laid-back lifestyle. The river runs along the east and south part of the city and serves as a port for the town. On its north bank there is the Puerto Carmelo-Tigre, where small catamaran boats carry passengers across the Río de la Plata to Argentina.

A swing bridge, the Puente Giratorio de Carmelo, which opened on May 1st 1912, passes over the r

After four days in Pohnpei, FSM, some of them with drenching rain, all of them with power blackouts, it’s good to get the hell outta’ Slidell, that is Pohnpei.  I’ll leave half a bear of honey behind, but the flashlight and Virgen de Guadalupe votive candle will go with me, presumably all the way back to LA, since the trip’s almost over.  And certainly the brownies will come along, too.  Micronesians make damn good brownies btw.  So I board the plane—a pound or two heavier—in a downpour and get

by Shanon Farley

It is a Friday morning in my little mountain coffee town of Atenas, Costa Rica. The traditional Friday farmers’ market, called a “feria” in Spanish, is abuzz with shoppers and vendors.

Mounds of mangoes, melons, watermelon, pineapples and a myriad of other fruits juicily beckon buyers. Crisp lettuces, spinach, cilantro and other greens glisten with water droplets. Fat potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, yucca and carrots stack in pyramids. The flower man is doing brisk business c

In antiquity, the city of Cavtat was known as Epidaurus. A Greek colony was established there. Cavtat’s soil and surrounding seabed are brimming with artifacts from those times: coins, funeral stelae, baseboard fragments, mosaics, amphorae, and so on. Having been destroyed by barbarians, it was reconstructed in the 15th century in the beautifulDubrovnik style, with the same clear stone from Brai and with remarkable homogeneity.  Also to be found are several Roman remains, defensive walls dating

As I wandered the streets of the French Quarter on my recent visit I was so thankful that it had survived. What a tragedy it would have been to lose all of this – this history, this architecture, this joie de vivre that is New Orleans. It is not nicknamed The Big Easy for nothing!

Window dressing

I had been to New Orleans twice before – both times pre-Katrina. It had been too long. It seemed as if nothing has changed in the nine years since Katrina, although I’m sure it has in ways that go far b

Grand houses always also tell grand stories. In this case, it is a story of physical pain and a way to overcome it: The 2nd Earl of Dunraven, a man full of energy and used to spending a lot of time enjoying the chase of the hunt, was laid low with severe gout. Adare Manor had been built in the early years of the 19th century, but when the earl was diagnosed an illness that kept him housebound and in pain (not even aspirin was invented at that time!), his clever wife, Lady Caroline, suggested th

As we were driving to the Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding (sic) north of the city of Chengdu, I noticed that the traffic lights had four lights rather than the usual three red, yellow and green ones. The fourth light was a bicycle light. Not that we saw many bicycles; in Chengdu, they clearly have been replaced by electric mopeds and scooters.

I asked Ben, our guide, what he'd had for breakfast: baozi (large dumplings) and soybean milk, he replied. Whenever he speaks, he reminds

Historic preservation and a huge selection of locally run eateries are two features that immediately stand out when walking Concord New Hampshire's Main Street. A State Capitol city of 42,000, the statehouse building is an integral part of Concord's pedestrian fabric prominently sharing the street front with highly ornate architecture, much of it constructed of brick or massive blocks of the State's signature gray granite. As much as Concord is steeped in history (2015 marks its 250th anniversar

Karfas Beach

The beach is sandy and ideal for young children, being shallow in many parts.It is about  7 km outside the town of Chios. The most famous beach of the island and possibly the most well-organized beach for tourists.

Lagada

The village lies in a gorge, hence the name Lagada, highlighting its natural position. At the edge of the port of  Lagada , there’s a pebble beach called Fanaraki, most visited during the summer.

Agios Isidoros

Crystal waters inviting you to dive, quiet and beautiful

Emphasizing the power of Mother Nature with images of fiery lava and explosive ash plumes, volcanoes have lit up the world news lately.

Mt. Pavlof volcano in Alaska has been intensely erupting since Nov. 12, spewing ash clouds up to 30,000 feet above sea level. The lava flow from Kilauea Volcano advances slowly across the Big Island of Hawaii, continuing its 31 years of near-continuous eruptions.

Costa Rica’s volcanoes also are in the news. The sudden eruption of Turrialba Volcano on Oct. 29 was

“Come quickly! I’m tasting stars!” Dom Pierre Perignon, when he first tasted his newly created Champagne.

(Champagne)”…it gives you the impression that every day is Sunday.” Marlena Dietrich

The word “Champagne” has long conjured up images of luxury and pleasure as attested by these two quotes. Even the color of champagne is associated with richness and luxury. Can other countries produce a sparkling wine that will delight us as much as Champagne? Seven of us met at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony

Manaus is the capital of the state of Amazonas and is situated near the confluence of the Rio Negro with the Amazon, the widest rivers in the world. It is the economic and cultural center of the North Region of Brazil.

Praia do Tupé (Tupé beach) is located close to the city, some 35 km away. It varies between 20 and 80 meters in width according to the water levels of the Negro river, which depend on seasonal rainfall.

The beach can be accessed from Manaus by boat and in barely an hour you will b

Fantasy Fest 2014 was my 12th adventure in Key West, Florida for what has been described as a 10-day Halloween celebration of epic proportions and one that can be described as “Mardi Gras on Steroids”—without the New Orleans side-effects.

New Fantasy Fest video here; youtu.be/qD-m21ILIPE

On this trip I met up with many of long-time Fantasy Fest friends at many of my long-time favorite Key West venues like Capt. Tony’s Saloon—which also served as the Krewe de Krazy Life’s Group meeting place ev