Ready for Another Journey?

How about four months touring Poland, Romania, Croatia, and Greece and the final eight weeks in Turkey and Jordan. The trip will be topped off on a cruise with ports in Israel and Egypt. It should be an all-new beautiful and cultural adventure! First though, remember Jill and Gary whom we met in Panama? We’re …

The 38th Parallel

The invisible line that divides South Korea from North Korea is called the 38th Parallel.    At the end of WWII, Korea was finally liberated from Japanese occupation.  Because the victors could not agree on a single government, the country was divided with a line.  The northern half of Korea established a communist government and an …

Hiroshima

A visit to Japan is not complete without spending time in Hiroshima.   The number one site there for us and most visitors is the Atomic Bomb Dome on the 31-acre grounds of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. With waking paths, lawns, and trees, its most characteristic feature is the stark and sobering A-Bomb Dome, the …

Historic Kyoto

Kyoto is said to be the most well-preserved city in Japan with numerous temples, shrines, and gardens.  Once the capital of Japan, it is the cultural and historical site in the country.  “With over 1,200 years of history, Kyoto is home to beautiful natural scenery interwoven with historical buildings and traditional architecture. At the same …

Last Moments in Tokyo

In our mode of travel, our destinations and their timing are not predicated by local spectacles and events, though sometimes I wish we would make them so.  For example, in our France visit last year, we missed the Tour de France by just weeks, in Spain we missed the Running of the Bulls by a …

Thoroughly Awesome Tokyo

I gasped with my first aerial glance of the city from Tokyo’s Skytree viewing platform.  Before that sight, just getting around the city hinted to us how outrageously huge and densely populated this city is, but to look out over the city and see nothing but miles and miles of buildings that fill the space …

Hawaii!

Mountains, lava fields, the beautiful South Pacific, volcanoes, black sand beaches, history, royalty, green sea turtles, pineapples, coffee, macadamia nuts, the friendliest people in the US, feral chickens and goats, and more – that’s Hawaii! The Hawaiian Islands have to be among the most beautiful tropical islands in the world.   Compared to the island of …

Cruising

An 18-day stay on a cruise ship may seem like an interminably long time to be confined even on one of the mega-ships now available, but honestly, the time sails by.  It seems as if we just boarded this ship, the Celebrity Eclipse, and already it is done.  Why?  The experience is like having an …

Sydney – One of the World’s Greatest Cities!

I’d like to say that Sydney has not changed a bit, but it has.   All the wonderful things we visited ten years ago are just as polished and grand as they were then but this city has been busy!  It is even better, more vibrant, and more welcoming.  It’s greener than it was ten years, …