Arrivederci Italia! Two weeks pass in a chaotic rush of sights, sounds, scents, and color, but at last we say goodbye to Limoncello spritzes, eggplant parmigiana, and panelle, a deep-fried chickpea flour fritter. As for you, sword fish, unidentified fish fillets, and sardines, I never knew you. I was warned that Sicily and southern Italy are known for the abundance of fresh seafood in their menus. I wrote no fish on the diet preference sent to me by Approach tours.

White Chapel, London, England. Pretend it's 1888. Jack the Ripper is hunting, using White Chapel as a personal killing ground. The...

Happy Krampusnacht, or lock the doors and hide your children. The bad ones anyway. Krampus is only interested in the naughty ones.

What's your pick? Paper or e-book? A quick informal reader survey gives me a surprising answer.

Today is Odd Socks Day. I like it. A day to celebrate the quirky habit of wearing mismatched socks. Does this mean people have given up...

Penzance Penzance, Cornwall First stop in my book of short romantic fiction based in England and Ireland. This one is a ghost story, one...

Our target is Penzance, the most westerly town in Cornwall. Our GPS tells us it's about 265 miles (426 km) away.

Right, I'm ready for adventure . . . A bit tired, kind of hungry, and maybe lacking the ability to concentrate.

I'm heading out on a three week long girl's trip. London, Cornwall, Wales, and Ireland are calling and I'm saying let's go!

Today is an exciting kind of day! It’s our 37th wedding anniversary, meaning it’s our alabaster year. I had to look that up. Alabaster is...