Cape May, New Jersey: sun, sand, and sea and more at America’s original Seaside Resort
We were sitting in the parlor of the Queen Victoria Bed & Breakfast sipping the evening sherry when we heard the clippity-clack of a horse and carriage passing by. If not for the electricity illuminating the antique chandelier we might have been experiencing the Victorian Age.
Read More
Missouri: Gateway to the West
When the first bridge across the Missouri River was built here in 1869, Kansas City became a railroad hub and a stockyard city that grew into one of the world’s major cattle markets.
Read More
Oklahoma!
Rich in a Western heritage of tribal culture, pioneers, cowboys, oil barons, and outlaws, the Sooner State, Oklahoma, celebrated its first century of statehood in 2007. Its Capitol is the only one with an oil well on its grounds, dubbed Petunia for its location in the first Lady’s flower bed.
Read More
Ottawa: Oh, Canada!
It is British city with a French accent, centered on Parliament buildings replicating London’s Westminster and a turreted hotel in the style of a French chateau. An historic and now recreational waterway of pleasure boats is lined with pathways and winds through its heart.
Read More
Nova Scotia’s South Shore
Nova Scotia is a peninsula bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Fundy, connected to New Brunswick and the mainland by an isthmus less than 15 miles wide.
Read More
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.
Read More
Discovering Zürich, Switzerland — one morsel at a time
We wanted to discover the essence of Zürich and found it one morsel at a time.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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…
Read More
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.
Read More
Huntington Beach: Surf City USA
More than just a song lyric, the cool and casual California surf scene goes on, with the big waves, sandy beaches, and laid-back lifestyle of Huntington Beach –Surf City USA.
Read More
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
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
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
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
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