I am currently in Ranthambore, at what may be the most amazing hotel I’ve ever stayed at. This is the home of Ranthambore National Park, and yesterday we took a safari through the park. And today we visited a school supported by Grand Circle Foundation and a village where we spent “A Day in the…
I’m two days behind on my blogging; there’s just not enough free time. So I will have to give a very quick overview of my 1 1/2 days in Jaipur. For some reason, Jaipur is known as the “pink city.” Well, there is a reason. In 1876, Maharaja Ram Singh had the buildings painted a…
Yesterday was our last day in Delhi, but I’ll be back two more times on this trip. Today we head to Jaipur. Because I have extra time in Delhi later on in the trip, I haven’t pushed myself to see anything beyond our regular tour program. I’ve used my free time to catch up on…
Yesterday, our second day in New Delhi, we visited a Sikh temple, Gurdwara Bangla Sahib. To say this experience was unlike anything I’ve ever seen or done is an understatement. It was a cultural earthquake.
After an overnight flight from Istanbul, I arrived in New Delhi at 5:15 am yesterday. My OAT tour, Heart of India, officially begins today, but our trip leader, Ashish, gave those of us who arrived in time a short intro to the city. Here, then, are my first impressions of New Delhi.
I’m currently at Istanbul Airport awaiting my flight to my next destination. I’ll arrive tomorrow morning at 5:15. I’ll take this opportunity to share about my last day and a half in Istanbul: a food tour about more than just food, a visit to a church/mosque/museum with some beautiful mosaics, an ancient water storage system…
Last time I was in Istanbul, in 2022, the Blue Mosque was under renovation. I learned it was filled with scaffolding, so I opted out of visiting. This time, it was my top priority for my Istanbul stopover.
I’m back in Istanbul. Last time I was here was September 2022, just over three years ago. One of the highlights of my last visit was a Hamam (Turkish Bath) experience, so today I relived that. And I’m happy to say it was every bit as awesome as I remember. Maybe more.
Today, November 1, 2025, is Luis’s 30th birthday. I wanted to celebrate in a special way. Since I am leaving early Monday morning from Mexico City on an overseas trip, I asked him if we could spend this birthday there. But he said he’d rather go somewhere else, so we settled on Mérida, Yucatán.
Before each trip, I usually post my itinerary so you can follow along. I don’t know who actually reads and follows along with all the details of where I’m going to be staying each day and what activities are on my agenda, but it’s fun to put it all in a post. But this time,…
My Hurtigruten cruise is coming to an end. After twelve days, it turned out to be about six days too long. I’m glad I got to see some of the beauty of northern Norway, and I learned a lot along the way. But I will never do a cruise again, at least not as a solo…
Yesterday we reached Kirkenes on my Hurtigruten cruise. We’re now heading back toward Bergen. I don’t have a lot to write about, and because the ship’s wifi blocks photo apps, it’s hard to post a lot of photos. So I’ll just share a few highlights here, as best I can remember them.
