Blogs

Shanghai

At 7 a.m. we headed to the train station which was very modern and clean. We traveled about 190…

Beijing, Day Four

Today we toured the Arts District. Mr. Wong picked us up to go there. Artists congregated there…

Beijing, Day Three

Everyone goes to the park on Sunday morning.  We were no exception.  After…

Beijing, Day Two

Today was the Great Wall Day. The Great Wall of China is the largest man-made architectural project…

Beijing

Day One We arrived in Beijing and were taken to our business hotel.  We can’t even brush…

Prague, Old Town

Our tour of the Old Town started with the Charles Bridge. There are 30 sculptures of saints and…

Prague, Lesser Town

Budapest to Prague It was a six-hour trip Prague.  The journey took us through the towns…

Hungary

Budapest Budapest is the union of two cities and straddles the banks of the Danube River. Buda, with…

Croatia

Before we docked, we were serenaded with a Tamburica Band. I got a picture of one of the musicians…

Serbia

En route to Serbia, we traveled through the Iron Gate, one of Europe’s most dramatic natural…

Bulgaria

Our river boat, The Lif, was very long and different from the ocean cruise ship. The name means…

Bucharest

On our first day in Bucharest, we toured the city.  We started at Piata…

Transylvania, Day Two

Brasov to Bucharest In the morning, left for Bran Castle–Dracula’s Castle– a…

Transylvania

Bucharest to Brasov We arrived in Bucharest, Romania, about 3 pm. We got to the hotel, unpacked, and…

Palaces

Buckingham Palace Of course visiting Buckingham Palace for a tour and the changing of the guard was…

Bath

We left Stonehenge and traveled through the Salisbury Plains to the Georgian city of…

Stonehenge

After leaving Hampton Palace, we traveled through the English countryside to Stonehenge.  The…

Wales

Llangollen, Wales, was our only taste of Wales and only for half a day. In 1282, King Edward I…

Chester

We arrived in Chester for dinner and settled in for a long day ahead. We started with a walking tour…

The Cotswolds

Today we went from Bath through the Cotswolds to Stow-on-the-Wold and to Stratford-upon-Avon. I have…

The Lake Country

We proceeded through the Lake Country, more sheep!  This part of Enlgiand has a National…

Northumbria

Today we traveled from Edinburgh to York. Historically this region was called Northumbria…

Edinburgh

On our way to Edinburgh, we passed Lockerbie where the Pan Am flight was bombed 26 years ago…

Cambridge

When we arrived at Cambridge we started with a walking tour. The first thing we saw was the famous…

London Return

We arrived in London in time for a late dinner. We checked into our hotel. The formal tour was over…

London

Day One We started in Edgeware, a district of northern Greater London, in the London Borough of…

San Jose Highlands

Zacero In the northern hills of San Ramon in the Cordillera Central lies the scenic town of Zarceo…

Arenal

Lake Arenal Lake Arenal is the largest lake in Costa Rica. It sits at the base of…

San José

San José, the capital of Costa Rica, was founded in 1737 but didn’t grow until the coffee boom in…

Cloud Forests

A cloud forest forms where warm tropical air rises and cools into mist along mountain slopes. The…

Wild Life Preserves

If you are interested in Wild Life, Costa Rica is the place to go. There are several preserves. Two…

Christchurch

After breakfast, we boarded our coach and traveled north along the coast on one side and the…

Enroute to Queenstown

Our journey to Queenstown began with a visit to  the Te Auna Bird Sanctuary (another of Kristen’s…

Franz Josef

Traveling to Franz Josef Today we motored to the town of Franz Josef  on New Zealand’s…

Queenstown

This morning was our “Lord of the Rings” morning.  We boarded a series of SUVs to drive to…

Te Anau

Traveling to Te Anau We travelled along the east coast, turning inland at Balclutha, heading to…

Dunedin

After breakfast at the hotel, we were transferred to the airport for a flight to Dunedin on the…

Aukland

Kia-ora means “welcome” in Maori.  So Kia-ora.  Here begins our New Zealand…

Harlem in Paris

The day started an introduction to African American history in Paris on a city tour.  Some…

Paris Arrival

Our hotel is the boutique Hotel Les Jardins du Marais, centered in the Marais district, between…

Paris Noir

After our breakfast, we watched a screening of the 2016 documentary Paris Noir: African…

The Flavors of France

This morning we had a tour of French Gastronomy in the neighborhood next to the Champs-de-Mars, a…

Sainte Chapelle

The morning of our “free” day, we spent at Sainte Chapelle. The Sainte-Chapelle was…

Hemingway in Paris

After lunch we opted to follow Hemingway’s Paris tour which focused on the Left Bank where most of…

Left Bank

Before we headed to the Left Bank as a group, we had an interesting lecture by Jake Lamar, a Bronx…

Au Revoir Paree

Our final excursion of the week was a cruise down the Seine. It was a beautiful day and we saw many…

Saint-Paul-de-Vence,

Our ship docked at Villefranche, situated on the French Riviera east of Nice.  The bay of…

Avignon and Arles

Marseilles Marseilles is the second largest city in France and was the main port of the French…

Firenze (Florence)

Our ship docked in Livorno.  We opted for the tour of Renaissance Florence.  To get to Florence, we…

Rome, Italy

Our ship arrived in Civitavecchia at 7 am.  From there we were bused to Rome, the capital…

Who Am I?

I am a mother of two, grandmother of six, wife, teacher, octogenarian, and traveler. 

My first trip abroad was after I graduated from college. I went with my mother and grandfather to Sweden to meet framily there, then attended a summer school in Stratford-Upon-Avon, then proceeded to my western European trek.  I drifted from Denmark to see Hamlet’s castle among other things, to Amsterdam to cruise the canals and see Van Gogh’s work, to Belgium to bask in the Flemish greats, and on to Paris.  There I met up with a classmate as we toured the City of Light.  From Paris I took the train to Rome where I met up with my parents.  Then it was home and to grad school.  That trip was the seed in me to travel more, but it took nearly 50 years for that seed to blossom.  Having raised our sons and retired from full-time teaching, I finally had the time and money to travel.

My first trip was to Bejing and Shanghai thirteen years ago, followed by Russia the next year.  Then I have been to Nepal, Bhutan, Singapore, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama, several parts of Italy, Paris again, Egypt, Greece, several Caribbean Islands, Mexico, and New Zealand.  I plan to share my experiences in these parts of the world. 

I am starting with my most recent trip to Prince Edward Island, Canada. I hope you will find my reminiscences interesting and informative.  Please comment and share with your friends.  I would love to hear about your experiences too.  Most of all, keep going.  At 80, I have several more trips planned and hope to see much more of our world.

Kristin Carver

Teacher, Mother, Wife, Grandmother, Octogenarian Traveler