By fall, we were ready for new experiences. I had heard of the beauty of Slovenia and Croatia. I looked for a small group tour and and liked the Rick Steves Tour itinerary. I prefer small group trips, but decided to give his tour a try even though the group size could be as much as 26 people.  The size was not a problem because his tours attract people who are real travelers and conform to his rules.  This was a great trip. Slovenia:  Ljubljana I like to be sure that I arrive in plenty of time for a tour, therefore, we … Continue reading 32. Slovenia and Croatia – 2014

It was time to pick a get-a-way for Winter, 2014. My dear friends, Ajit and Laurie had recently visited Sri Lanka (Ceylon), his birth place, and they highly recommended it. Sri Lanka is a small island in the Indian Ocean. Therefore, we originally thought that 2 or 3-week trip would be adequate, but it soon became apparent that if I wanted to see all the principal sights and have down time, the trip needed to be extended to 30 days.  Even with the extended time, we had to eliminate the far North and East of the country. We hired Varini De … Continue reading 31. Sri Lanka – 2014

Five months traveling in Central America was wonderful, but by fall that year I was ready for another adventure, this time Athens and Rome book marking a Windstar cruise between these cities. Athens and Greek Islands Athens We began this adventure in Athens at the Electra Palace Hotel, only 10-minute walk from the Acropolis and very convenient to everything.  We could even see the Acropolis from our balcony!!!!  As I sat on the balcony at sunset, the Acropolis glowed.    There are many wonderful things to do in Athens, but I will only mention my favorites.   The Acropolis: As we walked up the hill, … Continue reading 30. Athens to Rome – 2013

Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala: After a brief trip to the U.S. to regroup, we headed back to Central America for another seven weeks.  During this part of the trip, we visited 10 exciting archaeological sites, and 9 magnificent Spanish colonial cities, as well as focused on Mayan culture. I will describe the highlights. Mexico The first week was at the Mayan Riviera an hour south of Cancun. It was a lovely small (26 room) resort in the jungle and right on the beach. I enjoyed sitting in the beach cabana, looking at the clear water and gentle waves. I participated in … Continue reading 29. Central America Part 3 – 2013

 Windstar Cruise & the Panama Canal: We timed the Costa Rica section of the five month adventure, to end in time for the Windstar Cruise. Windstar is a lovely sail/motor boat. Although the sails are unfurled as we set sail, the boat actually uses motor power almost exclusively. One evening we took zodiacs around the ship as the sun was setting on the sails. This photo gives a bit of the feel of what the ship looks like under sail. To keep to highlights, I am only writing about our Panama Canal crossing section of the cruise. But before … Continue reading 28. Central America part 2 – 2013

After devoting ourselves to our non-profit responsibilities; running the Jane Austen Society (JASNA) New York Metro region, and then chairing JASNA’s annual meeting in Brooklyn for 800 attendees, as well as being Treasurer of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York, I felt that I needed a real break from volunteer work.  Our solution: travel for five months in Central America in order to have a clean break. It was luxurious to experience slow, relaxed travel. Part I will relate the seven weeks in: Costa Rica Costa Rica is a perfect place for an eco-vacation.  There are many national … Continue reading 27. Central America part 1 – 2013

In order to visit Cuba, US citizens must go on an approved mission. Ours was a humanitarian mission organized by Galapagos Travels. In order to fullfill the mission, each participant brought about $50 over-the-counter pharmaceuticals for the St. Vincent de Paul old age home for women.   Once in Cuba, we met some of the nuns at the home and learned about the work they do, helping  everyone, not just Christians.  Bringing the pharmaceuticals did not seem like a big deal to us, but it meant the world to them. The start of our Cuba trip was challenging.  We were to fly from NYC … Continue reading 26. Cuba – 2012

 It might sound a bit crazy to fly 10 hours south to Santiago and then another 5 hours to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to see a few statues.  At least my husband thought so, but he is a good sport and agreed to go.  I already recounted my Chile adventures in post #24. Now it is time for the Easter Island adventure. When we landed at the tiny airport, we were greeted by lots of palm trees, warm sunshine and garlands of flowers. We stayed at the Aloha Noi B&B (above) run by our guides, Ramon and his wife … Continue reading 25. Easter Island – 2011

Easter Island (to be reported on in post #25) had been calling to me ever since I opted not to go there on the Antarctica trip extension; the trip that got away. Therefore in February 2011 (a good time to escape cold NYC) I had Galapagos Travels arrange a trip for us to Easter Island starting with a bit of time in Chile. This post will relate the Chile adventure. We began in Santiago, Chile, where it was in the low 90s and sunny. Our hotel was located in the old part of town and was central for touring on foot. (Something I usually … Continue reading 24. Chile – 2011

Madagascar, the land of lemurs and baobab trees, wasn’t even on my short list of places to visit, in addition, as I said before, I am not a fan group tours.  Yet, I traveled to Madagascar as part of a group of 10 from May 16 to June 9, 2010.  Why?  An email arrived in my inbox from Galapagos Travel announcing a trip to this fascinating country. When I read the itinerary, I realized that unlike most packaged tours, this itinerary provided 3 and 4 nights at most locations and the 3½ weeks would allow us an opportunity to see quite a bit … Continue reading 23. Madagascar – 2010

I spent a few wonderful days in Iceland in 2004, which I did not write up in a past post. I returned to Iceland in 2010 and I will combine the trips in this post. I don’t usually repeat destinations, because there are so many new places to visit, but there was a special reason to return to Iceland – the Northern lights. I heard quite a bit about Northern Lights when I visited Finland and considered returning there in winter.  However, after a bit of research, I realized that Iceland is a great deal warmer (but not warm) in winter … Continue reading 22. Iceland – 2004 & 2010

Every play, ballet and opera has an intermission. This is my little break. I began writing up my adventures in WordPress because many of my loyal travel followers suggested that I write a book about my trips. That sounded enticing but I just didn’t feel like looking for an agent/publisher and really sprucing up my write ups. Also, I didn’t really know if my “audience” would be more interested in the adventures themselves or in the knowledge I gained about how to plan and execute the trips. The latter will follow the Special Trips posts. For 25 years now, during … Continue reading 21. Intermezzo

When I lived in NYC, I tried to get out of the cold weather in winter and head somewhere interesting and warm.  The Amazon, that great river and jungle in South America, was next on my list.  The travel choices were an Amazon River cruise, a group tour with a company like Oversees Adventure Travel (OAT) or to create my own itinerary (with the help of a tour company.).  The cruise sounded inviting, but I realized that I would only see the area near the river.  A group tour is usually limited as to time and only gets surface deep in an area. I … Continue reading 20. The Amazon – 2009

Toulouse, Carcassonne and the Dordogne region in Southern France is heavenly. I had gotten spoiled having a guide/driver in various previous trips, and decided to try to also see the Dordogne region that way. But Europe is more expensive than Morocco or SE Asia. Therefore, it made sense to share costs by inviting our friends, Barbara and Harvey Hellering, to join us on this trip. We had traveled with them before and knew that we would enjoy another trip together. We hired Connie Wilson, an American living in France, to arrange the trip and to drive the 4 of us for 10 … Continue reading 19. Dordogne, France – 2008

In fall, 2007 I decided to visit Portugal and Morocco, because (1) I had never been to either country (2) they are close to each other and (3) both countries have a rich Jewish cultural history that I wanted to learn about.  I chose Heritage Tours, a company that specializes in cultural tours and creates customized itineraries for independent travelers. We told them that we wanted to travel on our own in Portugal with local day guides, have at least 2 days in any one location, and stay in interesting hotels (or pousadas) rather than modern hotels. On the other hand, … Continue reading 18. Portugal and Morocco – 2007