Author: Ms. R.

Situated within the setting of Aberlady Bay Local Nature Reserve (the first site to be designated a Nature Reserve, in 1952) the beach in itself is well worth a visit. On a clear day, you’ll see panoramic views of the Firth of Forth, with Edinburgh Castle, Forth Bridges, and the Fife coastline all visible. Look out too for pods of dolphins, which can regularly be spotted swimming in the waters of the bay. As you enjoy the view and……

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Carolina Beach has always attracted wanderlust souls through a man known simply as the Fort Fisher Hermit. In 1955, Robert E. Harrill settled down into an old World War II bunker in the historic Fort Fisher Recreation Area. Casting aside the trappings of society, he spent his days fishing in the salt marshes and scavenging for supplies. Eventually, he became known as the Fort Fisher Hermit and one of the state’s most iconic figures.  Tourists would travel from all……

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In 1928, Monroeville, Alabama, was home to two children who eventually became American literary icons. Four-year-old Truman Streckfus Persons was sent there to live with his mother’s relatives following his parents’ divorce. Living next door was Nelle Harper Lee, a young girl who became the boy’s childhood friend. The boy grew up to be the author and playwright Truman Capote, best known for Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the true crime novel, In Cold Blood. The little girl eschewed her first name and……

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Hidden from view on a tract of land that was granted to Henry Gunnell and passed along to his son and daughter-in-law, is a house that was part of a working plantation in the mid-1700s. The house and 45 acres of land remained in the Gunnell family for approximately 200 years until it was sold to Richard and Carlotta Lahey in 1940. The Laheys converted a kitchen addition into an artist studio and relocated it across the front lawn……

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Torquato Tasso was a famous Italian poet from the 16th-century. His most-regarded piece was Gerusalemme Liberata (Jerusalem Delivered) and his legacy inspired artists such as Goethe, Leopardi, and Byron. In his final years, in which he suffered from a severe mental illness and poor health, Tasso’s ambition to be publicly recognized for his artistic talent by Pope Clement VIII was thwarted by his sudden death in the convent of Sant’Onofrio in April 1595. The same convent that now houses……

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Sunlight pours into a room with floral-patterned wallpaper, where a coterie of women sit around a large table. Dressed in collared blouses and plain skirts or saris, the women sew and read with immense focus, aware of the watchful presence of other women standing behind them. This moment, possibly staged, was captured in a photograph in 1904, in the borough of Hackney. It is one of the rare records of the Ayahs’ Home, a refuge in East London for……

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Initially part of a 600-acre parcel of land that preceded the founding of the city of Alexandria, this large house contains an interesting history. The building now sits on 18 acres of a largely wooded landscape that is crisscrossed by narrow jogging trails and a picnic area. Owners of this land have included William Darrell and his wife Ann Fowke Mason, Gerrard Alexander, Thomas Francis Mason, and the Angus Slater Lamond, whose family name is still associated with the……

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Cheonmachong means, “Heavenly Horse Tomb,” and was previously known as Tomb no. 155.  The tomb was constructed in the style of the Silla, and is believed to date from the 5th-century, but possibly as late as the 6th-century. The tomb was constructed for an unknown Silla king.  Excavated in 1973, a total of 11,500 artifacts were recovered from inside. Three artifacts were eventually listed as Korean National Treasures. The tomb got its name from a now-famous painting of a white horse……

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