Australia is not for the timid! An old joke for tourists warns that "Everything in Australia wants to kill you"; from a list of over 89,700 species with every single one of them including the plants and cute marsupials actively conspiring to end your life, to the extreme environment. In fact, a huge portion (around 70-80%) of the continent known as the Australian Outback is one of the most hostile and remote environments on Earth! Nonetheless, the continent is blessed with natural wonders and a fascinating (and unique to Australia) native wildlife. Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park opened in 1972 and began as a small collection of Australian native animals before growing into one of the country’s major wildlife parks.  One of the park's great attractions is seeing animals that are surprisingly difficult to encounter in the wild; because spotting a wombat in its natural habitat isn't exactly as easy as spotting a pigeon in Sydney! A note from the writer: this is a pre-p...

One cannot explore Madrid without examining its most famous residents, the Royal Family. One of Europe's remaining monarchies, Spain has had a monarch for over 500 years, dating back to the unification of Castile and Aragon in the 15th century. The Spanish Royal Family belongs to the House of Bourbon, a dynasty originally from France. Spain’s monarchy was actually abolished twice before eventually being restored in 1975 after the death of dictator Francisco Franco. King Juan Carlos I then played a major role in Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy. His son and current monarch, Felipe VI, became king in 2014 after he abdicated. The Royal Palace of Madrid is the largest functioning royal palace in Europe by floor area, with over 3,400 rooms. King Philip V ordered the palace built to rival the grandeur of Versailles in France. A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic tale.

On today's entry, let's explore different scenes from the early life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Al-Maghtas, meaning “baptism” in Arabic, is located on the eastern bank of the Jordan River, in modern-day Jordan. It is traditionally believed to be the exact location where John the Baptist baptized Jesus (John 1:28). A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic and pre-Iran war tale.

San Francisco is one of those iconic cities from my childhood, serving as a shining beacon of American progress and innovation. With such landmarks as the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, and Alcatraz, the city stood along its sisters: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc, as symbols of the great American dream.  In the past decade though, the city has been going through a rut. San Francisco has struggled with high office vacancy rates, extremely expensive property values (some would argue the world's most expensive), and a general feeling of decay, with visible homelessness, open-air drug use, and theft being commonplace. Time will tell what will happen to the city, but these photographs are of San Francisco during one of its more glorious and glamorous eras. San Francisco was founded in 1776 by Spanish colonists. The 1849 California gold rush exploded San Francisco’s population from a tiny settlement into one of America’s fastest-growing cities almost overnight! A note ...

Touchdown Australia! The country so vast, it's a continent of its own. Here are some shots of our trip there years ago. Sydney was founded in 1788 as a British penal colony, meaning many of its earliest European residents were convicts! It is Australia’s oldest and largest city , though not the capital (that’s actually Canberra). A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic tale. S ydney sits around one of the world’s largest natural harb ors:  Port Jackson; and has one of the world's most expensive real estate markets. When you have views like this, you understand why.

Madrid, one of the great capitals of Europe, sits near the very geographic center of the Iberian peninsula; a fact which helped it grow into a political hub despite lacking a major river or coastline. Originally a muslim fortress town called Mayrit founded in the 9th century by the muslim Umayyads, Madrid wasn't always Spain's capital. In fact, it only became the capital in 1561 when Philip II moved his royal court here from nearby Toledo. As a citizen of a country which was a former colony of Spain, it was my pleasure and honor to explore a city which had such a direct influence in our own history and culture. The Gran Via is Madrid's most famous shopping and entertainment street; often called the "Spanish Broadway" due to its theaters and musicals. A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic tale.

When people think of Palestine, they normally assume that this territory is primarily ruled and inhabited by our brothers and sisters who practice the Muslim faith. The truth however is that majority of Christians who live in the Holy Land do so from Palestinian territory.  In fact, Bethlehem, the place of birth of the Lord and Savior of Christians everywhere, falls entirely in the West Bank which is under the administrative control of the Palestinian Authority. Making Bethlehem a major site for Christian pilgrimage. A note from the writer: this is a pre-pandemic tale.