Essaouira
Argan oil and goats

Argan oil and goats

In Marrakesh, Morocco, where the calendar is different, we celebrated the New Year without any festivities. Like the locals, we calmly checked out of our riad. We loaded our luggage into the car...

Marrakesh

A modest New Year’s Eve

We returned to Marrakesh, Morocco. It happened to be New Year’s Eve. Since Morocco has a different calendar, there were no local events, but we wanted to do something memorable. On a whim,…

Ourika Valley

A disappointing excursion to the Ourika Valley

A trip to the Ourika Valley was included in our itinerary from Marrakesh, Morocco. The Ourika Valley is a resort area located a little over an hour’s drive south of Marrakech. It’s a…

Marrakesh

That night

After a full day of sightseeing in Marrakesh, Morocco, we went to a bar called La Pergola where we could enjoy alcohol. As I’ve mentioned many times before, in Morocco, alcohol has been…

Italy

Beautiful Asolo

We had a short holiday in Veneto in Italy. The first place we went was Asolo, a pretty town on top of a hill. We parked our car on the way up…

Milan

A political festival

On one Saturday when we had a hail storm, I was invited to a festival in Cinisello, a town near Milan.The festival was called Festa dell’Unita and supposed to have music…

Berat

The strain of a sudden rise in popularity

We stayed at the Grand White City Hotel in Berat, Albania. The name Berat apparently comes from the word meaning “white town”. I’m sure it was the same in Belgrade, Serbia, too. The…

miranda-friends
Miranda Friends

Meditate in a Zen garden

This is my friend, Bangly’s posting. During my stay in Kansai area I had the opportunity to visit the temple Ryoan-ji in Kyoto, which has one of the most important Zen gardens in...
shopping
Shopping

Eyeball Art

While walking through the old town of Lyon, France, a shop caught my eye. At first, I didn’t know what it was, so we just walked past, thinking maybe they sold natural stones....
airlines
Airlines

Air China

According to company’s official web site, Air China Limited (“Air China”) and its predecessor, the former Air China, were founded in 1988. According to the “Civil Aviation System Reform Program” which was approved and passed...
food
Food

Very good lunch

The tour in Tinos took us to lunch soon after the first visit to the church, probably thinking “an army marches on its stomach”.Where we went was a restaurant in a village...
hotels
Hotels

Birthday party

We stayed two nights in Martina Franca in Puglia, southern Italy. The hotel was Park Hotel San Michele. Although this is a small town, it was very very crowded when we arrived,...
food
Food

Very Good Lunch and Confetti

Now it was lunch time in Sulmona, a town in Abruzzo in the middle of Italy. Our guide, Guido, took us to a restaurant called Il Vecchio Muro, which he had been...
food
Food

Japanese Green tea

Standard Method for making Japanese Green tea. Put tea leaves in the teapot. Pour hot water into the teapot over tea leaves. Soak a while, then pour th tea out into teacups. Please don’t leave...
transports
Transports

Take the new Italo train

From Florence to Mian, we took the new high speed train called ‘Italo’. This is run by the first Italian pivate railway company which is funded by the chairman of Ferrari and...