Hello All,
I am so glad to find this website and all of its resources and thought I'd take the time to introduce myself and weasel my way into the community - lol. My husband and I consider ourselves avid travelers, in the past time and money constricted what we could do - now it is just money. We retired last year, I was a teacher, he worked for the utility company. Our travel was restricted to spring breaks and summer vacations - now we can take advantage of offers anytime of the year and are
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| From NMT Images |
How Not To Travel Like An "Ugly American"
It's part of travel's enduring mythology: The American tourist, unable to manage even a few sentences in any language other than English, and oblivious to the culture and traditions of other countries.
The unflattering image of the "Ugly American" is a bit unfair, perhaps, but the "USA Number 1!" attitude persists among many American travelers.
So Dean Foster, self-styled master of global etiquette and cross-cultural trainer to the world,
At an art gallery in Eden Prairie, Minnesota about 1995, there was a painting that caught my eye, that would lead me to a magical place in Norway many years later. Passionate about the cruise industry, I have been on over 300 cruises around the world and have even worked on the ships as a Cruise Director and Entertainer. Today, as a Cruise Industry Journalist, I set out to find creative and fascinating cruises and itineraries that will be of interest to the listeners of my talk show and viewers
They're friendly, cute and crazy about children. They're a family of resident dolphins that live in the Sado estuary called "bottlenose", a very common specie of dolphins. We all love to see dolphins and for
many people the only way to do this is by visiting an aquarium. In
Troia you have the opportunity of seeing them in the wild.
Each dolphin has been identified and has a name.
Visit our blog and know more about them: Portugal
Peter Kainz/MAK
by Marita Acosta
As people get back to travelling, and summer approaches, many cities especially in Europe start blooming in more ways than one, easing into their estival splendour. Austria's capital is an excellent example - especially this summer, as the Wienerer again delight in social life and the outdoors after weeks of pandemic lockdowns and post-lockdown restrictions. With that in mind, here are some of the great spots and stuff to enjoy in Vienna if you plan to visit thi
Located in southeastern France's Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region - about an hour 15 minutes east of the closest air gateway, Geneva and a six-hour drive from Paris- this charming village of a bit over 1,200 permanent residents also happens to be one of Europe's top mountain-biking meccas. Les Gets boasts some 650 kilometers of marked tracks and 25 ski lifts also open all summer long to easily get from one place to another. Les Gets has also repeatedly hosted the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup (below)
When we booked the "Algarve jeep safari," they promised a tour to the interior to show there was more to Portugal's southernmost region than beaches, bars and golf courses. We passed through remote villages; stopped off at a couple of out-of-the-way places for a coffee break and lunch; visited a distillery; and finally stopped in a cork oak grove, where Tomás our guide gave an interesting presentation.
At home, I usually drink wine in a screwtop bottle. I know there’s a bit of controversy ab
unmillondeelefantes
It’s that time of year again. In Spain, practically every day is the “feast day” of at least one Catholic saint. But the most famous of all is today, the Feast of Santiago (St. James the Greater), a disciple of Jesus Christ whose relics after his martyrdom tradition says were transported to Galicia (today, northwest Spain). Entombed and forgotten, they were rediscovered in the early 9th century and a cathedral was built around them, around which grew the city of Santiago de
nedomacki
by Felice Hardy
In the delicious blend of old and new that are Central Europe and Eastern Europe, many amazing destinations once locked away behind the "Iron Curtain" of the 1940s through 1980s have of course become favourites of international travelers - particularly the likes of Prague and Budapest. But others have definitely remained a bit more under the proverbial radar both in terms of tourism and general world presence, and the Czech Republic's immediate neighbour to the south
Switzerland's second largest city, and capital of Romandy, the French-speaking region that makes up a quarter of the country, is a handsome, elegant, and affair with a gorgeous lake- and riverside setting, cosmopolitan cultural and dining scene, and majestic views of the soaring French Alps (more or less three hours away, if you love skiing or snowboarding) and just an hour from another wonderful Francophone Swiss city, Lausanne.
Geneva has plenty of great places to visit, including the co
Denmark's capital is a dream, and it’s worth every krone you’ll spend to visit. However, it's also notoriously pricey. So I’d like to share several tips on how you can cut your costs to get the most out of "wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen."
Not all attractions in here cost an arm and a leg - and some won’t even cost you anything at all! These include picturesque Nyhavn, the court of Amalienborg Palace (museum not included), the Little Mermaid statue, the Star Fort
Istanbul is a city of many fascinating and fun things to see and do. With its captivating ancient culture, delicious cuisine, and distinct neighborhoods, you can never experience a dull day in Istanbul. Here are the top things to do in Istanbul.
Hagia Sophia
Perhaps the most famous mosque in Istanbul (and the world, for that matter), it was built in 537 BCE during the Byzantine Empire as a Greek Orthodox church (and the world's largest building). When Turkey became Islamicized
Ireland's fourth largest city (pop. 80,000), located roughly midway along the country's Atlantic coast - and a nearly straight shot of a bit over two hours west of Dublin - boasts a history stretching back nearly a thousand years. But today it's best known for its lively, often boho social, cultural, and music scene (turbo-charged by its youthful university population, a good 20 percent of all Galwegians, as locals are known), as well as its many festivals and events - some 1
fantasmesdebarcelona.blogspot.com
by Inka Piegsa-Quischotte
Dank chill, drizzle, and streetlamps shrouded in fog are bad weather? A bad time for touring? Depends! In fact, they were just perfect for a nocturnal outing I had in Barcelona last winter that was hair raising – in a good way. And what better day than Halloween to tell you about it?
Like most ancient cities, Catalonia’s capital is chock-full full of history, legends – and ghosts. And if that kind of thing gets your ecoplasm going, th
In 1919, in the immediate wake of the devastation wrought by World War I, an architect named Walter Gropius, one of the pioneering maestros of modern architecture, founded an art school that combined fine arts with crafts and eventually architecture, with a minimalist approach to design that combined all of it with contemporary technology under the maxim "form follows function". Starting in eastern Germany - first in Dessau, then in Weimar, and finally a third school
INTERPIXELS
by José Alejandro Adamuz
On one of the quirkiest islands (well, archipelago) in the Mediterranean Sea, you'll find a fascinating society that's one of Europe's most densely populated, essentially founded during the mediaeval Crusades by a quasi-military Catholic religious order, the Knights of Malta; and where locals drive on the left and are basically bilingual in English and the native language - Europe's only Semitic tongue, largely a hybrid of Arabic and Sicilian.
Furthermore, thi
