Travel and Adventure from Creators Syndicate

La Dolce Vita: Art, Arias and Gastronomy in Parma, Italy for 05/27/2012

Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Victoria Looseleaf

Whether it's music, art, architecture, food, fashion or fantastic natural scenery, Italy's got it. And for those who've done the Rome/Venice/Florence route and don't want the crowds, Parma is one of the country's best-kept secrets. Located in the northern Emilia-Romagna region between Milan and Bologna in the Po River Valley, this sleepy town of 170,000 is a magical ...

Updated: Sun May 27, 2012

A Family Finds Magic on a Budget in Orlando for 05/26/2012

Sat, 26 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Fyllis Hockman

My daughter Ari was heading to the spa for a well-deserved massage.

My son and his wife were engrossed in a heady game of tennis. Nine-year-old granddaughter Becca was happily floating down the hotel's Lazy River while her 7-year-old sister was designing a tie-dye T-shirt in the kids' activity center. Meanwhile, I (aka Grandma) cuddled up with 3-year-old Josh an ...

Updated: Sat May 26, 2012

"Standin' on a Corner" in Winslow, Ariz. for 05/20/2012

Sun, 20 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Jim Farber

The titans of American banking and industry may have created the transcontinental railroads, but it took an enterprising Englishman named Fred Harvey to turn cross-country rail travel into a pleasurable experience. Through his contract with the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe, Harvey not only provided travelers with excellent food and hotel service, he transformed the scen ...

Updated: Sun May 20, 2012

4-Wheel Drives Are the New Passion in Moab, Utah for 05/19/2012

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Steve Bergsman

Saturday night on Main Street in Moab, Utah, is not unlike walking through Telluride during ski season or Daytona Beach in the summer. People on the street are looking for burger bars, T-shirt shops and stores selling outdoor gear. The crowds are thick on the sidewalk, and the atmosphere is festive.

The difference is in the makeup of the crowd. In Moab, adventur ...

Updated: Sat May 19, 2012

From Titanic to Troubles to Tourists: Northern Ireland Is a Top Destination for 05/13/2012

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Sharon Whitley Larsen

"Until recently, this has not been a tourist destination," was the comment I frequently heard from several Northern Ireland residents — including taxi drivers, tour guides and even descendants of Titanic victims.

And that's true: After decades of enduring the "Troubles" — an IRA hotspot with bombings and killings of young pr ...

Updated: Sun May 13, 2012

A German Culinary Adventure for 05/12/2012

Sat, 12 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By John Blanchette

Ironically, I began my gourmet German culinary adventure in Frankfurt, which, along with Hamburg, have lent their names to America's most enjoyed fast foods. While in the airport train station I enjoyed the best wurst at the sausage stand, a true guilty pleasure.

Then it was off to explore the new high-powered cuisine that is emerging throughout Germany, spurred ...

Updated: Sat May 12, 2012

Isle of Pines Is Postcard-Perfect for 05/06/2012

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Alison DaRosa

You won't see a high-rise, a stoplight, even a single neon sign here. What you will see is pines rising beside palms, papaya growing wild, miles of powdery white sand beaches and a sea in so many shades of blue - from pale turquoise to polished lapis, from cerulean to cobalt - that it defies description.

"I have to dig out my Crayola box to decide what color ...

Updated: Sun May 06, 2012

Going to Australia or New Zealand? Stop at New Caledonia for 05/05/2012

Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Alison DaRosa

Tell your friends you're going to New Caledonia and chances are you'll be greeted with an enthusiastic blank stare. Sounds nice — but where the heck is it?

It's a bucket-list destination, well off the beaten track, and an excellent addition to a visit to Australia or New Zealand.

New Caledonia is a remote archipelago in the Coral Sea — about a t ...

Updated: Sat May 05, 2012

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Tok for 04/29/2012

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Jim Farber

"OK, guys," said our straight-arrow tour guide, David, over the PA system of our massive motor coach. "In a couple of minutes we'll be pulling into Tok (pronounced Toke), Alaska. Remember, your yellow chits are for dinner at the motel. The pink chit is for breakfast. We're just here overnight, so it's bags out a 6:30. (Groans). The bus leaves at 7:30. Now, be ...

Updated: Sun Apr 29, 2012

Firing It Up at the Oxnard Salsa Festival for 04/28/2012

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By John Blanchette

Last July 31 wasn't a particularly hot summer day. There was even a little rain that cooled off the morning as I drove north from Los Angeles on my way to the Ventura County town of Oxnard. Little did I know what awaited me.

Lying about 50 miles north of Santa Monica on the California coast, Oxnard is a farming community of nearly 200,000 that is especially not ...

Updated: Sat Apr 28, 2012

Beaches Are Hot in Switzerland for 04/22/2012

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Athena Lucero

Beaches in Switzerland? Let's just say that in Switzerland, no one is ever very far from a beach. In the heart of Europe, this landlocked country is usually noted for the Alps and world-famous ski resorts. But when the snow has melted, the Swiss flock to the shores and take to the lakes like, well, ducks take to water.

Most of Switzerland's major cities, towns and ...

Updated: Sun Apr 22, 2012

Old World Flavor and Casual Elegance at Mohonk for 04/21/2012

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Fyllis Hockman

Liz and Dan Gleason from Haddon Heights, N.J., were at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, N.Y., for their 20th visit, but they said it was the first time they had ever taken the house tour — one of the staples of the experience. When I asked what they had been doing all those years, Liz replied: "There's just so much to do all the time, you can't fit it all ...

Updated: Sat Apr 21, 2012

Delaware Packs Plenty of Appeal Into Its Compact Space for 04/15/2012

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Robert Selwitz

Many travelers come to Delaware primarily to see the extraordinary homes and gardens created and maintained by generations of the du Pont family, and the Hagley Museum, Winterthur, Longwood Gardens and Nemours are definitely worth the trip. But the state and the region also have much more to offer.

From the Brandywine River Museum and N.C. Wyeth's studio (just n ...

Updated: Sun Apr 15, 2012

Getting to Know the du Ponts in Delaware for 04/14/2012

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Robert Selwitz

Family histories and their ties to the states where they settled are always fascinating to research, and nowhere are the bonds tighter than those linking the du Ponts to Delaware, the second smallest (after Rhode Island) of the United States. Easily accessed from New York and Philadelphia to its north and Baltimore and Washington, D.C., to its south, Delaware and its c ...

Updated: Sat Apr 14, 2012

Napa Valley and Sonoma County Come Alive in Spring for 04/08/2012

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Divina Infusino

Cherry trees' pink- blossomed branches arch over the sidewalks. Wisteria hangs a delicate lavender canopy over the doorways. Meyer lemon trees erupt into clouds of white flowers, grapevines break into buds, and the sun and climbing temperatures dry the grounds softened from the March rains.

This must be Napa Valley and Sonoma County in spring.

Summer and ...

Updated: Sun Apr 08, 2012

This Colorado-to-New Mexico Railway Travels Through History for 04/07/2012

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Kathryn Lemmon

Some women get giddy over horses, handbags or kitchen gadgets, but for this one it's trains of all shapes and sizes. So naturally when I visited northern New Mexico, the first thing I wanted to do was ride the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, the highest and longest coal-fired, steam-operated narrow-gauge railroad in the country. This railroad is well known among tra ...

Updated: Sat Apr 07, 2012

Give My Regards to Broadway for 04/01/2012

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Joan Scobey

Broadway? No, not the Great White Way that George M. Cohan celebrated. I mean the beloved English Cotswolds village, the jewel of honeyed limestone buildings and thatched roofs that has enchanted vacationers for decades.

Long before American tourists flocked two hours northwest of London to Broadway, booked rooms at the venerable Lygon Arms and roamed the surroundin ...

Updated: Sun Apr 01, 2012

Celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee for 03/31/2012

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Sharon Whitley Larsen

"I only hope they will not kill the poor little girl with overwork."

So commented Queen Mary prior to the June 2, 1953, coronation of her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, who was only 26 at the time. Yet not only has the queen calmly survived the intense royal pressure and work since then, but she has also proved to have incredible stamina and ...

Updated: Sat Mar 31, 2012

Costa Rica: Ahead of Its Time and Most Other Countries for 03/25/2012

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Fyllis Hockman

Most people traveling to Costa Rico do so because of its excellent eco-tourism reputation. The country was espousing environmental conservation way before it was popular to do so. But what few people know is how Costa Rica became the pioneer of eco-travel.

It all started back in the 1950s, when a small group of Quakers fled the United States to avoid jail time fo ...

Updated: Sun Mar 25, 2012

This Costa Rican Tourist Attraction Discourages Tourists for 03/24/2012

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

By Fyllis Hockman

The last 18 miles of the road leading to the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica, full of ruts and potholes by design, takes more than an hour and a half to navigate. The locals like it that way. And they choose not to fix it because it would be too easy then for tourists to visit.

That may not sound very hospitable, but it illustrates the emphasis Costa Rican ...

Updated: Sat Mar 24, 2012