Mount Vesuvius: Italy’s Sleeping God of Fire
After an eye-opening visit to the incredibly preserved ruins of Pompeii in southern Italy’s Campania region, we decide to climb that city’s destroyer five miles away, Mount Vesuvius. A popular activity for tourists and locals alike, hundreds of climbers make the trek daily to peer into the volcano’s caldera.
An Italian Coastal Town Commands Sweeping Views
Every year I make a calendar with my favorite photos from a recent trip, and 2022’s subject is Southern Italy–the Amalfi Coast, City of Naples, Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. January features the church dome and spire of the town of Vico Equense’s Chiesa dei Santi Ciro e Giovanni.
The Brothels of Pompeii: “May I See a Menu, Please?”
Standing in the narrow hallway of Lupanar Grande, Pompeii’s once “official” brothel, I feel as if I’m witnessing a 2000-year-old conversation.
Traveling from Here to There:
March of the Sikhs
November 2021 “Down with Air India! Down with Air India!” The crowd of forty outraged, frustrated, turbaned men chant loudly as they march up and down the otherwise empty domestic terminal concourse of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Hundreds of wives, children, and other men cheer them on. Everyone looks weary from waiting hours for […]
The Statue of Milyo: A Bulgarian Statue Celebrates Eccentricity
“Why does he have his hand jammed into his pocket,” I ask our guide Georgi. I stare at the bronze statue of Milyo, perched on a low wall in the center of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Behind him, large, blocky, metal letters in primary colors announce “TOGETHER––Plovdiv 2019 European Capital of Culture.” Every year, the European Union selects a city that will serve this role five years in the future. Plovdiv is preparing to show off its best to visitors in two years.
Varmints Are the Unwanted Garden Perennials
January 2021 Gardeners are patient people. We can’t really hurry nature, so we learn to orchestrate the selection and placement of plants to best suit their needs for light, soil conditions, and climate tolerance. At the same time, we arrange plants to achieve our desired overall look and feel of the garden––texture, color, height, movement […]
These Showstoppers Dazzle and Sway
Ahh! Crocosmias. A stand of crocosmias in full bloom can stop cars. Bicyclists make U-turns, and pedestrians cross streets to get a closer look. Admirers drop their jaws and want to know, “What are those?” Sometimes called montbretias, crocosmias (krō-KOZ-me-uh) recently finished their dazzling display as the graceful stars of my mid-summer garden. Their elegant […]
