Travel Examiner - Travel Newsletter

The Top of the Mark, InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco, CA

A venerable San Francisco comfort zone closed but didn’t succumb

July 15, 2021 Destinations 1

The Top of the Mark, an iconic landmark, is reopened Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. First opened in 1939 and open for 80

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A Safe Get Away to Hawaii’s Big Island

June 12, 2021June 12, 2021 Big Island Hawaii, Destinations, Hawaii 0

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. Lyrics recorded by The Animals in 1965 have been running through my mind lately.“We gotta get outta o’

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Yosemite in Winter

February 25, 2021 California, Destinations 2

Story and Photos by Carol Canter. I whirled around the skating rink in Yosemite National Park, under a full moon illuminating Half Dome. As

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Point Sur Lightstation, Monterey County, California

Point Sur Lightstation: A Haunted Ghost Town on Prime Big Sur Real Estate

February 18, 2021 Big Sur, California, California, Destinations 1

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. Towering three-hundred feet above the crashing surf of the Pacific Ocean, one of California’s most faithfully restored

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Juniper Canyon trail to High Peaks, The Pinnacles National Park, California

Rock Star Birding in Big Sur

November 30, 2020November 30, 2020 Big Sur, California, Destinations 2

Story and photos by David A. Laws. “Birdwatchers look at birds. Birders look for them” – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Birdwatching, feeding

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Pikes Peak viewed from Cloud Camp, The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Up and Away to Colorado Springs: Exploring the Wild West at The Broadmoor

October 7, 2020October 8, 2020 Colorado, Destinations 0

Story and Photos by Deborah Grossman. At 9,200’ with a view of Pikes Peak, the inspiration for “America the Beautiful,” I got chills on

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Burley Market Cross, New Forest National Park, Burley, Hampshire, UK

Dragons, Ghosts and Witches: Every Night is Halloween in Burley

October 2, 2020 Destinations 0

Story and Photos by David A. Laws For most of us, dragons, ghosts, and witches raise goosebumps but once a year. For the citizens

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Anaeho'omalu Bay, Kohala, Big Island, Hawaii

Hawaii’s Kohala Coast-Legend and Lore

September 17, 2020September 29, 2020 Big Island Hawaii, Destinations, Hawaii, Stephanie 0

Story by Stephanie Levin. Update 9/29/20: Hawaiian Airlines has implemented a Keeping You Safe program and is now offering 36 hour and same-day drive-up

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Beach in Wai’anapanapa state park, Maui, Hawaii

Two Roads to Paradise on Maui

August 30, 2020September 29, 2020 Destinations 1

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. Update 9/29/20: Hawaiian Airlines has implemented a Keeping You Safe program and is now offering 36 hour and

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Pyramid Mountain, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Summer tripping through the Canadian Rockies

August 21, 2020 Canada, Carol, Destinations, Wildflowers 1

Story and Photos by Carol Canter. Jasper: canoes, canyons and Charming Inns With daylight in the Canadian Rockies extending until almost 11 pm at

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Steinbeck, Discove Cottage, Somerset, UK

Steinbeck in Somerset: “The Time at Discove”

August 4, 2020August 4, 2020 Destinations 2

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. “Bruton is the only spot in the world I have refused to see again since John died.”

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Monferrato region route, UNESCO heritage site, Monferrato area, Piedmont, Italy

Monferrato— A unique wine landscape of Piedmont, Italy

July 27, 2020 Destinations, Food and Wine, Italy, Winery News, WineTasting 1

Story and Photos by Deborah Grossman. When friends ask me to choose my favorite region of Italy, I never hesitate. It is always Piedmont.

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Celebrate Monterey’s 250th Birthday with a Virtual Tour

June 3, 2020June 3, 2020 California, Destinations, Monterey 2

Story by David A. Laws. Monterey, California, planned a big celebration today, June 3, 2020, of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the

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The Nile Passage to Antiquity

May 4, 2020 Destinations, Egypt 1

Story and Photos by Carol Canter. The banks of the Nile looked golden in the late afternoon sun. A lone figure wearing a white

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Machine Gun Flats, Fort Ord National Monument, Monterey, California

Fort Ord National Monument: From Military Mayhem to Coastal Gem

April 27, 2020 California, California, Destinations, Fort Ord, Monterey, National Monuments, Wildflowers 2

Story and photos by David A. Laws. Beach Range, Engineer Canyon, Machine Gun Flats: These are not typical landscape features you’d expect to find

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In Germany the Carl Duisberg Japanese Garden

April 5, 2020June 4, 2020 Destinations, Europe, John 1

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. UPDATE 6/4/20: Although nonessential travel to Germany is prohibited at present, the land of poets and thinkers intends

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Sausalito Kayak Tour, Sausalito, California, full moon magic

Full moon and comet create kayak magic

March 29, 2020May 13, 2020 California, Carol, Destinations 2

Story by Carol Canter. Photos by Lee Daley. I was standing in a circle of 16 kayakers on Schoonmaker Beach in Sausalito at 6:30pm

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Golden Gate Park, Moon Garden, San Francisco, California

Splendor in the Grass: Golden Gate Park Celebrates 150 years and you are invited to the party

March 17, 2020March 17, 2020 Destinations, San Francisco 2

Story and Photos by Stephanie Levin. San Francisco’s gorgeous gal, Golden Gate Park celebrates her 150th birthday in April. Like many in the Bay

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Chicago: A Dining and Cultural Gem

March 7, 2020March 8, 2020 Chicago, Destinations, Food and Wine, Hotel Reviews 1

Story and Photos by Deborah Grossman. My first visit to Chicago years ago was spent in crowded meeting rooms representing my company at an

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Sevanavank monastery on the shores of Lake Sevan, Armenia

Discovering the Treasures of Armenia

March 6, 2020March 11, 2020 Destinations, Europe, Mediterranean 0

Story and Photos by Libor Pospisil. Like any other monastery in Armenia, Sevanavank occupies a spot that is dramatic and definitely Instagram-able. The 9th-century

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Winston Churchill, RLS, & the Literary Chines of Bournemouth

Winston Churchill, RLS, and the Literary Chines of Bournemouth

February 17, 2020March 11, 2020 Destinations 2

Story by David A. Laws. Images from vintage postcards. “To plunge or not to plunge, that was the question!” – Winston Churchill. Dashing onto

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Golden Gate Bridge from Travis Marina, Fort Baker, Marin Headlands, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, California

Marin Headlands: Just Across the Golden Gate Bridge

February 3, 2020March 11, 2020 California, California, Destinations, John, Marin County, San Francisco 2

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. Living in, or visiting the San Francisco Bay Area, we are blessed with the boundless beauties of nature.

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Note 1: Portion of 1982 Silicon Valley map by Maryanne Regal Hoburg. Courtesy: The David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford University Library

Exploring Silicon Valley’s High-Tech Heritage Trail

January 30, 2020March 11, 2020 Destinations 0

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. In an earlier article, “Silicon Valley High Tech Tourism: Selfies and Swag,” I reported a lighthearted survey

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Loire Valley: The True Heart of France

December 29, 2019June 4, 2020 Destinations, Europe, France, Loire Valley 0

Story and Photos by Libor Pospisil. UPDATE 6/4/20: Travelers who enter the country, with the exception of EU citizens or arrivals from the UK,

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Venice For The Weekend

December 26, 2019June 4, 2020 Destinations, Europe, Italy, John, Venice 1

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. UPDATE 6/4/20: Travelers from the EU, along with the UK and the microstates and principalities of Andorra, Monaco,

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Point Sur Naval Facility Tour, Big Sur, Monterey County, California

Point Sur Naval Facility Tour Reveals Cold War Secrets

November 27, 2019March 11, 2020 California, Destinations 3

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. John le Carré dismissed Cold War spy heroes as “A squalid procession of vain fools” in his

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The Temple of Athena, The Acropolis, Athens, Greece

Athens For The Weekend

November 16, 2019October 2, 2020 Destinations, Greece, Mediterranean 1

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. UPDATE 10/2/20: Greece announced and displayed spectacular new lighting for the Acropolis posting online images that are both

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Mother Rose pushing her two daughters in "Gypsy" the play now at Alcazar Theater, San Francisco, California

Gypsy, A Musical Fable

November 15, 2019March 11, 2020 California, California, Carol, Concert Events, Destinations, Lee, Reviews, San Francisco 0

Reviews by Carol Canter and Lee Daley (Review by Carol Canter) “Curtains up, light the lights, you got nothing to hit but the heights!”

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Zebras at a communal pool deep in the Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa

Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa: Hunt for The Big Five

November 8, 2019March 11, 2020 Africa, Destinations, South Africa 2

Story and Photos by Libor Pospisil. Just one day left in the country – as usual. Going to the Kruger National Park, the ultimate

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A blizzard of Sanderlings on Moro Bay, California

A Blizzard of Sanderlings: Watching Wildlife on Morro Bay

October 24, 2019March 11, 2020 Destinations, Morro Bay 0

Story and photos by David A. Laws – except as noted. (Feature image courtesy Danna Dykstra-Coy.) Our kayak slid effortlessly over the glassy-smooth water

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New York State of Mind, aka I’ll Take Manhattan

October 10, 2019January 10, 2020 Destinations, New York 6

Story and Photos by Carol Canter. Summer has turned to fall, and a long New York sojourn has ended, but I’m still in a

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Lebanon: Temples and Trees

September 10, 2019March 11, 2020 Destinations, Lebanon, Lebanon 2

Story and Photos by Libor Pospisil. According to Elie’s plan, which I did not want to destroy, just expand, our first stop would be

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high tech tourism, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, California

Silicon Valley High Tech Tourism: Selfies and Swag

September 1, 2019March 11, 2020 California, California, Destinations, San Francisco 3

Story by David A. Laws. Personal digital devices and online social platforms are enabling a new kind of Silicon Valley tourism. Previously only of

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Metekhi Bridge and the Old Town of T'bilis, Republic of Georgia

T’bilisi, Georgia: a city of stone and glass

August 2, 2019June 4, 2020 Destinations, T'bilisi 0

Story and Photos by Libor Pospisil. UPDATE 6/4/20: Eager to revive its tourism sector, the country’s government says it plans to reopen to international

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Cityscape San Francisco Hilton Lounge and Bar with incredible bay and city views.Hilton San Francisco Union Square.

Hilton San Francisco Union Square Staycation

July 31, 2019March 11, 2020 Destinations, San Francisco 3

Story by Carol Canter. Photos by Carol Canter and Jack Heyman. Sipping a sunset cocktail at Cityscape, from its sleek perch on the 46th

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Margerie Glacier, Glacier National Park, Alaska

Inside Alaska’s Inside Passage

July 26, 2019March 11, 2020 Destinations 1

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. More than two million visitors a year traverse the great marine highway of Alaska’s Inside Passage in

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Hurtigruten "Midnatsol" in Geiranger fjord, Norway

Cruising Norway’s fjords aboard Hurtigruten’s ship Midnatsol

July 21, 2019March 11, 2020 Destinations, Norway 3

Story and Photos by Carol Canter. With a 50th wedding anniversary to celebrate with family and friends and a life list of dream trips

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View of Sonoma Coast AVA, Russian River, from Thomas George vineyard in Guerenville

Russian River Rendezvous

July 20, 2019March 11, 2020 California, California, Destinations, Food and Wine, John, Russian River, Winery News, WineTasting 2

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. “Hurry up and drop your bags. We’ve been waiting for you”, urged Jersey Tom from the door of

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Cuba, Noted Travel Journalist Chris Baker, Havana, Cuba, Carriage Ride

Cuba: Updated Travel Advice from renowned Cuba author

June 29, 2019October 26, 2019 Cuba, Destinations, Lee, News 1

Story and Photos by Lee Daley Update Oct. 26, 2019 – NBC News Article “The Trump administration Tuesday introduced new travel restrictions on U.S.

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Colonial Guanajuato, Mexico

June 11, 2019June 4, 2020 Destinations, Mexico 2

Story and Photos by Stephanie Levin. UPDATE 6/4/20: Mexico is aiming to welcome visitors back within weeks. While the nation remains in lockdown, with

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A Pilgrimage to Wales: Or how I learned about the American invasions of Britain

June 6, 2019June 4, 2020 Destinations, Wales 0

Story by David A. Laws. UPDATE 6/4/20: While other destinations are relaxing travel restrictions and bringing in measures to lure travelers back, the UK

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Arequipa, Peru: between the desert and the volcano

May 16, 2019January 10, 2020 Destinations, Peru 0

Story and Photos by Libor Pospisil. As I was sitting on the second floor of an open-air café, I looked out of a stony

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Awaiting sunrise from Soda Point, Carrizo Gold - Sunrise to Super Bloom, Carrizo Plain National Monument, California's Serengeti, California

Carrizo Plain Gold – Sunrise to Super Bloom

April 29, 2019March 11, 2020 California, Destinations 0

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. I pulled my jacket close against the chill stirring of an early breeze. A heavy silence enveloped

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Masterpiece Mystery Tour, Midsomer County, Great Britain, England, UK

The Magical Masterpiece Mystery Tour

March 25, 2019March 11, 2020 Destinations, UK 2

Story by David A. Laws. D.S. Jones: “This village is weird, sir” D.C.I. Barnaby: “Jones, they’re all weird.” From: Midsomer Murders: The Made-to-Measure Murders

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Mexico City in Roma film times and today,The family house that was used as the shooting location for the movie Roma, Roma Colonia, Mexico City, Mexico

Mexico City during Roma film times and today

March 15, 2019March 11, 2020 Destinations, Mexico, News 3

Story and Photos by Libor Pospisil. The walk toward the now-famous house was supposed to be just my early morning stretch. I left the

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Three Gorges Cruise on the Yangtze River, Chongqing, China

Yangtze River Cruise in the Three Gorges.

March 8, 2019March 11, 2020 Barge Tours, China, Cruises, Destinations, John 2

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. A Yangtze River cruise was never high on my list of travel options, but it should have been.

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Cruising the Galapagos Islands with Ecoventura

March 7, 2019March 11, 2020 Cruises, Destinations, Galapagos Islands 7

Story and Photos by Carol Canter. When my daughter was a young child, we learned the courtship dance of the blue-footed boobies at the

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Selfieville, Golden State Theater, Monterey, California

Selfieville is the New Family Friendly Fantasy Experience in Monterey

February 20, 2019March 11, 2020 California, California 2

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. If you feel nostalgic for those psychedelic lightshow/rock concerts of the 1960s, Selfieville a new attraction in

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Colchagua Valley in Chile: not only for wine-sipping

February 13, 2019March 11, 2020 Chile, Destinations, Winery News, WineTasting 6

Story and Photos by Libor Pospisil. When I stepped onto the wooden viewing platform on Cerro Chaman, I could see the deep, wide valley

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MontereyMovieTours, Monterey, California

Monterey Peninsula: A Movie Star for the Ages

January 28, 2019March 11, 2020 California, Destinations, Monterey 2

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. Location. Location. Location. The real estate promoter’s mantra applies equally to the magicians of the silver screen.

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Visit Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa -From the Pool to the Table

January 27, 2019March 11, 2020 California, Destinations 2

Story and Photos by Stephanie Levin. Like a beacon of good will that is anchored in the history of a bygone era, the Flamingo

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The Shanghai Bund as viewed from the Vue Bar at the top of the Hyatt Hotel, Shanghai, China

Revisiting The Bund in Shanghai with Harry and Selma.

January 15, 2019March 11, 2020 China, Destinations, John, Shanghai 5

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. Shanghai was where my Great Uncle Harry died and my Great Aunt Selma was imprisoned during World War-II.

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Monterey Harbor from Lower Presidio Historic Park, California

Monterey’s Mosaic Mural Memorializes Missions, Marauding Mariners & More

January 9, 2019March 11, 2020 California, Destinations, Monterey 4

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. With more Mexican-era adobe buildings preserved and restored in downtown Monterey than anywhere else in the state,

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Escape to Chimney Rock at Point Reyes National Seashore,San Francisco Bay Area, Marin County, Northern California, California (Photo: John Williamson)

Point Reyes San Francisco Escape

December 27, 2018March 11, 2020 California, Destinations, Marin County, San Francisco 3

Story by Lee Daley Photos by John Williamson & Lee Daley. We are blessed in the San Francisco Bay Area with the stunningly beautiful

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In the Footsteps of a Genius Outlaw in Malta

December 9, 2018March 11, 2020 Destinations, Malta 2

Story and Photos by Libor Pospisil. Many places in the world claim to sit at some kind of crossroads. Malta, a small island in

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AmaPrima in Traben-Trarbach, Middle Moselle river, Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Rhine and Moselle Fairytale Cruise from Amsterdam to Basel aboard AmaPrima

December 9, 2018March 11, 2020 Cruises, Destinations 6

Story by Carol Canter Photos by Carol Canter and Jack Heyman. My first Zumba class took place on the Sundeck of the Ama Prima,

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Paul Gauguin’s Spiritual Journey Now at the de Young Museum in San Francisco

December 4, 2018December 4, 2018 California, News, Reviews, San Francisco, Stephanie 3

Text and photos by Stephanie Levin. French painter and Post-Impressionist, Paul Gauguin, cultivated and inhabited two images, one a sensitive artist, the other a

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Blueberry Memories

November 26, 2018December 30, 2019 Destinations, Food and Wine 0

Story by Judith Horstman. All year long the color of blueberries sleeps in the mind’s eye, elusive. A few days each year, I go

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Helpston Village sign, John Clare Country: Bucolic landscape of the most famous English poet you have never heard of

John Clare Country: the bucolic landscape for the most famous English Peasant Poet you’ve never heard of

November 26, 2018March 11, 2020 Destinations, England, UK 3

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. Byron, Keats, Wordsworth – for a few brief months in 1820, when his first book of verse

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Tongjng Hot Springs Resort, Chongqing, China

Tongjing Hot Springs Resort – a Three Gorges diversion on the Yangtze River in China

November 23, 2018March 11, 2020 Destinations 4

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. Travelers to China often tour to Beijing (one of the oldest cities in the world; the Great Wall),

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Midnight Truffle Hunt

November 21, 2018January 10, 2020 Destinations, Food and Wine, Italy 0

Story and Photos by Jacqueline Harmon Butler. Somewhere in the distance a church bell chimed the midnight hour. A heavy mist made visibility along

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Yucatán immersion cruise: culture, history, archeology and cuisine.

October 29, 2018August 28, 2020 Destinations 2

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. Update 8/28/20: Victory Cruise Lines has announced this land and sea cruise as “Yucatan’s Mayan Cruise Tour” with

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John Steinbeck: “Something to do in Salinas”

October 24, 2018March 11, 2020 Destinations 0

Story and photos by David Laws. “There was always something to do in Salinas. For pure culture we had The World of Art, with

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Oslo to Bergen by Train, Norway by Train

Norway by train: across mountains and through time

October 19, 2018March 11, 2020 Destinations, Norway, Train Travel, Train Travel 1

Story and Photos by Libor Pospisil. Traveling through Norway by train, I boarded the coach at Oslo’s Sentralstasjon (Central Station) and made myself comfortable

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Slow and Easy for a Barge Cruise in Burgundy

October 17, 2018March 19, 2019 Barge Tours, Cruises, Destinations, France, WineTasting 1

Story and Photos by Jacqueline Harmon Butler. Taking things slow and easy was Tina Turner’s advice in her song “Proud Mary.” Well, I’m taking

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The Andes, Ollantaytambo, Peru, The Road to Machu Picchu, Cusco region, Peru

Road to Machu Picchu: Ollantaytambo to Aquas Calientes

October 6, 2018March 11, 2020 Agua Calientes, Destinations, John, Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, Peru, Road to Machu Picchu 2

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. This is the third article in a series entitled “Road to Machu Picchu.” My wife and I thought

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Last Song in Mazatlán

September 27, 2018March 19, 2019 Destinations, Mexico 4

Story and Photos by Robert W. Bone. MAZATLÁN – Life moves smoothly along the shores of this Pacific coast town. Sunbathers take their cue

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An Appetite for Lisbon

September 6, 2018October 22, 2018 Destinations, Food and Wine, Lisbon 0

Story and Photos by Wanda Hennig. A gastronomic walking tour takes us on a devouring orgy as we taste our way through ten of

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Road to Machu Picchu: Pisac in Highlands Peru

August 20, 2018March 11, 2020 Destinations, Peru, Pisac 0

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. Our journey into the Sacred Valley of the Incas, on the road to Machu Picchu, began in Cusco

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Stepping out Solo in Paris

August 13, 2018October 29, 2018 Destinations, Food and Wine, France, Stephanie 2

Story and Photos by Stephanie Levin. Traveling alone for a woman affords multiple advantages: she meets people she would never mingle with when traveling

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Croatian Islands cruise,Katerina Lines Futura, Dalmatian Island cruise, Croatia, Aegean Sea

Croatian Islands Cruise in the Adriatic Sea

August 4, 2018March 11, 2020 Croatia, Cruises, Destinations 0

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. Croatian Islands Cruise: “There are more than a thousand Croatian islands in the Adriatic sea” our Katarina Line

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Bergen: Gateway to Norway’s fjords

June 22, 2018August 14, 2018 Destinations, Norway 3

Story and Photos by Carol Canter. Bergen was bathed in sunshine, turning our late afternoon arrival in Norway’s second city into a Kodak

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Croatian Wine Tasting in the Dalmatian Islands

June 11, 2018March 11, 2020 Croatia, Destinations, Food and Wine, John, Winery News, WineTasting 0

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. On a recent Katarina Line cruise of Croatian discovery, we learned that wine makers in the Dalmatian Islands

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Rocky Mountaineer, riding the rails from Banff to Vancouver, BC, Canada, Canadian Trains, train travel, Maple Leaf Train, luxury train travel,

The Rocky Mountaineer from Banff to Vancouver

May 4, 2018June 15, 2018 Canada, Carol, Destinations 2

Story by Carol Canter with photos by Carol Canter and Jack Heyman. The train whistle blew, signaling the arrival of the sleek Rocky Mountaineer

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Parisian Train Stations, Gare d'Est Parisian Train Station, Paris, France

Exploring Parisian Train Stations

May 1, 2018May 28, 2018 Destinations, France, Paris, Stephanie 7

Story by Stephanie Levin. I’m often miffed that tourists prefer air to train travel once inside Europe, especially in Paris with its beautiful Parisian

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