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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
Rockford, Illinois: Swede Town
How did a frontier village in Illinois grow to become an industrial and cultural center? It was due, in part, to a group of immigrants from Sweden who planned to settle in Chicago in 1852, were confronted with an plan-altering epidemic, and had the skills to fill a need after a devastating fire.
Read More
Ultimate farm to fork in the Great Outdoors: Outaouais in Québec, Canada
The Outaouais region is about a two hour drive from Montréal. This agricultural area in the southwestern part of the province is bordered by the Laurentian Mountains and Canada’s capital city, Ottawa.
Read More
Hip and historic Montréal
Montréal is the largest city in Québec, the second largest city in Canada, and the second largest French-speaking city in the world. How did we make the most of four days in the city?
Read More