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3 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  2 minutes

Christmas Hanukkah decoration - Pariser Platz - Berlin - 2020 © Leonhard Lenz

Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah on Pariser Platz in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin © Leonhard Lenz

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North Beach in San Francisco

5 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, San Francisco Bay Area Reading Time:  7 minutes

© panoramio.com - Almondox/cc-by-3.0

© panoramio.com – Almondox/cc-by-3.0

North Beach is a neighborhood in the northeast of San Francisco adjacent to Chinatown, the Financial District, and Russian Hill. The neighborhood is San Francisco’s “Little Italy” and has historically been home to a large Italian American population, largely from Northern Italy. It still has many Italian restaurants, though many other ethnic groups currently live in the neighborhood. It was also the historic center of the beatnik subculture and has become one of San Francisco’s main nightlife districts as well as a residential neighborhood populated by a mix of young urban professionals, families, and Chinese immigrants. The American Planning Association (APA) has named North Beach as one of ten “Great Neighborhoods in America”.   read more…

Giudecca in the Venetian Lagoon

4 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Ekaterina Valinakova

© Ekaterina Valinakova

Giudecca (Venetian: Zueca) is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, in northern Italy. It is part of the sestiere of Dorsoduro and is a locality of the comune of Venice. Giudecca lies immediately south of the central islands of Venice, from which it is separated by the Giudecca Canal. San Giorgio Maggiore lies off its eastern tip.   read more…

Getreidegasse in Salzburg

3 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - Luca Nebuloni/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Luca Nebuloni/cc-by-2.0

Getreidegasse (Grain Lane) is a busy shopping street in the historic Altstadt (Old Town) of Salzburg, Austria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. It is known for the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at No. 9, where he lived until the age of 17. The narrow street is characterised by numerous high townhouses side by side with its wrought iron guild signs.   read more…

Portrait: Walt Disney, an American animator, film producer, and entrepreneur

2 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Portrait Reading Time:  8 minutes

Walt Disney with film roll and Mickey Mouse on his right arm, 1935 © Library of Congress

Walt Disney with film roll and Mickey Mouse on his right arm, 1935 © Library of Congress

Walter Elias Disney was an American animator, film producer, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, he holds the record for most Academy Awards earned and nominations by an individual. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress and have also been named as some of the greatest films ever by the American Film Institute.   read more…

The Norwegian Encore

1 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

Norwegian Encore at Meyer Werft © Ein Dahmer/cc-by-sa-4.0

Norwegian Encore at Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany © Ein Dahmer/cc-by-sa-4.0

Norwegian Encore is a Breakaway Plus-class cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). She is the fourth Breakaway Plus-class ship in the fleet, following sister ships Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Escape, and Norwegian Joy, and debuted in November 2019.   read more…

USS Arizona Memorial

1 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month Reading Time:  9 minutes

USS Arizona Memorial © Victor-ny/cc-by-sa-3.0

USS Arizona Memorial © Victor-ny/cc-by-sa-3.0

The USS Arizona Memorial, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and commemorates the events of that day. The attack on Pearl Harbor led to the United States’ involvement in World War II.   read more…

Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto

1 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  11 minutes

© Jaycangel/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Jaycangel/cc-by-sa-3.0

Kinkaku-ji (literally “Temple of the Golden Pavilion”), officially named Rokuon-ji (lit. Deer Garden Temple), is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the most popular buildings in Kyoto, attracting many visitors annually. It is designated as a National Special Historic Site, a National Special Landscape and is one of 17 locations making up the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which are World Heritage Sites. Kinkaku-ji was ranked the No. 85 Most Holy Place on Earth by religious leaders, writers and scholars in the Patheos multi-faith religion project Sacred Spaces: The 100 Most Holy Places on Earth.   read more…

Beaulieu-sur-Mer on the French Riviera

30 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Congress Centre 'La Rotonde' © GraceKelly/cc-by-sa-3.0

Congress Centre ‘La Rotonde’ © GraceKelly/cc-by-sa-3.0

Beaulieu-sur-Mer (Occitan: Bèuluec de Mar; Italian: Belluogo; lit. “Beautiful Place on the Sea”), commonly referred to simply as Beaulieu, is a seaside commune on the French Riviera between Nice and the Principality of Monaco. Located in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, it borders the communes of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Villefranche-sur-Mer, not far from Èze to the northeast. In 2018, Beaulieu-sur-Mer had a population of 3,731. Its inhabitants are called Berlugans (masculine) and Berluganes (feminine).   read more…

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