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Eight Days from Edinburgh Part 5
Imagine walking along your oceanfront property shortly after a storm to discover that the wind has blown away enough sand that some sort of stone structures are peering out from beneath. This is exactly what happened around 1850 in the Orkney Islands, where I will take you in this post. So for those who love history as much as I do, hang on to your hats, because at 5,000 years old, these are the oldest places I have visited! To give you an idea, they predate the pyramids of Egypt, and had been vacated for several hundred years by the time Stonehenge was built! Let’s first talk about getting to…
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Mediterranean Cruise Series Episode 5 France, Spain & Ireland
The Final Three Countries: France, Spain, Ireland This will be the last episode in the Mediterranean Cruise Series. I hope you have enjoyed journeying with us so far and learned something new. I hope you have found some inspiration to travel to new places when the time is right! Toulon France Day 11 included a stop in Toulon, France. There is not much to tell about this particular stop. It was very short, and did not leave time for shore excursions. I really wanted to visit a lavender farm, but there just was not enough time. This port is an alternative to Marseille, and is more geared toward naval purposes. There…
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Mediterranean Cruise Series Episode 4 Pisa & Florence
Welcome back! Thanks for joining me on our Mediterranean Cruise adventure! This is the next to last installment for this series. We will be exploring the port of Livorno in Italy which gives access to Pisa & Florence! Pisa Italy Our tour today, day 10, was the Exclusive Best of Florence and Pisa through Shore Excursions Group, of course! After a beautiful drive through Tuscany, our first stop of the day was in Pisa. Our guide flip flopped our itinerary to go to Pisa in the morning as it gets pretty crowded in the afternoons. Also, a warning I would give, unfortunately, is to be aware of pickpockets. I have…
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Unexpected Arkansas Adventure
Who knew there was a submarine in the middle of the nation? When my daughter called to see if I would go on a weekend road trip with her last fall, I was of course on board. She is working on her Master’s degree in history and is particularly interested in maritime and naval history, so when she told me we were going to see a submarine, I wasn’t necessarily surprised. I WAS surprised that we were going to North Little Rock, Arkansas! I mean, what is a submarine doing in North Little Rock, Arkansas?! Keeping in mind that we only had the weekend, we had to prioritize our activities.…
