Blarney Castle (Image: Pixabay) A Magical Place in Ireland | Blarney Castle There are probably few people in the western world who have not heard of the Blarney Stone. It has been for years a tourist pilgrimage for visitors to Ireland. They come in the droves, from ordinary folks [...]
Advantages of an Extended Stay on a Cruise Many ocean cruises and river cruises often come with the option of extending your stay, either pre or post cruise, with a land tour. One of the most popular and widely known cruise tours are those associated with Alaska cruises. These land tours can encompass up to [...]
10 Interesting Facts about the Spanish Riding School The exterior of the Riding School,adjacent to the Hofburg Palace. This is the "Winter" school. If you are visiting Vienna whether it is on an independent holiday, a guided tour or a river cruise, you might wish to take in a performance of the Spanish [...]
Multi Generational Family Travel Family life has changed drastically from what it was fifty years ago, even from that of ten years ago. Families are smaller, usually both parents work, and grandparents may be working longer too. So, other than holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, getting everyone together to spend quality time can be [...]
Image courtesy of pixabay. VENICE OF THE NORTH: AMSTERDAM Amsterdam and its CanalsFlying to Europe from North America often leads you to Amsterdam. If you cruise in northern European or take one of the popular river cruise vacations into the heart of Europe, you will likely cross paths with this [...]
The Hebrides Many North Americans have connections to Scotland, and many of those connections are to the islands lying to the west of that country, the Hebrides. It is a pilgrimage, a curiosity and maybe even a calling that so many wish to retrace the footsteps of their ancestors in this remote section of the [...]
Here are a few interesting facts about Venice’s Carnival: Elaborate Costumes with Volta Masks Think Carnival in Venice is a recent phenomenon? Think again! It has its beginnings in the Dark Ages and survived until the early 19th century when it was banned under the rule of Austria, and then it was brought [...]
The Middle Rhine The Middle Rhine is between Mainz and Cologne (or Köln) but the section of maximum interest for river cruisers is between Koblenz and Rűdesheim. This section is where they keep some of Germany’s best kept medieval keeps - 20 of them, some ruins, some preserved, all surrounded by vineyards and with quaint [...]
The North Atlantic Archipelagos There are three archipelagos of note in the north eastern area of the Atlantic Ocean that are a must for travellers – the Azores, the Canary Islands, and Madeira. The first and last are autonomous regions of Portugal while the Canary Islands are an autonomous region of Spain. Here are [...]
Scotland, N Ireland & Golf! I was very glad to have taken this cruise on Windstar's Windsurf, as it is very different from any other ship I have been on. Although the small ship ambience was similar to Silver Cloud, the clientele were radically different – more casual and more "down-to-earth". Also Wind Surf had [...]