Avid Traveler and Master Scuba Diver
Sharing stories, photos and insights about the places I’ve visited. Simply sharing my experience and giving travel tips to help others plan their own dream trip and travel independently.
On our recent Tokyo return trip we were delayed with the departure and were expected to miss our connection in Los Angeles to Miami. Already a long flight, options were limited and we tried to work with the telephone agents to reroute us. We eventually settled on a 9-hour layover in LAX and the red-eye […]
Osaka is the third largest city in Japan with a population of almost 2.6 million. It’s a vibrant modern city with a buzzing nightlife and plenty of attractions: historical landmarks, parks, museums, theatres—there is something for everyone…
Lets start by saying that Japan has an excellent train system that’s fast, clean, efficient and reasonably priced. Train travel in Japan is by far the easiest and most efficient way to get around. The train is so popular that an apartment can cost twice the price if it is within 10 minutes of a […]
Tokyo is a great destination any time of the year but it really comes alive at the end of March and the beginning of April when the cherry blossom trees are blooming. It is a popular time as it’s also spring break for the students in Japan so be sure to book early as even […]
When we first started planning our Japan visit, it seemed overwhelming. So many places to see, the crowds, all the names being foreign: how would we manage? As things came along, we found that it all fell into place and Japan was actually very tourist friendly and logically laid out. In retrospect, the few organized […]
Vizcaya is the former winter residence of James Deering, an affluent businessman from Chicago who played an important role in designing the villa and gardens along with a team of designers (Paul Chalfin, F. Burrall Hoffman and Diego Suarez). The construction of the villa started in 1914 and was completed two years later, followed by […]
Let’s start by saying that this area isn’t anything like the cacophony of downtown Miami amongst its continual hustle and bustle. The quiet and serene feeling of these narrow streets lined with mature banyan trees almost makes you forget the glass towers and masses of tourists rushing between beaches and cruise ports and trendy restaurants. […]
Located on the Gulf Coast in Pinellas County, Tarpon Springs has a population of only about 25,000. While the region was first settled in 1876, it was named Tarpon Springs in 1882 because of the plentitude of jumping tarpons in the bay that were spotted by the settlers. With the arrival of the railroad in […]
This lovely park is located in the Tampa Bay Area and makes for a delightful place to relax and chill out. For us this was the perfect spot to stop for lunch and stretch our legs as we made our way up the coast to Tarpon Springs from Miami.
This post should be called swimming with manatees in Crystal River, but it turned out that an unseasonably warm February in Florida made for conditions that sent the manatees on their way back to the Gulf by the time we arrived. We still got to see a few manatees in Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park […]