Umbrellas on the beach: Cinque Terre

Weekly Photo Challenge: Lines in Cinque Terre

As we stood with our tour group in Cinque Terre to listen to our guide, we couldn’t help but notice other lines in the landscape.  From clotheslines holding towels on colorful balconies . . . to boats lined up and waiting at the base of the famous postcard-pretty hillside where small apartments and houses vie […]

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Prague's Astronomical Clock

Weekly Photo Challenge: Prolific in Prague

If you want to see lots of anything, just head for Prague where tourists and locals file past prolific bubble blowers waving giant wands of bubbles on busy street corners. Keep moving and you’ll see street vendors who make the most of their small display space by hanging their wares above you, dangling in the […]

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Aglow in morning light, a lone tethered boat stands ready.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sunrise at Acadia Dock

Coastal Maine offers glorious sunrises if you’re willing to wake up early, bundle yourself in layers, and stand on a dock for the morning show. And you’re never alone.  From birds gliding overhead to lobstermen checking traps before dawn, docks like Acadia in Castine put on a spectacle like no other. Dawn comes in layers.  […]

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With a rocky shore for a side yard, this house faces the elements on the island of Monhegan.

Out of this world: Monhegan Island, Maine

Much of Maine could be said to be out of this world — the raw beauty of its rocky coastline, old-style clapboard homes dotting the landscape, and the quiet that falls over the state after Columbus Day when residents hunker down for long, cold winters.  But nowhere was an other-worldly experience more pronounced for us […]

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Being cool at Dolly Parton's birthday party

WPC: Faces in the Dolly Parton birthday crowd

Most of America (well, the world, for that matter) knows Dolly Parton for her hit songs (“Jolene,” “9 to 5,” “I Will Always Love You”) and movies (Coat of Many Colors, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias).  And maybe you’ve even belted out a few Parton tunes just as we have, imitating this lively […]

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A quiet garden path dappled in morning light invites guests to climb and explore.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silence in a Garden

Although much of the U. S. (especially in the South) is blanketed with snow this week, many of us are dreaming of gardens lush and lovely.  Last spring, in Knoxville, one homeowner opened his garden during the Dogwood Arts Festival garden tour.  It was a chance for those of us who love flora and fauna to […]

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