To be honest,  I have worked on this post for a long time.   I wondered if anyone really cared about foreign credit card and money issues, and didn’t want to labor too long if the topic was not useful,  but then a friend asked…

Marcy called me at work one afternoon last fall and announced that Gate1 Travel was having a flash sale for independent travel to Italy – just $499 for an 8 day “Heart of Tuscany” tour including airfare from New York, car, hotel, and breakfast.   It…

On our recent trip to Scotland and Ireland, we visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.  I always supposed this was a Catholic church but was surprised to learn that it belongs to the Protestant Church of Ireland. I’ve posted some pictures of the interior below,…

From the Ballad of Glencoe: Oh, cruel was the snow that sweeps Glencoe  And covers the grave o’ Donald.  Oh, cruel was the foe that raped Glencoe  And murdered the house of MacDonald I’ll just say it, I love melancholy songs.   I love to…

May 2017 Kaleidoscope of France Gate1 Tour Marcy’s dad had always wanted to go back to Normandy to pay respects to his fallen comrades. We finally made it back for him, and our son Jared did the same 10 years ago. Our visit was on…

May 2017 Kaleidoscope of France Tour – Gate1 The blog title is the punch line to an old joke, but I won’t even go there right now.   Meanwhile,  it is Friday night and we find ourselves back in Paris at the Marriott Rive Gauche.…