It’s always exciting to discover a new hotel destination, especially when it is full of pleasant surprises, and is an easy drive from Los Angeles. Such is the case with the Hyatt Regency Irvine, a newly-remodeled luxury hotel, with great location, modern rooms, a gourmet restaurant, an incredible pool area, and much, much more.  My getaway to the Hyatt Regency …

According to Wikipedia, “the Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenìssima, was a sovereign state and a maritime republic with its capital in Venice.” If you speak a wee bit of Italian, you’ll know that La Serenissima means the most serene, and if you know a wee bit about Venice, as …

The River Auge in Quillan. On a gorgeous morning near the River Aude, British expats are taking French classes in a vegan tea shop that doubles as an art gallery in Quillan, France. As I drink a pot of tea, an organic rooibos blend of some sort, other expats saunter in for their language lessons. French locals arrive with food …

Just a pleasure visiting the wayback, remembering my daughter’s first far-flung travel. And a chance to reprise it for Christmas and New Years wishes from the original Santa Claus. Many lay claim to the origins of the Santa legend, but St. Nicholas, of the ancient city of Myra in Turkey, is the real deal. Trace them back, most other countries’ …

‘Tis the season for holiday songs, and below are among the first and finest. From Italy A local Italian choir filled the Naples Support Site Chapel with the sounds of a Christmas Cantata. U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Richard Kiroy via Wikiimedia Commons Christmas carols originated in Italy, where history tells us that the earliest Christmas …

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By Ed Boitano; Photographs by Deb Roskamp While driving deep into the desert of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, we sat three hours in a van, which was part of a convoy, apparently to assist other vans in case of mechanical failures or possible attacks from terrorists or unknown assailants. There were many checkpoints along the way, guarded by soldiers and policemen. …

Fireworks explode across the night sky. City streets and brick houses appear below shooting sparks and colors. Not a soul sleeps. We watch in awe and excitement as the clock strikes midnight; it’s Christmas morning. Upon realizing the fiesta below won’t be stopping anytime soon, we head inside and shoot off a confetti cannon, a jolting surprise for those who …

Traveling Boy is world renowned, for taking their readers to distant corners of our planet.Their reader response feels unsurpassed: who knew that the White Continent of Antarctica consists of 98% solid sheet ice; the Prophet Moses had two wives; Hadrian’s Wall stretched from sea-to-sea in Northern England; Polar Bears actively hunt humans in the Arctic Circle. There’s always suggestions for …

Photos by Ruth J. Katz I raise my baton to alert the orchestra that I am ready to conduct. In my best imposture of Gustavo Dudamel, I cue the woodwinds, then coax in the stringed instruments, and finally, I direct the brass-perching on the precipice and at the ready-to chime in. I punctuate my air-piercing baton-swirling, with a jab toward …