Suzhou: paradise on earth?
Suzhou China, paradise on earth? Read our previous posting at “French Concession Shanghai” Marco Polo, the Venetian merchant who visited China around 1275 AD, wrote that if there is paradise on earth, it is in Suzhou and Hangzhou. I know Hangzhou well from my previous trips to China, and today we will be going to…
Best of Prague: Piano Nobile at historic Villa Richter!
The epitome of old world elegance and fine dining, the Piano Nobile restaurant in Prague is on the top floor of the classicist-inspired Villa Richter, located on the hillside just below Prague Castle. Offering one of the city’s most splendid panoramic views from a beautifully decorated villa dating from 1836, Piano Nobile lies amidst the…
Ghana : land of the Gates of No Return!
Ghana COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD No 69: Ghana, land of the well preserved and restored Cape Coast Castle, one of the “gates of no return” of the infamous Atlantic slave trade. The Republic of Ghana is a presidential constitutional democracy, located in West Africa along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The…
The Royal Kumari or Living Goddess of Kathmandu
Kumari. The Royal Kumari or Living Goddess of Kathmandu. Read our previous posting: “Climbing Mount Everest the hard way!” Across from the Narayanhiti Royal Palace of Durbar Square in downtown Kathmandu stands a smaller but well decorated house called Kumari Ghar, the House of the Kumari. It would be easy to simply walk by and…