Category: Adventuring

Shirley MacLaine’s Camino Adventure

Where will a walk on the way of Saint James take your mind, body, and soul?

A Journey of the Actor’s Mind, Body, and Spirit in One Volume Actress Shirley MacLaine—of Downton Abbey, Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias, and Postcards from the Edge fame—also has a bit of a New Age-bent. She takes quite an interesting…

There Really Is a House of the Seven Gables

Author Nathaniel Hawthorne's cousin owned a house in Salem, Mass. that once had seven gables.

Surprises at the Salem, Mass. Building that Hawthorne Made Famous It has been a long time since I have read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables, but I am still excited to learn that he based his book on…

Destinations Worth a Second Look

Looking out at the world from Machu Picchu, Peru Photo credit: M. Ciavardini

Deciding on Places to Visit in the Coming Year ’Tis the season for reflection. Here are some destinations worth considering in the coming year—along with some different ways to contemplate them. United States: Where We Should All Be on July…

Bashfully Appreciated Places, 2016

Pisa beyond the Leaning Tower Photo credit: M. Ciavardini

What readers liked to visit over the last year Should it be any surprise that the bashful adventurers visiting these pages have eclectic taste? Their reading habits show their interest—in learning, in history, in practical matters. The most popular posts…

Slacking the Saint James

When the going gets tough, the tough get going . . . after a cappuccino or two, anyway.

Doing the Camino de Santiago Your Way The little nagging fear about embarking on a pilgrimage is, at least in my case, that everyone else on the trail will be a whole lot more religious than I am. So it…

Postcard Memories

Remember your travels with postcards. Photo credit: L. Tripoli

Keep in Touch and Remember Your Trips with Postcards I picked up my postcard-sending habit from a friend who taught me the importance of staying in touch with lots of people in your life, those from the past as well…

The Things We Do to Coffee Beans

A Visit to a Costa Rican Coffee Farm With limited time for leisure activities on a business trip to Costa Rica, I skip the beach and head, for part of my day, to a coffee farm. Why? Because I like…

Should You Just Stay Home?

When world events seem so alarming, should you just stay home? Photo credit: M. Ciavardini

What to Do When Feeling Threatened by World Events On days when the news seems to be reporting that the world is crumbling, that our own personal peacefulness could possibly be at risk, when certain acts of violence, random or…