By Dr. Nancy Watson

Exploring the World

There’s something grounding about knowing the place I call home, its history, hidden corners, and the stories that shaped it. I love walking familiar streets and discovering how every path carries the feeling of connection and belonging that never fades.

Exploring the World

Recent Posts

Normandy Cliffs and American Cemetery

Normandy Cliffs and American Cemetery

There are few places more memorable to me than our visit to Normandy. No movie, photograph or history book could prepare us for the vastness of this coastline or the weight it still carries. It is impossible not to feel the immensity of what happened across these beaches on June 6, 1944.   We started at […]

November 2025
The Miracle of Santo Cristo dos Milagres

The Miracle of Santo Cristo dos Milagres

When we arrived in the Azores in May 2025, we had no idea we were stepping into one of the islands’ most sacred and remarkable celebrations. The streets of Ponta Delgada were closed to traffic, storefronts shuttered, and the city was blanketed in flowers.  What we thought was an ordinary weekend turned out to be […]

November 2025
Nafplio and Worry Beads

Nafplio and Worry Beads

While visiting Greece this year, we drove to Nafplio, a town that was built for wandering with its narrow cobblestone streets. This romantic seaport town in the Peloponnese, was part of Greece’s first modern capital. Among its charms, we discovered a shop filled with strands of komboloi or Greek worry beads. These beads are not […]

November 2025
A Few Unforgettable Days in Greece

A Few Unforgettable Days in Greece

The big travels, the ones that take days of planning, always feel like special journeys. Our few days in Greece was one of those trips of 2025, and it did not disappoint. I had long wanted to walk the ancient streets of Athens and stand before the Acropolis. To finally be there, surrounded by history, […]

October 2025
Greece: The Ancient Land with a Modern Fight for Freedom

Greece: The Ancient Land with a Modern Fight for Freedom

I grew up reading the Greek myths and stories of the gods to my children, but my knowledge of Greece didn’t travel much further than that. Of course, I knew that our own founding fathers studied Greek and Roman history to help shape American democracy but that’s where my understanding began and ended. What struck […]

October 2025
Steeped in Tradition: Finding Calm at the Gorreana Tea Plantation in the Azores

Steeped in Tradition: Finding Calm at the Gorreana Tea Plantation in the Azores

After a challenging month, we were looking for a place to go to rest and rejuvenate. A non-stop flight was essential. A place where we could decompress with no responsibilities. We chose the Azores. Not knowing more about these islands other than everyone we had ever met from there were genuine people  An easy flight, quick check […]

October 2025