In fact, the reason there are so many religious festivals in the Philippines is because creating festivals was part of the Spanish strategy for conquest: Instead of a prolonged bloody war, the Spaniards realized the locals loved festivals; so by creating more festivals more and more locals salivated to participate in the merriment and this resulted in fewer unrest.

Raoul’s Two Cents: March 28, 2025 Should We Be Scared of AI? WARNING: Some religious talk. Please move on to the jokes if this isn’t “your thing.” Our church did a reenactment of what the Old Testament High Priest did during Yom Kippur — the killing of the goats, the ram and sprinkling of their blood 7 times on the …

The grassy smell of earth is steadfast while the swirling rhythms of Ireland are creating an ecstatic visual harmony, as a wash of air ruffles the trees. The sea, mutating from turquoise to deep blue, to hues of green, is etched and sliced by the wind with little streaks of warmth, as the sun beats a ceaseless tempo. The Irish landscape opens to mossy hillsides, thick woodlands, a canopy of leafy trees lining the roadway, lush fields with grazing horses' tails twitching, and small fishing villages with small-town charm.

I gasped audibly when I entered my room at the NH Collection Milano President Hotel. The view that greeted me through a wall of glass (and beyond which, to boot, there was a sliver of a cozy terrace) was of a gleaming Duomo, sparkling in the sunshine, its gingerbread spires arching toward for the sun. The vista was so spectacular that had the hotel forgotten to put a bed in my room, it would not have mattered!

This installment of Three Things is courtesy of Eileen Power, Publicity & Communications at Tourism Ireland Photo courtesy of Patrick Lennon 1. What are a few things the public probably does NOT know about Northern Ireland? Answer: We’re surprised how many tourists are unaware that Northern Ireland, along with England, Scotland and Wales, make up the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and …

Muir's dream came true: Mount Rainier National Park was designated in 1899 as the fourth national park in the United States, (369.3 sq mi); including all of Mount Rainier. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet to over 14,000 feet.

By Fyllis Hockman – I was delighted when my husband and I received Betty’s invitation to join her for a picnic at the Sunset at the Palms Resort in Negril, Jamaica. The setting was lush, the food and wine enticing. Conversation, though, was a tad strained. But then her recent history was a bit dicey. Recently married at the time, …

The application required a lot of personal information and a weird session where you put your cell phone on the passport so the information on the chip in the passport can be loaded into the ETA application and in reverse, the application and approval is loaded back into your passport. Spooky, but it worked.

Courtesy: Iceland Saga Tours For many of us, traditional images come to mind at the mention of an exotic island destination: swaying palm trees, crystal clear waters and pristine golden sands. A place where time stands still and all troubles seem to be caressed away by gently blowing tropical trade winds. I recently asked my brother, James, to name his …

Most travelers have heard of the U.S. Virgin Islands; some of the British Virgin Islands. Those familiar with the BVI usually know Tortola; maybe even Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda. Almost no one has ever heard of Anegada. Which is a shame because it has so much to recommend it. For starters, it has multiple beautiful beaches with soft …