Search results for 'Europe'

The beauty of the southern Andes unfolds as you travel from Argentina to Chile, all the while enjoying the local wine and cuisine.

Susie was delighted to find a unique travel and vacation experience in northwest England. The Farmhouse at “A Corner of Eden” is located near Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria and is another pet friendly property that can be easily accessed in particular by our European patrol members.  Kirby Stephen is 94 miles north of Manchester and 75 miles southwest of Newcastle.

Venice is the most magical, mysterious city I’ve ever visited. It has to be in as close to in its original condition as any city in the world. It consists of a series of over 100 islands built upon centuries ago. It allows you to wander where you want without hearing the sound of any motorized vehicle. That’s right-no motorized vehicles. Think about it. 

The Downton Abbey craze is the latest out-shoot of the world's romance with England's great Stately Homes. Jeremy Irons became famous because of his role as Charles Ryder, and Anthony Andrews, Julia Quick, Clare Bloom and the venerable Lord Laurence Olivier graced the screen bringing these larger than life characters into our homes and hearts.

Discover the striking landscapes and coastal wonders of Scandinavia as you travel through Sweden, Norway and Denmark. 

Susie has been talking to her British cousins about great places for dogs in the UK so we can provide recommendations for places our European readers can visit with their best friends. One of her pals from across the water brought a whole bunch of hotels and B&B’s to our attention in the United Kingdom. Susie and Beau are ready to hop on the Cunard Queen Mary II to visit them.  This option was featured in a recent pet patrol article entitled “Cruise with your Pet?: The Options are Limited.”

As a member of a generation commonly referred to as a “Baby Boomer,” I have grown up genuinely expecting the world to improve with time. Things might have been tough at different stages in my life but I had faith. With a bit of hard work and determination, payday would eventually come in the form of being able to travel and see the world for myself. It seems I am not the only one with these dreams because according to industry sources, Baby Boomers spend $157 billion each year on travel. With children educated, mortgages nearly paid off and retirement looming on the horizon, we are cashed up and have travel dreams – “our bucket list”- to fulfill.

Raise your hand if you love, wine, great food and truffles. Well, then this is the place for you. Le Moulin du Roc is a unique property overlooking the Dronne River in the Perigord region of southwest France. It is just northwest of Bordeaux between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees – go ahead and look it up on Google maps – we have a link to the maps at the bottom of the homepage. This area is well known for its truffles – in fact, there is even a Truffle Museum, so you really must check it out.

Narita International Airport, also known as Tokyo Narita Airport, is the most popular gateway to Japan, but in reality, it is not in Tokyo at all.  It is a 60-minute express train ride (80-90 minute bus ride) outside of Tokyo in Chiba Prefecture. If you are stuck by Narita Airport, because of a long flight connection, there is still lots to do.  Sakura City is a twenty-minute taxi or train ride (JR or Keisei lines) from Narita Airport.  Overflowing in history, it is renowned for its well restored former samurai residences and the National Museum of Japanese History, whose exhibits reveal the story of Japan from archaeological discoveries to modern times. From an artistic perspective, Sakura boasts two distinctive art museums: Sakura City Museum of Art and Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art.  The former was previously the Sakura City branch of Kawasaki Bank and its entrance way is a prefectural cultural property. It displays work by local artists from Sakura and Chiba's Boso Peninsula. The latter museum is heralded for its rich collection of European masters, including: Rembrandt, Renoir, Monet, Chagall, Picasso and Braque, as well as 20^th Century Japanese sensei, such as Korin Ogata. 

Munich is the largest city in the Bavarian state of Germany.  It ranks as the third largest city followed by Berlin and Hamburg.    Of all the cities in Germany, I find Munich to be the most “tour-friendly” since I can just walk or bicycle myself around town.  Street maps are an easy read though always on a first visit to any international destination, I enjoy taking the “hop on hop off” bus tour to get a true overview of the city and mark those destinations that I wish to return to explore further.

Why would you want to see a big rock?

Because Devils Tower is more than just a geological oddity.

There’s something deep and profound here that led Native Americans

to hold this as a Sacred Place.

In the heart of Old Louisville overlooking Central Park is the Conrad-Caldwell House Museum, known as Louisville’s Castle. In the 1890’s, Theophile Conrad commissioned local architect Arthur Loomis of Clarke & Loomis to design this stone masterpiece. It is one of the finest examples of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in the world.  

Copenhagen is an elegant mixture of ancient castles and palaces along with eco-friendly modern architecture, advanced waterways and open spaces.  Danes refer to their country as the Green State and lead the world in green growth economy.  Their goal is to be independent of fossil fuels by 2050.

When we decided to go on our first trip to Europe, Italy was the destination. Being a coin collector, I wanted to look at examples from the large cities we were going to visit- Rome, Florence, and Venice. I asked a fellow collector I had met the previous summer while taking classes at the American Numismatic Association’s Summer Seminar (another story) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, if he had any suggestions. He told me about the Il Mio Hobby Coin Shop in Venice. As a total rookie in world travel, I found it hard to believe I could really find that spot in a land that seemed so far away.  

Few places in the world are as romantic and private as Bellagio, a resort nestled in the hills of Lake Como.  Often referred to as “Pearl of the Lake,” Bellagio has world class hotels and restaurants that offer the perfect environment to relax and enjoy the stunning panoramic views – especially the Italian Alps.

America's East Coast Riviera, that's how locals feel about the Hamptons.Then again, there are locals, and locals.  The real locals are the people of Long Island who live in the Hamptons year around.  The other "locals" are rich owners and renters who inhabit from May till September.  New Yorkers, for some strange reason, have come to regard summer as that time between Memorial Day (third Monday in May), and Labor Day, first Monday in September.  So, every piece of action is crammed into three oh so short, super-revved up months of summer.

I’m no an adrenalin junky, take me anywhere near a bungee jump and I’ll run a mile. But I do enjoy skiing and should you fancy a change from Colorado, and if maybe you’ve ticked off America’s five best resorts like Jackson Hole in Wyoming and Snowbird and Alta in Utah, then Europe has so much to offer.

A couple of years back, I headed for Switzerland, the beautiful, landlocked country boarding France and Italy formed from 26 regions known as cantons. My base for the week was the scenic, yet little-known mountain-top town of Nendaz in the Canton of Valais.

Nendaz lies at the heart of a popular ski region which markets itself as The Four Valleys, and from here you can access 95 lifts, over 100 pistes and two snow parks designed specifically for burgeoning snowboarders.  

What’s even better is that skiing from Nendaz, compared to the de rigueur neighbouring resorts of Verbier and Lausanne, will come in at a fraction of the cost.

West Baden Springs Hotel is a world-class spa built around a mineral springs in the middle of rural Southern Indiana. Built in 1902, it consists of a six-story domed atrium that is 200 feet in diameter. When you first see this unique structure, you are sure to wonder how and why it is located in Southern Indiana. 

If you love to travel, chances are you have been to Amsterdam, the city of canals, windmills, museums and friendly people. I never tire of taking a Canal Boat sightseeing tour when I visit because it seems I spy something unique each time I go.

The sun tan from my fortnight’s visit to the Bahamas had barely started to fade when I took my wife to the cinema to see the 2006 re-make of Casino Royale featuring, for the first time, Daniel Craig as British secret service agent, James Bond.

Quite early in the storyline 007 jets into Nassau, from where I had just returned, and then, much to my surprise, Bond set off in his car toward the exclusive Ocean Club resort on Paradise Island where I’d recently stayed and played golf during my familiarisation trip to the island.

As Bond made for the bar and then the beach, the film afforded me a rare moment in my life when, with great pride, I leant over and whispered to my wife: “I stayed there!”   

With its cocaine days in the past, the Colombian seaport of Cartagena has emerged as the belle of the ball. Cartagena, a fairy tale city of romance, legends, and sheer beauty, is a captivating place that can be hard to escape. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Cartagena draws legions of tourists and thus, inevitably, aggressive touts and money changers. This is the place to drop all sightseeing routines. Instead, just stroll through Cartagena's maze of cobbled alleys, where enormous balconies are hidden and massive churches cast their shadows across leafy plazas. 

An hour’s drive north of the wonderfully historic city of Barcelona you begin to climb into the foothills of the fiercely independent and stunningly beautiful region of Catalunya. Its northernmost coastal area, called the Costa Brava, boasts a rugged 40-mile stretch of sandy beaches that sweep from the Spanish capital up to the border with France. But, if you aren’t interested in the beaches, fear not, as here you will discover the world’s top-rated restaurant and the best golf course Spain has to offer.

Okay, I don’t mind admitting that, before visiting the place, the only thing I knew about Slovenia was that it once formed part of the former communist block of Yugoslavia. Not a very positive note to start a visitor review maybe, but do your research and delve deeper into the history of the region and you will be pleasantly surprised by all that a country measuring up at only half the size of neighbouring Switzerland, has to offer.

Guayquil, Ecuador, classiness and luxury come together in this small yet vibrant city. Situated along the Pacific Ocean, Guayaquil delivers exclusive shopping, dinning, culture and luxurious lifestyle.