Retired and Traveling ~ Near and Far

We made a day trip to Chisago City to visit Winehaven Winery. This is our favorite Minnesota winery, and we visit 4-6 times a year! We actually are members of their wine club. We have gotten to know winery owners, Kyle & Troy, and like chatting with them whenever we visit! Besides having great wine, they also offer delicious pizza and charcuterie boards. There is a nice shopping area with gifts, soaps, lotions,etc. We buy all of our bath soap at this winery! If you're ever in the Chisago City, MN area, be sure to stop in for a glass of wine! We are returning next weekend for a special event: Murder in a Vinyard! Dinner and show! Stay tuned!

You hear a lot about group travel these days. Some people love it, others do not like it at all. It really is a very personal thing, and only you can decide if it's right for you. I've always loved traveling and before I started to travel, I dreamed of all the places I would someday visit! I always felt that group travel was a good option. My husband Tim, however, did not feel the same way. In the 1970's and 80's, I would look through travel catalogs, National Geographic Magazines and check books out of the library on different countries that were of interest to me . I viewed group travel as an opportunity to meet new people while traveling, and having an expert tour director with you every step of the way! Tim's view on group travel was that you would be stuck with a bunch of people that you probably didn't like, going places you didn't want to go and being trapped on a bus for long periods of time. My first experience with group travel came in 2019, when ...

Another highlight of this tour was going to the TOP of the Eiffel Tower! We decided to go straight to the top, then take our time on each level coming down. It was a great plan! They do sell champagne at the top, which we bought, for 24 euro per glass! But how many people can say, they drank champagne on the top of the Eiffel Tower!?!? We were lucky that there were no clouds and the view was great. I will say, it is windy, very windy and cold at the top, so be prepared for that! This is the last post on our fantastic Paris vacation, we had such a great time, we're already talking about when we should return! Where should we go next?? Time will tell.❤️✈️

Again...I've lost track of the days, but we took one day to visit the Palace of Versailles. Since this trip was a "city stay" we decided to learn the Paris Metro system and get from place to place like the Parisians do. We got a metro map from our hotel and away we went! Tim really figured the system out much quicker than me, but it was quite easy, and fun! To get to Versailles we had to take the RER, which is the rapid transit commuter rail. Within a half hour we were there! We hired a local guide through Get Your Guide, to show us around. The palace was beautiful and the art was spectacular! Pictures below are: The Gate at the Palace of Versailles, The Royal Chapel, and a painting of Mary Magdalene washing the feet of Christ in the House of Simon. Our guide took us through the kings quaters, the queens quarters and the Hall of Mirrors. I found it interesting, that the Hall of Mirrors did not have electricity until 1961. Electricty was installed at that time because Pre...

I have to be honest, I’ve lost all track of time!! I think that means we're having a FANTASTIC TIME!! Here are some pictures from the past two days!❤

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! BONNE ANNEE' 2025

On day three of our Paris vacation, we joined a local guide for a sightseeing tour! It was a foggy day with low clouds, so even though we visited the Eiffel Tower we could not see the top!! That's ok...we have plans to return later in the week. We did spend a little time driving the Champs-Elysees, and enjoying the Arc de Triomph again! Then on to Notre-Dame Cathedral. Notre-Dame has only been reopened for about two weeks, since the fire which happened in 2019. To get into Notre-Dame you do one of two things; you can get a ticket (free of charge) but they only become available 24-48 hours before you want to go, and from what I've been told it is extremely hard to get tickets. The second way to get into Notre-Dame is to stand in a 2 hour long line and wait. We enjoyed the view from outside, and that was beautiful! We took a break for a cappuccino with baileys and a chocolate We took a break for a cappuccino with Baileys and a chocolate croissant. For lunch we went to the 7th...