Category Archives: Historical Sites

Cell Block Tango – San Francisco – [12/17/2013]

If you break the rules you go to prison. If you break the prison rules? You go to Alcatraz. It’s very rare that I fly out in the morning, usually they fly me out in the middle of the night … Continue reading

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The Soul Of History – Florence, Italy – [10/02/2013]

In every age mankind attempts to fabricate great works at once magnificent and impossible. In deserts sands from mountains of stone a pyramid, from flying buttresses alone a wall of light. A chapel ceiling screaming one man’s ecstasy[…] miracles them … Continue reading

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Peace on the Wings of an Eagle..

I didn’t realize how tired I was, or how dangerously close I was to burn out, until I was given the opportunity to take a dozen long steps back from the edge of the brink and look up at the … Continue reading

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The Tale of the 600 Steps – Jamestown, St Helena – [04/16/2013]

It breaks your heart going up, and your neck going down. This is what they say about St. Helena’s “Jacob’s Ladder”, an aged stone stairway hewed into the rock of the amphitheater that surrounds the colourful little chocolate-box town of … Continue reading

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Nature’s Catherdal – Puerto Princesa, Philippines – [03/07/2013]

Little drops of water, little grains of sand Make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land Thus the little minutes, humble though they be Make the mighty ages of eternity Every tour is a little bit different (well obviously since … Continue reading

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History at Arm’s Length – Pitcairn Islands – [01/24/2013]

After days and days of nothing but sparkling blue water on all sides, it was something of a surprise to look out my office window and see land thrusting up from the horizon. And not just any land. This is … Continue reading

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Melting – Semarang, Indonesia – [10/29/2012]

The flagship’s calls into Indonesia always have a different feel to them than any of the other ports we call into. The vast majority of the crew has family here, and for many of them this is the only time … Continue reading

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Golden Dragons and Grey Heavens – Xingang/Beijing – [10/12/2012]

The ride from the cruise ship terminal to central Beijing is almost three hours, and prior to that we all had to go through a somewhat disorganized feeling immigration process at 6:30 in the morning. This after the Murder Mystery … Continue reading

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Hot Ginger and Dynamite – Nagasaki – [10/09/2012]

I had not intended to take a tour in Nagasaki, in fact I hadn’t really ‘planned’ to do anything at all. I was thinking I would just wander around in town for a few hours, perhaps visit a museum – … Continue reading

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Of Weeping Marble – Athens – [04/09/2012]

It is raining atop the rock of the Acropolis, a light drizzle that slicks the marble steps and makes the ancient walls of the Parthenon shimmer. If you were able to get close enough to them, I’m sure the women … Continue reading

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