Sometimes it takes an outsider to bring a country together.

Coming up, author Serra Val explains how the Marquis, the Lafayette, helped to unify the United States

after a divisive presidential election in 1824.

Because he was a Frenchman and he came over as a teenager to volunteer with Washington's

Army, he kind of belonged to everybody.

He wasn't a northerner or a southerner.

When Hiram Bingen went looking for the lost city of the Incas back in

in 1911, he got more than he bargained for when he stumbled upon the royal site of Machu Picchu.

The thing that he did, though, that was so smart,

was he brought his camera with him.

And get tips for touring the distilleries

and tasting rooms of Scotland like a connoisseur. The fascination of the

whiskeys is that go from area to area, distillery to distillery, they all

have a different taste to them. American history with a French accent, the trail

to Machu Picchu and the national drink of Scotland. It's all just

ahead on Travel with Rick Steve's.

One of Public Radio's favorite historians joins us in just a bit today on Travel with

Rick Steeves. Sarah Val explains how there probably wouldn't have been a United

States without the help of the French. We'll get to know why the Marquis de Lafayette became an American hero,

as well as the namesake for many American towns, squares, and boulevards.

And friends from Scotland raise a glass with us with tips for touring the Scotch

whiskey tasting rooms across their country. That's a little later in the hour.

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