Columns

The rising Riviera sun touches the tip of Vernazza's bell tower and greets a peaceful world. When the bells chime six, I know it's time to get up. Last night's wind is gone. There's a refreshing damp coolness in the air and a rare Italian silence. With my head down and lost in thought, I wander downhill, passing under the tracks. Then, out of nowhere, a train rips like a table saw through town. In the wake of the train, distant roosters angrily crow "kee-kee-ree-kee...

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With the value of the euro dipping in the past few months, I've been able to experience Europe without as much of a strain on my wallet. I'm enjoying thinking of the euro as being worth a buck. I've done this in the past -- when a euro cost$1.35 -- just to con myself into splurging a bit. But now, with a rate of about $1.10 to 1 euro, that shortcut is almost honest!

The euro is used in 19 countries throughout the continent. That means more than 300...

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Intriguing Dresden, Germany, winds up on far fewer American itineraries than it deserves to. Don't make that mistake. Since its horrific firebombing in World War II, the city has transitioned to a thriving cultural center that's well worth a visit. Even with only a day to spare, Dresden is a doable side trip from bigger attractions like Berlin or Prague.

The burg surprises visitors with fanciful Baroque architecture in a delightful-to-stroll cityscape, a...

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St. Petersburg continually amazes me. Once a swamp, then an imperial capital, and now a showpiece of long-ago aristocratic opulence, St. Petersburg isRussia's most accessible and tourist-worthy city.

During the Soviet era, the city was drab and called Leningrad. Its striking beauty today is all the more remarkable given that this place was devastated by a 900-day Nazi siege during World War II.

As if turning the clock back to its glory days, the...

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Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 471st issue of your monthly foreign travel magazine.

This is a publication that has always depended upon its subscribers for the articles and letters that fill up most of the pages in each issue. It’s a group-participation project, so much so that our readers are comfortable to make suggestions on how to improve it. 

So when subscribers express opinions about what they find rewarding or, sometimes, displeasing, in a...

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(First of two parts)

To celebrate my upcoming 90th birthday on Dec. 26, 2014, I traveled to Europe for six months. My journey started in Florida on March 14, 2014, and I returned to Seattle on Sept. 9. Even my rollator, a 4-wheeled walker, did not impede my travels!

You’re probably wondering what I did during those six months.

I started with a 57-day Holland America Line (HAL) voyage through North Africa and the Mediterranean followed by a Road Scholar tour of France, a...

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I love it when I convince people to engage with the Europe I show them. But when they become engaged with each other in Europe, I like it even more.

Recently I heard from someone who took his girlfriend on one of my recommended hikes near Mürren, Switzerland: “I convinced Emily to get one last photo of the view with us together before it got dark, even though we were both tired and hungry and she very much wanted to relax and have a nice meal. I set up my tripod, and when she...

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Córdoba, Spain, is well known among travelers, famous as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the home of sites dating from the days of its Moorish past (8th to 13th centuries). This is Old World Córdoba. Less well known to travelers is New World Córdoba, Argentina’s second-largest city (population 1.4 million). 

Situated in the north-central part of the country, 420 miles northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s Córdoba also has UNESCO World Heritage designated sites....

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