bonniejoy, how were the seas on that size of a ship? Given the smaller size, did you - or other passengers - experience any seasickness? That's the one thing I wonder about with a small ship.

WOW indeed! And the HANDSTAND!! Now I have another destination to add to my list. I can't wait to have my brother read this and see your pics. It sounds like the trip of a lifetime! WEO!!! Thanks for the write-up.

Galapagos is on my bucket list - sounds amazing and glad you had a great time. This ship sounds just right for us.

Thanks All. We did Itinerary B. This was the line that goes east and north. We visited Isabella, Ferdinandia, Marchena, Genovesa, Seymouur, Santa Cruz. We flew out of DC during the "blizzard." Took extra day off work to be down at DCA because of the forecasted BLIZZARD!!! Most flights cancelled Wednesday and all fed offices closed so at least driving was easy. We overnighted in Alexandria (lovely!) and the blizzard NEVER came!!!!!!!!! We flew out Thursday with no problems and flew home Sunday with no problems. All on time.

Thanks BJ for posting! I've been anxiously waiting to hear about your cruise of the Galapagos Islands as it's on my list and was really interested in hearing about your experiences on Haugan Cruises.

Hey Luxury Link, Haugan Cruises would be a great addition to broaden the LL cruise offering!!

Which islands did you visit?

b-j-03....certainly sounds like a great trip aboard the Cormorant. Has to be especially nice for you to be able to kick around all day in short or a swim suit and go bare footed....not things you can normally enjoy back in the Keystone state this time of year. How were you flights?

p.s....did you to the "A" or "B" cruise?

Hi O...The club in EZE was fine for our purposes. We had the 11am fight. It was not crowded. They are still upgrading. Not sure when it will be finished. We loved the Bariloche area. We visited Cerro Cathedral and did some hiking. Just beautiful!

Hi B...Hard to put our finger on Charming. Tiziana, the General Manager was absolutely amazing. She was so deeply concerned about our stay. Also, maybe it was just our perception. We loved the property location and facilities. The owner, Alberto, was always around. All of the other guests were sooooo happy and impressed. I would definitely stay again. It was just difficult upon check in to get the heat working. (took a few hours) and then arranging our included meal. Tiziana would do anything to make our stay comfortable. We just hated to keep complaining! (asked about heat, room, fireplace/stove in room-ours didn't have it.)
You must go back to Argentina before inflation gets worse!!! We loved moving around by bus and bike. We felt extremely safe. We loved that people approached us to talk.

Hi bonniejoy03 - Thanks for your trip recap on one of my favorite countries on Earth! I am alerting our property relationship team about your issues at Charming Luxury Lodge, and also pass along your suggestion to add Chacras de Coria to the Luxury Lounge collection.

BoBo Hotel has been universally-praised by LL travelers...I may need to give it a long look on my next trip to Buenos Aires!

Congratulations, BJ3....you finally made your return trip to Argentina! Did you use the Admirals Club in EZE? Sounds like Charming Lodge may need a brush up at charm school. Did you enjoy the surrounding area?

PS- THE WSJ had an article on 7/26 on pup friendly restaurants and The Art and Soul in the Liaison Hotel was discussed!

I so wish this package was up when I was looking for DC trisp - I would have done this instead of the Madison - much better package and the hotel looks like it is more our speed - the Madison needs some tinkering and their is not much around the area.Glad you had fun!

bonniejoy03 - as I have previously stated, no interest in a hotel that caters to weekend packages for families. I don't want kids involved in my leisure stays.

Hi all. The Union Station is just a few blocks away. We could see the station from the property. We ate at The Art and Soul restaurant. The restaurant is in the Liaision. We enjoyed the property for the convenience and being pup friendly outside. We love Thai food so went to Absolute Thai. (highly listed on TA.) We walked there. We LOVED it. Different than our local Thai food. Great prices and great selection. We also tried The Billy Goat. (related to the one in Chicago.) The package includes a $50 dining/drink credit at The Art and Soul. Very convenient. Yes Mountie...those kids. Honestly, they were sweet during the day. It is just the nights!!!
Thanks Ben. We also enjoy the pup friendly places.

Is this the hotel that offered you noisy kids in the next room?

Nice review, Bonnie! We're actually compiling a listing page of pet-friendly properties on Luxury Link, and I'll share in the Forum soon...

Thanks for the report--we've been considering doing a Friday-Sunday visit to DC. We could do any visa business we might need and see the sights. Is the metro convenient to the hotel? We'd pass on a car, but I know the Arlington stop since I've done the DCA route.
How about the room? Any restaurants nearby that you liked?

It was great reading about your Big Fat Greek Vacation. I've only been to Athens and Santorini, and I still remember the incredible food. One of the best things that I ever ate was a calamari steak prepared on the grill with some olive oil, garlic and lemon juice. My mouth waters just thinking about it.

Originally Posted by [email protected]

Did you get to go to Knossos on Crete - it is one of the archaeological sites on my to do list and was wondering if it lives up to it's "supposed to be beautiful" reputation?

Denis, yes, Knossos does live up to it's reputation.If you go, don't miss it. The museum is outstanding.
Alone the columns are noteworthy. They are large tree trunks, mounted upside down, so the larger part of the tree trunk supports the roof. The columns themselves are painted blood red, with actual blood from the bulls.

J-no ouzo for us!!! Everyone gave us raki and ouzo. We did enjoy the Mythos beer and the local wines. No fancy wines; just locally grown and enjoyed wine...lovely!

D...can you believe we passed on Knossos!! We had Phaestos (also called Festos) right near our house in Southern Crete. We actually drove through it on our way to the house at dusk. Kind of spooky with no one around!! (Festos is 2nd to Knossos and some say a better choice.) We mostly visited monasteries and less developed tourist sites such as the Roman Tombs/Caves at Matala. (tombs built into the mountain and used thousands of years ago.) Matala was funky to hear about the past history and then the recent history had hippies living in the tombs!! Joni Mitchell supposedly was a visitor.