Tag Archives: history Xiamen, an island-city on China’s southeast coast, has been ranked as China’s second “most suitable city for living” … as well as China’s “most romantic leisure city”, making it a popular destination for domestic tourists. It is reasonably accessible to foreign tourists, as well. Some time ago, while my husband was busy with meetings in a nearby free-trade zone, I […]  Can you imagine living in a castle? A castle with roses climbing up the walls? A castle that looks like something out of a old fairy tale? In 1620, governance of the village of Birr in County Offaly, Ireland; old Birr Castle; and 1,277 acres (5.2 km2) of land were given to Sir Laurence Parsons. Sir Laurence, grandson of one of the five Parsons brothers […]  The breadth of human culture is amazing to me: as much as there are similarities in the human condition the world over, there are also such differences in how people express themselves. Sumatra is just one of the over-17,000 islands that make up the Indonesian archipelago; just one of the 922 permanently-populated islands. With its numerous ethnic […]  The cities of Europe – even those which are lesser known to those of us who spend little time there – are fascinating for their charm and their long and rich history. Regensburg, sitting at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen Rivers, has been the centre of trade, political battle, and religious turmoil since the Stone Age. Located […]  It’s no surprise that every Brit, regardless of age or gender, owns at least one pair of gumboots or wellingtons. You can’t get far in the English countryside without them. Winter in England has a reputation: grey and bleak and wet. While it is true that the whole time I’ve been here, it has been wet, at least […] |
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