It's not every day you can sing someone's praises about singing someone's praises, yet here we are. The Blind Boys of Alabama along with friend and fellow musician, Charlie Musselwhite commanded the stage at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido recently and converted about 500 people in the process.

Since the release of Sight & Sound magazine’s 2022 Top 100 Greatest Films of All Time critics poll, some of us agreed, others were appalled; in particular with the absence of masterworks by Luis Buñuel, Ernst Lubitsch and Howard Hawks. But the positive is that it opens pathways for lists by other cineastes which keeps the importance of cinema on the front burner. …

So there I was, at the Sulphur Springs Mud Bath in St Lucia, being smeared with green mud all over my body. Two layers first to exfoliate. Then sprinkled with black mud, a guide creating designs in stripes and handprints as if my arms, face and chest were a canvas. I felt like I was in a pool full of zebras. Okay, zebras with black handprints all over dotting the mud masterpiece. Allegedly, the mineral waters in which we were submerged washed off 10 years along with the mud palette. I'm pretty sure my husband didn't notice any difference…

Standing six feet tall in her bare feet, strikingly attractive, with a relaxing glow of self-confidence and the posture and demeanor of a former fashion model, Celia Abernethy is an expat from Long Island, New York, enjoying an ongoing love affair with Milano and the city of Lecco, her Lake Como home. The ideal Travel Consultant and Itinerary Designer for Milano and Lake Como, she offers remarkable assistance to visitors world-wide. Discovered by a modeling agency at age 16, Celia had her modeling career up and running after graduating high school. She first set foot in Milano as a fashion model and was successfully highlighted in the challenging world of fashion for some ten years, working the fashion trail in London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Tokyo, New York, and Milano, among others.

Our wooden vessel glided along Ha Long Bay’s jade green waters. Located off the coast of Northeastern Vietnam, its stunning 620 sq miles of seascape is one of the country’s five UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Hundreds of towering karsts dotted the horizon. Vendors in little skiffs tapped on the side of our vessel, selling unfamiliar exotic fruits – mangosteen, rambutan (aka Harry Cherry), longan, star and jack fruits.

As I window shopped along the pristine streets of Monaco’s Golden Circle, where the chic clothing venues of Hermes, Christian Dior, Gucci and Prada are located, I decided then and there I would save my Christmas shopping for later. Passing the legendary Casino de Monte-Carlo, it occurred to me that I could fatten my billfold at the palatial establishment.

Well, I’m still basking in the memories of my cruise experience aboard Holland America’s ms Veendam. At the end of each day’s illuminating tours of the ports of call – Lucca and Pisa, Malaga, Barcelona, Monaco and Gibraltar – I would excitedly rush back to the vessel to my favorite lounge, the Crow’s Nest, where I’d compile my notes over a crisp, full flavored Budweiser Budvar (circa 1245).

It’s almost impossible not to fall under the spell of this dreamscape where round, domed houses known as trulli rise from gentle hillsides. Alberobello will make you feel like you’ve stepped into the pages of a fairy tale, but this small town in Italy’s southeastern Puglia region is decidedly of this world, fashioned from limestone, surrounded by centuries-old vineyards and olive groves, and home to 11,000 residents.

Naturally we started our trip off with a glass of wine at lunch. After all, it was too late for breakfast… Deux verres de vin rouge – um, uh -- pas sec. Un peu… Finally I just threw my hands in the air and laughed. I meant well but it seemed unfair to make our poor waiter suffer for my lack of versatility with the language. Our waiter obliged with two glasses of wine and a hearty, Welcome to Provence!

How was your journey? The Gambardella family, several generations of whom are usually on the scene, have been asking this question ever since they began welcoming guests to their villa-like retreat on the edge of a cliff along the legendary Amalfi Coast of southern Italy in 1904.

I was about to begin a magical journey through 6000 years of history. And then accept the hard truth. How do you recapture 6000 years of history in 1200 words, the social media-inspired limited attention span requirement that travel editors now impose on their writers? Usually my articles weave a story; this one's not going to. I think all I can do is let you experience a little bit of Egypt the way I did.

A cluster of five mountains like ancient trusting friends encompass Lake Como with tales to tell. They tower to the horizon in a domineering maze of peaks, deep irregular valleys, and crusted sheer-sided facings. Deeply sculptured from wind and rain, and often cloud-covered, they stand like faithful world-worn sentinels. Tagged the Pre-Alps, the mountains cast long shadows across the lake’s glacier-formed deep blue water creating a textured moment of sun and shade. Residents and visitors alike recognize that in only a few places on the planet are water and mountains in such remarkable intimacy and the recognition inspires soft expressions of awe and delight.

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.

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.

Despite a postponement due to Hurricane Nicole, the sixth edition gave Orlando the chance to exhibit their fashion sense, displayed their classy taste for design and elegance and share their gastronomic delights. World-renowned for its photogenic moments, Saturday's Le Dîneren Blanc did not disappoint.

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.

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.