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A Self-Guided Tour in Japan, not as Difficult as It Sounds

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 […]

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Visiting St George’s, Grenada and Environs

We had an excellent guide, Mr. Edwin Frank who was a public relations officer for the Grenada Board of Tourism for many years before retiring to do his own tours. Starting with St. George’s, we got to visit the harbor area and go through many of the narrow streets learning the names, the history and […]

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Visiting Beijing, China

China was my first culture shock trip—nothing was like anything I had ever seen before. This was probably the first time I really felt like I was surrounded by strange language, different customs, and perhaps truly traveling. Twenty years ago locals got around by bicycle and bike lanes made up two thirds of the major roads. […]

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Top Places to See in Dublin, Ireland

Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland is on the mouth of the Liffey River in the province of Leinster on the east coast. The Greater Dublin area has a population of 2 million. Originally settled by Vikings, the city became part of the British Empire and grew rapidly in the 17th century. In 1922, […]

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Our Ireland Castle Hopping Adventure

Now and again, you just have to spoil yourself. For us we decided that a 20th wedding anniversary was a good occasion to do this. We set out to do a tour of southern Ireland and stay at castles along the way. There is certainly no shortage of castles and ancient ruins in Ireland. Around every corner […]

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Ireland Road Trip: A Self-Guided Adventure

Road tripping through Ireland isn’t for the faint of heart and can at times have some hair-raising moments, even more so, I imagine, for those (like us) that are used to driving on the right side of the road. Plenty of narrow winding roads must be taken to reach some interesting sights or off the […]

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A Self-Guided Adventure Around Tahiti in French Polynesia

The beauty of the islands is in a class of its own. High mountain peaks raising out of crystal-clear waters, lagoons of a thousand shades of blues, fiery sunsets, lush foliage, delightful smells emanating from exotic flowers, and the enthralling beat of Tahiti’s dance, the Tamure, all contribute to making this one of the most […]

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Exploring Portugal for a Week

We’ve always wanted to go to Portugal, the land of ancient explorers and navigators.  So, when we saw TAP airlines, Portugal’s official airline, offering discounted direct flights from Miami we didn’t waste any time in planning an impromptu vacation to Portugal. We knew that we wanted to visit Lisbon and Porto, so we looked for […]

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Roaming Around New York City

We just got back from a short trip to New York City. Having unused upgrades that we didn’t want to lose was a good incentive, so we looked around for a good travel deal. The New York Times Travel Show was coming up and that was an excellent excuse to return to the “Big Apple” […]

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Things to Do and Places to Go in Austin, Texas

A few years back the opportunity to move to Austin presented itself and we took a leap of faith by leaving Montreal, our hometown, the place where we grew-up and lived all our lives. It wasn’t an easy decision to make with our family and friends there, but the opportunity was a good one and […]