• Visiting Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya)

    Walking through the giant entrance doors is both humbling and breathtaking. There is a crumbling faded beauty here. Along with the peeling paint and missing mosaic tiles, there are graceful arches, intricate wood carvings and ironwork, and sunlight filtered through…

  • A Visit To Trajan’s Market in Rome

    Even after many trips to Rome there’s always something new to see. I must have walked past the ruins of Trajan’s Market dozens of times and never really gave it much thought. This time I thought, “how is it possible…

  • Wandering Naples

    In my last post I explained how going to a new city for the first time is a little like going on a first date. While I had my concerns about Naples, I’m happy to say we got along just…

  • A One Day Visit to Temples of Angkor and Abacus Restaurant

    October 7, 2010 Even though I visited the temples on my last two trips to Cambodia, I knew I could not come all the way to Siem Reap without  seeing them again. This time my goal was an abbreviated tour with an emphasis on…

  • Tips for Visiting the Ancient Temples of Angkor

    I’ve visited the temples of Angkor on both of my previous trips in 2002 and 2007 and each time spent at least three days seeing as much as possible. This time, I only spent one day revisiting three of the most popular…