When we think of river cruises, we often think of couples drinking wine and gazing off their balconies, wandering through the cobblestone streets of Europe, sitting in the lounge for performances and eating meals in a communal dining room. Those are the things that keep me river cruising, but sometimes I want a little bit more. That’s why I love Avalon’s Active & Discovery itineraries. Avalon incorporates everything people like about a traditional river cruise, …
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The story of Glass Beach begins in the early 20th century when, even more so than now, environmental consciousness was far from the forefront of public concern. Located in Fort Bragg, approximately 170 miles north of San Francisco, Glass Beach is a unique spot along the coast. In 1906, following a devastating earthquake in San Francisco, Fort Bragg residents began using the coastline as an unofficial dump site. For decades, the local community discarded household …
With 38 states now allowing some form of medical marijuana, and recreational marijuana legal in 24 states and Washington, DC, you may assume traveling with medical marijuana is easy. However, the difference between the various state and federal governments increases the risk and could lead to an arrest or other complication.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration classifies cannabis as a Schedule I type of drug which declares the plant as a substance with currently no …
Tianzi Mountain and Yuanjiajie in Hunan Province, China, offer visitors a surreal landscape that served as inspiration for the floating mountains in James Cameron’s blockbuster movie “Avatar.” The enormous limestone pinnacles, draped in vegetation and often veiled in mist, create an otherworldly atmosphere. The unique landscape of towering sandstone pillars, some reaching heights of over 3,000 feet, offer views that indeed seem to belong to another planet entirely.
The area was once a vast sea. …
If you are addicted to The Fashion Show, if you devour the fall fashion issue of Vogue, if you have an account with Bag, Borrow or Steal (a website where a monthly fee allows you to “borrow” designer handbags and jewelry), if you and your friends have arguments over the efficaciousness of skinny jeans (or boyfriend jeans, or low cut jeans, …), or if you simply love fashion and all that goes along with it, …
One of the nicest things about the world’s greatest art galleries is that they tend to be in the world’s greatest cities – which is incredibly convenient. Once you’ve walked through kilometres of galleries and squinted at countless treasures until your arty-farty quotient is exhausted, you can soak up the vibe of the city around you. Theatres, restaurants, pubs, clubs, parks and shops galore will inject new life into tired eyes and feet, so you’re …
Can children go on a river cruise? It depends. CroisiEurope is the only river cruise line to allow children under the age of three without exceptions. Emerald, Riviera and Scenic require that kids be 12 or older. And one company bans kids altogether.
While, as a father, I completely understand the desire to share river vacations with children, grandchildren, or other young people, not all lines (or passengers) welcome children. The good news, however, is …
Anyone who tells you money can’t buy happiness is wrong. What they mean to say is possessions can’t buy you happiness. Money, on the other hand, can buy you plane tickets and visas and bottles of foreign wine to be uncorked while gazing out over a perfect beachside sunset. Money can take you out to dinner with friends, or buy an espresso at that tiny corner café in Italy, or tickets to the Berlin Philharmonic. …
The charming little village of Grindelwald offers a close-up view of life in the Alps. We were invited on a tour to visit a dairy farm to experience how cheese was made. I am a city gal and have never visited a farm before. Most everyone has seen pictures of the dairy farms in the United States, but this was very different. Grindelwald Mountain Cheese is prepared the traditional way, a ritual as the farmers …
If you’ve ever used a Kodak Retina folding camera or a Rolleiflex twin-reflex, you’ve been obsessed with photography for a long time.
Retinas were to Eastman Kodak what Cadillac was to General Motors. For 55 years, from 1934 to 1969, these German-made 35mm folding bellows cameras were at the top of the camera food chain. They had f2.8 or f3.5 50mm lenses—just like many cameras made today—and were the ultimate choice for vacationers seeking a …
Initially constructed in 1145 and later reconstructed over a span of 26 years following a fire in 1194, Chartres Cathedral stands as a pinnacle of French Gothic artistry. Situated in the Centre-Val-de-Loire region, Notre-Dame de Chartres Cathedral represents one of the most genuine and comprehensive specimens of early 13th-century religious architecture.
Chartres Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, is one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in the world. …
Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence, Italy has long been known as the official church of the powerful Medici family. A discovery in 1975, however, shed new light on the church’s history and its connection to one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance, Michelangelo Buonarroti. A small, unassuming room tucked away in the basilica, is now thought to have been Michelangelo’s secret hideaway during his tumultuous relationship with the Medici family.
A team of …
Approximately 180 miles east of Puerto Rico lies the island of Saint Martin. This small, 50-square-mile island is divided between two nations: the French Republic in the north and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the south. The French part, known as the Collectivity of Saint Martin, is an overseas collectivity of France, while the Dutch part, Sint Maarten, is one of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The division of …
Chiricahua National Monument spans over 12,000 acres and is home to a vast array of towering rock spires, precariously balanced boulders, and intricate hoodoos. Located approximately 120 miles southeast of Tucson, Arizona, near the town of Willcox, the monument sits at the intersection of the Chiricahua Mountains, Sulphur Springs Valley, and the expansive Sonoran Desert.
The unique geological formations that define the landscape are the result of a violent volcanic eruption that occurred around 27 …