Our last Danube river cruise only offered a tantalizing glimpse of Durnstein in the Wachau Valley of Austria. It was just long enough for Blonde's wallet to get a catch of thwarted longing in its throat. But on this cruise the wallet's dreams were fulfilled (and the wallet was emptied). Durnstein appears to have received its first mention in recorded history in 1112 when … [Read more...]
Socializing with Viking River Cruises
Several months ago when checking our email for the usual deluge of fabulous offers of free first-class trips around the world (and instead finding male "enhancement" options) we spotted an email from Viking River Cruises. Would we like to be their guest on their second "social cruise" with other "influencers". Are these other people good or bad influences? Which … [Read more...]
Our favorite destinations for snorkeling (so far)
Ever since we were little girls we have loved water and then somewhere in our early twenties we both began to try snorkeling. That minor change in our water sport interests has entailed a fortune in travel expenses and "resort wear" necessities, but we bravely snorkel on in search of the next best reef! We have a previous post which (surprisingly) has good advice for anyone … [Read more...]
Baths in Budapest
Prior to setting off on our trip to Budapest Brunette discovered that the city has a long- standing bathhouse culture. Our fate was sealed. Small, water-obsessed brunettes can be formidable obstacles and are best placated. (Now if Brunette’s research had shown that you had to be nude to use the baths there might have been a different outcome. Might have been.) So why does … [Read more...]
The Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca
Blonde returned from Peru surprised that the highlight of her trip was Lake Titicaca and the man-made Floating Islands; home to the pre-Incan Uros people. Yes, Machu Picchu was fascinating. However, after having seen countless pictures of it, reading about it and seeing documentaries of it, it was a treat to finally visit, but not surprising. The Floating Islands of Lake … [Read more...]
Do you care about a resort’s character?
What's a resort's character and who are we to judge it? Neither is entirely clear to us but we'll take a crack at the first part of that question. Earlier this year we were in Abu Dhabi and then in the Maldives. When planning our trip we were thrilled to discover that between us we had enough Starwood points to stay at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort for … [Read more...]
UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Canal du Midi
It was a hot and sunny day..... Wait, shouldn't it have been a dark and stormy night? Well it wasn't. Blonde and Brunette were cavorting in a sweaty way through the charming lower part of Carcassonne in Southern France trying to find a boat ride on the Canal du Midi. Voilà! Although the canal doesn't begin or end in Carcassonne it's one of many places you can … [Read more...]
Rookery Bay Reserve in Southwest Florida
For the last 6 months Blonde and Brunette have been talking about taking one of Rookery Bay's educational boat trips. And we did, when it was 90 degrees and one day before the trips end until November. Rookery Bay Reserve is a very cool research center between Naples and Marco Island in Southwest Florida. Their mission statement is: "... to provide a basis for … [Read more...]
Layover in Frankfurt? Do a Rhine River Cruise.
Blonde was making the long journey from Bhutan home to Florida and decided to break up the travel instead of enduring an unnecessary marathon of misery. Part of the plan was to spend 2 nights in Frankfurt in order to have one full day to go into the city and explore. But Blonde didn't follow her own requirement of always looking at holiday calendars before … [Read more...]
UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Robben Island, South Africa
Before leaving for South Africa Blonde read Nelson Mandela's fascinating autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. and found it to be brutally honest (about himself) and very inspirational. We had already planned to go to Robben Island when we went to Cape Town but now it seemed almost urgent to go there. As always Brunette did the research and found out that you need … [Read more...]