Advent Calendar – Dec 9th: Humans Need Connection
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Advent Calendar – Dec 9th: Humans Need Connection

Travel should be about helping you connect with the people of the countries you are visiting, to understand their culture, their economy and their history. What I like about cruising is that we get that opportunity, not only in port, but also with the people we meet on board. There are typically over 60 nationalities…

Advent Calendar – Dec 7th: One For the Bucket List
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Advent Calendar – Dec 7th: One For the Bucket List

Let me take you back to the summer of 2019. The air is warm, people are out and about and you are sitting out, possibly enjoying a refreshing beverage, listening to the sounds around you. You hear the birds of course, maybe a light breeze rustling through the trees and general murmurs and clatter people…

Advent Calendar – Dec 4th : Beyond Shore Excursions
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Advent Calendar – Dec 4th : Beyond Shore Excursions

I have written before about cruising and until our recent trip to Mexico, preferred vacations on ships rather than resorts. I would say that for a vacation in the Caribbean, a cruise is still my preference. This year, we took 3 Caribbean cruises, visiting islands of the lesser and south Antilles (St-Thomas, St-Marten, Barbados, St-Lucia,…

Advent Calendar – Dec 3rd: Once a year, go someplace you have never gone before
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Advent Calendar – Dec 3rd: Once a year, go someplace you have never gone before

We all know that travelling gives us an opportunity to expand our knowledge and gain a better understanding of other cultures, and countries. Beyond this, the benefits of travel are quite tangible, physically and psychologically. I walk more when I travel, and my stress level goes way down. The fresh air stimulates endorphins, putting me…

Visite guidée de notre logement en Toscane – Guided Tour of Where we stayed in Iano, Italy
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Visite guidée de notre logement en Toscane – Guided Tour of Where we stayed in Iano, Italy

Alors voici deux video vous donnant un aperçu du village de Iano, dans la commune de Montaione en banlieue de Florence, en Toscane, ainsi qu’un visionnement de notre logement pendant notre séjour de 2 mois. J’inclus d’abord les coordonnées de google maps afin de vous situer quelque peu. Nous étions a 1 heure de Florence,…

‘Tis the Season – The Cabernet Sauvignon Season…
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‘Tis the Season – The Cabernet Sauvignon Season…

My head has been spinning for a week, which is partly the reason why I have not posted anything on this blog since arriving in San Francisco. I also had a few “memoirs” to finalise about the tail end of our trip along Central America, and our arrival in LA/San Francisco before I could focus…

Spain to Florida – the route of the Conquistadors
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Spain to Florida – the route of the Conquistadors

Juan Ponce de León and Christopher Columbus both sailed from Spain and discovered the Americas. It was Ponce de Leon who actually got the credit for discovering La Florida in 1516, and he named it so, because it was a great “place of flowers”. Fast forward 500+ years later, and we embarque on the same…

Travel? Not without certain comforts of home
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Travel? Not without certain comforts of home

When we decided to be world bohemians for 4 months, it was clear that we nevertheless would need (want?) some comforts of home. Mindful of the bags we would be dragging our intention was to be ruthless and pack only what was absolutely necessary. In Italy especially, elevators are few, and the cobble stones streets…

Trying to be a non tourist in Venice
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Trying to be a non tourist in Venice

Italy is a relatively young country, as young as Canada actually, with the unification of all of its regions and cities finalized in 1870. I will spare you the complex historical evolution of how it came to be a nation-state, but suffice to know that prior to the unification, Italy was a collection of city-state…