The Earth’s Largest and Most Perfect: Visit Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater

This highly visited African attraction is the world’s largest inactive, unbroken and unfilled volcanic caldera. So what’s a caldera? A caldera is a large depression formed when a volcano erupts and collapses. During a volcanic eruption, magma present in the magma chamber underneath the volcano is expelled, often forcefully. National Geographic One of the Seven And more than that. The Ngorongoro Crater is listed as one of the seven natural wonders and is …

The Big Deal About TSA PreCheck and Global Entry

Have you seen the signs at airports for TSA PreCheck and wondered if the benefits outweigh the effort to qualify? And how about Global Entry? Is it worth the trouble and expense? In a word, Yes. If you plan to travel internationally, Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck so look at this first then decide which program best suits your travel needs. Here’s what they are, what they cost, how to …

The Alhambra, Granada’s Lush, Lavish and Last Great Palace

History calls it The Dark Ages. The earth is flat. Ships sailing across the ocean intent on returning with the fabled riches of India may perish in the void. Darkness has descended as a global cold front sweeps across Europe. In the ensuing misery of famine and disease, barbarians fan out across the continent intent on conquest. This is the world of Alhambra in 1238. In Granada, on the Iberian …

How to Enjoy Dining Solo: My Top Ten Tips

This post is for the solo female traveler wishing to enjoy a meal in a restaurant while traveling on her own. This post is not for the solo female traveler trolling for a male dining companion. I’m pretty sure there are apps to make that easier so better to rely on those. Here are my top ten tips on how to enjoy the solo dining experience while traveling: Dress conservatively. …

The Dead Sea: Masada, Magic Mud and Pickle Juice

The Dead Sea is a place of riveting natural beauty and murderous weather extremes. Ragged cliffs, arid canyons where dust storms flare and blur the landscape in a palette of opaque cobalt and shadow for hours. Leaving the visitor feeling coated in a layer of finely ground glass. It’s the Lowest. Place. On. Earth. A fact you can’t miss given the signage. It’s also the place humans have somehow inhabited …

Not to Miss: The Cliffs of Moher and The Aran Islands

The three Aran Islands lie across the waters of Galway Bay on Ireland’s west coast. Sometimes called “the Islands of Saints & Scholars” they are a hallmark of Celtic culture not only for their stunning geological formations but because of their linguistic and cultural heritage. I fell in love with the Islands on a recent trip to the Cliffs of Moher, another stop on my tour of the Republic of …