Flying from Manila, Philippines, while on an around-the-world trip, my wife, Barbara, and I arrived at the airport in Babeldaob, Palau, at about 3 a.m. in late February 2019.

We went straight to the adjacent island of Koror and to bed at the wonderful Palau Central Hotel (1724 Main St.; phone +680 488 4500, palaucentral.com), right in the laid-back downtown. We saw nothing of Palau or Koror until we woke later that day, when we were greeted by bright sunshine and green forest as far...

Having traveled each winter for 45 years, I had limited options for foreign travel in winter 2020-2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel within Mexico was possible, so I decided to visit the Yucatán Peninsula.

From Houston, Texas, on Dec. 30 I flew to Mérida, capital and largest city in the state of Yucatán. In the airport, security checked my temperature and sanitized my hands and luggage (spraying it) before I left the terminal.

I took a taxi to Hotel del Peregrino (Calle...

My husband, Bill, and I have been to Italy many times, visiting Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples and the island of Sicily, but in the summer of 2018 we ventured to new ground in northern Italy, and it was spectacular!

After visiting Switzerland, we flew into Milan, picked up a very expensive small car from SIXT rent a car (in US, phone 888/749-8227, www.sixt.com) — paying €350 (near $425) for 10 days — and drove to beautiful Lake Como.

We stayed at Hotel...