Vienna… an experience for all your senses. www.vienna.info. According to the World Economic Forum, Austria’s imperial capital sprawling along the famous Blue Danube River has been named the “City with the highest quality of life.” And strolling through the manicured city parks, down pompous avenues, and past baroque facades, this quality of life pulsating in the green…
If you’re still spelled after my recent Googlewood story, check out the award winning four-star resort, the one and only Guglwald Hof. www.guglwald.at. Sprawling right along the Austrian/Czech border in a majestic manner, this romantic getaway has become quite the destination, drawing wedding parties, honeymooners, wellness geeks, and city folks from near and far. Upon…
A long, long time ago, long before the idea of a world wide web and the Google search engine was conceived, a sleepy hamlet along the Iron Curtain, as the Austrian and Czechoslovakian border was called back then, bore the cute, funny name Guglwald, Googlewood. I was quite lucky to get to know Guglwald in…
Heading north out of Santa Fe, curving around a rugged canyon, the unusual town of Los Alamos beckons after a scenic 33-mile drive. www.visitlosalamos.org. Tucked away in the Jemez Mountains of Northern New Mexico, this sprawling community once housed Pueblo Indians and the Los Alamos Ranch School until the early 1940’s. Today, the world renowned…
Have you ever been to Lisbon? The capital city of Portugal guarding the southwestern tip of the Iberian Peninsula? A global city known to be the grand dame of Europe and one of the oldest cities in the world? If you have not, let me show you around. Landing on the shores of the Tago River,…
Have you ever dropped everything to step out into the stunning aftermath of a thunderstorm? When you took a twirl in the moisture-tinged air? The last time I did, the clouds and blue banner of sky had transformed into a ferocious twirl of ominous shades, spewing across the horizon like a dragon. As you may…
Have you ever heard of the Huntington Library? If you lived in Southern California chances are that you have. When someone told me about this famous estate housing a library, art museum and botanical gardens, I thought it was somewhere in Huntington Beach. Quite logical, right?
Meet a very unusual woman. Miss Erna Haselgruber, octogenarian and artist who stumbled on her ultimate passion late in life. It all began one dreary Austrian fall day when, out of the blue, inspiration struck. 69-years young back then, something compelled Erna to buy a paintbrush, art supplies, and enroll in an art class. What…
The stifling heat couldn’t stop my adventurous self, trading my air-conditioned hotel room for a stroll along the famous River Walk right in the historic heart of downtown San Antonio. www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com. The call from the river below my window was just too strong. Heading downstairs and out the cool lobby, I stepped up to the…
Shaped over millions of years ago, rising amidst yellow-red sandstone cliffs, the Echo Amphitheatre in Northern New Mexico is quite a dramatic sight to behold. Towering over the dry desert landscape along Highway 84, about 15 miles north of Abiquiu and past the Ghost Ranch, these spectacular rock formations just take your breath away. According…