The Cloisters, Washington Heights, New York City, Part 2

This continues our visit to the glorious Cloisters museum in Upper Manhattan. Read Part 1 here. The museum, owned and maintained by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is simply beautiful. The artifacts are breath-taking, but my favorite part was the building itself and the park surrounding the area. Fort Tryon Park is one of the [...]

The Cloisters, Washington Heights, New York City, Part 1

What can I say. It’s exquisite. It’s been a long-time goal to see this fabulous museum. As a student of medieval history and art, visiting this museum — one of North America’s most extensive collection of medieval art and manuscripts — was one of my big travel goals. The Cloisters is an extension of the [...]

A Visit to Fort Ticonderoga, Part 3

We spent the better part of a day at Fort Ticonderoga, taking in the magnificent sights of the Adirondack Mountains and Lake Champlain, absorbing the amazing and sometimes tragic history, and exploring the fort’s numerous labyrinthine pathways and alcoves. And this was all before we had even entered one building! Read Part 1 and Part [...]

A Visit to Fort Ticonderoga, Part 2

In A Visit to Fort Ticonderoga, Part 1, I discussed the amazing views of the fort and its very important role in the defense of pre-colonial settlements and American Revolutionary strategy. After soaking in the glorious sights and enjoying a musket drill, we entered the interior ring of the fort that once housed the soldiers, [...]

A Visit to Fort Ticonderoga, Part 1

Fort Ticonderoga, an historic site in New York near the Vermont border (Lake Champlain) has everything: breathtaking views of the Adirondack high peaks, walking paths through gardens and restored pre-colonial buildings, hands-on stuff and lots of climbing and exploring for the kids, and oodles and oodles of ancient history– well, as ancient as America can [...]

Lake George and Fort Ticonderoga, NY

Lake George in the autumn. What can I say? Sheer glory! We traveled up the beautiful and scenic Route 9, in the heart of the eastern Adirondacks Park. We finally found Fort Ticonderoga, too. And even though the Fort was closed, we snuck in for a little quiet exploration and photo op. What an adventure!

A Gift From Scotland

My husband came home yesterday, waving a package at us. I’ve been receiving quite the number of packages recently, including pinhole glasses . The kids and I jumped outside to him, to see the words “Royal Mail” printed on the envelope. My gift from Scotland has arrived! A few months ago, my dear friend Alison [...]

The Russian Orthodox Monastery in Jordanville, NY

Although we didn’t get to see the inside of the church (we girls were wearing pants, and were forbidden to enter), we enjoyed the beatiful architecture and visited the monastery’s cemetery. This is a stunning and elegant landmark in the middle of nowhere.

Fort Ontario in Oswego, NY

We just love visiting forts. There is so much to see and to learn, and we love early American history. Fort Ontario was full of surprises, though. And full of breathtaking views of New York’s Great Lake. WOW.