Holland is famous for it's flowers and from mid March through mid May, the countryside is transformed into a sea of flowers including crocus, daffodils, hyacinths and of course tulips. April is the most popular time to visit Holland to see the tulips. There is a famous park in Holland called "Keukenof" between Amsterdam and The Hague with more than 7 million flowers blooming during the flower season. There is also a flower parade in April, where you can see [...]
European luxury hotel barge cruises are a wonderful way to see the smaller towns of Europe traveling the canals and waterways of France, Italy and many more countries. Below is a small selection of some of the features of these fabulous itineraries. Some of the features of small barge cruising include: Intimate ‘house party’ atmosphere with small passenger numbers and an unparalleled level of personal service Luxury amenities including on board chef for farm to table gourmet dining experiences [...]
"Travel Agents have been replaced by Travel "Experts". So many times we get asked "Do Travel Agents still exist??" What !!!! Yes they do and they are better than ever. The era of cookie cutter vacations is well past. Online booking engines are not as popular now as people have become frustrated and disappointed. These days, the new breed of Travel professionals are "Specialists" in their niche. If you are planning a trip of a lifetime, you want to [...]
Every year from early November through Christmas Eve, cities in Austria, Germany, and nearby countries (France, England, Czech Republic, Italy, Belgium), light up their ancient town squares for the holidays and set up festive stalls. Many markets start on the Friday before Advent, which is four Sundays before Christmas Eve; most end on December 24, especially in Germanic countries, where Christmas Eve is set aside for trimming the tree at home. Others keep [...]
Wine with a twist anyone ??? Wine lovers can be easily pleased right ? We have wine to drink, new vintages to try, vineyards and regions to visit, tastings to savor, we can pair wine with most wonderful flavors like chocolate and spices……… lots of ways to enjoy. Here are some even more spectacular ways to broaden our horizons with wine…… All aboard….. Napa Valley Wine Train. video: https://youtu.be/V5o07SjkQAY, and https://vimeo.com/216623000 The Napa Valley Wine Train is one of the [...]
Europe’s Christmas Markets - During our River Cruise down the Danube last November, we were fortunate to be there right at the start of the Christmas market season and got to visit these wonderful local events in Prague,Vienna and Budapest. What a treat. (Emer) I was not very familiar with the European Christmas markets prior to the river cruise and once I started talking about it, was surprised by the amount of people who were raving about them. I was [...]
Floating down the Danube, not a care in the World…….. I just returned from the most AHMAZING !!! River Cruise on the Danube River with AMA Waterways. I had heard great reviews but until I actually got to experience it for myself, had no idea just how wonderful a river cruise could be. We spent a few days in Prague at the beginning of the trip and this city is beautiful – we stayed at the Art Deco Imperial [...]
Cead Mile Failte !!! - Welcome - When we first moved to the US from Ireland, we thought that the fact that we spoke English was going to make “fitting in” a breeze. Boy were we in for a treat. Even though we speak the same language, a lot of our phrases and sayings literally get lost in translation. Here’s a few of our favorites: The Irish LOVE to have the “Craic” (pronounced crack) so you can imagine how that [...]