LifePart2AndBeyond.com Travel Blog
Our Viking River Cruise Grand European Tour: Day 6 – Passau, Germany
< Our Viking River Cruise Grand European Tour: Day 5 – Melk, Austria It’s not a bad life watching the scenery along the Danube unfold from the comfort of your bed - I could get somewhat used to this. But food and adventure await, so after a hearty breakfast,...
Our Viking River Cruise Grand European Tour: Day 5 – Melk, Austria
< Our Viking River Cruise Grand European Tour: Day 4 – Vienna We woke up this morning to gorgeous scenery as we sailed through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Wachau Valley. This region is filled with charming villages, castles, churches and steeply terraced...
Our Viking River Cruise Grand European Tour: Day 4 – Vienna
< Our Viking River Cruise Grand European Tour: Day 3 – Sailing to Vienna Took a while to get to sleep last night as we just couldn’t get the Blue Danube Waltz out of our heads, but I guess we must have eventually, as we woke to find another Viking Cruise Ship...
Our Viking River Cruise Grand European Tour: Day 3 – Sailing to Vienna
Our Viking River Cruise Grand European Tour: Day 2 - Budapest At around 9 am, we dragged ourselves out of bed and headed down to breakfast. Lots of goat cheese available today, so I was a happy bunny and Jon tucked into Eggs Benedict. Eggs Benedict Made to Order At 10...
Our Viking River Cruise Grand European Tour: Day 2 – Budapest
< Our Viking River Cruise Grand European Tour: Day 1 – Budapest After a good night’s sleep, we showered (did I mention it’s a great shower with lots of classy toiletries!) and headed down to the restaurant for breakfast. Breakfast was buffet style with extras, such...
Our Viking River Cruise Grand European Tour: Day 1 – Budapest
So, bags packed and ready some European river cruising; we strolled across Budapest’s iconic Chain Bridge to where the Viking Bragi, our riverboat hotel for the next two weeks, awaited us. Even though we had arrived a little early (well we were excited!!!), we were...
Best Place to Stay in Budapest
When the Aria Hotel, the best hotel in Budapest, indeed the number one hotel in the world (Tripadvisor Travelers' 2017 Choice Awards) offered us a place to stay in Budapest before our "Grand European Tour" on the world's number one river cruise line, Viking River...
Elegy for my Mom
My mom has died. Her terrible battle with cancer is over. She is no longer in pain. Until the very end, she generously shared her infectious laugh and her warm smile with everyone she encountered. She was that way, and she was loved for it. I cherish every moment I...
Scrolling 360 Images of the Cliff Tops of Atalaia, Portugal
I am wanting to try some new things out some new technologies on the blog. Facebook has begun incorporating what they call 360-degree photos into their news feeds and I wanted to see if I could make it work on the blog. While the photography is usually not as good as...
Seeing America Through New Eyes
This post originally appeared in PBS Next Avenue. In 2011, at 50, I took early retirement from my job as an air traffic controller, left Texas and began traveling the world. Since then, with the exception of a few short visits back to see family, I’ve been hopping...
Photo: Cité de Carcassonne, France
Carcassonne, France is famous for the UNESCO World Heritage Site Cité de Carcassonne, a medieval fortress and walled city located in the south of France. Its strategic location on the Aude plain, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, has made it a...
Photo: Azenhas do Mar, Portugal
Since we are living in Portugal we thought it would be a good idea to recount our adventures in an occasional series we call Portugal Day Trips. We will be continually adding to this feature, and sharing more photos of Portugal, so please check it out and if you have...
Portugal Day Trip: Giant Puppets in Alcobaça
Giant Puppets of the Lumen Project in Alcobaça, Portugal Since we are living in Portugal we thought it would be a good idea to recount our adventures in an occasional series we call Portugal Day Trips. We will be continually adding to this feature, so please...
Costs Of Living In Queenstown, New Zealand For A Month
Taking a Walk Around the Lake in Queenstown New Zealand's popularity has been steadily on the rise recently, as more and more people look to escape from increasing global uncertainty and questionable politics. But how much does it really cost to live there? And...
Portugal Day Trip: Alcobaça, a (very dark) Love Story
Monastery of Alcobaça, Portugal Much as I love admiring the view from our home, sometimes it's fun to go out exploring, and after mentioning it I don't know how many times to Jon that we should visit the old town of Alcobaça, Portugal he finally got the hint. Anyway,...
Photo: Atlantic Portuguese Coast
I made this image just down the road from our house on the Silver Coast Portugal. I find this area inspiring and I wanted to get some inexpensive neutral density filters so I could experiment a bit with slowing down the shutter speed and making crashing waves look...
Portugal Day Trip: Oceanário de Lisboa (Lisbon Oceanarium)
Why Go To The Lisbon Oceanarium? A fun way to spend a few hours when it's too hot or raining or just for something different to do, head to Lisbon's Oceanarium. Probably best to avoid weekends and if, like me, you are allergic to children, probably best to avoid...
Portugal Day Trip: Lunch at Ponto Final and Cristo-Rei Statue
Since we are living in Portugal we thought it would be a good idea to recount our adventures in an occasional series we call Portugal Day Trips. We will be continually adding to this feature, so please check it out and if you have any suggestions for more out of the...
Palacio de Mafra or Mafra Palace is a Great Day Trip From Lisbon
One fun Portugal Day Trip, less than an hour's travel away from downtown Lisbon and our home is the charming small town of Mafra, a lovely place to spend a few hours enjoying a coffee and a Pastel de Nata while admiring one of Europe’s largest and most extravagant...
Photo Essay: Battle of Vimeiro, Portugal
To see more images of the Battle of Vimeiro click here or on any image. See also: Portugal Day Trip: Giant Puppets in Alcobaça What to See When You Visit Evora, Portugal Visit to Aveiro, Agueda, Costa Nova and Barra Portugal Every summer in the tiny village of...
Jon & Sarah
It seemed almost inevitable that we, Jonathan and Sarah, would one day meet: two independent travellers from different corners of the globe, we shared a bond that many travellers experience, a mutual love of adventure and a belief that the planet is a better place when people leave their comfort zones and discover new lands and cultures. So, when our paths finally