Montgomery, Alabama: Courageous, Rebellious, and Visionary
We were deep in the heart of Dixie, in the land where cotton was king. IThis city was the Cradle of the Confederacy and Birthplace of both the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement.
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Dahlonega, Georgia: Thar’s Gold in Them Thar Hills!
Just an hour north of Atlanta, at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains is Dahlonega, Georgia, site of the first Gold Rush in the USA.
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Discovering Zürich, Switzerland — one morsel at a time
We wanted to discover the essence of Zürich and found it one morsel at a time.
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From Palm Trees to Glaciers: The Bernina Express
As with each of our visits to Switzerland, we designed our trip around one of Switzerland’s scenic train rides. This time we chose the Bernina Express, the highest mountain railway in the Alps. The train maneuvers up mountains without the use of tooth-wheel mechanism, crossing the Alps and traveling through a spectacular landscape ranging from glaciers to palm trees. In 2008, the line between Thusis and Tirano was designated a World Heritage Site.
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Where time is measured by the sun and tides: the northeast coast of Maine
We headed for Northern Maine and visited places with the ambience of a more relaxed era– when time was measured by the sun and tides. We visited tiny fishing villages, met artists in their galleries, dined on the freshest of seafood, went on a whale watch, cruised aboard a lobster boat and discovered more about Native American heritage.
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Stockholm, Sweden and the archipelago
Where the fresh waters of Lake Malaren meet the salt water of the Baltic Sea you’ll find the capital city of the Kingdom of Sweden– Stockholm. This political and cultural center of a country a bit larger than California is on 14 islands connected by 57 bridges. Its water is so pristine that you can swim or fish in it and, if you’re lucky, catch a salmon right outside the Royal Palace.
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The Eastern Townships: Just over the border, Canada’s Cantons-de-l’Est seem a world away
This area became a favorite summer vacation destination for wealthy American Southern aristocrats, industrialists, and large landowners who avoided New England after the Civil War. They built impressive homes, and the grandest was…
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Rockland, Maine: The Way Life Should Be
Captain Doug at the helm of the schooner Heritage, Rockland, Maine
The gentle sea breeze was a reminder of the state border sign that read “Welcome to Maine–The Way Life Should Be”. The farther we drove along the rugged coastline, the clearer this became.
Southern Indiana: The Spirit of America
West Baden Springs Hotel, with 246 luxury guest rooms and suites, was named for the renowned German springs. The six-story circular structure topped with the world’s largest free span dome has been called the Eighth Wonder of the World.
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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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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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