Travel Tales amongst my Ramblings
True stories of our world-wide journeys interspersed with bits of my real life journey, retired now in Silicon Valley
The Stella Australis is a small ship, built to withstand the turbulent waters near Cape Horn. We board in Punta Arenas. On our way to Cape Horn, we see glaciers and more glaciers. Along what is commonly called Glacier Alley, the Beagle Channel boasts a series named for European countries. As our ship passes each of … Continue reading Bahía Wulaia
We will walk on Cape Horn! Maybe. We won't know until 7:15 in the morning, which is the time we are to be in the lounge where we wait to board the zodiaks. The captain will decide if it is a go or not, based on general weather conditions and after the sailors measure the … Continue reading Cabo de Hornos
Ushuaia: the southern-most city in the world and a favorite place I was most happy to visit again. This little city impressed me the first time we stopped on our way to Antarctica; that time we flew in, and left on a small ship to Antarctica. The second visit impressed me even more; we arrived … Continue reading Revisit to Fin del Mundo: Ushuaia
I want to go back: Hida Furukawa. We spent only a few hours that charming little town, and this is how it happened. We're planning the Japan itinerary for March 2016 when I google “Gifu,” and see small mountain villages filled with thatched roof cottages, a major tourist attraction. What catches my eye, though, is … Continue reading Hida Furukawa
Day 8 in Japan is "Iya Valley Sightseeing by taxi" from the hotel Oboke Manneken Ryokan. We are on our own now, without friend and neighbor Kaori here to translate, so I rely on the detailed itinerary prepared by our state-side travel agent Noriko. My hand-written notes on the spreadsheet: "10:00 Guide, front of … Continue reading Iya Valley Visit
The first few days of our Japan trip was arranged by friend and neighbor Kaori, who kindly went with us to translate because we were meeting relatives who could speak no English. Kaori wanted us to experience the hot springs in the Kumamoto area and arranged for us to stay at a very old and … Continue reading Onsen ♨️
It's almost cherry blossom time in Japan. Did you know that there is a website that tracks sakura blossoms, similar to those that track the fall colors in New England? If you're planning a trip to Japan, you should check it out: Cherry blossom forecast. We were lucky to be there in the spring of 2016. Sakura … Continue reading Sakura
Want to get away to another part of the world without a long flight? Or have the best ethnic food in North America? Go to LA. There's a food for everyone–– Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican––if you can name it, you can find it there. If you don't want ethnic, you can get old-fashioned traditional food … Continue reading Travel to Another Place
It’s six PM, our last evening in Paris. We've loved it all, but are museumed out, for this trip anyway. We've seen pretty much everything that we’d hoped to see in these four days, and a lot more. We loved Paris, of course––who doesn’t? The Louvre––a building so beautiful that it would be worth seeing … Continue reading Last Twelve Hours in Paris
In Cape Town, we drive through neighborhoods with funny Dutch-sounding names like Tamboerskloof and Hout Bay, and capture the brightly colored homes of the Malay district when the sun shines. We walk through the gardens along Government Avenue and past huge posters that say “Thank You Madiba” and learn that Madiba is Mandela's Xhosa … Continue reading Cape Town — Part Two
Travel Tales amongst my Ramblings 