Travel Blog

The Truth About Eco-Travel

By Laurie McAndish King. Jim was hesitant right from the start. “Cape Tribulation? Wilderness Area? No way!” Our travel agent had provided a bright, glossy brochure of the Bunyip Lodge, and I cajoled my husband into going along to this eco-resort in northern Australia. “Eco-tourism” sounded so romantic …

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The Alhambra

No wonder Granada has been a magnet for artists for many years: Lush gardens, intricate pattern, birdsong, fragrance, breeze, running water from ever-present aqueducts and fountains, gentle ripples on reflecting pools … all combine to create an expansive, placid atmosphere. Even the exit signs are elegantly carved into white marble.

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Costa Rica Butterfly Farm

At the Butterfly Farm you can see all phases of a butterfly’s life, from egg to caterpillar to larva to butterfly. Watch them crawling, pupating, munching, sipping, chasing each other, mating, fluttering, drinking, fighting the wind, resting, and just hanging around.

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Speaking Australian: An Aussie Glossary

By Laurie McAndish King. What’s the biggest surprise Down Under? Yes, Australians speak English, and no, you will not understand everything they say. You won’t need a translator, but you will want at least a basic understanding of Aussie terminology for you visit. Here are some “bits and pieces” about Aussie lingo you’ll want to know before you go.

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Autodesk Gallery — Engineering Design made Fun and Green

“If nature didn’t make it, one of our customers almost certainly did,” says Autodesk Gallery Senior Manger Jason Medal-Katz. As I toured Autodesk’s fascinating mini-museum with him, I began to believe Medal-Katz was right. More than 20 exhibits—ranging from a Ford Shelby GT500 to an 8.5-foot dinosaur made from more than 62,000 LEGOs—represent the diverse […]

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King Tut’s Menagerie: Animal Gods in Ancient Egypt

The magnificent Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibit at San Francisco’s de Young Museum provides a glimpse into the beliefs of ancient Egyptians, whose religion permeated daily life. A fundamental principle was that of maat, variously defined as truth, justice, order, balance, morality, or the preordained way everything in the created world […]

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California Academy of Sciences: The Rainforest in my Back Yard

My favorite rainforest is less than four miles from downtown San Francsico. I’ve visited rainforests around the world—in Argentina and Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, in the mountains of Madagascar, and in Queensland, Australia. Each has its charms: rare plants, endangered animals, gorgeous butterflies. But they also come with swarms of hungry mosquitoes, hairy spiders the […]

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Australian Animals—Weird and Wonderful

If you love animals and want to see some unusual ones, Australia is the place to visit. One of only 12 “megadiverse” countries that together account for 75% of the world’s total biodiversity, Australia is home to more than 1,000,000 plant and animal species, many of which are found nowhere else on earth.

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Another Trinity: Exploring the Dark Side of Irish Cuisine

By Laurie McAndish King. I learned to bake brown soda bread from my Grandma Hayes. She stood nearly five feet tall, always straight and proud, had red hair and freckles that she hated, and strong, cool arms that I loved. I didn’t realize it at the time, but Grandma also taught me about transformation: creating rich sustenance from the simplest of ingredients.

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