Ask the general populace to name a famous painter, and they’d probably say Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh. Today his paintings command staggering purchase prices, with his Portrait of Dr. Gachet, painted the last year of his life in Auvers-sur-Oise, selling for 152 million dollars in today’s currency.

On my recent visit to Castilla y Léon, Spain, my fifth to the region, I knew there were so many new things to see and do, as-well-as so many I’d done before that I wanted to do again, that I couldn’t possibly fit them all into one week.

The Palladian Traveler is joined by the likes of Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Velasquez as he pays a visit to the world famous Hermitage Museum.

Give or take a few, there are 7.1 sheep for every man, woman and child in New Zealand. Or, to put an actual number on it, approximately 30 million of these mostly white colored animals. Does that mean that sheep overwhelm the country? Certainly not, but it does mean you’ll see a lot of them wherever you go there.

I’ve been reveling in the warmth of my recent trip to Costa Rica, and not just because of the heat and humidity. This alluring Central American nation of five million Ticos (citizens), roughly the size of West Virginia, consists of just .03% of the earth’s landmass, but is home to 5% of its biodiversity.

So yes, of course, the highlights of our Blue Danube River Cruise with Grand Circle Tour Company were the four European capitals we were visiting: Prague, Czech Republic, Vienna, Austria, Bratislava, Slovakia and Budapest, Hungary. But it was the many surprises surrounding the experiences on the ship that truly enhanced the trip.

The Palladian Traveler grabs a knife, fork, spoon and beer bottle, along with a front row seat, as he smacks his lips and claps his hands through a two-part folksy night in St. Petersburg.

As I entered Hotel d'Angleterre on the regal Kongens Nytorv Square in Copenhagen, I remember thinking, "Did I just time-travel into Floral Narnia?"

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).

After lunching on caviar, The Palladian Traveler hops aboard a hydrofoil and files his fourth dispatch from Peterhof, the sprawling and ornate Russian version of Versailles, just a few nautical miles outside St. Petersburg.