Have a grand time in Greater Phoenix
Arizona is a state of stunning contrasts—the Grand Canyon and high mesas of Navajo and Hopi Country in the north, forested mountains and lakes of the high country in the east, and aquatic playgrounds in the west. Native American ruins, frontier outposts, and mining ghost towns are scattered throughout the central part of the state.
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A guided vacation for independent travelers: Italy with Trafalgar
…recently we had the opportunity to take a Trafalgar tour–something they now call “guided vacations”– with a slower pace and more freedom of choice–and decided to give it a shot. The trip began and ended in Rome and most of the time was spent in Tuscany–places we found hard to resist.
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La Gaspésie: The Gaspé Peninsula
Visitors are drawn by the natural beauty and rural charm of the Canada’s Gaspé Peninsula, la Gaspésie, on the eastern tip of the province. It runs along the south side of the St. Lawrence River out to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is mountainous in the middle with most people living along the coast.
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Îles de la Madeleine: The Magdalen Islands
The heat wave at home made us even more appreciative of the gentle cooling breezes on the beach in the Magdalen Islands. We were told National Geographic named it one of the top beaches in the world, yet on this sunny 70-something degree day in June we had it all to ourselves.
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Le Massif: A Gastronomic Adventure in Charlevoix — Rails, Mountains, and the Shore
Since September, 2011, a unique train has been running along some of the finest scenery in Canada’s French-speaking province of Québec. From February through April the Train of Le Massif de Charlevoix runs from Québec’s Parc de la Chute-Montmorency to the ski slopes by Grande-Pointe Station. Between May and October, the train continues on to the resort vacation region of La Malbaie.
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Gotland: Pearl of the Baltic Sea
We spotted the towers of Visby’s medieval cathedral as we approached Sweden’s island of Gotland. We were there to see the Old Town, a medieval Viking and Hanseatic trading post with a ring wall, towers, and moat. It is so well preserved that it seems to have come to life from a fairy tale. Today, Visby is a modern municipality and cultural center, a fusion of the best of the old and new. You can shop for innovative local goods and modern Scandinavian designs in historic buildings along winding 13th century cobbled lanes.
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Berlin: a city of healing
Berlin is known as the City of Health for its many clinics and wellness centers. We explored this side of the city at the Aspria, a sleek and stylish hotel known for health and fitness. It’s on a residential street just off Ku’damm.
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Mobile’s Mardi Gras: First to let the good times roll!
Did you know that Mobile, Alabama is the birthplace of Mardi Gras in North America? New Orleans may be better known today for its celebrations, but Mobile has been letting the good times roll longer and prides itself on being the largest, family-friendly street party celebration in America.
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Sarasota “Circus City”, USA: Where Fine and Performing Arts are in the Center Ring
A century or so ago, nothing else compared to the sights and sounds of the grand parade when circus wagons came to town. Anticipation built for weeks, sparked by advance cars and a profusion of posters.
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Two days in Chiba, Japan
Chiba is one of Japan’s forty-seven prefectures (a district similar to a state) in the Kanto region, bordering Tokyo on the eastern coast of Japan. Naritasan Shinshoji, one of the most important Buddhist temples in Japan, is a fifteen minute downhill walk from the train station past little shops in 300 year old buildings along Omotesando (Front) Road.
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The Queen Mary 2: a transatlantic adventure fit for a king
The champagne sailaway from Hamburg aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 went off with a bang–fireworks, that is–as we slowly sailed along the Elbe. People lined the shore for miles, waving and cheering from sidewalks and plazas, cafés and restaurants, private homes and public buildings, monuments, hotels, and beaches–anywhere with space to gather.
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Revenge of the Ravens: The Story of Einsiedeln, Switzerland
When we were in the Lake Zurich region of Switzerland we used our Swiss Pass to take the train to Einsiedeln, in the Swiss canton of Schwyz. The Benedictine Monastery Einsiedeln is the largest abbey and oldest pilgrimage site in Switzerland. It is one of the most important pilgrimage sites for the Virgin Mary in Europe.
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Scuol, Switzerland
Scuol, between the the Silvretta range and the Swiss Dolomites, is a place where mineral waters flow from community fountains. Cobblestone squares are surrounded by historic houses decorated with sgraffito, a technique of scratching a design through the surface layer.
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Addergoole, Ireland: Titanic adventures in small town Ireland
Fourteen people now known as the Addergoole Fourteen traveled from this parish by horse-drawn trap and sidecar to Castlebar railway station. They boarded the 8:23 am steam train for a nine hour journey to Queenstown, in County Cork, to embark on a voyage aboard the largest, most luxurious ship the world had seen–the unsinkable RMS Titanic.
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Switzerland’s Lavaux: A votre sante!
In the 11th century, Benedictine and Cistercian monks began planting vines and building retaining walls on the steep sun-drenched hillsides of the Lavaux region on the north shore of Lake Geneva. Today’s nearly 2000 acres of terraces in French-speaking southwest is Switzerland’s major wine-producing region and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Barging in Alsace Lorraine aboard European Waterways’ Le Panache
We booked a barge trip that began and ended in Strasbourg, capital of the Alsace region of eastern France. This beautiful area between the Vosges Mountains and the Black Forest bears a strong German influence because its nationality and language switched back and forth depending on the outcome of a variety of wars.
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Rostock, Germany
Rostock’s historic Old Town has been meticulously restored, and what was once the Hanseatic League’s coastal defense area , Warnemunde, is now delightful seaside resort.
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Lübeck, Germany
“This is Lübeck–where you find surprising places.” our guide, Jan Kruijswijk, told us as we walked along a winding alley and peeked through one of Lübeck’s 90 or so little arches and passageways.
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Groundhog Day: When Punxsutawney Phil went to Woodstock
It’s official. Prognosticating rodent Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, setting off the prediction of six more weeks of winter.
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The Peaches of Rockford, Illinois
Rockford was home to a unique era in baseball history. Many of the best players in the men’s league were in the military during World War II and to keep up the interest in the sport, gum magnate Philip K. Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, decided to organize the first professional baseball teams for women.
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