Home just long enough to do laundry and repack and now it is off to the Caribbean for a week aboard Caribbean Princess from Fort Lauderdale with stops in St Thomas and St Marten as well as the private island Princess Cays. This journey is a sort of homecoming for me as Greg and I… Continue reading Caribbean in June

An overnight short hop across the English Channel behind us and we are safely docked in Dover with views of the famous white cliffs right from our balcony. All packed, we are now ready to disembark the Crystal Serenity and board the bus to make our way to London Heathrow airport. Upon reflection, as this… Continue reading Farewell to Crystal Serenity

An early morning of country driving along Normandy coastal routes brought us to the town of Ouistreham where the British landed at the sector called Sword Beach. Views of a lovely chateau along the way inspired French country living dreams in me for a moment. All that movers into perspective as we digested the experience… Continue reading Aboard Crystal Serenity – Day 6

Safely docked in the picturesque French port town of Honfleur, we had prepared an activity filled day. First we picked up our rental car for tomorrow's drive to the Normandy landing beaches and then we walked through Honfleur and it's famous Saturday market with some of the most beautiful white asparagus I have ever seen.… Continue reading Aboard Crystal Serenity – Day 5

Strong stormy conditions - not unlike what the Allied troops encountered 75 years ago - made it necessary for our captain to change navigation. Instead of stopping in La Coruna, we sailed on across the Bay of Biscay toward tge tiny British island Guernsey. While disappointing, this change gave us more time for meetings and… Continue reading Aboard Crystal Serenity – Day 3 & 4

With a first rather wavy night (thank you Atlantic might) of rest behind us, the ship docked in Porto early morning or us to explore. Conveniently located at the mouth of the Douro River, this wealthy city of fortified wine fame is worth exploring. We started with a morning of business sessions and then left… Continue reading Aboard Crystal Serenity – Day 2

After a lovely day of riding the historic yellow trams and walking through rainy Lisbon, Julie and I enjoyed a bite of Portuguese pasteis de baccalau (fish fritter) at a spectacular local stand. Then we returned to our abode - The Lapa Palace Hotel to grab our stuff and headed boarded the Crystal Serenity docked… Continue reading Aboard Crystal Serenity – Day 1

Yes, there is such a thing as food tourism, meaning returning to a place simply for the pleasure of enjoying a particular dish or meal! That is exactly what I did yesterday myself. I have dreamt about this day for over 13 years since our discovery of this very special of bakeries in the Belém… Continue reading An ode to the world’s best custard tartlet

From one bridge to another - while it looks like a mirror image of the Golden Gate - this spectacular man made wonder is called the 25th of April bridge and it spans the Tagus River from Lisbon to its suburb of Almada. It is noteworthy that not only are both suspension bridges, they have… Continue reading Lisbon’s Charm revealed

A smooth 2-hour drive got us to the Park Hyatt Melbourne where the Virtuoso family awaited us for this year's edition of Symposium. Over 4 days, we met with suppliers, listened and participated in stimulating key notes and work shops, and tasted Melbourne's famous gourmet offerings. While the fall skies were predominantly great to black,… Continue reading Down Under adventure revisited – final post

Fully rested and finally adjusted to a 14 hour time change we hit the road for breakfast in Paynesville - a short 30-minute hop Nourished for the day, we then took what must be the world's shortest ferry over to Raymond Island for a walk. The purpose of this early morning excursion is Australia's signature… Continue reading Down Under adventure revisited – part 6

Our morning began with an adrenaline rush from a sea plane flight over the rugged coastline of southern New South Wales. As you may recall from my vblog yesterday, this is humpback whale country and in just a few weeks time you can actually do a 45- minute flight to see these majestic creatures from… Continue reading Down Under adventure revisited – part 5

An early morning got us out of Sydney and on to Australia 1 - Princess highway - south bound for our first viewpoint of the coastline. This view has been enhanced by the new cantilever bridge that replaced the one carved into the hillside we had driven on 28 years ago. From there we drive… Continue reading Down Under adventure revisited – part 4

The clouds lifted and out came the sun to shine on our gaggle of 5 walking the streets of Sydney. The famous harbor bridge - lovingly nicknamed the coat hanger - is the landmark of this spectacular harbor area called the Rock. The other one is the Sydney Opera house which epitomizes modern architecture. Designed… Continue reading Down Under adventure revisited – part 3

Despite the gray skies, landing is a sight to behold. From the harbor bridge to the opera house, this panorama never disappoints. Our 15 hour flight unfolded without any problems and the mornin mist across the sunlit wing was a beautiful and reflective moment for to appreciate what flying offers. No secret here, I love… Continue reading Down Under adventure revisited – part 2