Greetings from Istanbul

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It's spring awright!!!





Location: Istanbul Istanbul

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Alaska: Port of Call Ketchikan

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Ketchikan I just had time to muse about my wonderful experience exploring the Inside Passage and some parts of the Tongass National Park while on a cruise to Alaska with my sisters. Our first port of call was Ketchikan, a very small town famous for three things: rain, salmon, and totem poles. So, most of the shore excursions involve rainforest, fish and totem poles. The weather forecast on our arrival was rain, but for a city dubbed as the “rain capital of Alaska”, it was beautiful and sunny when we arrived. The arch sign “the Salmon Capital of the World” greeted us as soon as we got off the ship. I gathered from the sign that Ketchikan was a small enough to explore on our own because only small towns would build or put out signs as tourist attractions to draw crowds. We could have explored the whole town on our own in no time, but we already pre-booked a walking tour. We arrived a couple of hours before the scheduled tour, so we walked around to check the shops out (mostly souvenir
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Scotland: The Best of Both Worlds

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Scotland had been on my travel radar for a while.  So, as soon as international travel was allowed, I traveled to Scotland. I flew in to Glasgow and what I saw when I first arrived was not what I expected – modern buildings, Art Nouveau architecture and the center of Glasgow’s famed shipbuilding industry along the river Clyde.  The weather was pleasant for early spring, but there were hardly any tourists. Hanging out at the pub and eating fish & chips was my first introduction to Scotland. It was not until the visit to the St. Mungo’s Cathedral and the surrounding area where the history of Scotland began, that I got a sense of the place.  But the most pleasant surprise was the visit to Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery.  It features Salvador Dali’s ‘Christ of St. John of the Cross’.  Across the gallery was Glasgow University in Gothic Revival style of architecture. Of course, Scotland is famous for castles, the residences of the kings and queens, knights and nobles.   Forty minute
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The Chilean Forest: Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park and the Petrohué River/Falls

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Our drive takes us along the stretch of the road sandwiched between the tranquil Lake Llanquihue set against the looming Osorno Volcano and miles of green valley dotted by farm animals, walled by spring flowers (yellow lupines), and bordered by the Andean Mountain, which rolls and soars in lush waves.  We are heading towards Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park for a walk around the Petrohué Falls. Since leaving Puerto Varas , our guide keeps looking out the window from the motor coach to check if the cloud hanging over the tip of the Osorno Volcano has dissipated.  She wanted to show us the ' breathtaking view of the Osorno Volcano ' advertised in the tour brochure, I guess.  But even screened by clouds, I see in astonishing detail the overwhelming beauty of nature that it excites my awareness. Mirrored in the clear waters of Lake Llanquihue, one of Chile’s largest lakes, are the reflections of the clouds and snow that cover the Osorno Volcano.  T
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