Poland was our favorite Baltic country. It is lively and modern and as it is part of the European Common Market it feels like it is growing; citizens are fully employed and college is free or low cost. WODSKI (Vodka) is the national drink and we had a dinner accompanied by a wodski tasting. Above Continue Reading »
You can see how stunned he is! This gorgeous candy display is rebuilt every Tuesday with all different candy and decorative theme…and is just one small niche in a German department store that dedicates 2 huge floors to food products. Approximately 5,000 square feet was dedicated to chocolate products alone…just in case you have a Continue Reading »
Copenhagen is the capital city of magical spires! – Can you guess which is the Dragon Spire? COPENHAGEN (7-DAY) This stretch was a definite personal highlight of the trip. Saadou was a lifelong friend of my first wife, Aspasia. After her bereavement in 2008, his email of condolences ignited our friendship leading to a 7-day Continue Reading »
My trip to Switzerland was a lovely spin to hang out with a family in Geneva, Martigny, and Valais followed by a week-long stay at a 4-star luxury hotel in a Left Bank neighborhood in Paris to celebrate my 63rd birthday. GENEVA & MARTIGNY, VALAIS (5-DAY) Hanging out together with a 3-generation Swiss family (Jenelle, Continue Reading »
Hiking View of Aguille du Grépon (12600ft) in Chamonix, France After marvelous Seville, wonderful Madrid, and the uplifting 200 mile Primitivo Santiago de Compestela hike, I was ready to finish off Spain with a stay in Barcelona followed by hopefully a mellow shoulder season in France: Montipellier, Grenoble, and Chamonix. BARCELONA (3-DAYS) In the midst Continue Reading »
Primitivo Camino is the oldest of all the pilgrim Caminos. It started in Oviedo, the capital city of Asturias in 813, when King Alfonso II was informed of the discovery of the tomb of Saint James. He made his way to the site at once, thus becoming the first person to complete a Camino (albeit not Continue Reading »
SEVILLE As a “Guire” (foreigner) in Andalusia, I first had to learn the right way to toast others in the bar. “Salud!” (to your health) is the same as in Mexico, except like Scandinavians saying “Skol!”, YOU MUST MAKE MEANINGFUL EYE CONTACT… or be cursed with 7 years of bad sex! At least that’s what Continue Reading »
A lifelong dream is coming true. Instead of years of business traveling in Europe, it is my intention to visit again, at a leisurely pace. PORTO It’s now a wet and windy Holy Week but it certainly has not dampened the throngs of tourists visiting this holiday; I was surprised and now have a clue Continue Reading »
“TOE OF SATAN” was one of the ghost chili pepper sauces in the “over 18 tasting room”, warning it would “melt your face off” due to 9 million Scoville units of heat. Given the cold outside and all the brew pubs nearby in the Texas Hill Country, many people were not shy about “getting their Continue Reading »
Winter is a wonderful time to explore the Southwest, thus the migratory birds linger, and the “Snowbirds” from Canada and the Northern US flock here in RVs and to seasonal second homes. We nestled in next to them on golf courses, in community hot springs, and in National Parks while we explored the Chihuahuan, Continue Reading »