Life is a patchwork of experiences
My annual review in words and photos from an incredible year of travel.
Wow! I have been so very fortunate to have had the most incredibly memorable year for travel! And what a difference 12 months can make!
It’s taken me a while to write this up as it was a very, very busy year, but I am continuing my annual end of the year post tradition by reflecting on where I’ve been in 2022 – and sharing some of my reflection photos in the process.
I visited Norway on a cruise which was a very easy way to discover the beauty of this highly scenic country. I am sharing my best Norway photos to inspire you to plan your own trip to Norway.
As I cruised through peaceful fjords surrounded by mountain peaks, and visited colorful towns and villages in Norway, I could clearly see the inspiration for a fairy tale movie. As a photographer, I found the scenery to be point-and-shoot beautiful and it didn’t take much artistic license to take Norway photos worthy of a high end magazine spread.
Continue reading “Beautiful Storybook Norway Photos to Inspire Your Next Trip”
A week long Loire Valley barge cruise with European Waterways was a truly relaxing and slow paced journey with intimate service, gourmet food and wine, and visits to out of the ordinary sights in the French countryside.
Before there were planes, trains and automobiles, France developed a vast network of canals that were used to transport goods from one part of the country to another. These canals connected to the major rivers and also to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The canal network made it easy to move all manner of goods from one part of the country to the other, and in particular, allowed Parisians to easily taste the delicacies from all corners of their realm.
Today, the canals and their many locks are used primarily for recreation. European Waterways expertly manages a fleet of 12 luxury barges that ply the many canals of France on a variety of itineraries. I had already experienced a wonderful cruise along the Burgundy Canal on the La Belle Epoque and was quite familiar with this unique way of touring France’s less visited countryside.
Continue reading “An Intimate European Waterways Loire Valley Barge Cruise on the Renaissance”
A traditional Costa Rica cooking class showed me that I could still make local connections in a meaningful way on a cruise ship excursion.
I love cruising, but I am very picky about my cruise excursions. Typical ship excursion involve big busses and large tour groups that take passengers to the most popular sights. This may let you check off one more item on the “bucket list” but does nothing to provide a true connective experience to the local culture or the environment.
However, on my recent Princess Cruise through the Panama Canal, a ship excursion in Costa Rica billed as one of their “Local Connections” program had me intrigued. The tour promised to take us to the Macaw ecolodge high in the rainforest where we would take part in a cooking experience using locally grown ingredients. This sounded quite appealing and would not be something I could easily do on my own, so I signed up and hoped for unique glimpse into Costa Rican culture.
A full transit Panama Canal cruise was on my travel wish list for a long time. I finally had the chance to experience it and was not disappointed.
There are some places on this planet that are easiest to experience from the deck of a ship – the Panama Canal is one of those sights. This “Engineering Marvel” was built to aid in the faster transport of goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, thus bypassing the long and hazardous journey around South America and Cape Horn.
But transiting through the Panama Canal has also become a very popular cruise ship destination. I recently took a 16 day full transit Panama Canal cruise from Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco on the Ruby Princess and going through the canal was the highlight of my cruise.
Continue reading “A Full Transit Panama Canal Cruise – Passing Through an Engineering Marvel”
Besides seeing an engineering marvel, my Panama canal cruise excursions also took me to other other unique and interesting sights at each port stop.
There are some place in this world that can best be seen from the deck of a ship. The Panama Canal is one such a place.
Continue reading “I Loved these Panama Canal Cruise Excursions”
I had only one day in Cartagena, Columbia on my Panama Canal cruise and I made the most of it by exploring the city’s UNESCO listed sights on my own.
This story was recognized by the North American Travel Journalists Association with a Silver award in the Photography – Cover or Feature Photo/Illustration category in the 2022 annual media travel awards competition .The first stop on my Ruby Princess full transit Panama Canal cruise was Cartagena, Columbia. This was my first visit to Columbia, and I would only have six hours in port so I was going to make the most of it. My focus for my one day in Cartagena was on the UNESCO listed Old Town and the nearby Fort Castillo de San Filipe de Barajas.
Continue reading “One Day in Cartagena, Columbia – A Colorful, Independent Cruise Excursion”
I discovered some of the most beautiful islands in Greece on a recent cruise. I am sharing my experiences and photos to inspire your next Greek island adventure.
My luxury Mediterranean sailing cruise took me to some of the most beautiful islands in Greece. Our itinerary combined the classic Greek islands of Mykonos and Santorini with some of the less touristy islands like Syros, Kos, Patmos and Milos.
Continue reading “Cruising In Style to the Most Beautiful Islands in Greece”
Experience the best sailing holiday in Greece with the beautiful Running On Waves tall ship.
This story was recognized by the North American Travel Journalists Association with a Silver award in the Cruise category in the 2021 annual media travel awards competition .There wasn’t just one star, but rather, a pantheon of constellations blanketing the sky as the last rays of the setting sun disappeared over the horizon. To the east, a slim crescent moon was slowly rising out of the sea with the same grace as the goddess of love in Botticelli’s painting. A slight breeze and the gentle back and forth rocking informed me that our ship was under way. My dream Greece sailing tour had started.
Continue reading “Release Your Inner Jackie O On A Luxury Sailing Holiday in Greece”
There are many options for excursions on an Alaska cruise. It was easy to do a Skagway excursion on my own and go off the beaten path with a self drive trip on the Klondike Highway to explore the road to Carcross Yukon and back again. I am sharing my Skagway travel experience including tips on how to get the most of an independent day in Skagway.
A cruise through southeast Alaska is a convenient way to stop and discover the coastal towns that are not always easy to get to by other means. My recent Alaska cruise offered many Skagway excursions to discover this historic port. Tempting as they were though, this time I chose to take my own road less traveled to Carcross, Yukon in Canada on the very scenic Klondike Highway.
