Where In The World?

Here is a small portion of our ever-expanding collection of travel books. We really love to journey to foreign countries and places very different from our own familiar surroundings to learn about different cultures, savour the local foods, explore local market places, meet new people, and absorb the history.

Last year, we managed a month-long trip in the motor home to the Maritime Provinces in Canada -- a stunningly beautiful part of the world that had long been on our list of must-see spots. Then in November, we cruised down the west coast of India, then sailed to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Java, and Bali. Without doubt the trip of a lifetime! (For one of my favourite pictures from that trip, flip back to December 1, 2012.)

In two weeks, we will be flying to Italy, where we have rented a house in Tuscany for two glorious weeks. I'm sure I must once have been an Italian, because the moment I first set foot in that magical land, I felt as if I'd come home. In December, we will spend a couple of weeks on the island of Saint Lucia, part of the Lesser Antilles -- a place new to us, which we are eager to explore.

Next year we will embark on another amazing cruise -- this one lasting a whole month! The itinerary starts in Miami, then proceeds to Nassau in the Bahamas, Cartagena Colombia, passing through the Panama Canal to Puntarenas, Costa Rica, on to Corinto, Nicaragua, Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, Huatulco, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, San Diego and Los Angeles, California ... then five days at sea before we visit Nawilwili, Kahului, Honolulu, and Hilo, Hawaii, a few more sea days before arriving at Nuku Hiva, Fakarava, and Bora Bora in French Polynesia, and finally disembarking at Papeete, Tahiti!

I've already put in my request for my 60th birthday, three years hence ... another African Safari, please!

Imagine the photographic opportunities that lie in wait!