
One of my favorite words to learn in any language is butterfly - or papillon, flutur, smetterling, farfalla, mariposa.....the onomatopoeic list goes on. The names are as pretty as the butterflies are, so I was intrigued when I heard that one of the greenhouses at the Botanical Gardens in Montreal becomes home for thousands of butterflies during the early spring.
Read the rest of: "The Butterflies Are Back!"»
The Museum of Arts and Design in New York is located directly across the
street from the Museum of Modern Art, and lives completely in its
shadow. You know it's a bad sign when the gift shop is more crowded than
the museum. I should have known better, but went blithely ahead into the
(3 count 'em 3) galleries. Red light number two was when the guard
responded, upon questioning, that it might take 30 minutes tops to see
everything.
Read the rest of: "Museum of Arts & Design: Beyond + Why?"»

Overlooking Gosier, Point-a-Pitre, and the marina of
Bas-du-Fort, with Marie Galante, les Saintes, and
Basse-Terre visible in the distance, the Fort Fleur
d'Épée has not only great views but was also a
strategically placed vantage point.
Read the rest of: "Fort Fleur d'Épée"»

Trying to find some trace of pre-European civilization
we stumbled upon the Parc archeologiques des Roches
Gravées (Archeological Park of carved stones).
Read the rest of: "Parc Archeologique des Roches Gravées"»
Were it not for the feral chickens roaming through the
resort, you might imagine yourself to be in southwest
Florida at the IFA Ocean Village in Punta Cana.
Bespeedoed Germans, Spanish spoken all around (but you
don't have to speak any), swimming pools, and
beautiful white sand beaches complete this illusion.
Read the rest of: "Punta Cana Dance Party"»
I spotted this grandma when I was in a traffic jam on the outskirts of Tirana, the capital city of Albania.
The picture doesn't show it clearly, but the woman is talking on her cell phone and gesturing - all the while walking calmly between 4 lanes of cars and trucks on a dusty highway. To me, this portrait shows a lot about how Albanians, isolated for half a century and now reintroduced to the rest of the world, merge the old with the new. Creative problem solving is a way of life. Hey, if walking down the middle of the highway gets you where you want to be......then go for it!
Pointe des Chateaux is the easternmost tip of
Guadeloupe, where the placid Caribbean meets the
antagonistic Atlantic ocean and the two engage in a
dramatic conversation. Or is it an argument? It's hard to tell.
Read the rest of: "Point des Chateaux"»

So this is the unforgettable Bavaro beach. It's
beautiful and pristine, as you can see. Employees even
pick up loose seaweed daily, so as not to defile your
experience of white sand and clear water.
There are designated swimming areas, and the Caribbean changes
color depending on the time of day and amount of
sunlight and wind.
Read the rest of: "Vamos a la Playa! (Bavaro Beach, Punta Cana)"»
Ree