Tag Archives: travel

Europe by Rail

When traveling Europe by rail you can get a rail pass good for several days to a week, but they are quite expensive. Unless you are going very far or riding the train quite a lot it’s not worth the … Continue reading

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Things to do on MSC Lirica

Like all cruise ship vacations, when sailing on the MSC Lirica passengers are free to do as much or as little as they want to. Ships offer a variety of options for things people can participate in, but if all … Continue reading

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San Juan Island

Most people arrive on San Juan Island by ferry into Friday Harbor, but there is so much more to the island than this charming town. At 621 square miles it is the second largest island in the San Juan Island … Continue reading

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Qingdao Cruise Port

Qingdao, China Qingdao, China (pronounced Chingdow) is famous for beer and German architecture in the city center due to a German occupation from 1898-1914. This port city in the Shandong province has beaches and skyscrapers, a beer museum, and a … Continue reading

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Killing Time in Vancouver

My sisters and I disembarked the Royal Princess in Vancouver in the morning, with hours to kill before our evening train. During normal times Amtrak runs two trains daily on the Amtrack Cascades route from Eugene, Oregon to Vancouver BC, … Continue reading

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Petra

Many people who have never heard of Petra have actually seen a glimpse of this wondrous archeological site. The façade of the temple known as the treasury was featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Yes that building carved … Continue reading

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Parks of the San Juan Islands

Marine and state parks dot Washington State’s San Juan Islands. Some small islands are entirely state parks. Other state parks are a small portion of a larger island. Some are historic parks. Parks on the bigger islands are generally accessible … Continue reading

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3 Island Tour in Venice

We spent three days in Venice prior to boarding the MSC Lirica. We had enough time to wander around and see things, and to take a gondola ride. On our last full day in Venice we booked a 3 island … Continue reading

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The Great Wall of China

Considering the distance from Tianjin port to Beijing, we booked a ship’s excursion to see the Great Wall. This all-day excursion started with a visit to the Summer Palace with a lunch stop at a jade factory between there and … Continue reading

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Aqaba, Jordan Cruise Port

AQABA, JORDAN Aqaba is Jordan’s only seaport and the largest city in the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. It is a free-trade zone with lower taxes than the rest of the country. People from elsewhere in Jordan don’t … Continue reading

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