Nights of Lights has been listed among the top 10 holiday light displays in the world by National Geographic. During this festival of lights, downtown St. Augustine glows with holiday magic – from the ground to the rooftops, millions of tiny white lights create a festive holiday season atmosphere in the Nation’s Oldest City, and it's free of charge.

Gaylord Palms in Florida honored its ice artisans last month with a standing ovation and Chinese-themed lobby celebration. The workers, who began work in August, are carving away in sub-freezing temperatures after a two-year pandemic break.

First things first. No waterslide at any waterpark will ever be the same again -- not after cascading down real waterfalls in the Dominican Republic. The waterfall escapade -- billed as 27 Waterfalls, though that's really a misnomer, as it's more like 12 waterfalls flowing into 27 pools of water -- is only one of a multitude of outdoor adventures offered by Iguana Mama, the ultimate outdoor tour operator in the Dominican Republic.

Primer has been amazingly productive over the years; he's recorded and toured with everyone from Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon to Junior Wells and James Cotton. I lost track of the number of albums he's listed on at around 87 or 88. John just smiles at me "probably more than that." From a sharecropping family to a legendary blues man, John Primer is the real deal so we started our conversation with his first instrument.

Christmas carols originated in Italy, where history tells us that the earliest Christmas hymns took place in Rome in the 4th century. Later, St. Francis of Assisi helped popularize Christmas carols in the 12th century, as well as creating the first symbol devoted exclusively to Christmas with the advent of the Nativity Scene, complete with living figures.

The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Château-Vieux: Old Castle) is considered a shining star in the Rayonnant (radiant) period of French Gothic architecture. Gradually built on the foundations of a medieval fortress; its overall architectural design consists of a pentagon with five walls, not four. Its portals and west wall, adorned by a large Gothic rose window, were easily noted. The inner courtyard and moats are spread over an area of 12,000 square feet.

For thousands of travelers, the summer of 2022 was a disaster: hundreds of cancelled flights, shortages of pilots, countless flight delays, a deficiency of ground crews and airport personnel, endlessly slow-moving security queues, and images of luggage piled sky-high, gave us plenty of reasons for all kinds of second thoughts about our upcoming trip to Europe. It would be our first major trip following the more than two-year lockdown. Researching airlines, including many we have flown in the past, we came upon Condor, a German leisure line based in Frankfurt, and the only major airline on the planet that did not cancel a single flight during the dreadful travel summer of 2022. Operating a fleet of over 50 aircraft, Condor also maintains their own maintenance facility, an additional bonus for sure.

After being named the 2023 Seminole County Public Schools Teacher of the Year, Wekiva Elementary School's Julie Gabrovic was selected to fly with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds as part of their "Hometown Hero" program that honors deserving local people at the Orlando Air & Space Show. The event was held at the Constant Aviation terminal at the Orlando Sanford International Airport.

Ithaca is a "gorges" city, and with 150 waterfalls within a 10-mile radius, it comes by its moniker honestly. Within the city limits itself, a one-third mile hike uphill - the Cascadilla Gorge Trail -- was not only exhilarating because of the trek itself, but for the vastness and variety of six different freely flowing floes of cascading waterfalls.

The pastry chef aboard the Viking Vili had no fear of losing his job because of me. My pathetic attempt at making a gingerbread house during his lesson on board put my skills at the kindergarten level. His fanciful creations in the ship’s lounge looked like they were conjured up by a Christmas elf employing Santa’s magical powers.

On the hallowed grounds of the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial rest 9,387 Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Operation Overlord landings and ensuing battles in the Allied liberation of France. Set high on a bluff above the Omaha Beachhead in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, it is one of the best-known military cemeteries and memorials in the world.

I lived in a village in the Swiss Alps for two years when I was a little girl and I remember the delicious crunch of the new fallen snow under my shoes on a cold, still Christmas Eve when I was allowed to attend midnight Mass in the village church. The bells rang sharp and clear in the frosty air, the stars twinkled in the dark sky and I knew I would soon see my Christmas presents. All was well with my wee world.

Nathan James is a work-aholic! Yeah for us! His latest release is entitled ‘I May Crawl’ and it is everything you’d expect from the San Diego musician. Eleven original songs; some reflective, all meaningful, but always looking at life through an open and more positive lens. His style of play is so eclectic, incorporating blues with a cadenced funk, an acoustic flair or a dreamy slide. James plays all the instrumentation, guitars, percussive footboards, washboard, kazoo, harmonicas and he does it ‘all at once!’

Lush parks shaded by Roman pines and stately cypresses are familiar fixtures on the Italian landscape, but few of these retreats are as immaculately kept, as tranquil , and as simply lovely as the grounds of the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in the seaside town of Nettuno, 38 miles south of Rome. Only birdsong and the sound of splashing fountains intrude on the contemplative silence of these 77 acres, where white crosses are arranged in gracefully curving rows to mark the graves of World War II service members who died in Allied landings and the fierce battles that led to the liberation of Italy.

There's a chance I might have mentioned the name "Monet" in my previous article. Yes, the painter who gave birth to Impressionism with his landmark painting, Impresssion, Sunrise. So, my enthusiasm was heightened upon the riverboat AmaLyra's arrival to the small rural town of Giverny. Resting on the right bank of the river Seine, it is best known as the location of Claude Monet's home and gardens. Many of his most famous canvases were painted during his 43 years in Giverny: Clos Normand, where its archways are entwined around colorful shrubs, and his waterlilies garden with its Japanese bridge.

The clarity of the air was intoxicating as I stood on the deck of the AmaLyra in La Havre, France. With small boats in the harbor, I realized it was the same location where Claude Monet created his monumental landmark painting, Impression, Sunrise, which gave birth to the art movement known as Impressionism. Devoid of pictorial realism, it was from his own personal perspective – not from yours or mine – achieved by a series of short impasto brushstrokes and the use of subdued blue-grayish colors, which contrasted with the warmth of the orange sun.

Bologna, the capital city of the Emilia-Romagna region of central Italy, had, until recently, three unique sides to its personality: La Dotta (The Learned), because the oldest university (1088) in the western world was founded here; La Rossa (The Red), because of the terracotta-colored roofs, and, to a lesser degree, its penchant for left-leaning politics; and, La Grassa (The Fat), because of all of the great, original cuisine found within its postal code, like ragù, lasagne, mortadella and Pignoletto wine.

When my 15-year-old granddaughter, Talya, asked me what my favorite destination was, I had to take a minute. After 35 years as a travel writer, my usual answer to that question is wherever I’ve been last, but I felt she deserved more than my usual flippant reply.

As a result, the majority of Trieste residents these days are native Italian speakers, but in a place where Italian, Germanic and Slavic influence and language all bleed into each other. The geographic borders make no sense to anyone. You meet Italian nationals with Germanic surnames and vice-versa. You meet Slavs whose mother tongue is Italian.

In the southeastern reaches of the Bel Paese, where the Adriatic and Ionian seas embrace, lies the country’s breadbasket, Puglia. The pace is relaxed, life takes a breather and family and friends regularly gather around la tavola. Its heart and soul are nourished by la cucina povera (kitchen of the poor), the quintessential Mediterranean diet, which comes straight out of the zero-kilometer, terracotta-colored soil and the nearby bluest-of-blue seas and right onto your plate and into your glass.

“Restaurant” is a derivative of the Latin word “restore.” Inns were once places where travelers could have a simple meal, then hit the road for a continuation of their journey. Today, with the arrival of modern-day tourism, travelers often visit destinations for history, cultural and gastronomic components. Yes, food is the spice of life, and we asked our members to list their favorite state destinations for pleasures of the palate. It's fun for our readers to see another side of our writers, who have been delivering original content not found anywhere else on the globe.