by Lois Edwards, Greensboro, NC

Sicily. It’s not for sissies. It had long been a destination I looked forward to visiting, primarily due to its historical sites. On a trip at the end of May ’05, it did not disappoint.

My husband, Steve, and I planned a 10-day fly/drive that would hit most of the “must sees” of the island. While it was not necessarily an easy trip and we had a few disappointments, we found that the effort expended was well rewarded.

Arrival

While...

by Jan Oravetz, Ft. Myers, FL

During summer 2004, my wife, Eva, and I visited Slovakia, the land where we both were born many years ago. It is a small country (19,000 square miles) in the heart of Europe, and I think it is fair to say that the average American knows little about it.

Many confuse it with Slovenia, which is also a small new country in Europe; however, that one is situated more southwesterly, between the south Alps and the Adriatic Sea. Slovakia is landlocked east...

by Jay Brunhouse, Contributing Editor

The pet monkey named Joyng bit through her leash and romped through the fronds of the palm trees, celebrating her freedom. She paused occasionally to heave a coconut down at the sweat-soaked baseball cap of her frantic owner, who was chasing wildly after her and, in the Terengganu dialect which Joyng knew, beseeching her to come down.

Such is life in tropical Malaysia’s resorts — better known to Europeans (especially Germans) than Americans...