Off the Beaten Path in Ireland: The Road to Torr Head and Carrick-a-Rede

March 19 – 24 Northern Ireland If there was a way to somehow distill the essence of Ireland such as to contain it in a bottle so that it could be taken as an elixir at the end of a particularly long and difficult day; a sort of tonic that could lift the senses and… Continue reading Off the Beaten Path in Ireland: The Road to Torr Head and Carrick-a-Rede

Off the Beaten Path in Ireland: Escaping the Ring of Kerry

April 4 – 9 Iveragh Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland  Many things have been said of Ireland’s Iveragh Peninsula, which is better known for the (in)famous coastal road that circumscribes it: the Ring of Kerry.  The “inspiration of poets and writers”, “magnificent coastal scenery”, a “mystical & unspoilt region”, are the words of some.  In actuality,… Continue reading Off the Beaten Path in Ireland: Escaping the Ring of Kerry

Going Underground in Naples

Naples, Italy August 29 – 31 The sun had rolled slightly away from its zenith at three in the afternoon when we pulled into the gnarled streets surrounding Naples’ central storico (historic district).  Despite this, it’s cruel heat still radiated over the ancient paving stones at Plebecito Square, and scarcely a soul ventured outside while… Continue reading Going Underground in Naples

Molto Piccolo

Rome, Italy August 23 – 29 At 4:45pm, we have exactly fifteen more minutes before we are ejected from the Galleria Borghese.  Fifteen more minutes is all the time my family has to run up the stairs to the second floor, past four or five Carravagios, a couple of Titians, and two of Raphael’s more… Continue reading Molto Piccolo

Under Pressure

For those concerned readers of ours who may have come under the impression that our little traveling band’s definition of a pastime these days solely consists of the following activities in any particular order; A) scaling treacherous mountain ranges in their tourist off-season, B) traversing the uncharted forests surrounding contested international borders, or C) circumambulating… Continue reading Under Pressure