JW Marriott port cochere for boats Meetings completed, we headed out as a group to the farthest island in the lagoon called Burano. this charming town is best known for its lace making while it’s larger sister island Murano beguiles the world with is crystal glass manufacturing. Colorful canals of Burano About an hour by… Continue reading Venice in April – Burano excursion

No trip to Venice is complete without a gondola serenade The gray and rainy weather continues for a second day which is of great relief to the locals that saw canals run very low this winter with a rare drought. One of the positive benefits is the crowd as are smaller. Our visit this morning… Continue reading Venice in April – Palazzo’s and more

First step - board flight My first 3 months of 2023 were spent managing the eruption of travel demand mostly from my home office. That is changing today with my first international trip of the year. courtesy of Delta Vacations the spring meeting of our advisory board takes place in the magical Italian city of… Continue reading Venice in April – La Dolce Vita

Where has the first quarter of 2023 gone? I woke up this morning realizing that I had left my readers hanging as life moved at breakneck speed these first months. Fortunately there is travel on my calendar for the coming months and blogs will start flowing again. Pikes Peak Cog Rail at base station To… Continue reading Pikes Peak by cog rail

Celebration aboard Azamara Onward Now behind us, 2022 was an explosive combination of crises and turbulences paired with moments of joy and good fortune that everyone is glad to leave behind for a new start. In fact, a new chapter with 365 blank pages to fill lies ahead. I personally intend to make the best… Continue reading Christmas at Sea – Happy New Year & to a prosperous 23

Colorful Cartagenians No visit to this town would be complete without a stroll through the UNESCO world heritage protected colonial city center. This was our next destination on our #BigFive experience for a day. Colonial city center of Cartagena Our bubbly guide Belkin navigated us through the narrow and bustling streets checking out local artisans… Continue reading Christmas at Sea – Cartagena de las indias for a day – Part 2

Onward in Cartagena Colombia Todays stop had been on the top of Kurt’s list as he had traveled through Columbia with a back pack decades ago. Filled with excitement, we approached this scenic port in tge Caribbean Sea mid day and waited impatiently for Onward the be cleared by local authorities. Once ashore, we walked… Continue reading Christmas at Sea – Cartagena de las indias for a day – Part 1

Azamara Onwatd docked in Curaçao As this turbulent year of 2022 is coming to an end, our holiday cruise visited two of the Dutch ABC islands. On tte 30th we stopped in Aruba and today we are moored in 🇨🇼Curaçao to ring in 2023 in a few hours time. Quaint Dutch waterfront in Willemstad Aruba… Continue reading Christmas at Sea – Year end in Aruba & Curacao

Navigation tower for the massive triple lock complex No kidding, I have been waiting for this opportunity for a lifetime. My fascination for engineering marvels had this on top of the list. Today was the day for me to finally visit the man made masterpiece that changed global commerce forever - the Panama Canal. New… Continue reading Christmas at Sea – Panama Canal

Main Street in Puerto Limon After two days of holiday cheer and time at sea, we arrived in a new for us destination in Costa Rica’s Puerto Limon port for a delightful rain forest excursion. Anyone who knows me understands that I fear snakes. So we negotiated the best tour that has the least chance… Continue reading Christmas at Sea – Puerto Limon

Peaceful breakfast at Windows cafe outside While most of the US and Canada suffer from snow blizzards and below freezing temps, I feel very fortunate to be aboard Azamara Onward in 70+ degree Caribbean weather on this very special day. Our ship spent the morning hours completing the remaining distance to our first port in… Continue reading Christmas at Sea – Eve aboard

South Beach in holiday lights Red-eye flight and a full day’s work behind me, I picked up my traveling companions Kurt and Jim at MIA and we made our way to South Beach. While we all have been to the 2-mile Art Feco district of Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue, none of us did it… Continue reading Christmas at Sea – Miami for a day

On BART to SFO What a turbulent year it turned out to be! 2022 started with some optimism early on till another variant of Covid-19 slowed progress and many of our supplier partners had to cancel departures and programs. By spring, things improved, border restrictions ended and people were eager to shed their masks and… Continue reading Christmas at Sea – Azamara Onward here we come

Scarlet Lady from the air As my flight climbs out over Miami, an uninhibited view of the ship emerged out my window. It was the perfect backdrop for my final reflections on the experience I was privileged to have had over the past five days. Scarlet Lady in port at Puerto Plata The best way… Continue reading Virgin Voyages – Give It A Go