Travel Guides

Arrivals and Departures Getting to Venice can be as mundane as taking a train or bus to a certain point. However, if you arrive at the airport, start your visit off in Venetian style, and take a water bus, or vaparetto. The water buses run …

Venice, Italy is a city known for its aura of mystery, romance and, cha-ching, it’s high prices. Yet, there is plenty to do without breaking the bank. Whether you’re dropping in before a cruise, or allotting several days, this list of inexpensive or free things …

Long layovers are a traveler’s blessing! I have experienced several, using various Scandinavian airlines. In this case, SAS provided an 18 hour layover in Copenhagen, on my flight from Rome to Chicago. Transportation We arrived at 11:45pm, with a departure the next day in late …

I look forward to weekend getaways as much as multi-week international trips, and have had the Saugatuck area on my radar for some time. Just about 2.5 hours from Chicago, it’s perfect for a quick escape. We planned our weekend around Holland’s Tulip Time Festival, …

Paris is my favorite city, and during this trip I was able explore beyond the most famous landmarks and spend some time savoring those sites which do not necessarily come to mind when one first thinks of Paris. One can’t visit Paris and miss the …

Kenmare is a lovely town, ideally situated between the Rings of Kerry and Beara. It’s outside the hustle and bustle of Killarney, but still has plenty of shops, restaurants and pubs. We rented a wonderful house a mile or two outside of town, called Dunkerron …

Ireland’s southern coastline is known for three peninsular drives- Kerry, Beara and Dingle. The Ring of Kerry is beautiful, but seemingly the most popular with tours. Read about it here. Dingle has a reputation as the wildest. The Ring of Beara, alternatively, is rugged and …

As I mentioned previously, I’ve broken my second trip to Ireland into several posts by location. So, I’ll start where I started upon arrival to Dublin Airport. For reasons obvious, Dublin is much busier than the Shannon airport, with customs lines befitting a major city. …

I had barely written my Paris trip summary and the terrible news of Notre Dame’s fire came out. While I’m relieved the damage wasn’t worse, it saddens me that Paris has taken another blow, and a world heritage site has been forever altered. In solidarity …

At last, the final leg of the journey! I hope you will read all three parts of this trip, for an idea what you can cram in 11 days!  Part I Ireland at Lightspeed: Arrival in Shannon, Adare, Killarney Part II Ireland at Lightspeed: Blarney, …