BC Ferries: The Inside Passage
The 240 mile Inside Passage Route between Prince Rupert and Port Hardy travels past soaring mountains, picturesque fjords, narrow channels, and remote islands.
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Portland, Maine: The Jewel By The Sea
Portland, the largest city in Maine, is on a small peninsula that juts into Casco Bay
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Stockholm, Sweden and the archipelago
Where the fresh waters of Lake Malaren meet the salt water of the Baltic Sea you’ll find the capital city of the Kingdom of Sweden– Stockholm. This political and cultural center of a country a bit larger than California is on 14 islands connected by 57 bridges. Its water is so pristine that you can swim or fish in it and, if you’re lucky, catch a salmon right outside the Royal Palace.
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Rockland, Maine: The Way Life Should Be
Captain Doug at the helm of the schooner Heritage, Rockland, Maine
The gentle sea breeze was a reminder of the state border sign that read “Welcome to Maine–The Way Life Should Be”. The farther we drove along the rugged coastline, the clearer this became.
La Gaspésie: The Gaspé Peninsula
Visitors are drawn by the natural beauty and rural charm of the Canada’s Gaspé Peninsula, la Gaspésie, on the eastern tip of the province. It runs along the south side of the St. Lawrence River out to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is mountainous in the middle with most people living along the coast.
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Îles de la Madeleine: The Magdalen Islands
The heat wave at home made us even more appreciative of the gentle cooling breezes on the beach in the Magdalen Islands. We were told National Geographic named it one of the top beaches in the world, yet on this sunny 70-something degree day in June we had it all to ourselves.
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Gotland: Pearl of the Baltic Sea
We spotted the towers of Visby’s medieval cathedral as we approached Sweden’s island of Gotland. We were there to see the Old Town, a medieval Viking and Hanseatic trading post with a ring wall, towers, and moat. It is so well preserved that it seems to have come to life from a fairy tale. Today, Visby is a modern municipality and cultural center, a fusion of the best of the old and new. You can shop for innovative local goods and modern Scandinavian designs in historic buildings along winding 13th century cobbled lanes.
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The Queen Mary 2: a transatlantic adventure fit for a king
The champagne sailaway from Hamburg aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 went off with a bang–fireworks, that is–as we slowly sailed along the Elbe. People lined the shore for miles, waving and cheering from sidewalks and plazas, cafés and restaurants, private homes and public buildings, monuments, hotels, and beaches–anywhere with space to gather.
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Barging in Alsace Lorraine aboard European Waterways’ Le Panache
We booked a barge trip that began and ended in Strasbourg, capital of the Alsace region of eastern France. This beautiful area between the Vosges Mountains and the Black Forest bears a strong German influence because its nationality and language switched back and forth depending on the outcome of a variety of wars.
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Hip and historic Montréal
Montréal is the largest city in Québec, the second largest city in Canada, and the second largest French-speaking city in the world. How did we make the most of four days in the city?
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The Queen Mary in Long Beach, California
When we needed a place to stay in the Los Angeles area before our Panama Canal cruise aboard Cunard’s newest ship, the Queen Elizabeth, we thought of Cunard’s legendary Queen Mary. She has been a floating hotel steeped in history and docked in Long Beach, California since ending her transatlantic runs in 1967.
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The Panama Canal aboard Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth
The first thing we noticed when we entered the Grand Lobby of Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth was the sweeping staircase and impressive two-story marquetry mural of a cruise liner. The exotic veneers and Art Deco details reminded us of our pre-cruise stay aboard the legendary Queen Mary, which was renowned for its exotic woods from throughout the British empire.
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Montréal to Boston: A Canada/New England cruise aboard Holland America’s Maasdam
Montréal is the cultural capital and largest city in Québec, second largest city in Canada, and the second largest French-speaking city in the world. It’s either the first or last port, depending on the sailing, which creates a great opportunity for an extended stay.
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Iceland: Land of Fire and Ice
It is said that when the Vikings first saw Iceland–with volcanoes, black lava fields, sulfurous steam, and bubbling mud pools– they thought they had discovered the entrance to the Netherworld.
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Wonderful Copenhagen
The capital of the world’s oldest kingdom is a world of wonders– tales of kings and queens, Vikings, and a mermaid, with a fortress, castles, palaces, and crown jewels. The largest of the Scandinavian cities, once the capital of an empire that included Norway and Southern Sweden, cosmopolitan Copenhagen, or “merchants’ harbor”, is a city as enchanting as the fairy tales inspired here.
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Paradise found: a Caribbean cruise aboard Holland America’s Noordam
Palm trees, tropical breezes, and cerulean seas beckoned…
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Canada and New England cruise: Coastal Gems with the Jewel of the Sea
The ever-changing kaleidoscope of crimson, amber and gold of autumn is something we don’t like to miss. When Royal Caribbean offered a foliage season cruise along our Atlantic coastline on the Jewel of the Sea with the convenience of sailing roundtrip from Boston, we booked a stateroom right away.
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The American Queen
Walking to the Robin Street Wharf, we could see her fluted 109 foot tall stacks rising above the buildings, and we knew we were in for a treat.
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Holland America’s Mediterranean
Our Western Mediterranean cruise began in Rome, center of the empire that once controlled the entire area, and sailed westward to Lisbon, capital of Portugal, whose 15th and 16th century navigators helped build an overseas empire.
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Hamburg, Germany
Hamburg was established and ruled not by royalty but by the wealthy merchants of the medieval trade monopoly known as the Hanseatic League. The Hanseatic merchant guilds began their alliance in the 12th century to protect members on their trading voyages.
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