I suggest to people who are going to Maine to stop and shop at Thomaston State Prison in Thomaston. It is not at the prison though the inmates and guards run the shop. The inmates specialized in exquisite woodworking. We bought a beautiful wooden ship for our mantle.
Oslo is an incredible city. So much to see and do. Great people, transportation, museums , fjord trips, restaurants. Just returned after being in Stockholm, Bergen, Oslo and Copenhagen.
I spent 2 weeks this past spring in Aveyron in southern France. It has only with one highway, running through its eastern side. The rest is rural roads running through many villages. The scenery was breathtaking, and at every turn there was a little gem, with historical significance. The food in the tiny cafes was fabulous. And the people were so friendly, a far cry from the big cities. This was truly an "off-the-beaten" path trip. No crowds.
The Isle of Man. In the Irish Sea.. 80 miles from Dublin and the same from Liverpool. Castles galore, viking remains abound. Magnificent scenery, cliffs, beaches. A vintage steam railway and vintage electric car railway that clings to the cliffs for miles. Great hotels and farmhouses to stay at plus the old Victorian style “boarding houses.” If you love motor cycles go in June for the world famous TT races. If you don’t.. . avoid it - as about 20 thousand motor bikes descend on the Island. Travel by boat from Liverpool, Dublin or London. Don’t forget to say “hello” to the fairies at the Fairy Bridge.
The northeast coast of Greenland up to 74 degrees north, reached on a state-of-the-art luxury icebreaker (Ponant ship Commandant Charcot)carrying 120 passengers, sailing from and back to Iceland. There is only one Inuit village of 300 people on this coast of Greenland, and I visited going from the ship which was stopped in ice to the village by dogsled. Also took hikes on the ice wearing snowshoes. Saw 13 polar bears close to the ship over 6 days. Most of this coast is a national park.
Bled, Slovenia - a small fairy tale town in the Julian Alps on a lake with stunning views, a castle, and a tiny church on an island in the middle of the lake. With no reservations, we randomly chose Hotel Vila Bled which we found out had been the summer palace of Marshall Tito.
I loved everything about Montevideo. Few Americans go there. Also, the Fangio car museum in Balcarce, Argentina was fun.
You sounded like you had some reservations about your time in Sweden. I will be going for the first time since 1978, in September. Because I will be visiting some unknown relatives, I wonder if I'll have the same experience that you did, getting to know the folks.
Question: Is there such a thing as ordering rare or medium? I cannot find it in any guidebook. My own mother pretty much cooked everything to death. Does anyone know?
Will you be going to Turku when in Finland? It's a place that I really want to visit.
The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo was not on our list but we found it interesting to learn about the origins of the prize and also about current issues with repression of women. A Yoko Ono exhibit was another look at how the world treats women.
Of course Vigeland sculptures at the Frogner Park are a must. But we enjoyed the related museum and also the Oslo City Museum.
I wish we had known that the metro could take us to Frognersteren and Tryvann overlook and trails.
I suggest to people who are going to Maine to stop and shop at Thomaston State Prison in Thomaston. It is not at the prison though the inmates and guards run the shop. The inmates specialized in exquisite woodworking. We bought a beautiful wooden ship for our mantle.
Oslo is an incredible city. So much to see and do. Great people, transportation, museums , fjord trips, restaurants. Just returned after being in Stockholm, Bergen, Oslo and Copenhagen.
Sounds like you went on a Rick Steves tour.
I spent 2 weeks this past spring in Aveyron in southern France. It has only with one highway, running through its eastern side. The rest is rural roads running through many villages. The scenery was breathtaking, and at every turn there was a little gem, with historical significance. The food in the tiny cafes was fabulous. And the people were so friendly, a far cry from the big cities. This was truly an "off-the-beaten" path trip. No crowds.
I spent the summer of 1994 in Stockholm working at the Inst. for. Future Studies. Delightful time!
The Isle of Man. In the Irish Sea.. 80 miles from Dublin and the same from Liverpool. Castles galore, viking remains abound. Magnificent scenery, cliffs, beaches. A vintage steam railway and vintage electric car railway that clings to the cliffs for miles. Great hotels and farmhouses to stay at plus the old Victorian style “boarding houses.” If you love motor cycles go in June for the world famous TT races. If you don’t.. . avoid it - as about 20 thousand motor bikes descend on the Island. Travel by boat from Liverpool, Dublin or London. Don’t forget to say “hello” to the fairies at the Fairy Bridge.
Travelers need to see the Fairy Chimneys and Cave Hotels in Capadoccia Turkey. And the Lake Palace in India.
The Fairy Chimneys were fantastic, stayed at a cave hotel too, truly unique.
The northeast coast of Greenland up to 74 degrees north, reached on a state-of-the-art luxury icebreaker (Ponant ship Commandant Charcot)carrying 120 passengers, sailing from and back to Iceland. There is only one Inuit village of 300 people on this coast of Greenland, and I visited going from the ship which was stopped in ice to the village by dogsled. Also took hikes on the ice wearing snowshoes. Saw 13 polar bears close to the ship over 6 days. Most of this coast is a national park.
Bled, Slovenia - a small fairy tale town in the Julian Alps on a lake with stunning views, a castle, and a tiny church on an island in the middle of the lake. With no reservations, we randomly chose Hotel Vila Bled which we found out had been the summer palace of Marshall Tito.
I loved everything about Montevideo. Few Americans go there. Also, the Fangio car museum in Balcarce, Argentina was fun.
You sounded like you had some reservations about your time in Sweden. I will be going for the first time since 1978, in September. Because I will be visiting some unknown relatives, I wonder if I'll have the same experience that you did, getting to know the folks.
Question: Is there such a thing as ordering rare or medium? I cannot find it in any guidebook. My own mother pretty much cooked everything to death. Does anyone know?
Will you be going to Turku when in Finland? It's a place that I really want to visit.
Going to Sweden next week, can’t wait!
The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo was not on our list but we found it interesting to learn about the origins of the prize and also about current issues with repression of women. A Yoko Ono exhibit was another look at how the world treats women.
Of course Vigeland sculptures at the Frogner Park are a must. But we enjoyed the related museum and also the Oslo City Museum.
I wish we had known that the metro could take us to Frognersteren and Tryvann overlook and trails.
So much to see snd do in Oslo.
Last year, my girlfriend and I found ourselves in Lapland.
Highlights included a day trip to Luleå Sweden,
golfing on a course that straddles the Swe/Fin border in Tornio Finland,
a king crab safari in Bugøynes, Norway,
but the real hidden gem was lunch of mimosas and "fancy ramen" with reindeer meet in an abandoned WWII bunker in Hamningberg, Norway, at the end of a long narrow drive along the arctic ocean. (I wish I could post pics! <https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hamningberg+Battery/@70.5335291,30.5939642,3645m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x45caeb32d8f9392f:0xc92fe08e68f1e1f7!2s9990+Hamningberg,+Norway!3b1!8m2!3d70.5403883!4d30.6147513!16s%2Fm%2F0h7qyq9!3m5!1s0x45ca94cc591e9837:0x7c2398ac19db2b43!8m2!3d70.5439999!4d30.6171586!16s%2Fg%2F1hm2sj2rv?entry=ttu>)
Hello my friend I'm tour guide from Morocco