In 2017 we spent my spring break in Switzerland. Switzerland had never been at the top of our bucket list of places to visit, however the airfare was compelling. We found a bargain price to Zurich and decided to go for it. What we didn’t realize at the time was Zurich is the most expensive city in Europe. Perhaps it was not as much of a bargain as we originally thought. While we did spend time exploring Zurich, we went…
Continue Reading “Revealing The Walls of Two Cities in Switzerland”
Travelers enjoy many experiences when they tour the world depending on their interests. Once one visits the major tourist sites, what else is there to do? Foodies will seek out well known restaurants or perhaps look for a cooking class. History buffs may head to the nearest museum, and nature lovers will find the local public garden. But have you ever considered touring the local college or university? These places of higher education often have much to offer that can…
Continue Reading “Get Smart: Tour a Scholarly New England University”
As we are nearing the end of the Lenten season, I thought it would be appropriate to share about one of the more interesting religious sites that we have visited. When we visit major cities, we often look for opportunities to take day trips out into the surrounding area. When we visited Barcelona, we took a trip out to a well known monastery, Montserrat. The Montserrat Mountains near Barcelona give their name to the monastery built into its side. The…
Continue Reading “A Monastery in the Sky, Montserrat, Spain”
For Americans traveling overseas for the first time, a great place to begin is a visit to Ireland, and a visit to Ireland is not complete without a visit to the Cliffs of Moher. Our visit there in 2015 is one of our great memories from our Ireland trip. Before we talk about the cliffs, let’s talk about Ireland itself. Ireland is a great country to go for one’s first overseas travel for a number of reasons. First they speak…
Continue Reading “Visiting Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher and More”
Architects bring their own ideas and significance to the work they do. Some have gone on to have a major influence in the cities they worked in. Such is true of Antoni Gaudí, a remarkable architect who had a significant influence in Barcelona. To visit Barcelona requires that one experience the works of Gaudí. They are among the city’s most popular attractions. Born in 1852, Gaudí began to study architecture in Barcelona at the age of 18. He was influenced…
Continue Reading “Gaudí: the Man Who Changed the Skyline of Barcelona”
Visiting a garden during the winter may seem like an unusual activity. After all, gardens in the winter don’t usually have many flowers to look at and enjoy. However, gardens are more than just flowers. A winter visit to a garden can reveal aspects of a garden that colorful flowers might distract from. Furthermore, a winter visit will likely mean less people, helpful during our pandemic year. The Seattle Chinese Garden, which is on the northern edge of South Seattle…
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Deception Pass State Park is one of the most used state parks in Washington. The park is on both sides of the narrow body of water between Fidalgo Island and Whidbey Island. It’s about an hour’s drive north of Seattle. Last week I shared about the north side of the park. Today we will look at Pass Island and the south side of the park. Let’s start with the bridges that cross over Deception Pass. The two bridges are high…
Continue Reading “Exploring the South Side of Deception Pass”
Deception Pass is the narrow strait between Fidalgo Island and Whidbey Island about an hour north of Seattle. It was named by George Vancouver after apparently neither he nor his crew noticed it on their first exploration to the area. Later, when they did discover it, they thought it had deceived them, thus the name. Today this strait is traversed by bridges. Between the two large islands is another small island, Pass Island, so there are actually two bridges. They…
Continue Reading “Exploring the North Side of Deception Pass”
The weather managed to sidetrack our trip to Lake Tahoe. Forecasts predicted snow on Friday after we had enjoyed a beautiful Thursday. With the steep mountain pass in mind, we decided to spend Friday east of the mountains and changed our reservation to Carson City, Nevada. It’s one of those things that can happen when one travels. We really didn’t know much about Carson City. In fact, I can’t say I could even tell you it was the state capitol.…
Continue Reading “Discovering Nevada’s Unique Comstock Country”
Lake Tahoe is one of those vacation spots that one frequently hears about. From winter skiing to summer boating and hiking, the area seems to offer something for most everyone. We have wanted to visit the lake for some time. We actually had planned to go over Memorial Day weekend this year, but that didn’t work out. However with a low air fare thanks to QB Russell Wilson’s three touchdown passes, we were able to visit around Veterans Day. November…
