Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix
Breathe, Relax, Contemplate at the Japanese Friendship Garden
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Best Things to Do in the Phoenix Area: Art and Culture Venues
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Sears-Kay Ruins and Hieroglyphic Trails: Hiking in the Tonto National Forest
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Top Reasons to Take a Collette Guided Tour in Morocco
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Lasting Memories — Shopping for Souvenirs in Morocco
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5 Days in London on a Holiday Getaway
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An Enchanting Stay in the Sahara Desert
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What an experience! Two nights at a luxury Sahara Desert camp Of the many highlights during our Collette Colors of Morocco tour, our two nights at a Sahara Desert camp stands out as one of the best. Ever since I was very young, I dreamed of seeing the Sahara Desert…
Broadening Our Horizons in Morocco on a Collette Guided Tour
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Morocco Guided Tour
Viking Expedition Cruise Recap: Canada and the Atlantic Coastline
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Viking Expedition cruise of Canada and the Atlantic Coastline We’re back home in Scottsdale, Arizona after 15 days at sea with Viking on one of their incredible expedition ships, the Octantis. We’ll have much to share in future posts about the sights, excursions, onboard experiences, and sailing the St. Lawrence…
A Farewell to Sicily in Taormina
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Three days in Taormina
Siracusa: Sicily’s Ancient City of Power and Grandeur
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Best of Siracusa in two days
Going Baroque — Things to Do in Ragusa
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Two days in Ragusa
Intrigued by Palermo, Sicily’s Cultural Capital
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3 Days in Palermo, Sicily
11-Day Sicily Itinerary at a Glance
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An introduction to our 11-day Sicily itinerary Palermo, Agrigento, Ragusa, Siracusa, Taormina — highlights and practical information Long on the list of places in Italy we’d wanted to visit was Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean located across the Ionian Sea from the toe of the boot of the…
What to Do on a Shore Excursion in Monaco
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Tips for a day in Monaco
Be Enchanted — The Best of Madrid in Three Days
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Top things to do in Madrid, Spain during a three day visit — attractions, restaurants, and more tips
Sweeney Unplugged at Zion National Park
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A two-night stay at Zion National Park
Finding Love in Slovenia on a Collette Guided Tour
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Ljubljana, Lake Bled, and Lipca Stud Farm
Exploring the Balkans with Collette: Our First Guided Land Tour
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Collette guided tour to the Balkans
Sights and Sounds of Saravejo and Other Bosnia Highlights
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Highlights of Sarajevo, Bosnia
A Taste of Croatia from Dubrovnik to Zagreb
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Highlights of six days in Croatia
Top Things to Do When You Take a Viking Ocean Cruise
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Top tips for taking a Viking Mediterranean cruise
Wine, Dine, and Back in Time on Mediterranean Cruise Shore Excursions
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Our top three optional shore excursions on a Viking Mediterranean Odyssey cruise
Mediterranean Moments: Scenes from a Viking Cruise
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Photo highlights of a Viking Mediterranean Odyssey cruise From Venice to Barcelona, our Viking Mediterranean Odyssey cruise included new as well as familiar destinations. In new locations, we looked for the highlights that capture the essence of the place. In places we had previously visited, we looked for something new,…
Sipping and Savoring the Flavors of Crete
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A day trip to Crete wine country
Three Days in Romantic Santorini
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Three days in romantic Santorini
Feed Your Creative Soul in Tuscany
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Tuscany Art Adventure — September 18 – 24, 2022
12-Day Greece Itinerary at a Glance
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A 12-day Greece itinerary
Highlights of Seville, Spain
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Highlights of Seville, Spain
Valencia, A Mediterranean Delight
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Our top recommendations of things to do in Valencia Spain
Adventures and Misadventures in Antigua
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Fun and adventure in Antigua
I Left My Heart in Northern California
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A sentimental and rejuvenating road trip in Northern California
Food and Culture on the Camino de Santiago
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Cuisine and culture along the Camino de Santiago
Cosanti: The “Against Things” Spirit of Soleri
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A visit to Paolo Soleri’s Cosanti in Paradise Valley, Arizona
Hope Springs Eternal in Upper Manhattan
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Scenes of Spring at Fort Tryon Park, Upper Manhattan, New York City
Romantic Europe: 10 Special Places in My Heart
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What is it about a place that compels us call it romantic?
Traveling Sisters — A Sentimental Journey
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Memories of shared travel experiences with my sister, Chris
Wonders of Nature at the Desert Botanical Garden
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Wonders of nature at the Desert Botanical Garden
Special Mother-Daughter Travel Experiences: Part Two
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Part two of a special series featuring stories of mother-daughter travel experiences
Special Mother-Daughter Travel Experiences: Part One
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Part one of a collaborative series featuring mother-daughter travel experiences
Viking Cruise Shore Excursions: Should You Take Them?
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Should you take shore excursions on Viking river and ocean cruises?
Tallinn on the Baltic: A Medieval Surprise
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HIghlights of things to do in Tallinn, Estonia
Travel Planning: Seeing 2020 by Looking Back
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Travel tips and inspiration for traveling in 2020
Scottsdale Hikes: Marcus Landslide Trail at Tom’s Thumb
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We’ve now added the Marcus Landslide Trail to our list of favorite hikes in Scottsdale.
Giving Thanks in 16 Languages
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Grateful for travels past and future Update November 2020: Mr. TWS and I have been staying close to home the past several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic so we haven’t added any new languages to our basic foreign phrases portfolio. But we are very grateful for our health and…
Two Days in St. Petersburg: Russia’s Venice of the North
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What to see and do in Russia’s second largest city
Sailing the Baltic Sea with Viking: Our First Ocean Cruise
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Cruising the Baltic Sea with Viking
Sunset in Stockholm and Other Baltic Cruise Highlights
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Photo highlights of a Baltic cruise
Packing Light: Tips for Women Travelers
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Simple packing tips for women travelers
Musical Journeys Around the World at MIM Phoenix
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MIM – The Musical Instrument Museum of Phoenix
Krakow, Poland: Part Two of a Nine-Day Itinerary
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Top things to do in Krakow, Poland
Warsaw, Poland: Part One of a Nine-Day Itinerary
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Highlights of Warsaw on our 9-day tour of three Polish cities
A Walk on the Pink Granite Coast of Brittany
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From Perros-Guirec to Ploumanac’h on the Sentiers des Douaniers on the Brittany coast
Packing Guide for Easy Desert Hiking
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Tips for easy hiking in the desert
3 Days in Paris: Best Things to Do
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Best things to do in Paris when you’ve been before
Charmed by Dinan, an Irresistible Town in Brittany
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Dinan, France — a most charming town in Brittany
Top Things to Do in Cologne, Germany
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Editor’s Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. I link these companies to provide you a quality resource for your travels. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide…
Rome’s Enchanting Quartiere Coppedé
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Step outside of the most well-known areas of Rome and visit the Quartiere Coppedé where architect Gino Coppedé’s designs take you into a fairytale world.
Nature and Architecture in Harmony at Taliesin West
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Visiting Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona
Through the Lens of Barbara Nelson: The Timeless Beauty of Romania
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Editor’s note April 15, 2021: This post has been updated to feature a new Romania photography workshop added for August 1-16, 2021. The timeless beauty of Romania Barbara Nelson is a photographer, journalist and event producer who I had the pleasure of meeting several years ago as she was leading…