Travel

We really enjoy travel. Our tendency is just to go somewhere, rent a car and then see what happens.

Europe

We have been to Europe many times. We particularly like the Austrian lake district and Swiss-German alps. I don't know exactly what makes this region so unique, but it is one of the most beutiful places in the world.

On our most recent trip, we landed in Rome and drove all over Italy. The Italians are wonderfully friendly people. Their roads are a little different. I thought Boston was a challenging drive, but it's nothing compared to Italian cities. It's even more difficult when you don't have common language, but Italian is suprisingly easy to follow if you listen carefully.

Venice is absolutely incredible. Everyone should go there once in their lives. Pictures just can't describe how beutiful and interesting it is. We went there twice, which is not a good idea IMHO. The first time, we were in Switzerland, but the weather was bad and wasn't getting any better. We decided to drive south to Italy and ended up in Venice after a once night stay in Milan. The next year we came back, thinking we might have missed something.

We also cruised to some of Greek islands, that was fun. Some of the islands reminded me of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. I expected a giant cyclops to walk out from behind a rocky hill. The Olympic village was really interesting. If you could imaging a competition thousands of years ago at that very spot, it's really unique.

Asia

I've been all over India. I wasn't all that impressed with the Taj Mahal, maybe it was overhyped. There are lots of other interesting sites nearby that don't get as much publicity.

I spent a short time in Singapore, but not enough to see much.

Australia

I've been to Sydney twice. It's very easy to adjust, it's like a warm Canada. The Autralian poeple are really friendly, always thinking no worries, mate. I really want to go back there again and also visit New Zealand.

Islands

Hawaii

Hawaii is another amazing place that everyone must see at least once in their life. I've been there several times, but only to Oahu and Kuwai. On the next trip I'm going to avoid the tourist traps of Oahu and go to Maui and the Big Island.

Canaries

The Canary islands are on the northwest coast of Africa. It's quite dry, but the landscape is really unique. We hiked up Teide peak, it was like another planet.

Maldives

The Maldives are one of the most beautiful coral islands anywhere. The sea life is absolutely incredible. There were so many varieties of fish that most charts couldn't list them all.