Rossio in Lisbon

31 March 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© flickr.com - xiquinhosilva/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – xiquinhosilva/cc-by-2.0

The King Pedro IV Square (Portuguese: Praça de D. Pedro IV), popularly known as Rossio, is a square in the Pombaline Downtown of Lisbon, Portugal. It has been one of its main squares since the Middle Ages. It has been the setting of popular revolts and celebrations, bullfights and executions, and is now a preferred meeting place of Lisbon natives and tourists alike. The square is named after Pedro IV, King of Portugal. The Column of Pedro IV is in the middle of the square.   read more…

Palo Alto in the San Francisco Bay Area

30 March 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, San Francisco Bay Area Reading Time:  4 minutes

Ramona Street Architectural District © Sanfranman59/cc-by-sa-3.0

Ramona Street Architectural District © Sanfranman59/cc-by-sa-3.0

Palo Alto (Spanish for ‘tall stick’) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.   read more…

French Toast

29 March 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Bon appétit Reading Time:  5 minutes

© unsplash.com - Carissa Gan

© unsplash.com – Carissa Gan

French toast is a dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, and poor knights (of Windsor).   read more…

Theme Week French Alps – Savoy Prealps

28 March 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

La Tournette, Lake Annecy and Saint-Jorioz from Annecy © flickr.com - Guilhem Vellut/cc-by-2.0

La Tournette, Lake Annecy and Saint-Jorioz from Annecy © flickr.com – Guilhem Vellut/cc-by-2.0

The Savoy Prealps (French: Préalpes de Savoie) are a mountain range in the north-western part of the Alps. They are located in Rhône-Alpes (south-eastern France) and, marginally, in Valais (western Switzerland). Savoy Prealps encompass northernmost area of the French Prealps.   read more…

Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey in the Île-de-France region

28 March 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Hotels, Paris / Île-de-France Reading Time:  8 minutes

© JC Allin/cc-by-sa-3.0

© JC Allin/cc-by-sa-3.0

Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey (French: Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay) is a former Cistercian monastery in northern France (Île-de-France), situated in Cernay-la-Ville, in the Diocese of Versailles, Yvelines. The abbey was abandoned during the French Revolution and fell into partial ruin. Most of the buildings, except for the church, were restored in the late 19th century by Charlotte de Rothschild, and the property is now a hotel.   read more…

Theme Week French Alps – Dauphiné Alps

27 March 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  3 minutes

Roche de la Muzelle © William M. Connolley/cc-by-sa-3.0

Roche de la Muzelle © William M. Connolley/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Dauphiné Alps (French: Alpes du Dauphiné) are a group of mountain ranges in Southeastern France, west of the main chain of the Alps. Mountain ranges within the Dauphiné Alps include the Massif des Écrins in Écrins National Park, Belledonne, Le Taillefer range and the mountains of Matheysine.   read more…

Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome

27 March 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  6 minutes

Salone del Poussin © Sailko/cc-by-3.0

Salone del Poussin © Sailko/cc-by-3.0

The Galleria Doria Pamphilj (often Doria Pamphilj Gallery or Doria Pamphili Gallery in English) is a large private art collection housed in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome, Italy, between Via del Corso and Via della Gatta. The principal entrance is on the Via del Corso. Until recently, the entrance to the gallery was from the Piazza del Collegio Romano. The palace façade on Via del Corso is adjacent to a church, Santa Maria in Via Lata. Like the palace, it is still privately owned by the princely Roman family Doria Pamphili. Tours of the state rooms often culminate in concerts of Baroque and Renaissance music, paying tribute to the setting and the masterpieces it contains.   read more…

Theme Week French Alps – Cottian Alps

26 March 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Fort de Variselle and Petit Mont Cenis, seen from the Rocciamelone © Pampuco/cc-by-sa-4.0

Fort de Variselle and Petit Mont Cenis, seen from the Rocciamelone © Pampuco/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Cottian Alps (French: Alpes Cottiennes; Italian: Alpi Cozie) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rail Tunnel between Modane and Susa are important transportation arteries between France (Lyon, Grenoble) and Italy (Turin).   read more…

University of Balamand in Lebanon

26 March 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Union for the Mediterranean, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Gemini

© Gemini

The University of Balamand (UOB) is a private university in northern El-Koura, Lebanon. The university is affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Church in Lebanon, but operates as a quasi-secular institution, welcoming faculty, students, and staff from all faiths and national or ethnic origins.   read more…

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