Castles: they are a study in contrasts. There is nothing quite like the glimpse of a medieval castle on a sunny day to evoke thoughts of fairy tales, with damsels and dragons and chivalrous knights… But, once inside, it is easier to imagine the cold drafts, the lack of light, and the drudgery of those who work […]
Tag Archives: history Call it fate; call it co-incidence; call it what you will: my family has strong ties to Liverpool. My father moved his new bride from Europe to his Liverpool, UK, home after their marriage, and I was subsequently born there. I spent a few years there (which I mostly don’t remember!) until my parents and […]  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 […] |
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