I know I shouldn’t admit this, but I love ice cream. Not exactly your top health food, but at least it does contain calcium. I rarely eat it at home, and reward myself when I travel, with a scoop of the local specialties. In Italy, there is gelato; in France crème glacée – each with very different textures and flavors than American ice cream. I first tasted green tea ice cream at a street vendor’s cart in Shizuoka, Japan, and have since had it at pretty much any sushi restaurant…

I had flown to London to attend the Templeton Prize Ceremony honoring Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks – former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. In the Jewish faith, there is no Pope. Each congregation’s Rabbi is fairly independent. But among Conservative Hebrew congregations across Britain and its former colonies – the Commonwealth, the Chief Rabbi is about as close to a political faith leader that there is. I was invited to attend the ceremony because I…

The Chelsea garden themes were as varied as the riots of color and different plants displayed: historic gardens, commemorative gardens (for the Queen’s 90th birthday), squares of different plants of matching colors, and squares of similar plants of different colors – roses, orchids, tulips – it went on and on. Then there were wilder plantings, like woodland meadows. Some were unique – an old mill next to a stream with a bucket of colored wool spilling out, surrounded by plants for…

The Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show certainly lived up to the hype. The crowds made it pretty clear that it is one of the best-loved spring events in London, and the stunning and varied gardens across the immense grounds were a feast for the eyes and spirit. Laid out behind the vendors’ alley way in colorful squares outdoors, and inside the huge tent in the center of the grounds, were hundreds of gardens, each with a different theme. One of the most eye catching was…

On my way into town from Heathrow Airport, the taxi passed parades of ladies and gentlemen dressed as if in a British television series – men in frock coats, top hats, or suits, and ladies wearing hats. There were large pastel-colored fine straw hats and little ones trimmed with feathers and netting, perched on ladies’ heads at coquettish angles. As we approached my hotel in the St. James District of London, more and more elegant people appeared. They all seemed to be streaming in the…