New York City?!

During Independence Day weekend, after helping Ben to move into his new Manhattan apartment, I kept having the phrase “New York City?!” go through my head. I hadn’t visited this wonderful “country within a country” since a work trip back in June 2001, when the World Trade Center towers still existed. I’m super-excited for this […]

Malaga (Spain), and 74-km March

Sofia and I hadn’t taken a father-daughter trip, just the two of us, in several years. That had to be remedied! So we booked budget flights and headed to Málaga for sun, sand, sea, flamenco, Picasso, and tapas! This was actually my third time to Málaga, but Sofia’s first to Spain in general, so she […]

Singapore, a fine city

Fine dining, fine views, and hefty fines — this is Singapore! Keep your gum at home, and properly dispose of your litter. Singapore (a city-state) is definitely worth a visit for a few days. English is spoken well, there’s lots to see and do, and it’s memorable and even a bit strange. It’s full of […]

The Fellowship of the Cancelled Ports

Other blog post title suggestions from ChatGPT:– New Zealand: The Cruise We Planned vs. The Cruise We Got– Sailing Past Our Vacation– When the Captain Says “Due to Weather…”– The Cruise Itinerary That Became a Suggestion– Our New Zealand Cruise: Now with 70% More Sea– Collecting Seasickness Instead of Souvenirs– We Came for Fjords, Stayed […]

G’day from Australia

I know many readers have been to Australia and/or New Zealand, and they are both rich in natural beauty and variety, unique animals, and engaging history. My visit to these remote locales was certainly too short, and I would very much like to return to each, preferably spending weeks there to be able to explore […]

Macau: it’s not Hong Kong, but had ping pong

On a day trip from Hong Kong, Ben and I traveled by ferry to Macau, another special administrative region of China, and a former Portuguese colony and territory, turned back over to China in 1999. It is the most densely-populated territory on the planet, and it has a very high standard of living and one […]

Xièxiè, Taiwan!

To continue where we left off in the previous post on Taiwan, let’s have a look at some of the notable buildings and architecture. Taipei is a big city, and as one would expect, there is a variety of height, quality, and spacing of buildings. Ben and I stayed in an older, denser neighborhood called […]

Oil be honest, the UAE surprised me

I spent a few nights in Abu Dhabi with a very hospitable and generous friend and his family. In preparation and while there I learned a lot about the UAE and the region. I had never been anywhere near here before, and I flew over most of the height and width of Iran from Azerbaijan […]

Bucharest, not Budapest

Friend (?) of the blog Vlad the Impaler founded Bucharest in the mid-1400s, so it’s a relatively young city in this region of the world. Its population is over 2 million, and despite still recovering from WWII and decades of crushing communist policies and neglect, it’s now quickly regaining ground. It’s even ranked as one […]