In Palermo, Arab craftsmen carpeted the Norman palace with glittering mosaics and 18th-century artisan Giacomo Serpotta fashioned fanciful scenes from stucco in chapels around the city. Few interiors in the exotic, enchanting, and at times exasperating capital of Sicily, though, are as enchanting as the stately dining room of the Palazzo Lanza Tomasi.

I miss Willie Dixon. I had the tremendous good fortune to sit and talk with him on several occasions during the 1980's, and he never failed to amaze, entertain and enlighten me. During those years you couldn't go into a Southern California club, blues venue or attend a music festival without seeing the man surrounded by an entourage of adoring friends and fans.

Depending on where you travel, you may come to realize that leaving home was a terrible mistake. That's because every destination with a public relations budget endeavors to attract tourists and drive revenue. Yet every destination doesn't deserve a visit from you.

I am an unabashed enthusiast of idolatry and hero worship and homages and there’s nothing I can do about it. Perhaps color me a patron of the arts, with the closest I’ll ever come to certain artists is by seeing their rooms or suites where they had once slept. Of course, the obvious way to enter the world of an …

There was not a hint of litter on the street. Mexican children frolicked on the beach. Los Pacenos (La Paz natives) offered gentle smiles as they jogged past me along the Malecón – La Paz’s bay-front boardwalk that stretches along the historic downtown. It was hard to take it all in with the sun setting on the glimmering Sea of Cortez.

Nothing against the plains or oceans, but if you want to hypnotize a kid with nature, go for three-dimensional spaces with high vertical, try the Bugs – Canada’s Bugaboos – one of the continent’s premiere hiking and climbing arenas.

To refer to one of the mightiest, most significant architectural masterpieces in Great Britain as a “building,” does NOT do it justice, nor does it fully convey the reason why you need to visit St Pauls Cathedral in London – but here’s the thing – can you get the last 36 or more words into a headline?

Ying Luck was hungry.  She knew that when she arrived at the dining room terrace at the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort her cuteness alone would be rewarded with a scrumptious snack.  Every morning at around 8 a.m., this youthful, diminutive five-year-old, along with her ever-watchful and devoted mahout, lumbers to the restaurant patio where the staff has …

When I encountered my first giant Sequoia in the Mariposa Grove, my head did not tilt back far enough to see the top. Walking around the trunk practically required a GPS. Leaving noise and civilization behind to walk among these ancient trees brought us to the famous Grizzly Giant, the grove's elder statesman, which rivals the Statue of Liberty in height and sports a branch extending outward that is larger than the trunks of most trees.

leaving the mountains covered with beautiful white powder. I recently visited Big Bear and discovered a cool hotel, a great sandwich shop, lots of fun snow sledding, and more.