Un Château Magique – The Director’s Cut…

Mazette! Le Chateau is a B&B just outside of Niort's city center. It would be the most magical lodging of this trip thus far...

France and the New World – The Director’s Cut…

Today I visit a New World Museum in an Old World mansion, where I learn more about France's involvement with the Americas.

Medieval Maritime – The Director’s Cut…

The Three Sisters are on my map today, just as soon as I check out a black ship in the harbor...

Oo-la-La-Rochelle – The Director’s Cut…

Half timbered buildings, a Saturday market, and a 13th century arcade. What's not to love about La Rochelle!

An Unexpected Castle – The Director’s Cut…

So here I am, justa' walkin' down the street, saying "Hey - whose castle is this?"

Morocco 2017: Skoura and the Kasbah Amridil – The Director’s Cut

We head to Skoura, where we would visit a 17th century citadel, and I would fall in love ... with a loom!

Morocco 2017: A Tile Factory, a Library and a Souk in Fez – The Director’s Cut

Fez is the second oldest city in the world after Jerusalem. It lays claim to the first psychiatric and surgical hospitals, the oldest university and library (coincidentally, founded by a woman) and the world's 3rd largest mosque.

Morocco 2017: Rabat – The Director’s Cut

We arrive in Rabat, founded in the 10th century, now the second largest metropolis in Morocco. We drive along the crenelated wall of the Kasbah of the Oudaias and walk through the medina to our riad.

Across Andalucia: The Albayzin – The Director’s Cut

I find the Great Mosque but cannot enter. There's a fountain in the courtyard and a great view of the Alhambra in the distance. The view must be spectacular at night.

Across Andalucia: The Alhambra Fortress – The Director’s Cut

"...The lower part of the walls is encrusted with beautiful Moorish tiles… the upper part is faced with fine stucco-work...artfully joined, so as to have the appearance of having been laboriously sculpted by hand…”