Features

November 2006 issue

Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands — the ultimate photo-op trip

“There’s one!” Our local guide ecstatically pointed out a sight guaranteed to generate a sense of awe in the most jaded traveler. Standing erect on a rock protruding from the bay near our landing site on Bartolomé Island in the Galápagos was an honest-to-goodness penguin, saluting our arrival. We were sweating in the sea-level equatorial heat while the polar seabird looked calm, cool and definitely out of place.

Refugees from the extreme southern part of South America, where they lived during the last Ice Age before the waters warmed again and cut them off from the continent of...

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August 2005 issue

Immersed in the Venetian lifestyle and the art of Florence

(Second of two parts)

Like countless other travelers, we were spellbound by Venice. Our 3-night stay really meant only two full days, but they were two delightful days that we would repeat in a heartbeat.

On queue

We stayed in a residential area off the Via Garibaldi, a wide thoroughfare just a 10-minute stroll along the lagoon from St. Mark’s Square. The frantic pace of much of Venice is left behind when you call this part of the Castello district home. We would not stay again in the same B&B, but we will return to “our Venice.”

We started off our visit...

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November 2005 issue

Sicily’s historical haunts

by Lois Edwards, Greensboro, NC

Sicily. It’s not for sissies. It had long been a destination I looked forward to visiting, primarily due to its historical sites. On a trip at the end of May ’05, it did not disappoint.

My husband, Steve, and I planned a 10-day fly/drive that would hit most of the “must sees” of the island. While it was not necessarily an easy trip and we had a few disappointments, we found that the effort expended was well rewarded.

Arrival

While Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean (175 miles by 30 to 110 miles), I thought it...

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February 2006 issue

Macau — where cultures merge and the past mingles with the present

by Roger Canfield, Contributing Editor

Seeing Macau’s more than 400-year-old European-style buildings is time travel accented by a 13-hour flight from Los Angeles. I saw newly restored evidence of Macau’s Portuguese and Chinese pasts: gothic, baroque, neoclassical and Chinese architecture plus modern and ancient art and exquisite exhibitions in many museums. Preserved are architectural landmarks of Christian missionaries, and Portuguese cuisine survives splendidly.

This old Macau sits amidst billions of dollars in modern 5-star hotel-casinos, bridges and roads. Modern Macau...

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May 2006 issue

Candy and chocolate shops

We asked you to tell us about any terrific candy or chocolate treats you have discovered overseas (outside of North America and the Caribbean). Whether a brand-name product or something from a confectionery, we wanted to know specifically where you found it, how much it cost and when you were there. Responses appear below.

If you have something to add, write to Sweet Confections, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com (please include the address at which you receive ITN).

The “best of the best” chocolate factory is in Tasmania and...

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August 2006 issue

Stunning Splendor of Iceland

I was aware of the buzz surrounding Iceland as a new travel “hot spot,” but the only in-depth coverage I had actually come across was filtered through the acerbic wit of Anthony Bourdain on an episode of the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations.” (There seemed to be a lot of late-night drinking and eating of odd foods….)

On the whole, I tend to avoid “it” destinations, as they usually boast nothing more than overpriced attractions and the latest in hip venues for the cool kids. But this time, someone got it right. While I didn’t...

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May 2005 issue

Cruising along the fjord-filled coast of Norway

by Patricia Arrigoni, Fairfax, CA

It was 4:30 in the morning and I had been up since 3 a.m. My natural time clock was completely confused by the bright sunshine pouring through my cabin window, for I was in the Land of the Midnight Sun in northern Norway.

It had taken me four days and four flights through nine time zones (with a stopover in Oslo) to arrive in Kirkenes from California. There I boarded the MS Nordnorge for a 6-day cruise over the top of the world and down to Bergen.

The ship

This was not a cruise ship we were on but a cargo vessel that also...

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November 2006 issue

A brief visit to Brugge

by Susan Fogwell, Princeton, NJ

The accessibility in reaching Brugge, Belgium, via train makes it a fun and delightful day-trip destination. I boarded a train with my husband, John, at Centraal Station in Amsterdam for the 3-hour journey. With a quick change of trains in Antwerp, we were on a comfortable train slicing through flat Belgian farmland. 

Light snow covered the landscape, dotted with horses with thick winter coats. As we got closer to our destination, villages of gabled buildings with cobbled, narrow streets passed by the window. 

It wasn’t long before the...

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