Search Results for: blog biking and walking tours of europe

Walking Across the USA

A survey from the American Podiatric Medical Association looked at five hundred cities around the United States and ranked them based on walkability. The researchers looked for things like green spaces for walking, what percentage of the population walks to work, how safe the streets are, and more. Here are some of the winners! I’m pleased to see my own new home of Portland, Oregon made the list, thanks to the efforts of the community to make the town more walkable. Other towns that are working to improve walkability include Trenton, NJ, Denver, CO, and Kansas City, MO. There are … Continue reading →

European Walking Tours

There’s nothing I enjoy more than ditching a diet prior to leaving on vacation. And what better way to gorge on regional delicacies and not have to deal with the guilt (or extra calories) that comes with doing so than by taking part in a walking tour. One of the leaders in the walking tour industry, Breakaway Adventures, offers more than 200 cycling and walking tours each year in 30 countries. The tour company keeps groups small and personal (there’s rarely more than eight people per group) so you can move at your own pace. The guided tours include pick … Continue reading →

Touring Ireland

When I was a young girl I dreamed of honeymooning in Ireland. Since my dad is part Irish I thought it would be interesting to learn more about my heritage and from what I know about the Emerald Isle its beauty is unparalleled. So I figured why not explore the gorgeous countryside with the man that I was destined to spend the rest of my life with. Those were the musing of a young child and needless to say I didn’t honeymoon in Ireland, but I haven’t given up on the dream. Some day I plan to travel to the … Continue reading →

Exploring Exotic Locations On Two Wheels and Two Feet

How would you like to explore lemon groves in southern Spain or cycle through the back roads of Madeira (a Portuguese autonomous archipelago in the north Atlantic Ocean also known as “The Floating Garden of the Atlantic”) and enjoy the intoxicating smell of jasmine, begonias and camellias while the rest of your neighbors are digging out from a foot of snow? Not a bad way to spend the winter is it? If the idea intrigues you now is the best time to book a cycling or walking tour of some exotic locations. Right now, Breakaway Adventures, a U.S. based tour … Continue reading →

London, Paris, and Normandy

My oldest son and I recently returned from a trip to London, Paris, and the Normandy region of France. People keep asking me, was it a worthwhile trip? I don’t hesitate as I tell them “Yes”. We got such a sense of history. To be immersed at once in so many cultures and time periods was amazing. Seeing places like Omaha Beach and Pointe de Hoc, bomb scars on buildings, craters left by mortars, and the American cemetery made World War II a humbling reality for us both. Being readers we spotted a ton of places from literature like Baker … Continue reading →

Walking the Big Apple

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We love to walk. With the exception of that week in Paris last year, when our 2 ½ year old daughter asked to be picked up and carried, every single day and always before our rented apartment in the 6th arrondissement was even out of sight, we walk almost everywhere the suburban layout of our town allows (which, sadly, is not very much). But in Paris, she couldn’t even make it to the curb on her own two feet! In New York, however, she is infinitely more willing to match us stride for stride, which is a very good thing … Continue reading →

More European Walking Tours

In a previous blog I shared my desire to tour Europe and offered some suggestions regarding where to tour if you were planning a trip to France. I also told you that I have been collecting information on tours of Switzerland and Austria (the other European locations I have a desire to visit). The following are two walking/biking tours that caught my eye. Each is a 8-day/7-night tour that includes pick up and drop off at airport/train stations, breakfast and dinner each day, and fully researched walking and cycling route notes and maps. The other amenity I liked about these … Continue reading →

Biking and Walking Tours Of Europe

I look back at my years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with great fondness. However, I do have a couple of regrets–one being that I never took the opportunity as an undergraduate to participate in a European exchange program. I am now a mother to a young child and I fear it may be a while before I get the chance to fulfill my dream of visiting France, Switzerland, Austria, other European destinations I have longed to explore. Of course, that hasn’t stopped me from earmarking some tours I would be interested in signing up for. If you are looking … Continue reading →

London: Good News/Bad News

Attention travelers bound for London, England: I have news you can use. Let’s start with the good news. Thanks to a new line of budget hotels, you will have a much easier time taking a nap at London’s Gatwick Airport. (The airport is notorious for delays, which means at some point you will inevitably be scrounging the terminals for a place to crash.) Yotels, located within the airport’s terminal, features budget-priced pint-sized cabins with beds, showers, flat-screen TVs and free Internet. Cabins range in size from about 22 to 32 square feet and cost $50-$80 per four-hour minimum. Additional hours … Continue reading →