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Art & Culture

Rediscovering Morocco

Text and pictures by Michael Webb Nearly sixty years after a first youthful tour of Morocco, I returned to that enchanted land in March. Covid restrictions forced me to reschedule the trip three times and I decided to go at the earliest opportunity. I struck out with the weather, which was cold and wet, giving…

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Driving Around SICILY

The first time I explored Sicily, nearly 60 years ago, I stayed in cheap pensions, walked around the cities and took local buses and slow trains from one place to the next. This past September I returned with a friend and we retraced a similar route with an experienced driver in the comfort of a…

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Art and Nature in Northern ENGLAND

If you want to enjoy England as it was a century ago, skip the overcrowded, domesticated south-east and head north to Derbyshire and Yorkshire. Those counties cradled the Industrial Revolution, growing prosperous on coal and steel, manufacturing and trade. The mines and mills have shuttered, the great cities are trying to reinvent themselves; in between…

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JAIPUR or Bust!

Review your bucket list. Does it include Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan? This is one list entry considered mandatory by Jane Adams, a recent delegate at the world’s largest writers’ festival held every year in the ‘Pink City’of the Rajputs. It was the sci-fi writer Stephen King who wrote, “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” The…

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TOKYO Translated

The world’s most populous metropolis that sprawls across 23 city wards, islands and other towns and villages, boasting 9.26 million citizens can seem daunting but only from the outside. Gently peel off its layers, and every day will deliver the unexpected, treasured moments and memories, from shochu shared with sumo wrestlers to retired military-uniformed soldiers…

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Sybaritic SRI LANKA

Michael Webb enjoys the more luxurious side of the cities of Sri Lanka.  My first visit to Sri Lanka, many years ago, was a frugal adventure, bumping around in crowded buses from one ancient site to another, exploring the historic city of Kandy, and staying in a vintage guest house in the hill country of…

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Wandering with Wordsworth in England’s Lake District

Kristina Foster explores the Lake District discovering spectacular hiking trails and poetic history.   Nestled in the northwest corner of England lies the Lake District, 885 square miles boasting the longest bodies of water and the tallest mountains in the country. As the first ray of summer sunshine emerges from the clouds, locals escape to…

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Exploring the BALTIC STATES

Michael Webb takes a 12 day tour of the Baltic States.   Having explored most of Europe, I left the three Baltic States–Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania–till last, hoping they would offer as authentic a taste of the pre-war era as Romania. I arrived too late–the three glorious capitals have been swamped by mass tourism and…

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Driving around POLAND

Michael Webb embarks on a 10 day road trip around Poland. Resilience is the greatest asset of the Poles, who retained their pride and sense of nationhood during two centuries of foreign occupation. Twenty years of independence between the world wars were succeeded by the brutal onslaught of the Nazis and the Red Army, devastation…

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Singapore’s Best Architecture and Food

Michael Webb visits Singapore to explore its culture, food and architecture.  In its fifty plus years of independence, the city-state of Singapore has transformed itself into an Asian version of Switzerland: prosperous, clean, and meticulously organized. But the vibrant street life of its multi-cultural enclaves–Chinese, Islamic and Indian–still flourishes amid the gleaming towers. Taxis and Uber…

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PARIS IN WINTER

Michael Webb explores the City of Lights in winter, finding a new love and appreciation for its abundance of museums.  For lovers, Paris is heaven year round; in winter it’s equally compelling for lovers of museums. The chilly gray days make the boulevards and outdoor cafés less enticing, and prompt you to explore treasures you…

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MYANMAR: On the River from Mandalay

‘Can’t you ‘ear their paddles chunkin’ from Rangoon to Mandalay? On the road to Mandalay, Where the flyin’-fishes play, An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ‘crost the Bay! -RUDYARD KIPLING Any list of the world’s great rivers includes the mighty Irrawaddy (aka Ayeyarwady), the backbone and lifeline of the embracing troubled land…

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Dutch Treat: Haarlem, Utrecht and the countryside

From Amsterdam to Haarlem, Michael Webb explores the busy city life to the quiet countryside in the Netherlands.  Nearly every trip to the Netherlands begins in Amsterdam even though it has become one of the most expensive and touristy cities in Europe. It’s a short train ride from Schiphol, the country’s major airport, but you can…

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Enjoy the Modern Architecture of MILAN

From apartment buildings to museums, learn why Michael Webb keeps returning to Milan over Italy’s many other cities.  Milan is my favorite Italian city (with Turin running a close second) for the way it reveals its treasures slowly. It has a few of the attractions that lure tour groups, including Leonardo’s over-restored Last Supper and a spiky…

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Discover JAPAN’s Private Art Collections

Some of Japan’s most enthralling art collections are private, and finding them can prove challenging, especially when directions are in Japanese and nailed to lamp posts. But if you like your Picassos, Van Goghs and Renoirs with a little adventure, be sure to visit these off-grid museums.

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On the Waterfront, SHANGHAI

Cosmopolitan China is epitomised in Shanghai’s Bund riverfront precinct. Jane Adams strolls its boulevards and boardwalk discovering arts, eats and other oriental treats.

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