The secret to a successful marriage is for a husband to carry his bride up all 99 steps to the Church of the Assumption of Mary on the Island in Bled, Slovenia. If only someone would have told me about this Slovenian tradition five years ago. But after stepping off a ‘Pletna’ – a gondola-like boat known only in Bled …

My wife and I woke up to the smell of rich morning coffee. It was to be part of our breakfast on our first day in Ireland, always a dream in itself. It has been said that all Irish homes become a bed and breakfast during the summer, and this Donegal County cottage with one spare room was no exception. …

IPO Transparency Takes a Hit “The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones…” Updated, Shakespeare’s Mark Anthony might have included mischief done while scrambling for campaign funds as the finance sector obliges those doing its bidding. That mischief stumbles on like a zombie. This tortured comparison came to mind after reading a …

Increasingly, an American abroad is an American ashamed. Recently I visited Berlin and Warsaw – the former an established European capital, the latter lesser-known but equally sophisticated.  It was an opportunity to relax, speak grammatically incorrect German, devour pierogies by the dozen. But more than anything, it was a welcome respite from the nonstop circus American politics has become.  I …

One of the most anticipated projects in recent Los Angeles history is finally complete. On July 2 the hotel portion of the new $1.2 billion Wilshire Grand Center mixed-use development opened for business, joining the project’s other components, which completed last month. Located on the former site of the historic Wilshire Grand hotel, which closed in 2011, the new 73-story tower stands 1,100 ft-tall, making it …

It’s surprising that something so automatically associated with Switzerland, should be one of England’s top tourist attractions. As a kid growing up in Great Britain, and even then seeking out offbeat things to see and do in travel, I loved the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway. Situated in a setting of steep, ruggedly rolling green hillsides alive with unequalled beauty, …

Breathtaking. Mind-boggling. I am reading about Alex Honnold’s free climb of El Capitan in Yosemite but my mind cannot gain a firm foothold on what Alex does and how he ticks. However, reading the story of his El Cap climb rekindled memories of my first experience dipping my toes into the dimensions of what he does. Welcome to a story …

The Canadian side of Niagara Falls has a 35 mile linear park, called Niagara Park, with seemingly endless attractions stretched along the full length of the Niagara River. I recently spent several days driving to each, sampling fantastic wines and great food while enjoying the rugged beauty of the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. It became one of the shortest …

The narrative has now come full circle as the “band of merry media” – 18 travel writers and photographers invited by Insight Vacations (Insight) on its Treasures of Irelandjourney – gather for the very last time in colorful Dublin, the starting and ending point of our incredible week on the Emerald Isle. Greeted warmly with “Céad míle fáilte (One-hundred-thousand welcomes)” …

My father died while I was roaming through Northern Italy. He was 52. He passed away peacefully in his sleep in his home in Florida. I found out about it at the American Express office in Istanbul three weeks later when I opened a letter my brother sent me. This was 1970. There were no computers, no smartphones, no Skype. …

The Han Grotto and Culzean Castle. As the name of my Traveling Boy feature IS “Travel With a DIFFERENCE,” it’s important to me to always bring you offbeat and unusual tourist places around the world you may not know about. These two fit that category to a T, and they’re absolutely worth a visit. One’s in Scotland and one’s in …

I first met Toño Pérez (of Atrio Restaurante in Cáceres, Spain) in Manhattan. I took a master class he taught last October at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). He handed out photos and descriptions of his signature tapas dishes and then created them for us. It was amazing!

An extraordinary chain of events came together for a most amazing journey to Barcelona, Paris and London. The 60th Anniversary of an art organization that has been my sponsor for over 30 years determined that Barcelona would be the site for our celebration. We would mark the occasion by inviting our niece who had recently graduated from nursing school to …

Mozart – Geburtshaus – Salzburg, Austria Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) could read and compose music, plus play the violin and piano, when he was five years old. Born into a musical family in Salzburg, Austria (then the Holy Roman Empire), he had a unique ability for imitating music, which first became evident when he recited a …

There is nothing like sleeping in an ocean-front room and awakening to the sounds of waves crashing against the sand. It is one of the finer things in life. And it is exactly what I experienced recently on a memorable getaway to The Inn at Laguna Beach.