When traveling, we suggest you register all international trips with the U.S. State Department’s Smart Traveler Program. STEP's (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) online form allows the State Department to know where you are in the event of national security issues. Plus, they send out pre-travel alerts and updates regarding political and military problems or natural disasters in your destination country. This should be done [...]
Did you know... Saint Anthony Chapel in Pittsburgh's neighborhood of Troy Hill contains the most relics outside of the Vatican. This church dedicated to the "wonder worker," Saint Anthony of Padua, is home to a vast collection of 5,000 relics - religious items related to Christ and his saints.
On the Trail of the Holy Grail: Knights Templar and Cathars Château Montségur, a seemingly impregnable castle perched in the Pyrénées Mountains, became the final stronghold of the Cathars–a heretical religious sect against whom the Catholic Church launched a ferocious crusade in the mid-thirteenth century. The Cathars supposedly fled to this mountaintop château with their [...]
A Taste of Travel looks at the ways food connects us with a culture and each other. Sharing the recipes and restaurants we have encountered along the way... Filled pastry dough is a culinary tradition found in most cultures: think pierogies, dumplings, and empanadas. The English have a knack for filling puffed pastry with stew-like fillings, [...]
On the Trail of the Holy Grail: Pyrénées Mountains Holy Grail traditions and Mary Magdalene’s enigmatic legend persists from the southern French coast inland to the mountains. Rennes-le-Chateau, a sleepy village in the foothills of the Pyrénées Mountains, plays a central role in several Grail stories. In the 1890’s a poor parish priest named Father Bérenger [...]
Did you know... Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is nicknamed the "City of Bridges" for its 446 bridges within the city limits. It is officially the city with the most bridges in the world- outranking Venice by only three. The downtown "Golden Triangle" area alone has 29 bridges crossing over three rivers. The three bright yellow sister bridges spanning the Allegheny River [...]
On the Trail of the Holy Grail: Southern France Southern France is a hotbed of grail tales with a far flung cast of characters ranging from medieval jongleurs to Knights Templars to the biblical Mary Magdalene. Local Provençal legends persist that the grail, along with other treasures looted from the Holy Land during the crusades, are hidden in caves, castles, and cathedrals throughout [...]
A Taste of Travel looks at the ways food connects us with a culture and each other. Sharing the recipes and restaurants we have encountered along the way… Fazzoletti Herb Pasta Does your herb garden runneth over? Here is a sublime way to capture the end of summer on a plate. Fazzoletti, which in Italian loosely [...]
A Taste of Travel looks at the ways food connects us with a culture and each other. Sharing the recipes and restaurants we have encountered along the way... New England Clam Chowder Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook time: 35 minutes / 1 hour rest Yield: 6 full Servings Recipe: Shawnie Kelley’s adaptation from various recipes [...]
After hopping aboard a Visit Pittsburgh media tour several years ago, I learned of the William Penn Hotel's Hollywood connection–and have been fascinated with it ever since. The luxurious 1916 hotel has been the Grand Dame of Pittsburgh for 100 years. Having just celebrated its centennial, I decided to write a few articles over the next few months [...]
A Taste of Travel looks at the ways food connects us with a culture and each other. Sharing the recipes and restaurants we have encountered along the way... It has been a long time since I have visited Philadelphia. The last time (declining to say how long ago) was to give a paper at a conference at the [...]
Did you know... that Nantucket is home to the country's oldest continuously operating windmill? The Old Mill was built in 1746 on a hill just outside of downtown Nantucket. Its location helped it to survive several city-wide fires, including the devastating Great Fire of 1846. The "lever" was pulled by horses or cows to turn the [...]
