There are about 272 days in a year that Hilo, Hawaii receives some rain. The annual rainfall is usually above 130 inches a year. However, there was one year the city only received 60 inches. I would be prepared, though, for rain. In reality, Hilo is the “Fourth” wettest city in America. There are three other cities in Alaska…
In 2019 my daughter Pamela and I made a trip to Iceland—in early February. We stayed five nights in the capital of Iceland—Reykjavik. In a previous expose, we detailed our experiences in this interesting and modern Icelandic city. We used the comfortable Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Marina as our home base. We upgraded to a “sea view “room. As told before,…
The usual length of our travels is a month or longer. But, in 2019 my daughter, Pamela and I took a five-day sojourn to majestic Iceland—in the beginning of February. The current winter weather reminds me of our experiences. It was definitely the “coldest” we would ever be. My wife, Kathie, wanted nothing to do with this adventure as it…
We flew into Naples in early June 2018 from Rome. It took about fifty minutes. There is a dedicated bus to Sorrento right outside the airport. The cost was about $10. If you go by bus, make sure you seat on the right-side to see the beautiful coastline. Going back to the airport, you sit on the left-side. A taxi…
I learned about the destruction of Pompeii in grade school. As the story is told a “farmer found an artifact revealing the city” which is over a 1000 years old. Every so often, National Geographic would have an article about this city that once was lost in time. I have been blessed to have visited Pompeii twice: once when I…
There is no question that this region is one of the more spectacular places to visit in Italy. Other places would be the Almafi coast, the Isle of Capri, Venice, Corsica, the Vatican and Sicily. We flew into Milan’s International airport, Malpenza, and stayed a few days. We were forced to stay an extra day due to a railroad strike.…
There are several reasons why anyone would want to visit a big city like Milan. First, there is the third largest—some say the fifth largest– church in the world, Duomo di Milano. Only St. Peters in Rome and a Brazilian church are larger. Secondly, there is Leonard’s masterpiece artwork of “The Last Supper.” And, then too, Milan is the gateway…
My parents always remembered where they were when Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7th, 1941. I vividly remember being at St. Joseph Elementary when John F. Kennedy was shot on November 22, 1963. And I bet many people remember where they were when the Challenger blew up in the Florida skies on January 28th, 1986. These memories are called…
In our five day sojourn in early July of 2019 to Stockholm, Sweden, we visited the majestic “Vasa Museum.” It is the best preserved 17th century ship in the world. Why did it sink? How many people died? Why was it so well preserved? When was it found? These questions and more are discussed in our blog that follows. The…
The sculpture of The Little Mermaid was first displayed in 1909. It was based on the 1837 Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale. I first saw it in 1979. It was actually further out in the channel. Today, the Mermaid is reasonably close in order for people to climb all over it and take pictures. Copenhagen was and is one of…