The Via Francigena (fran-CHEE-jee-nah) is a pilgrimage route from the Middle Ages that starts in England and crosses France and Switzerland before entering Italy at the Gran San Bernardo Pass. Less known than the Spanish pilgrimage route, the Via Francigena was revived in the 1990s and is becoming more traversed each year. 

Our friend Lisa Morrow, a long term resident of Istanbul, used VoiceMap to create an audio tour of Kadikoy, tracing back though the history of this once multicultural neighbourhood on the Asian side of the city. Kadiköy is where she regularly shops, walks, and socialises, so researching and writing about its forgotten secrets in order to produce a tour sharing her discoveries was an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

The weather gods sent us a flawless day to wander San Francisco. Bob and I targeted the historic Ferry Building to enjoy the sun and warm, and indulge a bit of browsing.  It’s a destination easily combined with a trip to Alcatraz, Sausalito, or Fisherman’s Wharf.

If I were to dance these words, I would dance the drops of rain falling on parched earth. 

If history, tradition, and whales are your thing, New Bedford is an ultimate travel destination! This town was the East Coast’s principal whaling harbor from the 1800‘s until the very end of the industrial whaling industry in America, and remains one of the primary fishing towns in the U.S.

The Library of Congress, the Royal Collection Trust, and King's College London today signed a memorandum of understanding in which they agree to share resources to aid in the digitization of the papers of King George III (1738-1820), the English monarch in power when the American colonies declared independence, creating a new nation.

I awoke with a start as the wind whistled past my window. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I rolled over to check the time on my phone. It was 5:43 in the morning, and there was no way I was going to fall asleep again. Sighing, I swung my legs over the side of my bed and made my way down the ladder, careful not to make noise. I grabbed a crumpled piece of paper off of the table and scrawled a quick note to my mom in case she was to wake up while I was gone. 

Gone for a walk. 
~Alice

If your wife were a princess, wouldn’t you want to dedicate a museum to her? Of course you would—and for Honolulu’s Bishop Museum, what a splendid dedication it is. But I’m getting ahead of myself: before I discuss the appealing vibe and the remarkable Hawaiian-culture holdings of the Bishop, let’s talk about museum tours.

After the morning rain, the afternoon sun struggles to push its way out of the thick fog covering the mountains. My sister and I, umbrella in hand, walk side by side, jumping occasionally to dodge the puddles in the road. 

Many view history as a dry subject to study with visions of dust clouds rising from giant tomes. But this is hardly history's reality. History is vibrant and alive; we can touch it and see it ourselves. Right now in the 21st century. Today.