Author: Kristin
-
The Lake Country
•
We proceeded through the Lake Country, more sheep! This part of Enlgiand has a National Park with 16 lakes and is the wettest part of England. It also is home to The Lakeland Fells, England’s only mountain range. The Lake District was the home to many of the Romantic Poets as well as…
-
Northumbria
•
Today we traveled from Edinburgh to York. Historically this region was called Northumbria. Northumbria was an early Medieval kingdom between 654 and 1066 CE. It is comprised to three sections: The Scottish Borders, The Northeast of England, and Yorkshire. Abbotsford was our first stop. Abbotsford is the location of Abbotsford…
-
Edinburgh
•
On our way to Edinburgh, we passed Lockerbie where the Pan Am flight was bombed 26 years ago, and Dumfries where Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet, lived. We arrived late and found a great pub close to the hotel. We had a wonderful view of the castle from our room. Edinburgh has…
-
Cambridge
•
When we arrived at Cambridge we started with a walking tour. The first thing we saw was the famous Mathematical Bridge, leading to Queens College. It is a wooden footbridge over the River Cam designed by William Etheridge and built by James Essex in 1749. It was originally built without the use…
-
London Return
•
We arrived in London in time for a late dinner. We checked into our hotel. The formal tour was over, but we had an extra day and a half. We checked into our hotel and walked to a nearby pub, The Cambridge Arms. The next morning we walked to the…
-
London
•
Day One We started in Edgeware, a district of northern Greater London, in the London Borough of Barnet. The name “Edgeware Road” is also used to refer to the area of London, immediately to the north of Marble Arch. After checking into our hotel, we wandered down Edgeware Road to the Marble…
-
San Jose Highlands
•
Zacero In the northern hills of San Ramon in the Cordillera Central lies the scenic town of Zarceo. At an elevation of 5,695 ft., Zarcero offers picturesque views of the surrounding coffee plantations. However, it is the most famous for its topiary gardens called Parque Francisco Alvarado.,centrally located in front of the…
-
Arenal
•
Lake Arenal Lake Arenal is the largest lake in Costa Rica. It sits at the base of the Arenal Volcano in the northern highlands of Costa Rica. On the Continental Divide between the Tilerán and Guanacaste mountain ranges, its altitude is 2,200 ft. We enjoyed an afternoon of boating on the lake…
-
San José
•
San José, the capital of Costa Rica, was founded in 1737 but didn’t grow until the coffee boom in the 19th century. It is 3,690 ft. above sea level and located in the Central Valley of Costa Rica surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. The locals call it “Chepe.” Today it is a vibrant…
-
Cloud Forests
•
A cloud forest forms where warm tropical air rises and cools into mist along mountain slopes. The mist condenses on leaves, mosses, and roots creating constant moisture. Global tropical cloud forests represent only about 0.26% of Earth’s surface. Monteverde Cloud Forest The Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve is a world-famous, mist-shrouded nature reserve founded…
-
Wild Life Preserves
•
If you are interested in Wild Life, Costa Rica is the place to go. There are several preserves. Two we visited were the Manuel Antoniop National Park and the Curú Wildlife Preserve. Manuel Antonio National Park This park contains rain forest, beaches, and coral reefs. It is home to ore than…
-
Christchurch
•
After breakfast, we boarded our coach and traveled north along the coast on one side and the Southern Alps on the other to Greymouth. We stopped at a few scenic places. Just south of Harihari in a town called Whataroa we stopped at a photographer’s studio. Peter Hlavacek takes local photos and…
-
Enroute to Queenstown
•
Our journey to Queenstown began with a visit to the Te Auna Bird Sanctuary (another of Kristen’s surprises). Punanga Manu o Te Anau is the Maori name. We arrived just before feeding time. The rangers explained about the different birds and then we watched them as they were fed. Here they have…
-
Franz Josef
•
Traveling to Franz Josef Today we motored to the town of Franz Josef on New Zealand’s rugged West Coast. It is famous for the Franz Josef Glacier (Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere) in Westland Tai Poutini National Park, one of the only glaciers in the world to descend into a temperate rainforest.…
-
Queenstown
•
This morning was our “Lord of the Rings” morning. We boarded a series of SUVs to drive to locations filmed in the Lord of the Rings movies. We visited the filming locations of Minas Tirith, Misty Mountains, the Pillars of the Kings (Argonath), Gladden Fields, the Ford of Bruinen, and more. We travelled along an…
-
Te Anau
•
Traveling to Te Anau We travelled along the east coast, turning inland at Balclutha, heading to Gore. Enroute we stopped at a Victorian homestead/ Mainholm for lunch. The home, originally built in 1908, was restored in the 1990s and reflects the Victorian heritage of the area. The meal was a feast. After lunch we…
-
Dunedin
•
After breakfast at the hotel, we were transferred to the airport for a flight to Dunedin on the South Island. There we stayed at the Scenic Hotel Southern Cross. Bob and I wandered around the hotel and grabbed a quick lunch at a little bakery before our “official” tour that began at…
-
Aukland
•
Kia-ora means “welcome” in Maori. So Kia-ora. Here begins our New Zealand adventure. Arrival After arriving at our hotel, we met our tour director, Kristen, in the lobby and went for a walk around Auckland to orient ourselves. The signature Sky Tower is just a block from our hotel. It is 1,076 ft. tall…
-
Harlem in Paris
•
The day started an introduction to African American history in Paris on a city tour. Some of the places we saw were performance venues and favorite haunts of people like Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, James Baldwin, and others. African Americans have found acceptance in Paris that they did not find…
-
Paris Arrival
•
Our hotel is the boutique Hotel Les Jardins du Marais, centered in the Marais district, between Place des Vosges and Opéra Bastille. Temple Square, found close by, was the center for the Knights Templar in the 13th and 14th centuries. It is where a medieval fortress stood, which was demolished in the mid-19th century. Standing there,…