We spent a couple days of our 20-day tour of India recently at the Oberoi Vanyavilas, a tented safari camp in Sawai Madhopur, on the edge of Ranthambore National Park. Ranthambore is one of several notable national parks throughout India where tigers can be spotted, the other most famous parks being Jim Corbett and Bandavargh. We mainly chose to visit Ranthambore because of the close proximity to the "Golden Triangle" of Agra, Delhi and Jaipur, and the great reputation of the Oberoi Vanyavilas ...

With our friends we flew on RyanAir (www.ryanair.com)from Paris to Milan/Bergamo (BGY). The early morning flight from the Beauvais/Tilly airport was on time and 1 hour and 55 minutes later we arrived in Bergamo at the Orio al Serio International Airport (BGY). From there we took a public bus (1.25 Euros) that took us straight through the modern town the Citta Bassa up to the Citta Alta where we had reserved a couple of rooms at the Palazzo Vechia (www.palazziovecchia,com). Our rooms were ready ...

When our friends came to visit us in Paris and expressed an interest in taking a day trip to explore Normandy, Mont Saint-Michel, the landing beaches, the Bayeux Tapistry came to mind, all of which make Normandy an attractive area to visit. We settled on booking a day trip to Mont Saint-Michel with CITYRAMA Sightseeing (www.pariscityrama.com). The price was 163 Euros per person and included two meals (lunch and dinner) and a guided visit of the Abbey and the Scriptorial dAvranches. The bus left ...

The Luxury Link Auction package to the Riad Kinza in Marrakech, Morocco proved to be a real bargain and a great base for exotic explorations.
We were treated more like "members" of the Bourski family (owners of the Riad), rather than just "hotel guests."
Kamal, manager and son of the owner, greeted us as soon as we cleared customs at the airport and filled us in on a little history on the drive to the riad.
Upon our arrival, as there was ...

We know all too little about birds!

However, while traveling in Costa Rica, we spent several days in Monteverde and took early morning treks into the 10,500 hectare Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve.

We always managed to be among the first trekkers in order to really appreciate the first stirrings of the mammals, and birds (as the mornings progress, the vans and busses arrive and the groups begin their noisy walks, disturbing and scattering most of the wildlife.
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