Posted September 6, 2019
France & Belgium
The Honeymoon
Way back in 1985 my new husband and I honeymooned in France & Belgium. A travel agent alerted us to a flight deal. If we bought one ticket to Europe and a Polaroid Instant Camera, we’d get our second flight free! Well, being newlyweds on a tight budget, that decided it. We chose France. It was February, so it was very cold. We bundled up and tackled all the top tourist draws in Paris. We ate amazing food including lots of sizzling snails in garlic butter and good wine.
The second week we drove through the Loire Valley, visiting castles that we had almost completely to ourselves. Try beating the romance of driving up over a hill with a snow covered castle coming into view.
Finishing up our trip, we had one afternoon in Brussels. It was an easy decision to spend our short time in the Grand Place, the centuries old square where we were surrounded by opulent buildings glittering in gold. Unfortunately, my most vivid memory of the Grand Place was my husband desperately trying not to vomit as I popped in to cute lace shops. I was on the hunt for something special to take home as a souvenir. He waited outside of each store, patiently taking deep breaths of the cold air until he just couldn’t take it any more. Thankfully we made it to the room just in time. It was a long and a memorable last night of our honeymoon.
Mexico
San Miguel de Allende & Guanajuato
My mom and I took a trip in 2004 to artsy San Miguel de Allende. After San Miguel we white-knuckled it in a taxi speeding through the winding underground tunnels, the only way to reach our second destination of Guanajuato. We couldn’t have picked two more beautiful cities for our mother-daughter trip. Being in the interior of Mexico, north of Guadalajara for the fist time brought a much more authentic Mexico into focus than either of us had ever known. And we loved it.
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is one of my favorite cities in Mexico. I’ve been there over ten times, and I’m sure I’ll return. The landmark Catholic church sits at the center of town topped by its intricate ironwork crown. Colorful triangle flags drape above the cobblestone streets flapping in the constant breeze. The cute shops, outdoor fish grills, seaside walkway and local life are enchanting.
Cozumel & Playa del Carmen
In 1986 I took my first moped ride with my husband around the island of Cozumel, a small island off the east coast of Mexico. At about the half way point it started raining so hard that the drops stung as they hit our skin and we could hardly see. We tried to take refuge in a large, elegant hotel lobby, the only building for miles, but I guess two under-dressed tourists in t-shirts, dripping in the fancy lobby were not welcome, and we were asked to move along.
The day after the moped debacle, we took a ferry across to the mainland, to a small fishing village called Playa del Carmen. There wasn’t a single hotel along the pristine, white beach. The only tourist accommodations were beach hammocks available for $8 a night. Fishing boats were bringing in their catch and local children played along the beach. Twenty years later I returned to Playa del Carmen and found it had exploded with development and tourism. The city is still worth visiting, with its beautiful beaches and Mexican charm, but it’s definitely grown up from the small fishing village we knew.
Merida
Mérida, the vibrant capital of the Yucatan Peninsula, is a stately colonial city well worth exploring. Before we arrived I made certain there would be a pool at our tiny budget hotel to ease the stifling heat, since we were visiting in July. To my horror, we arrived to find the pool drained and under construction. Every day for a week I checked with the front desk and was reassured the pool would be ready “mañana” (tomorrow), but it never was. Somehow we survived, but the view of that empty pool still haunts me.
Mayan Ruins of Coba
Bicycling the wide, dirt pathways through the Mayan ruins of Coba in the Yucatan jungle was an amazing experience. We cycled from building to building, spread out over many acres, until arriving at the giant pyramid. Climbing the steep, almost vertical, crumbling stairs of the pyramid with only a small guide rope was harrowing, especially with young kids.
After reaching the top we sat and relaxed, enjoying the birds-eye view of treetops and jungle as far as we could see, trying to not think too much about the impending trip back down to solid ground.
Cruising
I’ve cruised to Hawaii, Alaska, the Caribbean Islands, Haiti & Belize, Mexico multiple times, and up the east coast of the United States to Nova Scotia.
Every cruise had its own highlight, but one of my favorites was when we helicoptered to an glacier in Alaska. I’ll never forget the crunch of my boots on the hard glacier surface as I made my way to one of the many one and two foot wide crevices around us. I stood at the crevice edge, peering down into the narrow opening that was so deep it looked like it went on forever. The electric blue glowing from the crevice ice got darker and more intense as the crevice deepened. It was unreal. What an amazing site to behold.