The Magical Blarney Stone & The Gift of Gab The ritual of kissing the Blarney Stone has been performed by “millions of people”, including “famous statesmen, literary giants and legends of the silver screen” according to the castle keepers. The kiss actually is not an easy task. Kissing the stone, requires you to climb toContinue reading “Blarney Castle Ireland”
Category Archives: Odds n’ Ends
Liberty Ships – Small Pieces of History
Above The USS Alstede 1965 Get to Know an Old Liberty Ship There are ships that having been retired (decommissioned) are now serving as living history museums. Ships like the aircraft carrier Intrepid a Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City and a number of battleships like the North Carolina and Missouri. ThereContinue reading “Liberty Ships – Small Pieces of History”
Thera/Santorini And the Death Of A Civilization
You’re standing on the deck of a cruise ship near Santorini, Greece that’s anchored in the middle of a ring of islands. The near island’s sheer cliffs rise almost a six hundred feet right out of the water. You are looking at the aftermath of the largest explosive event in all of human history. OverContinue reading “Thera/Santorini And the Death Of A Civilization”
A Ladder Sits At A Church Window
A Ladder At The Church of the Holy Sepulchre Located in the northwest quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem is a church erected on the most sacred site in Christianity. It sits against a hill known as Calvary or Golgotha where Jesus was crucified. Within the church dating back to the forth century isContinue reading “A Ladder Sits At A Church Window”
Richard The Lionheart In The Holy Land
King Richard I And The Third Crusade In the twelfth century various orders of knights controlled land and cities along the Mediterranean coast from Tyre in Lebanon to south of Acre in Israel. The major orders included the Order of the Knights of St. John or The Hospitallers, the Order of the Temple of SolomonContinue reading “Richard The Lionheart In The Holy Land”
Tales of the Lionheart
A Legend Of A King Along The Danube In Europe I am like a kid in a candy store. I do love history and here it comes at you from every direction. Some time ago we were on a boat west of Vienna cruising the Danube and glided past the ruins of Durnstein Castle. In EuropeanContinue reading “Tales of the Lionheart”
International Travel And Restrooms
Traveling around the world there is one challenge that seems to regularly show up and that’s where to go? I don’t mean as in travel but really go. When at home it’s something we take for granted. Americans believe it is a public right and resent any effort to place a charge on access. ElsewhereContinue reading “International Travel And Restrooms”
The Acropolis Museum in Athens
Sitting at the base of the Acropolis in Athens and just two blocks from the Acropolis Metro station is the Acropolis Museum. The Acropolis Museum, one of the ten most important museums in the world, was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes. Discoveries date from the GreekContinue reading “The Acropolis Museum in Athens”
Two Museums In Piraeus Greece
A Liberty Ship Museum Near Athens Greece I admit I have a special fondness for these WWII antiques having spent over two years at sea on one. So I was really surprised and pleased to find one set up as a museum in Piraeus harbor. During World War II American shipyards launched almost three thousandContinue reading “Two Museums In Piraeus Greece”
Did NASA Fake Moon Photographs?
A Short Story Okay, this doesn’t have much to do with travel but I thought I’d tell it anyway. Short Answer • Yes and No Back when I was a much younger man I worked in photographic science for a company that engineered specialized photographic equipment. I was a field engineer and dealt with systemsContinue reading “Did NASA Fake Moon Photographs?”