Travel Stories, Cruise Reviews, and Cultural Adventures

Guy Fawkes Day celebrates a plot's failure with bonfires, fireworks,

A pumpkin carving contest on Queen Mary 2, offered a mix of spooky and amusing results, some irreverent, some ghoulish. Travelers find Halloween displays along with Day of the Dead and All Saints Day decor in hotels in Europe, Mexico, and other countries around the world as autumn holidays and celebrations merge and overlap. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER "The Carpe Diem Kids" ALL THE WORLD seems to enjoy a celebration, be it pagan inspired or religious bas

Lovely Vancouver is best seen by Big Bus if you're there only briefly. It's a great option for an entertaining overview and if you have a bit more leisure time, it's a great way to get a taste and overview of a city. Editor's Note:  Today, we debut our new website. It makes it easier for you, our cherished readers, to find information on cities, tours, activities, cruises, trains, performance, special events in your area, parks, nature preserves and the lively mix of stories

Whereiscookie.Com our new website

Tippet Rise nature and music converge

Vancouver: bustling, busy city has splendid museum with Canada's finest artists

Bruce Keller has sailed all his life, as a native San Diegan with a love of the sea.  He taught sailing to Christene "Cookie" Meyers. She...

A men's bathroom in Singapore offers greenery along with sparkling clean urinals. Not all bathrooms abroad are as clean or nicely...

Seeing a whale's fluke, as we've done off the coast of San Diego, is a thrill to remember. EPIC WHALE WATCHING SEASON CONTINUES IN...

THIS WEEK'S FEATURE: Whale watch!  PLUS UPDATE as Los Angeles area fires are virtually out! Please find Jan 30 fire news below this...

Take the A Train -- or any train! If you've wanted to take a special trip, if you've had a cruise or tour in mind, we remind you of...

We boarded Celebrity's Eclipse for an exciting 15-day cruise from Buenos Aires to the Antarctic. Here, we joined fellow cruisers to board our bus for a shore excursion and spectacular wildlife.  CELEBRITY'S FLEET SPANS THE WORLD, WITH CLASSY STATE OF THE ART VESSELS Celebrity ships are easily recognized by the trademark "X," here on the line's Edge. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER Celebrity's shore excursions include a wide range of activity, including biking

Autumn is a perfect time to visit Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota's Black Hills.  Fine fall weather is predicted for the...

Venice charms: sights and sounds to savor abound.  Venice has imposed tourist taxes and banned large ships from its precarious canals --...

Crowds on our recent crossing of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence illustrate the overcrowding which is taxing the patience and pocketbooks...

TRAVELING WITH A FAVORITE LOVED ONE  ENHANCES A TRIP THROUGH HIGHLIGHTS OF SOUTHERN EUROPE'S FAMOUS CITIES STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS...

In late spring and into summer,   temperatures in the Alps can dip to 15 °C (59 F), and there can still be snow on the mountain tops, as Bruce Keller and Christene "Cookie" Meyers discovered recently during a ride on the famed Bernina Express. HISTORIC RAIL TRIP OFFERS SPLENDID VIEWS ON BERNINA EXPRESS The viaduct  outside Tirano offers spectacular Alps viewing. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER IT'S BEEN OUR dream for 17 years  to take a train trip through the

A wide-ranging group of several hundred people watched a spectacular "Hamlet" in Fishtail Family Park. All ages make up the audience...

This group of students came to our aid when they saw us looking at our city map. This friendliness is typical of Uruguayan people, we...

Veteran cruisers, Christene "Cookie" Meyers and Bruce Keller have made travel and cruising the world a priority.  They offer enthusiastic...