We landed in Lyon airport early in the morning. Lyon was not our final destination, just a stopover on a way to Provence. I recently visited Lyon, but my friends were not there. We took a brief tour of the city with a guide named Tamara +33 6 30 99 60 76. We spent most … Continue reading Provence, Part 1 →

After spending a significant amount of time at home, we embarked on another long trip, which I will describe in multiple parts. As always, a few of my dear friends joined us. The trip began in Bilbao, where we flew from Miami via Madrid. Located on the northern Atlantic coast near the border of France, … Continue reading Basque Counties of Spain and France →

We usually go skiing once a year. This year we rented a large log cabin and invited the entire family to join us at one of our favorite resorts, Beaver Creek, Colorado. The cabin resembled a house with six bedrooms, multiple living rooms, fireplaces in most of the rooms, a spacious dining area, several decks … Continue reading Beaver Creek, skiing with the family →

Bali It takes 6 hours to fly from Melbourne to Bali. We managed to clear security quickly despite the long line. An e-visa and e-customs declaration are mandatory to avoid getting stuck at the airport. Labor is relatively inexpensive in Bali, and we were able to hire a private driver for around $50-60 per day … Continue reading Bali and Singapore →

I usually do not describe the flights to the destination. This one was unusual because I was able to get miles reward First-Class tickets from Miami to Sydney. It was quite an experience as we were escorted to a private dining room as soon as we checked into Flagship American Airlines lounge. The food and … Continue reading Sydney, Queenstown and Melbourne →

After a heavy sightseeing in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan we needed some down time so we boarded a non stop flight from Samarkand to Istanbul and another short flight to Bodrum, Turkey. Bodrum is described as “the Land of the Eternal Blue” by Homeros. The spectacular medieval castle built by the Knights of the Rhodes … Continue reading Bodrum, Turkey and Kos and Rhodes, Greece →

This trip was planned a long time ago but was cancelled due to COVID. Finally we were able to go. We purchased tickets to Tbilisi with a 2 hour stop over in Paris. Due to a schedule change we had to spend a day in Paris. It was a treat. This day happened to be … Continue reading Georgia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan →

We decided to escape Florida heat for 10 days. Non stop flight from Fort Lauderdale brought us to Seattle, Washington. We settled in an ultra modern hotel Citizen M located on a waterfront for two nights. The Pike Place Market has been a defining Seattle icon for more than a century. Considered by many “the … Continue reading Seattle, Vancouver and Western Canada National Parks →

View of Rhine bend I posted my last blog before we were done with our trip. From Ischia we took a ferry to Napoli and flight to Düsseldorf, our first stop in Germany. We did not expect much from Düsseldorf but were pleasantly surprised by the city with the help of an excellent guide Sergei … Continue reading Upper Middle Rhine Valley and Moselle Valley, Germany →

We always we love to visit Italy and discover hidden treasures even though we have been in the above places before. This trip was planned for several months due to the complicated logistics. Puglia is not well known travel destination. It is located in the “heel”of Italy and is a sunny region between two seas(Adriatic … Continue reading Puglia, Amalfi coast and Ischia →

We were able to get really cheap business class tickets from Miami to Casablanca and planned to continue our journey to Israel. Due to current turbulent unrest in Israel we decided to change our route. The easiest and the most convenient flight from Casablanca to Europe was to Geneva. After a long flight with a … Continue reading Switzerland, Alsace(France) with a touch of Morocco →

As we are getting older one of our favourite past time, skiing, becomes more difficult. Never the less we decided to ski this season in the Austrian Alps. As always I gathered few friends and soon we were checking into Kempinski Hotel on the ski slopes of Kitzbühel. The hotel was really nice but a … Continue reading Kitzbühel and Rome, a strange but an interesting combination →

View from our room Caribbean destinations are usually not my vacation choice. Our Philadelphia friends, on the other hand, enjoy spending a week on the Grand Cayman and this time we decided to join them for a weekend. It only takes one hour and ten minutes to fly there from Miami. Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman … Continue reading Weekend getaway to Grand Cayman →

It took me a very long time to plan this trip. I wanted to see different parts of France that I missed on my prior numerous visits. Most of the destinations were not widely known and required a lot of research. This trip would cover several different regions of France. Lyon (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region) We started … Continue reading France: Gourmet food, wine, and oysters →

When we purchased our tickets to Africa we could do a stopover in London. We decided to take an advantage of it. We arrived in London from Nairobi very early in the morning. We checked into our Hilton Bankside for 7 nights. Bankside is a great neighbourhood located along Thames that is vibrant, creative and … Continue reading London and surroundings →