We enjoyed our first Alaska cruise so much we decided to take a second, again out of Vancouver. On this cruise Maureen and I were joined by her sister Gloria and our oldest son David. The Port Vancouver was again our home port for the cruise for a number of reasons, the main two being,…
One of the most visited homes in the United States is located in Memphis. Tennessee – Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley. It rivals the White House and Hearst Castle in terms of annual visitors. It was opened to the public in 1982 and declared a National Historical Landmark in 2006. Graceland averages…
What can you say about a city the thrived economically in 13th and 14th centuries and looks today as if it is frozen in time from that period of its history. That is Bruges! A short one hour train ride from Brussels, its winding canals, cobblestone streets, and towering Gothic spires look like something…
Bologna, Italy – “A True Food Paradise” When we planned our visit to Cinque Terre, we chose to travel by train, not renting a car. Bologna was the closest major city we could easily fly into. By default, we planned our flight back home from Bologna. I never thought of Bologna as someplace I would…
When the name Leavenworth is mentioned in conversation, most people think of Leavenworth Kansas, not Leavenworth Washington. There is a stark difference between the two. How did we ever discover Leavenworth Washington? Our son David gets all the credit for that. While visiting David in Tacoma, he said let’s take a drive on Sunday to…
The Drive – Steilacoom, Washington to Victoria, British Columbia Maureen and I visited our son, David, in Steilacoom, Washington (suburb of Tacoma) and as part of trip we planned a drive to Victoria, British Columbia. Our drive took us from Steilacoom to Port Angeles, Washington and then a ferry ride across the Strait of Juan…
While living in Kazakhstan, I had the pleasure of belonging to SMACK, Single Malt Appreciation Club of Kazakhstan. SMACK was a group of American, British, Scottish and Australian expats who enjoyed single malt Scotch whisky. Single malts only, no blends except for the occasional dram of Johnnie Walker Blue. Are a shot and a…
One Day Trip to Pisa, Italy While returning from Cinque Terre, we decided to visit Pisa on our train trip back to Bologna. Train tickets were easy to purchase online, we traversed from Manarola to La Spezia, boarded a train to Florence, from there to Pisa. The Florence train station was overflowing with locals and…
A short train ride from Amsterdam is the city of Delft. Nestled between Rotterdam and the Hague, Delft is one of the most popular Dutch day trip excursions. The city’s name comes from the Dutch word for digging. Aptly named since canals are one of the city’s highlights. The city is noted for being the…
Memphis, Tennessee is a very interesting city. We have driven through it many times during our annual trek from Houston to Pittsburgh and back. We decided it was time to visit Memphis to explore and enjoy. Memphis is the second largest city in Tennessee and the largest city proper of those situated along the Mississippi…