Overseas Travel Notes

May, 2025: “The Baltic Sea”

1. London: Crown Jewels

2. Amsterdam: canal ride

3. Denmark: Little Mermaid, Colored Houses

4. Sweden: Lund Cathedral, Storteget Square, KFC in Malmo

5. Berlin: Brandenburg Gates, Tiergarten, Reichstag

6. Gdańsk: Royale Route with Neptune and Four Quarters Fountain

7. Klaipeda, Lithuania: Amber Tour

8. Riga, Latvia: tour of old city

9. Tallin, Estonia: Medieval Experience

10. Helsinki, Finland: tour from Senate Square to Rock Church

December, 2024: “The Philippines”

1. Kaohsiung, Taiwan: The Tree House and Indigenous People’s Cultural Park

2. Currimao: Philippines: Vigan Old City and Pottery

3. Manila, Philippines: Open Market and St Thomas School internment camp

4. Coron, Philippines: Maquinit Hot Springs and little girls grabbing our hands

5. Boracay, Philippines: Motag Living Village and water buffalo

6. Puerto Princessa, Philippines: WWII Museum and prison

7. Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia: architecture tour

8. Brunei: Water Village and Sultan’s Museum

9. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Cu Chi Tunnels and Museum of the American War

10. Singapore: Kranji War Cemetery

May, 2024: “Ireland”

1. Dublin: Trinity College

2. Rock of Cashel

3. Jerpoint Abbey

4. Waterford Crystal

5. Mahon Falls

6. Blarney Castle

7. Muckross House: personal tour

8. Dingle Peninsula

9. Cliffs of Moher

10. Ashford Castle

November, 2024: “Burgandy and Provence”

1. Arles: Roman Amphitheater

2. Avignon: Palace of the Popes (challenging for a blind woman)

3. Viviers: cathedral (woman cried when she saw me helping Tracey feel the altar)

4. Tournon: cathedral (woman showed off her house)

5. Lyon: cathedral (UNESCO site with 3D rendering)

6. Beaune: historic hospital

December, 2023: “Southeast Asia”

1. Ko Samui, Thailand: Mummy Monk, Big Buddha Temple (39’ Gold), Happy Buddha Temple (98’)

2. Phu My, Vietnam: Golden Buddha Temple retreat for monks, and typical house

3. Saigon, Vietnam: Presidential Palace

4. Vung Tau, Vietnam: White Buddha complex, White Palace,

5. Lombok, Indonesia: Sasak House for drums, fights, dung covered building

6. Benoa, Bali, Indonesia: Mengwi Royal Temple (floating), Tanah Lot on offshore rock

7. Benoa, Bali, Indonesia: Aviary or bird park

8. Singapore: Marina Bay Harbor and Merlion statue

October, 2023: “The Chateaus of Bordeaux”

1. Orleans: Joan of Arc house

2. Bordeaux: Cathedral UNESCO

3. Saint Emilon: church carved into a mountain

4. Route de la Corniche: residents of sea captains who were returning from their voyages.

5. Libourne: La Maison Mulato

6. Bordeaux: motorcycle ride

April, 2023: “Paris, France”

1. Rouen: Joan of Arc Church, Market Square, rioters burning tires

2. Honfluer: ships in port

3. Normandy: American Cemetery at Omaha Beach, Les Braves steel statue

4. Versailles, Louvre, Moulen Rouge,

March, 2023: “Panama Canal”

1. Mexico: Acapulco cliff jumpers

2. Guatemala: coffee plantation

3. Panama: locks of the canal

4. Colombia: Cartagena Inquisition Museum

October, 2022: “Rhine and Moselle”

1. Cochem: castle on the Moselle

2. Trier: Roman aqueduct

3. Luxembourg: American Memorial Cemetery

4. Bernkastle: winery

5. Heidelberg: vinegar. Wear capes

6. Strasbourg: Black Forest, Armbruster factory

7. Baden Baden: Niko, casino

September, 2022: “South Africa”

1. Zimbabwe: Victoria Falls

2. Cape Town. Table Mountain

3. Cape Point National Park baboons and penguins

4. Kapama Game Reserve: Herd Trust for elephants

5. Makoma Crèche School for Orphans

April, 2022: “Trans-Atlantic Cruise”

1. Madeira, Portugal: bus ride on hills

2. Malaga, Spain: military parade

3. Alicante, Spain: Easter parade

4. Mallorca, Spain: craft fair with bubbles

February, 2022: “Egypt”

1. Cairo: National Museum modern with glass, Alabaster Mosque

2. Luxor: Temple of Karnak. Two huge statues guarded entrance. Huge statue of Ramses II

3. Dendera: Temple Complex. Only one of two obelisks remain at entrance.

4. Luxor: Temple on site of Thebes, Buggy Ride

5. Valley of the Kings: King Tut, Hatshepsut,

6. Cataract Hotel: Agatha Christie

7. Abu Simbel: temple and mountain cut apart and reassembled

8. Giza Pyramid, Sphinx, Great Pyramid where the lights went out

9. Alexandria: Pompey’s Pillar with a Sphinx.

March, 2022: “Israel”

1. Jerusalem: Dome of the Rock, Wailing Wall, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulcher,

2. Bethlehem: Shepherd’s Garden, Church of the Nativity

October, 2021: “The Danube”

1. Bucharest: Casa Ceausescu, Vlad the Impaler tomb, Palace of Parliament

2. Veliko Tărnovo, Bulgaria: ruins of the Tsarevets Fortress

3. Vidin, Bulgaria: Cooking with Mona

4. Serbia: Djerdap Gorge (Iron Gates) with Decebalus statue

5. Belgrade: Prince Alexander, Yugo Car Tour,

6. Croatia: Vucedol Archaeological Museum

7. Budapest: House of Terror

Addendum 

• I have typed this out because I don’t want to be like the tourists who could tell you, in vague terms, where they have been but nothing of what they have seen or did on vacation.

• In retrospect, these trips have strengthened our marriage. Tracey and I have never been happier.