The small, family-run inn Casa de Las Rosas in Cuenca, Ecuador did not come by its name lightly. This was the home of the Tapia family from 1952 until 2008, and today is run as a six-room boutique hotel by Rosa Tapia Peña, daughter of Luis and Rosa Tapia who built the home. With…
Puerto Rico offers the perfect Caribbean destination from the U.S. for many reasons. First is the ease of travel; even after new passport requirements for Canada and Mexico, as a U.S. Territory you are not required to have a passport to enter. Not only is this great for non-passport holders, it also makes travel easier…
There’s plenty of weekend family fun to be had at Elkhart Lake, with fantastic fall events lined up at this Midwest destination in the heart of Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine State Forest, that’s home to the Road America racetrack. Elkhart Lake is both breathtaking and easy to reach – only an hour’s drive from Milwaukee and…
by Shelley Seale If you think it’s tough sometimes being a woman in the Western world, with the sexism and obstacles that we still must overcome even today – try stepping outside the traditional norms in places like Africa or India. Society and culture there largely relegates females to strictly delineated “women’s work” such as…
by Shelley Seale Shortly after arriving in Philadelphia and settling into Penn’s View Hotel, I left the hotel for a stroll. I had no particular destination in mind, I just wanted to check out the area and see what was around. Almost immediately, just a couple of blocks away, I turned into quaint Elfreth’s Alley,…
by Shelley Seale Beijing is a city with more than 3,000 years of recorded history and a glorious cultural heritage; yet it is also a bustling metropolitan that has given birth to an artistic youth movement in recent years. Today’s Beijing is a place where ancient historical sights stand side-by-side with a thriving avant-garde culture…
by Shelley Seale The small island of St. Kitts in the West Indies may be one of the friendliest, least ostentatious spots in the Caribbean. It’s a small island – 23 miles long by 5 across and only 68 square miles – and its sister Nevis is even smaller at 36 square miles. With fewer…