Maiko (apprentice Geisha) Arriving at my ryokan in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto, a commotion of tourists near the hotel entrance erupted as maiko (apprentice geisha) stopped in front of a silvery-leafed tree to pose for a photographer. Given my location near Gion, famed for the ochaya, or...

Is there anything worse than waiting to travel? When you know you’ve got a trip coming up, but you’re still saving money. Or, even worse, if you want to travel, need to travel, but yet have no idea when you can spare the time or money to actually hit the road again. It’s at times like these...

Big Ben is one of London’s best-known landmarks, and looks most spectacular at night when the clock faces are illuminated. You even know when parliament is in session, because a light shines above the clock face. The four dials of the clock are 23 feet square, the minute hand is 14 feet long and...

In the Florida Keys Earth Day is the year’s biggest draw at famous Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada. The Queen Conch Restoration Project on Long Key is the current hands-on project, and local high school students conduct a “Coral Reef Classroom” on Cheeca Rocks. Nowadays the way to go after...

How often do you spend outdoors? Researchers sought to reply that question for many of Americans by tracking the visits to National parks which included hiking and camping. What they found was that we spend 25% less of our time external doing these natural recreation activities than Americans did in...