I was selected by the Australian Embassy in Washington to be a “Distinguished Millennium Visitor to Australia.” I was scheduled for lecturing in Melbourne and Perth. Coming from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, I was wondering whether Perth (without the “Amboy”), Australia had any resemblance to my hometown? And I became glad I was going to see for myself.

I wasn’t treated the way I expected coming from a town in New Jersey; I was treated as if I came from Park Avenue. They flew me all the way to Australia on Qantas’s terrific business class. After I appeared as a guest on Australian TV’s “Good Morning Australia” I got a call telling me that my return trip would be business class – around the world! And I got to pick 5 cities I could stop at for free. London was one of the 5. After lecturing in and touring magnificent Perth, Australia, I knew my London side trip would have to be Perth, Scotland.

Someone squealed that I would be traveling to Perth, Scotland. When I arrived, the mayor of Perth was there to greet me. I got the royal treatment in Perth, Scotland – the key to the city – and a Perth paperweight which I still keep on my desk. The purpose of this column is to suggest how anyone can visit their hometown — in another country.

My hometown of “Perth Amboy” has a second name, “Amboy” — named after the Native American tribe that lived there “pre-Perth.” There are no other “Amboys” to visit except South Amboy, across the Raritan River from Perth Amboy. (When I travel to South Amboy in January and February, I tell people, “I’m going South for the winter.”) Being that I’ve lived in New York City since I attended Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, I felt compelled to stop off at another city with the same name, “York” to see what “Old York” looked like before there was a New York.

Due to my travel to cities with similar names, I visited a true wonder, (Old) York, which should be on everyone’s must-see list for the UK. Like Chester, (England), York is a walled city with ramparts you can actually walk on. The York Minster is one of the greatest cathedrals not just in the UK, but in Europe. York Minster’s façade — unlike the façade of another “minster” — Westminster Abbey — York Minster’s is totally Medieval Gothic including its two front towers. (Whereas Westminster Abbey’s two front towers were designed by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor in 1745.) And like France’s Chartres Cathedral, York Minster has stunningly preserved Gothic stained-glass windows that alone are worth a visit.

Nearby is Castle Howard, a magnificent work of architecture by one of my favorite architects, Sir John Vanbrugh, who was also the architect of Blenheim Palace – the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Sir John Vanbrugh holds a special place in history, the History of Architecture, and a special place in the heart of this Professor of Architecture and Comedy. Besides being a great architect, Vanbrugh, was also a great Restoration Comedy playwright. His play “The Provoked Wife” is still performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In keeping with 2025’s Visit Britain campaign, “Starring Great Britain,” nearby Castle Howard starred in countless movies and TV shows including one of my favorites, “Barry Lyndon.” (And, yes, I’ve visited “Linden” (New Jersey) – sadly too many times. ) Linden is a suburb of Newark, New Jersey (Newark Airport is one of NYC’s major airports), which was named after “Newark-on-Trent,” England. No, I didn’t get to visit England’s Newark on this trip.

The Pilgrims from Plymouth, England wasted no time visiting a city named after their town in England – Plymouth. Besides bringing bibles and black-and-white clothing with them, they wasted no time in bringing their hometown name! In fact, the part of the US where the Pilgrims landed “New England” was even named after their country of departure, England. I’m proud to say I attended Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture in New York City instead of Harvard in Cambridge. However, I’ve also visited Cambridge, England many times and extol King’s Chapel and always visit the great Fitzwilliam Museum.

Travel to the American-named cities in the UK is a two-way street – or rather a two-way ocean. For some reason Scotland has towns named after American towns, or even American states such as “California, Scotland” – which had a 19th-century gold rush the same time as our California. There’s also “Mount Florida, Scotland” and “Mount Vernon, Scotland.” I always thought that George Washington’s “Mount Vernon” was named after his best friend, “Vernon.” (Hey, remember Washington had no children.)

Of course, the thirteen original British colonies would have cities and towns named after the towns their British settlers left. But what about Birmingham, Alabama? While we’re on the subject of “Birmingham,” Birmingham, England is definitely worth a visit even if you’re not from Alabama. It has more canals than Venice!

So far, we’ve looked at US cities named after British cities. What about US cities named after cities from other countries? As Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman said in the movie Casablanca, “We’ll always have Paris,” they were right. Many states have their own “Paris”: Paris, Texas; Paris, Arkansas; Paris, Idaho; Paris, Michigan; Paris Maine; Paris, Illinois and Paris, Indiana; Paris,

And if you want to roam in Rome, you can also do it in Romes across the America: Rome, New York; Rome, Georgia; Rome, Pennsylvania; Rome. Wisconsin; Rome, Alabama; Rome, Iowa; Rome, Illinois and Rome, Indiana. What’s so disappointing is that there’s a “Vatican, Louisiana” without there even being a “Rome, Louisiana!” While I’m an “Architectural Historian” I’m not an “Architectural Geographer. ”

After writing this travel column. I’m going to create 2 new travel jobs just for me. I want to be the US representative for Atout France, the French Tourist Office arranging and conducting tours to Paris for people living in “Parises” across America. AND I want to do the same for ENIT – the Italian Tourist Office for cities named “Rome” across the country. And the create a very long trip for both Atout France and ENIT for people who live in states that have both Paris AND Rome — Illinois AND nearby Indiana.

Also, I’d like to create tours for Parisians and Romans who think they’ve seen it all – tours to America’s Parises and America’s Romes for Europeans who are tired and want to get away from their great museums, great architecture, great gardens, great boulevards, great city transportation, great food and experience someplace totally different — America.