Catalina Island: Island of Romance
Catalina Island is a place to relax, to find adventure, and a renowned island of romance. Just an hour by boat or fifteen minutes by helicopter or private plane from the Los Angeles area, this sunny island resort with crystal clear waters and cool ocean breezes might be a distance of twenty-six miles but it feels a million miles away.
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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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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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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.
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