South of downtown Orlando, Belle Isle is a residential city on the shore of the Conway Chain of Lakes. Linked by canals, these three lakes take up more than half of Belle Isle’s total area. Lake Conway here is one of the largest in Greater Orlando, and a hotspot for bass fishing. Even though there …
This city on the Meuse River is in an incredibly picturesque spot, squeezed between the water and the high valley walls. To the east is an insurmountable wall of limestone that has long made Dinant an attractive place for armies to gain a foothold on the Meuse. That cliff is still topped by a citadel, …
Although it’s part of the Tampa Bay Area, Dade City feels about as far away from city life and theme parks as you can get. Instead you’ll find a flourishing small town among rolling farmland, with a sociable downtown, and a massive tract of wilderness on its eastern flank. I can’t help but bring up …
On the Lake Worth Lagoon, this coastal town in Palm Beach County was founded in the 1920s by the ambitious developer, Harry Seymour Kelsey. He hired world-famous planners to lay out what would be the first zoned municipality south of Washington, D.C.. This was during the height of the Florida land boom, and Kelsey’s plans …
Set where the River Dender flows into the Scheldt, Dendermonde is a Medieval city loaded with important heritage. Making the headlines are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, one a Gothic belfry and the other a beguinage dating back to the 13th century. Another of Dendermonde’s great claims to fame is its folkloristic horse, Ros Beiaard, …
Lisbon city is a hidden gem on Europe’s west coast, that’s becoming less and less hidden by the day. The locals know it as the city of seven hills. However, the rest of the world is flagging it as one of Europe’s trendiest foodie cities. Needless to say, a tour to Lisbon is not complete …
This Walloon municipality in Belgian Luxembourg is on a ridge in the Ardennes at 500 metres above sea level. Bastogne is at a strategic putting it in the path of the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944-45. The Siege of Bastogne of December 1944 was a bloody engagement in a brutal couple …
This city in Belgian Limburg grew up around a Benedictine abbey founded by the devout 7th-century Frankish nobleman Saint Trudo. That abbey was a major pilgrimage site in Medieval times, making the city rich and becoming one of the most powerful monasteries in the low countries. Sint-Truiden Abbey was suppressed and mostly demolished at the …
About halfway between Jacksonville and Gainesville, Starke is the historic seat of Bradford County. This city dates back to the middle of the 19th century and is couched in bucolic rural landscapes, known for strawberry production. In fact, there’s an annual festival every spring to celebrate this fruit, and it’s my favorite time to be …
Covering Estero Island and a slice of the marvelous Estero Bay, Fort Myers Beach is a beautiful beach escape about 15 miles from the Fort Myers River District. There’s a good chance that my article will be little more than a snapshot of the immediate months following Hurricane Ian. In September 2022 this Category 4-plus …