Luxury travel: Necessity or root of all evil? We know people and travel companies who say they are all about luxury travel. Others practically have steam-clouds of indignation coming out of their ears at the mention of luxury. Is luxury high thread-count sheets? A butler with a silver tray (and an imperious attitude)? A personal sommelier? Someone who unpacks for you, … [Read more...]
Dear Abbey (the one in Melk, not the advice columnist)
Perhaps you've heard of Melk Abbey so if someone says "Melk" your brain probably tosses in the word "Abbey" Kind of like hearing "Marco" and immediately thinking "Polo". Blonde's brain also reacted only in terms of "Melk Abbey" with no clue of the history behind it or of the town below it. On a Viking River Romantic Danube cruise we stopped to see the Abbey. Blonde had been … [Read more...]
How to create your own trip itinerary
The idea of creating their own trip itinerary sometimes overwhelms people. So they just go to one resort, stay there and come home. Or they sign up for a tour and then are unhappy that they spent so much time on a bus and didn’t get to linger in the places that interested them. Or worst of all they don't even go anywhere. We definitely think group travel has a role to play. … [Read more...]
Perusing Pleasing Passau
Before going to Passau with Viking River Cruises Blonde knew one thing about Passau; it’s a city somewhere in Germany. Rather surprisingly, she got that right. But Passau deserves more recognition than merely knowing its country of location. Passau, like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where Blonde grew up, is a city where 3 rivers converge. Pop quiz time! What are the three … [Read more...]