California
International Tour Management Institute

Some of us on a night on the town

Graduation from ITMI

Los Angeles

Universal Studios

Interior of Walt Disney Concert Hall designed by Frank Gehry

My first time on the mic: giving a small part of the Los Angeles city tour

Seal Beach

Elephant Seals on the beach just north of San Simeon

San Simeon

Morro Bay

Morro Rock

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara Mission

Solvang

San Ynez

Gainey Winery

Pacific Coast Highway

Santa Monica 

Venice Beach

Costa Rica
Caravan Tours

Our group in Costa Rica

San Jose

Costa Rica fireworks

Paos Volcano National Park

We couldn't see the crater because of the low clouds.

San Carlos

Baldi Natural Springs and Resort

I love this statue in front of the spas.

Tortuguero National Park

Tortuguero National Park is on a rainforest-covered sandbar whose beaches are a major nesting site for green turtles.

Take from the safety of our boat

Fortuna

Arenal

The view of Mt. Arenal volcano from my hotel room.

Mount Arenal Volcano

Guanacaste

Two days relaxing at the Guanacaste Marriott Resort

The beach at Guanacaste

Providence, Rhode Island

I went to Rhode Island to visit my friends Bobby and Michael.

Rhode Island State Capitol

A view of the Providence County Courthouse from the Korean War Memorial

Eastern United States and Canada
Globus Family of Brands Training Tour plus 2 additional tours

My training tour director, Brenda, and bus driver, Henry

I will be spending a lot of time on these motor coaches!

My first guests in my career as a tour director for adult groups: standing in front of the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, also referred to as the Iwo Jima statue.

New York, New York

Building the new World Trade Center

Rockefeller Center

Boston, Massachusetts

Paul Revere

USS Constitution

Quebec, Canada

Chateau Frontenac

My friend and fellow tour director trainee in front of the mural in Old Quebec

Montreal, Canada

Olympic Stadium

Raoul Wallenberg Square

Ottawa, Canada

"Maman," or mama spider, by Louise Bourgeois, in front to the National Gallery of Art

Reconciliation: The Peacekeeping Monument

Thousand Islands, Ontario, Canada

Toronto, Canada

Sculpture of players outside the Hockey Hall of Fame

My first taste of Poutine

Niagara Falls, Canada

Boarding the helicopter

Rainbow over Niagara Falls

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Amish straw hats

Horse-drawn farming equipment at the Amish House and Farm

Washington, D.C. 

The Great Smoky Mountains

I signed up for a local tour

Gatlinburg

Pigeon Forge

Statue of Dolly Parton in her home town

Emerts Cove covered bridge

Orlando, Florida

I met up with one of my former students, Terry Ward, a magician and entertainer with Disney for 30 years.

This photo taken in a 1950s diner in Hollywood Studios was purchased for a book cover for La Deniere Peine.

Lady and the Tramp in flowers

Chincoteague  Island, Virginia

The iconic Chincoteague ponies

The Night Stalker

St. Louis, Missouri
National Association for Gifted Education Conference

Forest Park

Missouri State Capital with the Gateway Arch behind it

Our group went to the Fox Theatre for a Leonard Cohen concert.

Pinocchio welcomes us to City Park.

Minneapolis, Minnesota
International Baccalaureate School Visit

Mary Tyler Moore welcoming us to Minneapolis with a wave of her hat.

Minnehaha Falls

"Spoonbridge and Cherry": Iconic Minneapolis sculpture by artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, located in the center of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

The Stone Arch Bridge, open to bicycles and pedestrians

Philadelphia
Cousins Trips

From the left: Renee, Eileen, me, and Joan. Paula is in front.

Historic reenactor in the Philadelphia Visitor's Center

Elfreth's Alley: the oldest street in America

The National American Jewish History Museum would open the following year.

Fort Worth, Texas
International Baccalaureate School Visit

The High Desert Princess

Christmas shopping

I caught a cowboy in front of Dickie's Arena.

The daily longhorn cattle drive

Hilton Head, North Carolina

Hilton Head is filled with graveyards

Relaxing at the Westin Hilton in between educational sections

Annapolis, Maryland

The Maryland State House

Alex Hailey statue

Berkeley Springs, West Virginia

Girls Getaway Weekend: from the left -- Claudia, Donna, Susan, me, Barbara, and Nancy

State Theatre (now closed)

Time for ice cream

Amherst, Massachusetts

My brother-in-law tuning the piano for a concert he was give at the National Yiddish Center at Northampton University

National Yiddish Center

Sister-in-law, Patience, with her granddaughter

Scotland
CIE Tours Scottish Dream Tour

Part of our group: from the left -- Mike, John, Mary, Jan, me, and Nancy

Glasgow

George Square and the Merchant District

The equestrian statue of the Duke of Ellington. The interesting thing about the statue is the long-running placement each evening of a traffic cone on the top of the Duke’s head or his horse’s head (or both!).

Luss

The port

Local house

Loch Lomond

A cruise on Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond, a lake in southern Scotland

Inverness

Inveraray Castle, family home of Clan Campbell

War Memorial nearby in Lochfyne

Argyll

A cottage at Culloden

Glencoe

The ridges of Beinn Fhada, Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubh are collectively known as the Three Sisters of Glen Coe

Ballachulish

Surrounded by some of the most dramatic and beautiful scenery in Scotland, Ballachulish is a perfect base for exploring the amazing landscape of Glencoe. This village used to be the 'slate capital' of Scotland and the disused quarries can be still seen nearby.

The view from my hotel room

Isle of Mull

We took a ferry across to the Isle of Mull.

Duarte Castle: Catherine Zeta-Jones supposedly jumped from here into the water, a difficult feat!

The Highland cow

Tobermory

The colorful houses of the fishing village on the Isle of Mull

Tobermory Distillery

Aberdeen

Crathes Castle

Gardens of Crathes Castle

The garden of Crathes Castle

Ballomoral

The Royal Baker

We were told that Balmoral is the one place where the royal family can roam freely without being bothered.

Feugh

The Falls of Feugh

We stopped near the village of Banchory at the Falls of Feugh for scones and afternoon tea.

Glamis

Glamis Castle, childhood home to the former Queen Mother

St. Andrews

The remains of the Cathedral of St. Andrews

The cemetery at St. Andrew's Cathedral

Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle on the hill: a view from the park

St. Giles Cathedral

Houston, Texas
College Board Advanced Placement Conference

After the conference I visited with Kristin's family in Houston.

The very colorful Houston Convention Center

We were in Houston for the festival

Joshua playing in the park

Spain

Mindy and I didn't take any photos of us together (nor Mindy alone) on our short trip to Madrid.

Madrid

Egyptian Temple

At a modern art exhibit

Toledo

Toledo is an ancient city set on a hill above the plains of Castilla-La Mancha in central Spain. The capital of the region, it’s known for the medieval Arab, Jewish and Christian monuments in its walled old city.

On our way up to the monastery

Santa Cruz del Valley de los Caidos, or the Valley of the Fallen, built by Franco for those who died in the Spanish Civil War, and as his final resting place.

Lewes and Cape May

Susan (to the left) and me waiting for our ferry from Lewes, Delaware to Cape May, New Jersey

Lewes, Delaware

The wharf

Cleaning fish

Aboard the ferry from Lewes to Cape May

Cape May, New Jersey

Reading and watching the lifeguards at the beach

Las Vegas, Nevada
College Board Advanced Placement Conference

My father and I took a trip to Las Vegas where my mom, who had died a little more than a year before our trip, and my dad used to love to go to gamble and eat. We are at Rosemary's Restaurant, out of the downtown area.

Dad likes to play poker; I liked getting free drinks.

The Venetian Hotel

We took a tour to the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon West after the conference.

The Hoover Dam

Grand Canyon West, Arizona

Portugal
"Sunny Portugal" with Collette Tours

Our Collette group of travelers on our "Sunny Portugal" trip with our tour director to the right.

Estoril

The tunnel to the beach

Lunch at a local restaurant -- mussels

Cascais

A view of the city from Estoril

Statue of D Pedro IV, former King of Portugal

At the beach

Sintra

Sintra is a charming Portuguese town situated within the cooling hills of the Serra de Sintra.

On the streets of Sintra

Mafra

Mafra Monastery

Obidos

Young children on an outing

The Rooster of Barcelos (Portuguese, "Galo de Barcelos") is one of the most common symbols of Portugal.

Nazare

A view of Nazare from the cliff of Nazare-Sitio

A street scene

Drying fish

Batalha

The monastery at Batalha

Fatima

Fatima, a pilgrimage site where an angel came to three children

Two of the children of Fatima, both died young of the plague.

Alvor

The village of Alvor in the Algarve region of Portugal

Iconic Portuguese fishing boats

Cape of St. Vincent

The southernmost point of Portugal

Sagres

The original compass at the Fortess at Sagres

Lagos

The caves of Lagos

Evora

Temple of Diana

Lisbon

A view of St. Jerome's Monastery in the rain from the bus

Prince Henry the Navigator on the Monument of Discoveries

Belem Tower

San Francisco, California
IB Heads of School Conference

My colleague and travel buddy, Linda Cable

On the Embarcado

A statue of Indira Gandhi at the Port of San Francisco

Sonoma

Cline Cellars Napa Valley

Artisan Winery Stomping the grapes at Viansa Winery

Miami, Florida
International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program Training

I take advantage of business travel by arriving a couple of days early or staying a day or two after.

A South Beach boutique

A sculpture on South Beach

Chicago, Illinois

Susan and me reflected in the Bean on my first ever visit to Chicago.

Chicago Water Tower

On the Chicago Architectural Boat Tour: that's the Tribune Tower in the background

Charleston, South Carolina
Spoleto Festival

Wendy (right) and I spent a few days in Charleston on my first trip to the city. We learned how a concierge can make a trip when he set up several wonderful experiences for us, including this boat ride to Morris Island, site of Revolutionary War battles and the filming of "Glory."

Welcoming the festival in front of Mother Emanuel AME Church

One of the performances we saw was a circus.

We took a Gullah tour that included a visit to the famous iron sculptor, Philip Simmons, whose work would eventually inform the National Museum of Africa-American History and Culture. He passed away about three years after our visit.

Charleston has a excellent restaurant scene, and we had reservations at some of the best, including S.N.O.B. for Southern Cuisine.

Fayette County, Pennsylvania 
A trip to Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob

Falling Water: the home of Edgar Kaufman and his family, designed in 1935 as a weekend retreat

We had a "backstage" tour with a wine tasting on the balcony, so we were able to see many parts of the house that are not on the usual tour.

Wright's Kentuck Knob: The entire house is built on a hexagonal grid.

The interior of the home opens to the outside.

"The Red Army"-- a sculpture in the garden of Kentuck Knob

The Northern Capitals:
Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Russia, and Finland
Globus Family of Brands

This was not our whole group, but my gang: from the left (back), Carol, Valarie, her daughter Kim, Colleen (tour director), Pat, and, sitting in front, Sharon, Pat's daughter

Copenhagen, Denmark

The most famous tourist spot in the city, the Little Mermaid. (The statue was much smaller than I envisioned.)

Statue of Hans Christian Anderson; his knee is rubbed clean by all the tourists trying to get pictures of themselves on his knee!

Nyhaven

Ferry from Denmark to Sweden

Elsinore, the setting for Shakespeare's "Hamlet," from the ferry

Stockholm, Sweden

Me and the ubiquitous Dala Horse in front of City Hall

A pedestrian street

Statue guarding City Hall, the symbol of Stockholm

Oslo, Norway

The Parliament Building

A view of Frogner or Vigeland Park

This is my favorite picture from my entire trip. This young girl was playing among the statues in the promenade and struck this pose!

Gothenburg, Sweden

This bronze statue of King Gustav II Adolf celebrates when he pointed towards the ground in 1621 and declared where Gothenburg should be built.

Courtyard on a stroll through Gothenburg, Sweden's second largest city

St. Petersburg, Russia

The Church of Spilled Blood

Chesma Church, also called the Birthday Cake Church

Summer Palace

The Winter Palace, now the Hermitage Museum

Notice the monkey between the two men in this wedding photo.

Peter the Great on horseback, probably one of the most famous sites in St. Petersburg

Overnight Boat from Russia to Finland

Turku, Finland

The medieval cathedral in Turku, Finland's oldest city and the original capital.

The market place

Lahti, Finland

Sports Center with special ski jumps for practice in the off season

Porvoo, Finland

Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from the 14th century

A walk through the shopping area

Helsinki, Finland

Dome of Tuomiokirkko

Young Finnish girl fishing in the canals

Bahamas
International Baccalaureate Americas Conference

Rachel and me on a break from the conference

It turns out that a resort in the Bahamas is not the best location for getting educators to attend sessions.

Birds taking over the lifeguard stand

A walk along the beach

TEXAS

My father and me on a ride through River Walk

Austin

The Texas State Capitol

Front gate to the Governor's Mansion decorated for Christmas

The William Sidney Porter House or O. Henry House is a historic structure in Downtown Austin, Texas. William Sidney Porter, better known as the author O. Henry, lived there between 1893 and 1895.

San Antonio

Our hotel was in walking distance to the Alamo, so we took a walk to see it at night.

Texas State Capitol

Little Church at la Vallita

Thailand
International Baccalaureate Organization Head of Schools Conference

This is the first and last time I rode an elephant. Since then I have been made aware of the inhumane ways the animals are treated and won't ride one again.

Bangkok

The conference opened at the United Nations where we learned how Thailand was dealing with overpopulation by distributing condoms. We each to a condom as a gift.

I used the Chao Phraya River boat for transportation when I was on my own.

The Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, the oldest and largest Buddhist temple in Bangkok

The Golden Mount or Wat Strakes Rajavatamahavihara

The Grand Palace

Damnoensduak

The Floating Market: the young boy to the right was on a boat selling souvenirs, including postcards

Ayutthaya

A powerful kingdom in mid-14th century Sian

Bang Pa-In

The Bang Pa-In Palace, or Summer Palace, along the Phraya Chaya River about 40 miles north of Bangkok

A floating house in the district

Canada
Carnival Cruise of Nova Scotia

My dad and Rachel about the "Fun Ship"

Kristin, Joshua, and me

Saint John, New Brunswick

Our first port stop: Saint John

Low tide

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Guards at the Citadel

On top of the Citadel: Citadel Hill is a hill that is a National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Four fortifications have been constructed on Citadel Hill since the city was founded by the English in 1749.

At Sea on the Carnival Triumph

Joshua going down the slide on our full day at sea

My father losing a game of Jeopardy

Spain

Me and Betty in the courtyard of the Dali Museum in Figueres

Barcelona

Las Ramblas

The iconic towers of the Basilica La Sagrada Familia, the still unfinished Catholic basilica designed by Gaudi

A water fountain in Parc Guell

Montserrat

Santa Maria de Montserrat is an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict located on the mountain of Montserrat in Monistrol de Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain.

We drove up the mountain in the clouds and left with the sun shining through the cliffs.

Figueres

The Dali Museum

A group of students visiting the museum, all sporting their Dali mustaches.

Italy
Student Tour

Our group of students with a street performer in Florence

Rome

The Colosseum

A walk along the Tiber River

Vatican City

The Pope's garden

Graffiti inside the Vatican

Angel Bridge connecting Vatican City to Rome

Siena

Piazza del Campo is the main public space of the historic center of Siena, Tuscany, Italy and is regarded as one of Europe's greatest medieval squares. It is famous for its semi-annual horse race around the circle.

The city is divided into districts, each one with its own flag and symbol.

Small fruit market outside of our hotel, a former convent

Florence

The duomo

Famous golden doors of landmark Baptistery of St. John, with panels depicting Biblical scenes.

The Fountain of Neptune in Florence, Italy, is situated in the Piazza della Signoria, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio.

Bologna

The leaning tower of Bologna -- The Towers of Bologna are a group of medieval structures in Bologna, Italy.

Venice

Upgraded gondolas

The Moorish District

The Rialto Vegetable Market

Milan

The Duomo

A cannoli break

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is Italy's oldest active shopping mall and a major landmark of Milan, Italy. Housed within a four-story double arcade in the center of town, the Galleria is named after Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of the Kingdom of Italy.

Vermont

Inside our bed and breakfast, the Phineas Swann

Me in a classroom in the one-room schoolhouse at the Shelburne Museum

Montgomery Center

One of the bridges of Montgomery Center

Wine tasting in Vermont

Shelburne

The steamboat Ticonderoga at the Shelburne Museum is a side-paddle-wheel passenger steamer.

The train station at the Shelburne Museum

An exhibit on Vermont camp life

Stowe

The Green Mountain State

Town variety store

Waterbury Village

Ben and Jerry's with free ice cream samples at the end of the tour

Montreal, Canada
International Baccalaureate Americas Conference

The old port of Montreal

A street performer at the Montreal Jazz Festival

Old Montreal

Habitat 67 from the Montreal Expo, designed by Moshe Safdi

Dublin, Ireland

Air LIngus inaugurated their direct flight from BWI to Dublin in late 2003, offering $99 flights. My camp friend, Fran, and I jumped at the opportunity and spent four days in Dublin at this lovely B&B.

The bronze statue of a fictional fishmonger named Molly Malone, the star of a well-known Irish song. "In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone, as she wheeled her wheel-barrow, through streets broad and narrow, crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"

The infamous Kilmainham Gaol housed men, women, and children. It opened in 1796 as the new county gaol for Dublin and finally shut its doors as such in 1924. During that period it witnessed some of the most heroic and tragic events in Ireland’s emergence as a modern nation.

We took an excursion to Glenalough, "the glen of two lakes," carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age. The monastic settlement, founded by St. Kevin, is a pilgrimage site.

Colorful doors that adorn many of the Dublin homes

New Mexico
International Baccalaureate Organization Training

Randi enjoying her drink at the Cowgirl Restaurant in Santa Fe

Montezuma

Randi enjoying the hot springs

The Castle at United World College, site of International Baccalaureate training.

Mora

We visited the Victory Alpaca Ranch where we had the chance to feed the alpacas. The baby to the right is only four hours old. It is trying to get its legs.

Taos

Taos Plaza

Mural on a Taos building

Villanueva

Our Lade of Guadalupe Church

The Villanueva Tapestries: colcha is a traditional folk art of wool thread on wool (sabanilla) cloth.

Santa Fe

The Cathedral of St. Francis

Day of the Dead skeleton in a market square

California
International Baccalaureate Americas Conference

My colleague, Wendy, and her husband, Nhan, were my travel buddies for the first half of our trip.

After the conference I met up with my good friends, Randy and Suki.

Monterey

A delicious breakfast on the beach

A bust of John Steinbeck

Monterey Aquarium

Carmel

Ghost Tree along the 17-mile drive

Bird Rock on the 17-mile drive

Sonoma

Old Sonoma Mission

Set up for our wine tasting at Coppolla Winery

Japan
Fulbright Memorial Scholarship Program

The "Matto" group

San Francisco

We started our FMF program in San Francisco and then flew together to Tokyo.

The requisite photo of our plane with all 200 of us aboard

Tokyo

The Tsukiji Fish Market which has since closed

Senso-ji Temple, a shrine to the Buddhist goddess of Mercy: our guide is demonstrating a blessing with water.

The Diet, the Japanese Parliament

A ride on the subway

Fulbright Memorial Fellowship Program

A lesson in Kyogen, a type of traditional Japanese theater

A demonstration of makeup and costuming in Kabuki Theater

Learning to play the Taiko drums

Calligraphy lesson

Kamakura

The Giant Buddha

This is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

A memorial garden for dead and aborted babies

Matto

The town logo: "Matto: The City of Flower and Poetry"

Our group dinner of sukiyaki: I liked the meat cooked in oil pots until we dipped it in raw eggs.

A visit to the Kirin Beer Factory

A local shrine

Elementary school students cleaning their school

Middle school students posing

Kanazawa

From 1583 to the end of the Edo Period, Kanazawa Castle was the seat of the powerful Maeda Clan, lords of Kaga, a feudal domain ranking second only to the Tokugawa possessions in terms of size and wealth.

The blessing over the new cars

A walk through a local garden

A traditional Japanese tea ceremony

Komatsu

We stayed in the Hoshi Ryokan which is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest hotel in the world. It dates back to 718.

Our room in the ryokan

My roommates: Standing from left are Esther, Christy, and Francine. Sitting are me and Amanda

A traditional Japanese breakfast at the Ryokan

China
with Macau and Hong Kong

Me in Tiananmen Square in Beijing and Rachel to the left at Lou Lim Ioc Gardens in Macau

Me, Rachel, and Leslie eating HotPot, a legacy from the Mongols in Xi'an

Beijing 

The Summer Palace

The Marble Boat, also known as the Boat of Purity and Ease, is a lakeside pavilion on the grounds of the Summer Palace. It was first erected in 1755 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor.

One of the wealthier homes in the Hutong

The Temple of Heaven

The Wild Goose Pagoda

Xi'an

The Terra Cotta Warriors

The Wild Goose Pagoda

Shanghai

Old Shanghai

A fishing boat in the Shanghai Museum

Hangzhou

West Lake: We took a boat ride on the lake with the air thick from heat and smog.

A local garden based on Feng Shui

Suzhou

A ride along the canals of Suzhou

Houses along the canal

The Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets

Hong Kong

We visited the city for dinner atop the Peak Tram.

Macau

The Guia Fortress is a 17th-century colonial military fort, chapel, and lighthouse complex.

Everything in Macau is written in three languages -- English, Chinese, and Portuguese.

Eastern Europe

The ambassador's office: James Pardew is behind his desk with Carolyn in his chair

Me sitting at Ambassador Pardew's desk

Kathy Pardew sitting in the residence living room

Spela, Carolyn, and Tamas in front of the restaurant in Slovakia where we had lunch

Sofia, Bulgaria

The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral. Built in Neo-Byzantine style, it serves as the cathedral church of the Patriarch of Bulgaria and it is believed to be one of the 50 largest Christian church building.

Saint Sofia

Icon paintings depicting the image of Christ, the Holy Trinity, the saints or any other religious theme, usually on a board of wood or other material, particularly worshiped in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Bulgarian icon has a history of over 1000 years.

Gueni Zaimof, Bulgarian poet, at our poetry reading at the embassy

Bulgarian poet, Lyobomir Levchev, in his home

Zkoprovshtitsa, Bulgaria

A horse-drawn cart in the restored village

A small street in the village

One of the beautifully preserved houses

Prague, Czech Republic

The Astronomical Clock

The Dancing House, or Fred and Ginger, is the nickname given to the Nationale-Nederlanden building, designed by the Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić in cooperation with Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry.

The Charles Bridge

The Spanish Synagogue, built in the Morrish style, is the newest of the synagogues in Jewish Prague, built in 1868.

Ljubljana, Slovenia

The Ljubljana River as it flows through the city

The dragon is the symbol of Ljubljana and has pride of place on the city coat of arms and on the Dragon Bridge.

Nova Gorica, Slovenia to Gorizia and Venice, Italy

After a visit with Spela's family in Nova Gorica, we crossed the border to Gorizia, Italy: the border is in her childhood backyard. We took a train to Venice.

Venice, Italy

The Peggy Guggenheim Museum

The Bridge of Sighs

 Bled, Slovenia 

Bled is one of the most beautiful cities I have visited.

We took a boat out to the island.

St. Mary's Church on Bled Island is also known as Church of our Dear Lady. It is said if you ring the bell in the church you will return. I rang the bell and hope to return some day.

Predjama, Slovenia

Predjama Castle, built into the mountain

A view of Predjama from inside the castle

Budapest, Hungary

The Statue of the Anonymous Poet

The Holocaust Memorial in the yard of the Dohaney Synagogue

Castle Church

Fisherman's Bastion

Esztergom, Hungary to Sturovo, Slovakia

We crossed the border from Hungary to Slovakia for a quick visit and a very inexpensive lunch. To the right is the Esztergom Cathedral across the border bridge.

Niagara Falls, Canada
International Baccalaureate Americas Conference

The view of the falls from my hotel room

The walk behind the falls where Marilyn Monroe escapes death in the film "Niagara"

The Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory

New Orleans, Louisiana

Elliot is front of our B&B

I spent most of the time in New Orleans inebriated.

St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square

Interior of a grave: since the water level gets high, bodies are buried above ground.

Jazz brunch at The Court of Three Sisters

London, England
First International Solo Trip after My Separation

Speaker's Corner

Hampton Court

The London Millennium Bridge Footbridge connecting the City of London to Bankside, the site of the Tate Modern

San Francisco, California

I visited my old high school friend, Randy, and how wife, Suki in San Francisco.

Muir Woods

Stanford University: one of the prettiest schools I have visited

New York, New York

Carolyn reading with Hans Christin Anderson

Me with the author in Central Park

The sculpture garden on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

About 8 months after 9/11 the signs and memorials were still displayed near what was then called Ground Zero.

Greece 
​with Ephesus, Turkey and Vienna, Austria
​Olympic Tours

Dancing in Olympia

One of the favorite photos: on the ship

My dining companions on the Olympic Countess

Athens

Ancient Agora or gathering place

The Theater of Dionysis

A view of the city from a restaurant atop one of the hills

Street scene

Corinth Canal 

We stopped for photos at the Corinth Canal; thirteen years later I would pass under this bridge on a boat.

Mycenae

Mycenae was a fortified late Bronze Age city located between two hills on the Argolid plain of the Peloponnese, Greece. Above is the Lions Gate.

Nafplio

It was so hot in Greece in August that we returned to the hotel for a swim before going back out when the air cooled.

Epidaurus

The archaeological park

The ancient theater

Olympia

The original track field: we all took a run!

Olympia is an ancient site on Greece's Peloponnese peninsula that hosted the original Olympic Games, founded in the 8th century B.C.

The extensive ruins include athletic training areas, a stadium and temples dedicated to the gods Hera and Zeus

Patra

Patra is a principal port for ferries to Italy and the Greek Islands. We took a ferry a part of the way to Delphi. Above is St. Andrew's Church.

Ferry Across the Gulf of Corinth
from Patra to Clovino

Delphi

Archeological site at Delphi

Archeological site at Delphi

The Temple of Apollo

A crepidoma stone with ancient inscriptions

The Olympic Countess

We left from the port of Piraeus for a tour of the Greek Islands and Ephesus.

I had a double room to myself, a bit outdated, but clean.

Mykonos

Church of Panagia Paraportiani

I had a lovely evening with a glass of wine and appetizer while I watched the sunset from the Caprice Sea Satin Market.

The iconic windmills

Kusadasi and Ephesus, Turkey

We arrived at the port of Kusadasi for a short walk around before heading to Ephesus.

A view of our ship in port

Entrance to the archeological site

Ruins of the ancient city

Patmos

Patmos is an Aegean island in the north of Greece’s Dodecanese island group. I had the most fun riding on the scooter with another guest driving!

Rhodes

The Palace of the Grand Master

Iconic seahorse fountain in the main square

The ramparts of the city

A view of the Suleymaniye Mosque

Crete

We drove through the wine-producing region of Crete after docking in Heraklion.

Eleven distinctive and diverse grape varieties play a large role in shaping the wines of Crete, Greece’s largest island

Wine country

Traditional dancing at a vineyard

Santorini

We took tenders from the boat to the port, where we had to take a donkey, a cable car, or walk to the top. I chose the cable car.

The colors of the rock were stunning.

This gentleman was not very happy that I took a photo of him and his donkey.

The Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral

Vienna, Austria

I only had around 24 hours in Vienna, but I made the most of it. Statue of Mozart near the Hofburg Palace

The dome of St. Charles Church Dinner in Vienna was a wonderful traditional schnitzel in this cafe.

Eastern Europe
Camp Counselors USA

Dinner in Budapest with former staff members. From the left, Spela from Slovenia and her girlfriend, Nadja; Tamas from Budapest, me and Joshua.

Our counselor from Russia who took a train for 500 miles with his girlfriend to meet Josh and me in Moscow.

Moscow, Russia

The Church of St. Barbara, right outside of Red Square

We were served Karavai, a bread served at special events. The bread depicts an ancient proverb ‘hleb-sol’,’ bread and salt.

Train from Moscow to St. Petersburg

Josh on the overnight train from Moscow to St. Petersburg

Hot tea in a glass and some delicious bread: perfect snack on the train. I wish I could find that journal, though!

St. Petersburg, Russia

Statue of Peter the Great at the Peter and Paul Fortress

Smolney Convent outside of St. Petersburg

Budapest, Hungary

The Parliament building on the Danube River

New Mexico
United World College
International Baccalaureate Training

United World College in Montezuma, New Mexico