Fair board pays its pipers
Matt Potter 9:03 a.m., June 19
History
Providencia, Colombia
Tales of pirates and Puritans in this Caribbean island hideaway.
Below us, the island came into view, encircled by a brittle ring of coral reefs made distinguishable by whitewater ripping at the edges. A turquoise iris skirted the white sandy edges of the Caribbean island ...
Go Gallic in Trier
Germany's oldest city is chock-full of ancient history.
Germany’s most ancient city is Trier, its name derived from the Roman name Augusta Trevororum under Caesar Augustus. It was known as the “Second Rome” before Constantinople. While the Romans had been in neighboring Gaul ...
Forts of the Deep South
Conquistadors to the Civil War, Florida to Mississippi.
Empires rise and they fall, leaving behind the ruins of their fortresses. Until armored warships rendered masonry forts and their black powder cannons obsolete, warring European empires set on colonizing the rest of the world ...
Wagner's Lucerne
This idyllic Swiss city celebrates the composer's 200th birthday.
May 22 is the bicentennial of the birth of German composer Richard Wagner. Although born 1813 in Leipzig, the operatic genius has a strong connection to Switzerland. Wagner – then Royal Saxon Court Conductor – ...
Québec City: crown jewel of French Québec
Québec is one of North America’s oldest cities, having been founded in 1608 by famous French explorer Samuel Champlain. It was the capital of New France (French North America) until the British captured it in ...
Il Dolce Far Niente: Rome to Firenze
Italy is best explored at a leisurely pace.
"Il dolce far niente": The sweetness of doing nothing. Pleasant leisure. The joy of relaxation. Rome was a mighty city; an ominous feeling swept through the maze of narrow cobblestone streets and left me with ...
Warsaw revived, Poland renewed
Varsav (Warsaw) is a large, booming city full of treasures. The Royal Łazienki Park offers palaces, gardens, lakes and forests in a less intimidating, family-friendlier format than Versailles. Animals in the park include peacocks, squirrels, ...
Skeletons in the armoire: Paris catacombs
Under the city's streets is a vast, ancient network of tunnels.
The air was cool and exuded a musty, almost earthy odor. The passageway with squat ceilings no more than six feet high was lit by small dim lights, each bright enough to see only a ...
Secrets of Ghent
Most of us in the U.S. remember the name “Ghent” from the Treaty of Ghent that finally ended the War of 1812 with the British. At the time, communication was slow, and Gen. Andrew Jackson ...
Old-time California in Cambria
A classic coastal town on the PCH.
Unexpected. That’s the word that comes to mind when I think about my recent trip to Cambria, California. Cambria, located roughly a half hour north of San Louis Obispo, reminded me of the Midwest somehow. ...
