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...]
UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Galapagos Islands
There are several reasons the majority of our travels involve visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The reasons are: Brunette not only does the trip research but she’s a small walking, talking human version of Wikipedia and her content knowledge of UNESCO World Heritage sites is astounding and more than a little odd. UNESCO World Heritage sites, particularly the ones in … [Read more...]
Why we want to go on an eight-day Emerald Waterways river cruise through Europe
Our girlish hearts yearn to go on Emerald Waterways’ Classic Prague and Danube Delights cruise. Why this yearning, this passion, this desire? Well, why not? Have you heard about Emerald Waterways? Have you dreamt of being on a “starship?” Well they have some! Emerald Waterways is a daring new entrant in the river cruise market and they are here to provide, as their Managing … [Read more...]
2013 in review – no wonder we’re tired!
It was a dark and stormy night. No wait, it was a bright and sunny day and Blonde and Brunette were out and about on a dolphin-delight wave runner tour of the Everglades with Captain Ron's. Brunette had purchased a condo on Marco Island, Florida in the summer of 2012 and this was her first official snow-bird winter. Simultaneous with Brunette's fun-sucking husband getting onto … [Read more...]
Places we’ve loved: Cappadocia, Turkey
This is the first of a sporadic series of posts highlighting places we've been to and found to be especially memorable and enjoyable. Whenever either of us is asked where's the most interesting place we've traveled we answer "Cappadocia". If you aren't familiar with it Cappadocia is a region in Turkey. (It is also a region in Turkey if you are familiar with it come to think of … [Read more...]
Picture the World Photo Contest entry – Turkey
This "camel" was formed by the erosion of soft stone from volcanic eruptions that occurred millions of years ago. It appears to be looking across the landscape from its location in central Turkey. Cappadocia has been inhabited since B.C. and has been home for Christians, Jews and Muslims over the centuries. It is a popular tourism region and UNESCO World Heritage site. … [Read more...]
Brewing storms, stewing sisters and an Eid al-Fitr traffic jam in Indonesia
[slideshow]When Blonde and Brunette began planning a trip to Singapore, Bali and Indonesia, Brunette did her customary thorough advance-work. Several travel forums warned that no matter what you do not want to be on the roads, in a populous Muslim country, during Eid al-Fitr. Blonde can barely remember what's the idea behind Christmas, so this holiday had her newly befuddled. … [Read more...]
Find your crotch in Cinque Terre! Blonde did!
[slideshow] Prior to departing for a trip to the Liguria Region of Italy Blonde and Brunette each went to their respective hair salons to get chic new Euro-adventure haircuts. Apparently Blonde had unknowingly not been tipping her hairdresser well for years. The request to "cut it short but stylish so I don't have to fuss with it in Italy", followed by reading a book and not … [Read more...]
Galapagos Islands on a Hyundai and a Prayer
[slideshow] Several years ago Blonde and Brunette's parents passed away within 15 months of each other. It had been a sad and very stressful time for the entire family and, as the only offspring, especially so for B&B. It made a strong impression on B&B that both parents, in their last months, spoke of their fond memories of travel. We inherited a few things we didn't … [Read more...]