Anchorage, the Iditarod, and Bears

Katmai was by far the highlight of our trip.
Katmai was by far the highlight of our trip.
In Denali National Park the backcountry ride in an old school bus provided magnificent views of the colorful terrain and a good deal of wildlife along the way …
Dawson retains much of the character of the original frontier town.
From Skagway we rode the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway up the historic White Pass into Canada
In addition to the beautiful scenery, highlights included learning the history of the Yukon gold rush, and watching many bears feeding on salmon in Kenai National Park.
From Lapland in the far north of Finland to Helsinki in the far south we learned about the Sámi people and culture, reindeer farming, and an amazing city library.
On the Hurtigruten fjord cruise the scenery while cruising and while ashore was spectacular…
Norway highlights included the futuristic Oslo Opera House, the amazing Vigeland Sculpture Park, and the amazing scenery of the Flåm Railway and Bergen.
Highlights included the Rosenborg Castle, Royal Palaces, Tivoli Gardens, the Viking Ship Museum in nearby Roskilde, and Freetown Christiana.
The fjord cruise and Lapland were among the highlights, but the entire tour was incredibly scenic.
Mont Saint-Michel was certainly the highlight of our time in Brittany. Dating from 1084 the magnificent Abbey sits atop a 250-foot high granite island.
In the next phase of our journey we remembered and honored those who secured our freedom in World War II as we toured the beaches of Normandy.
Along the way we stopped in Conflans and Auvers for Van Gogh sites, Vernon and Giverny for Monet’s garden, Les Andelys for Richard the Lionheart’s Castle, and Rouen for a home-hosted visit.
Our time in Paris was short but magical. We enjoyed every minute of the guided bus, walking and boat tours, and our free time exploring the many attractions.
In addition to all the wonderful sights and experiences of Paris, a highlight of the trip was exploring the locations where Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet painted many of their masterpieces.
The next day we set off on an all-day drive through the highlands to Loch Ness, with rain on and off all day broken up by occasional bright sunshine.
Dominated by Edinburgh Castle which sits atop 250-foot high cliffs on three sides, the old town developed on the gently sloping fourth side where residents could retreat quickly to the castle in times of attack.
Towering above the town are the ruins of Whitby Abbey, inspiration for Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula.
We had a delicious lunch at another York institution, Betty’s Tea Rooms, before spending much of the afternoon at the National Rail Museum …
In Llagollen we learned about the Welsh Love Spoon tradition dating from the 17th century …
On the day we visited Stonehenge the weather ranged intermittently from dull overcast to bright sunshine with heavy rainstorms passing nearby, all adding to the mystique …
… we arrived at our hotel next to both the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. Our room overlooked the gilded Royal Rowbarge Gloriana in a Thames River marina …
… the tour included London, Oxford, Bath, Stonehenge, Chester, York, Whitby, Lake District, Llangollen, Snowdonia, Carnavon, and Edinburgh …
We spent our last two nights in the most luxurious campground we’ve ever seen at the Camping La Cle des Champs RV Park in Saint-Philippe, Quebec.
.. the Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife Sydney attractions at Darling Harbor offer a good selection of Australian marine life and animals …
A few quick tips on booking a car rental for another country.
Our first trip with Grand Circle was the Great Rivers of Europe river cruise from Amsterdam to Vienna, in September/October of 2018. We had not planned to do another overseas trip after our Tanzania-Serengeti safari trip in July, but Grand…
… Our program director and his two associates were very knowledgeable, friendly, and accommodating. They could spot distant wildlife that we could see only with binoculars or a telephoto lens, and would tell us all we wanted to know about every animal.
In 2018 we visited Amsterdam twice, first as a four-day stopover to break up the long flight to Tanzania, and later on our Great Rivers of Europe river cruise. We found no shortage of things to do and see. …
… From Melk we continued on to Vienna, taking a longer route along the Danube through the beautiful Wachau Valley with terraced vineyards, small villages, and occasional castle ruins …