Lens-Artists Challenge #282: Dramatic For this week’s Lens-Artists challenge, Patti poses the question: what makes a photo dramatic? I thought that one place in the US defines dramatic for me: Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The caverns are dramatic in size, … Read More

— To define unique here would be redundant or unnecessary. There are definitions in dictionaries, but for the most part, a lot of people have their personal definitions of uniqueness. For some people, unique means something one of a kind … Read More

— Some trips seem to linger on in your mind all your life. Although we have been to many different places, including a number of national parks, national historic sites, national monuments, UNESCO World Heritage sites, and several cities, the … Read More

— Florence‘s cathedral, also known as the Duomo, is one of the most important and iconic buildings in Italy. It is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, and its dome is one of the largest in the world. The cathedral is … Read More

— If you ask someone what spirituality means, you will likely get as many different answers as the number of people you ask that question. For some, it refers to a sense of connection to something bigger than oneself. That … Read More

— Braga is the largest city in the northern Portuguese region of Minho. Although not a heavily visited destination in Portugal, the city is known as the oldest Portuguese city. One of the many attractions the city has is Igreja … Read More

— Part of our southwest vacation in 2010 included Aztec Ruins NM and Chaco Culture NHP. The first and foremost thing to learn about this national monument is that its name, Aztec, is a misnomer. A nineteenth century erroneous belief, according to … Read More

— We arrived early at the São Bento (Saint Benedict) train station to catch a train from Porto to the Algarve region in southern Portugal. Since we had ample time we walked around the station. We couldn’t help but notice … Read More

— In 2020 Mission San José celebrates 300 years. As one of four missions in the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park, this UNESCO World Heritage Site preserves and celebrates the Spanish heritage in Texas and the USA. The missions … Read More

— A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Olinda is located just minutes from Recife, Pernambuco, in northeast Brazil. Founded in 1535, and a symbol of the sugar cane wealth in Brazil, the city contains several Baroque churches and monuments and is … Read More

— When we traveled to Italy in 2012, one of the destinations we knew we wanted to visit was Pompeii. Its historical importance was simply a must for us. So, we traveled to Naples one morning and proceeded to Pompeii … Read More

— One of the things we had decided in advance we’d do while staying in Porto (Portugal) was to take a cruise down the Douro River. We thought it would be a relaxing day. We were right about that, and … Read More