Category Archives: History Irony: the future of the little city of Hội An has literally been saved by it’s own past demise. Hội An (會安) means “peaceful meeting place”. Once upon a time, particularly between the seventh and 10th centuries, this strategic port near the mouth of the Thu Bon River was part of the Chăm Pa Kingdom (192-1832). The Cham, who were seafarers and traders, controlled the spice […]  The Swiss city of Bern is indelibly associated with bears. The bear has featured on the city seal and coat of arms since at least the 1220s. Stories relating to the keeping of live bears in a Bärengraben (bear pit) in the centre of the city – in what is still called Bärenplatz (Bear Plaza) – date back to the 1440s (or 1513 – depending on your […]  Woods and water are the central features of Canada’s Sunshine Coast. This rugged, mountainous, landscape on the southern-mainland coast of British Columbia (BC) in Canada’s west is bounded by the Coast Mountains on one side and the Strait of Georgia on the other. Although it’s just a stone’s throw from Vancouver, no access roads have been built around the fjords or through the […]  Seen one castle, seen them all? Not quite! During our wet month in Ireland in 2012 (Ireland), we visited a lot of castles in various states of ruin, renovation, or disrepair. What surprised me most was how different they all actually are. Perhaps it was the brief respite from the rain, but my husband and […]  Tennessee is in the middle of “The South”; Middle Tennessee is – as you’d expect – in the middle of the state; and the area south of Nashville is – more or less – “the middle” of the middle. Middle Tennessee is known for its farms, beautiful horses, rolling green landscape, and bluegrass-country music. Although it is defined by the serpentine curves of the Tennessee River, it […] |
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