history
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Setting Sail The transition onto the Silversea ship (Silver Whisper) could not have gone better. The cruise line has this down to a well-oiled machine – from transferring bags directly to your onboard suite, to registering you via passport, to distributing your ship access card. We’d booked a deluxe veranda (that was the only option… Read more
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The flight back from Iguazu to Buenos Aires was short and uneventful, and we were glad to have another afternoon and almost full day to explore Buenos Aires. The one thing we had been able to do before heading to Iguazu was a visit to El Ateneo Grand Splendid – an incredible bookstore and cafe… Read more
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Combining a brief land tour and a few days post-cruise, this entire trip will be nearly a month long, but we’re packing a lot of sightseeing into it. In the past. we’ve explored a few countries in South America – Colombia and Ecuador along with the Galapagos islands off of Ecuador. This will be our… Read more
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I thought that some personal observations might be in order now that we’d had a bit of time in Bhutan… This is a very beautiful, picturesque and well-maintained country. The streets and highways are well-maintained and clean (juxtapose Kathmandu), and the strict control over tourism volume definitely has allowed the government to establish clear guidelines… Read more
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Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan, clearly reflects all key aspects of fairly uniform daily life through literature, religious practices and customs, national dress code, monastic practices, music, dance, and media. Buddhism is the state religion of Bhutan and the vast majority of the country’s population practices Buddhism. The state religion has long been supported financially by the government… Read more
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We bid farewell to Kathmandu and to two of our travel mates – Tara and Claudia – who were heading home. We had quite an adventure getting to the airport and getting to our departure gate. First, our van was delayed as the first driver bailed out because he didn’t want to attempt driving up… Read more
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This is a bit more in depth on the Monkey Temple mentioned in an earlier post. One of many memorable moments on this Nepalese adventure was to Swayambhunath – also called the “Monkey Temple”. Let me explain. Swayambhunath is an ancient religious site built on a hill overlooking the Kathmandu Valley with incredible views (on… Read more
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Staying at a monastery guest house was one of the most peaceful, serene experiences I’ve ever had. Smack in the middle of chaotic Kathmandu sits this oasis of spiritual grounds, devout monks going about their business, and spartan but very quiet hosting rooms and cafe gardens….except this morning when a concert of what sounded like… Read more
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After our few days in Budapest, we sailed along the Danube River which – thank goodness – had enough water level the entire way to avoid any detours and bus rides that others had experienced other seasons as the river ebbed and flowed. With the exception of our last stop in Prague where we had… Read more
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After our wonderful week in Puglia, we flew from Bari to Budapest. This is where our Silver Seas cruise on a beautiful riverboat began. We spent a couple of days exploring the city and found it to be both charming and humbling. The Hotel Matilde is very close to the waterfront and adjacent to some… Read more
Living La Vida Loca 