alhambra
“You will capture the spirit of Granada,” advises a guide book, “if you watch an autumn sunset, from the secluded garden of Albayzin, where the only sound to be heard is the soft murmur of the fountain and the trill of a bird as she returns to her nest, when the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada are tinged with red, with the pink [hue] of the old towers of Alhambra, bowed down by the weight of tragic legends, silhouetted against the mountains.”

bahamas
A description of one family's adventure in bareboating in the Bahamas.

barcelona
"Barcelona—what fantasies the mere mention of this Spanish city conjures up! Barcelona is fiercely modern, passionately separatist in its aim to be Catalan and Catalan only, and delightfully light-hearted, yet seriously intent in its expressions of freedom."

barcelona: gaudí's contributions
"Gaudí was, indeed, considered a true modernista and a prophet among his peers. He pointed the way for others to follow in intertwining the past with the future in order to create a vocabulary that would best express the ideas of the new, free-spirited and forward-looking generation of architects. ¡Bravo, Gaudí!"

bimini island
"A mere glance at the elongated landmass among the scattered cays in the Bahama region, and one understands the charming magnetism that Bimini has always exuded and still manages to bind new victims under its spell."

budapest
"Two is better than one, they say. If that's true, then Budapest is better . . . See, there used to be Buda and Pest, but then they became one, so now it's twice as nice . . . "

the cloisters
Housed in a monastic structure on the highest land formation of the island of Manhattan, looking like an imposter on the soil of this young nation, stands The Cloisters. A branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it consists of an elaborate collection of pilasters, columns, abbeys, windows, doors, and notable pieces of art and artifacts from Medieval Europe.

finland: picture postcards 1
A pictorial tour of some of Finland's attractions

finland: picture postcards 2
A pictorial tour of some more of Finland's attractions

finland: summer solstice
Summer is a rare commodity in the North-European country of Finland where winter’s reign lengthens its grip far into spring. But when summer arrives with its solstice on or around June 25, celebrations take over and take on grand proportions.

florence
"Florence is the crown jewel in Italy's attractions, a big 'small town' whose citizens still portray the nature of their progenitors: 'learned, wealthy and quarrelsome.' It is a magnet that has always attracted outsiders to its walls, and still becons millions of tourists each year."

florida cays
Our family's sailing adventures in the Florida Cays, a stormy, colorful "learning experience."

helsinki: architecture
"With integrity and fidelity to high art and good taste, the architecture of Finland, as exemplified in Helsinki, continues to provide visual enjoyment and cultural edification to all who have the good fortune of spending time in this 'White City of the North.'"

helsinki: tori
A sunny summer day in South Harbor Market in Helsinki.

isle d'orleans
"Seemingly untouched by its mother metropolis Québec, Isle d'Orleans is worlds and centuries apart from the tempo of modern life that throbs in the near distance, cut away by a hanging bridge. Such tranquillity and visual beauty apply balm to the technology-sickened soul."

joensuu
My home town in Eastern Finland: "The name Joensuu describes the town's location: it is situated at the estuary of Pielisjoki at Lake Pyhäselkä. It was founded by the Russian Czar Nikolai I in 1848 on the spot of an old trading post on the river route."

la mancha
"It was a late summer afternoon, hot and fragrant as a summer afternoon can only be in Spain. I was sitting in my favorite spot of all of Spain—up there with the old windmills, surveying the village of Consuegra and the plains of La Mancha. That was the heart of Quixote Country—a place where Cervantes staged the incredible adventures of one half-witted gentleman whom no village in La Mancha would own."

porvoo
"Porvoo is Finland’s favorite child, its heartbeat and pulse, a kaleidoscope where past and future are present."

quebec
"The rising sun spread beams to the eastern sky in hues of chartreuse and lilac, painting a magnificent backdrop for the dark cityscape dominated by the steeples and towers of the noble and historic edifices. The old city wall with its conical watch-towers and gracefully arching gateways cut a pleasant picture right from the Middle Ages."

san juans archipelago
"The more I read about these islands, the less I wanted anything to do with them, least of all meet them personally. Just reading the charts would dampen any would-be sailor's spirit: Danger Rock, Point Caution, Smallpox Bay, Shark Reef, Deadman Island, Massacre Bay, Skull Island, Victim Island, Cemetery Island."

saratoga
Visitors to Saratoga are instantly caught up in the singular architecture of its public buildings, parks and private homes that speak of bygone days that were free and deliberate in their magnificence.

tallinn
"Rising on the southern shore of the Finnish Gulf, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, looks like a fanciful illustration straight out of the most imaginative travel guide with its unique architectural heritage, and it feels lighthearted—where else has independence been achieved through a Singing Revolution?"

toledo
El Greco's Spanish home town, Toledo will always strike a responsive chord in the art lover's heart and soul.

vancouver
A short history and detailed description of this area's notable totem poles.