Qianmen is one of the oldest pedestrian streets in the world. I took a nice long walk on it the last time I was in Beijing. It has a lively balance of the old and the new, with plenty of interesting shops to browse, businesses to patronize, historic landmarks, and quaint and fashionable places to eat. The newness is thanks to an upgrade that took place first in the 1960s and then again in preparation for the 2008 Olympics.
I can’t believe it’s been more than 20 years since I was in Oaxaca (wa-HAH-ka) and I’ve never been back. I was so enchanted by it that I nearly bought a small house in the center of the city to use as a…
Tallinn – Estonia’s capital – came to prominence in the 13th century as an important trading center for the merchant guilds and market towns in Germany and northern Europe. The city’s Old Town, a UNESCO World…
Brussels, Belgium In July of 2012, K and I spent a month in Europe on what we called our “B-Trip.” B because the tour consisted of stays in three cities: Brussels, Barcelona, and Berlin. We had been to…
K and I spent almost a week in Tallinn years ago, visiting a friend who worked for USAID. It was (still is) a beautiful, interesting, and culturally rich city. It offers the visitor well-preserved medieval…
This article on Zacatecas, a relatively remote Mexican city, has piqued my interest in visiting it one day. In addition to the usual for old Spanish Colonial cities – majestic buildings, handsome squares, and…
