Arts and Entertainment

The Catalonia region is known for the lively beach resorts of Costa Brava as well as the Pyrenees Mountains. Before my recent trip to Barcelona, the regional capital, people warned me about the protests. Catalonia would like independence, their language is slightly different, and they feel Madrid, the capital of Spain, is spending too much of Catalonia’s tax money on other parts of the country.

Basel is a city on the Rhine River in northwest Switzerland, close to the country’s borders with France and Germany. The Dreiländereck is a monument in Basel, Switzerland, that marks where the three countries meet. I loved Basel. It was so calm and quiet…no noisy motor bikes or other annoying vehicles.

The word gulyás, commonly written goulash, means “cowboy” in Hungarian. The dish originated with ninth century shepherds who stewed their meat until all liquid disappeared, dried it in the sun and whenever they wanted food, they took out a piece of the dried meat, added some water and reheated it.

Budapest, Hungary’s capital, is bisected by the River Danube. The views from the Danube are stunning, day and night. One of my credit cards is with the InterContinental group of hotels (think Holiday Inn) so I used some points to stay at the InterContinental where I had an incredible view of the Castle Hill and the Chain Bridge.

Mention Las Vegas and most people think of gambling. But, Vegas it an excellent hub for enjoying nature. Vegas may be located in a desert, but besides exploring the colorful rocky terrain there are lakes and rivers to explore. Most of the natural areas are part of a national or state park.