A young boy on my Black Forest tour said he was a bit afraid of what might lurk in the dark woods. His sister expected to see fairy tale princesses. His father hoped to buy a handmade cuckoo clock. And his mother was seeking a recipe for the famed Black Forest Cake. Read more...

Carved into stone, the drawing of a footprint may be the first public billboard advertisement ever recorded in history.

“It pointed the way to the local brothel,” guide Bulent Yurttas said, leading us around the ancient city of Ephesus. The dots on the stone represent the number of prostitutes in the brothel and the heart carving means the women are eager for love. Read more...

On any cruise, I always look forward to reading the ship’s newsletter that magically appears on my stateroom bed every night.  The newsletters are filled with interesting information about where we are going, what we will be doing, the weather forecast and much more. Read more...

Carol Schreck had never been fishing in her life. But when the Grande Caribe made an unscheduled stop at a lovely marina known for its many fish, Carol decided to give it a try.

She pulled in a whopping two fish – a smallmouth bass and a catfish. “It was beginner’s luck,” Carol said modestly. Her prize catches were released back into their watery home. Read more...

Carnival Cruise Lines has long promised that travelers will have a wonderful cruise on their ships or get their money back. Last year, Carnival ramped up that promise even more with its “Great Vacation Guarantee.”

Now Carnival has announced that its popular guarantee will be offered again in 2015. Read more...

The AmaCerto cruise ship certainly has a great deal to offer – beautiful staterooms, delicious cuisine, professional staff, wonderful shore excursions and a pool.

That’s right. A pool. I’ve never been on a river vessel with a pool this big. Some river cruisers have tiny plunge pools and plenty of hot tubs. But the AmaCerto has a teardrop-shaped heated pool with some depth to it. At the deep end is a swim-up bar with barstools  and a bartender serving wine, beer and cocktails – in warm weather. Read more...

Sam Hill wouldn’t have had to ask me twice to live here. Perched high on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River, the French-style mansion was designed to have eight suites and enough room for 250 dinner guests.

The opulent home was built by Hill for his wife. But she never lived here. Her loss. Our gain. Read more...

Walking ashore at Paducah, Kentucky, I saw a bittersweet image.

There on the floodwall is a beautiful painting of the three sister riverboats – the Delta Queen, the Mississippi Queen and the American Queen.

The mural depicts an actual event.  On a historic July day in 1996, all three of the mighty steamboats docked at Paducah at the same time. The painting commemorates that gathering as local townsfolks welcome the queens and passengers. Read more...

I could never understand what Jackie Kennedy saw in Aristotle Onassis. But I can certainly see why the former First Lady fell in love with the Greek island of Mykonos.

Mesmerizing Mykonos is definitely one of the most popular and most-visited Greek isles. Read more...

A bowling alley on a cruise ship? Why not? The mini-bowling alley on the MSC Divina certainly has its happy competitors.

The small twin alleys are located in the ship’s Sports Bar, an American-themed spot where passengers can watch pro sports on big-screen TVs while they munch on American food and quaff drinks. Read more...