Commonly referred to in the singular, the city of Amsterdam is actually host to a trio of red light districts, plus an area where "street walking" is also tolerated.
The one that people are generally referring to when speaking of "The" red light district surrounds the landmark Oude Kerk (Old Church), roughly extending from Warmoesstraat to Kloveniersburg in an east-west boundary and Oude Kennissteeg to Oude Hoogstraat from north to south.
Over and over, Barcelona is hyped as THE cultural mecca of Spain. (Dare I say Western Europe?) The "must-see" city of Spain, center of culture, sophistication and all that is worth a lick in Iberia. Ya think so huh? Barcelona does distinguish itself for having the most American restaurants per square mile of any European city (Any Chilis-style chain, any fast food burger chain, any AMERICAN chain of freaking annoying restaurants that you find in your local mall). It also finishes right up there for attracting so many tourists that you stand a 50% chance of running into your cousins from Iowa.
San Gimignano has been often been referred to as the Manhattan of Tuscany. No, not because the taxi drivers don’t know their way around and can hardly speak a word of English, but because of the resemblance of their respective skylines due to the many soaring towers. Personally, on approaching the town, I was reminded more of Cumbernauld (without the grey concrete and the grey weather).
Actually, thinking about it, San Jimmy has more of a fairy-tale-like appearance with its tower-bedecked hilltop setting. Whatever, it’s an impressive vista and is visible for a good few miles distant.
If you are crazy enough to travel to Palermo (Sicily) during the summer months and share an Alitalia flight with dozens of restless Italian bambini, well, you will probably experience what I experienced a few weeks ago. Here it is…
Reaching Palermo
The second most useful phrase you’ll need to know when you go to Italy is Dove il gabinetto? - "Where is the bathroom?" Dove is not pronounced like "dove" in English - it’s more like "DOUGH-veh." (The most useful phrase, of course, is Un altro bottiglia de vino, per piacere. If you say that often enough, sooner or later, you’ll need the second most useful phrase…)
If you drive westward across Belgium from its German border, in less than 2 hours (even at normal speed) you reach the North Sea, and the end of this tiny country. Just 10 miles before you hit the coast, and only 40 minutes after Brussels, you will find the charming medieval town of Bruges, a popular tourist destination in the Western Flanders. I am often in Europe, but I know Belgium very little. Taking advantage of a business meeting near Antwerp, I decided to spend a long weekend (2 nights, three days) in the lovely town of Bruges (Brugge in Dutch).
When travelling to this small location just outside Split, road signs to Solin are the only source people have to get to Solona, the Roman ruin that lies just next to Solin.
When I planned out my recent trip to Europe, I knew I was going to Krakow. That meant that I would invariably find myself making a trip out to Auschwitz. This was something that I felt was important to do although I knew it would not be pleasant. It just seems important to remember the horrors that took place in Europe during those years.
I had already visited the concentration camp at Dachau so I had an idea of what was in store. My advance knowledge of Auschwitz suggested that this would be an even more powerful experience. It is larger and the museum exhibits are far more intense. This made me feel nervous as I left for the bus station early Saturday morning.
About an hours drive South from Madrid you can find a place to go back in time. It’s name is Toledo and it is a city that seems to have been untouched by time. Things stand still here yet at the same time , also move on.
When you first arrive at Toledo , you will notice the alleys that are so tiny in width that you wonder how anyone can fit their car through them. You can fit through them but just barely because Spain’s cars are much smaller than say , the average American automobile.
Much to my amazement, there is a kind of moat with water in front of the decorative, semi-circular government building in the Plaza de Espana. College aged kids were having a ball rowing to their hearts” content, having races with each other, or just trying their best to maneuver the craft. There are arched bridges over that water whose railings and spindles are made of ceramic material. They make for a pretty foreground to the curved building behind. The building has sections on the ground, along the curved foundation, showing old maps of each area of Spain, with ceramic tiles above, on the wall, depicting life in the corresponding area of Spain. The ground in the courtyard had geometric designs made with small black and white rocks. Taken all together, it made for an attractive setting. Waiting in front was a line of horse-drawn carriages for hire.
