Europe

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When in Rome

Monday, September 8th, 2008

It’s a shame we won’t be in Rome for the revival of one of the ancient empire’s premiere events: “Chariot racing to be revived in Rome in 2009″. But we can still enjoy the sport that Chuck Heston made famous to modern audiences:

Even if we able to enjoy the races, we’d probably have to [...]

Overhyped, Unspoiled, and Underground

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

Here’re three interesting pieces with ideas and opinions about where and where not to spend precious vacation time. The first, from the pages of Foreign Policy, details five places that don’t live up their (former) promise: “The World’s Most Overhyped Vacation Spots”.
Then Matador Trips offers some alternative destinations to avoid the crush of the fourth [...]

Russian Landscapes and a Floating Island

Monday, July 28th, 2008

For many the mention of Russia evokes images of cold, industrial cities with dark skies, but I came across some photos of the nation’s scenery that most of us might never imagine. I also stumbled upon a story about one of the top spots on my list of places to visit in this lifetime which [...]

Souvenirs

Thursday, July 24th, 2008

I came across a neat slideshow at TIME.com with photos of one of the biggest museums in the world, one Team AZ will be seeing in 2009:  “The Louvre: France’s Iconic Museum”. If you have some knowledge of art history, you’ll know that the Louvre houses one the world’s most famous paintings, La Giaconda, [...]

The Sistine Chapel

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

People enjoy mysteries and codes and secrets. Witness the mania in delving behind the esoteric veils of such institutions of the Vatican, Opus Dei, the Freemasons, the Illuminati, et cetera, engendered by Dan Brown’s entertaining (but wildly inaccurate) novels The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. Witness too the millenarian zeal to find contemporary [...]

The Grand Tour

Monday, June 23rd, 2008

The tour next year will cover much the same ground that is traditionally associated with the Grand Tour, a rite of young European aristocrats that dates back several centuries. It’s exemplified by George Gordon, Lord Byron, in his epic poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (full text of the poem). The New York Times’ Frugal Traveler elaborates [...]

Real Sub-Urban Adventure

Saturday, September 29th, 2007

What mysteries lie hidden beneath the streets of Paris? The remains of millions. But the dead aren’t safe, though from whom or from what depends upon your point of view. Check out the battle between the Infiltrators and the Paris Police here at the Times Online: “Underground ‘terrorists’ with a mission to save city’s neglected [...]

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