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 discovered the best chocolate in Switzerland at a little boutique shop in Lucerne.
The Swiss are known for their banking, for their watches, and for their chocolate. The well known Swiss Lindt chocolate brand produces globally recognized treats that grace grocery store shelves around the world and duty free shops in every airport that I pass through.
Cocoa may have come to Switzerland from the Americas, but it was, in part, Swiss engineering and know how that resulted in the sweet and creamy milk chocolate treats we enjoy today. Since the early part of the 19th century, Swiss ingenuity contributed one innovation after another to the chocolate making process.
Continue reading “Handmade and Artisanal – The Best Chocolate In Switzerland Comes From Lucerne”
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”
In this post I share the Norway shore excursions that I did during a cruise to Norway and the Arctic Circle. Use this information to plan your sightseeing stops on your next cruise to Norway.
I have always wanted to take a cruise along Norway’s coast, so when I saw a great last minute offer with no single supplement from Princess Cruises, I jumped at the opportunity. The cruise was at the end of August on the new Sky Princess, and you can read all about my experiences on the ship in my story Cruising Sky High – A Complete Sky Princess Review With Photos.
Continue reading “Norway Shore Excursions – How I Spent a Day in Norway’s Most Popular Cruise Ports”
In this sky Princess review I am sharing my personal cruise experience with lots of information about the ship, the itinerary and the excursions I did, including many photos for inspiration.
As I sit on my balcony, drink in hand, I am mesmerized by the scenery that slips by. On this day it’s not the typical frothy ocean blue. Today, the water is a calm, deep, sapphire shade, reflecting the surrounding emerald green slopes where waterfalls slip and slide for hundreds of feet and little, red roofed cottages look like something out of a fairy tale.
I am cruising through Norway’s longest fjord and I am wishing that this day will never end!
Continue reading “Cruising Sky High With Princess – A Complete Sky Princess Review With Photos”
On a visit to Oradour-sur-Glane near the city of Limoge in central France I learned about one of the most horrific civilian massacres in France during WWII.
I knew this would be a difficult story to write. But after my visit to Oradour-sur-Glane and learning about the horrific details of the WWII massacre of 642 innocent civilian men, women and children by the Nazi SS, I felt it was an important story to tell – a story that should be told again and again and again. Continue reading “Visit Oradour-sur-Glane – a Memorial that Should Never be Forgotten”
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”
I loved my trip to the Halkidiki region of Greece last summer. It was a great combination of historic sites and beautiful beaches. I wrote about it for the summer issue of Travel World International Magazine: Add Halkidiki to your Greece Travel Plans.
Continue reading “My Latest Article About Halkidiki, Greece is Now Live in the Summer TWI Issue”
Luxury barging in France on the Burgundy Canal with European Waterways has been one of my most memorable travel experiences. Discover why a France canal cruise should be at the top of your bucket list with this detailed review.
To have unique experiences is at the heart of why I travel. Recently I was privileged to have one of the most extraordinary luxury travel experiences that I have ever had. I was invited on a France canal cruise on the barge La Belle Epoque with European Waterways. For six days on my Burgundy, France Canal cruise, I had the ultimate slow travel cruising experience that included gourmet meals, amazing wines, impeccably attentive service and uniquely curated excursions.
Continue reading “My France Canal Cruise – Quiet Luxury in the French Countryside”
I discovered that a Paris to Chartres day trip was an easy escape to see the historic Chartres Cathedral with its beautiful stained glass windows. I also enjoyed discovering the quaint and not overtly touristy town of Chartres.
If you are not “churched” out after a visit to Paris, then take a Paris to Chartres day trip, to see one of the greatest Gothic churches still in existence, along with a quant French town that will not be overly touristy.
The Chartres Cathedral is considered the pinnacle of high Gothic architecture and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. As one of the best preserved Gothic churches, it is still adorned with most of the original sculptures and numerous beautifully detailed stained glass windows.
Continue reading “A Paris to Chartres Day Trip – Exploring One of France’s Greatest Cathedrals”
