Like many families, I have spent a lot of time with my kids lately. I’m acutely aware of this precious opportunity to bond and make memories. At 12 and almost 14, they are not too keen to be in our company for very long. But joint walks and meal preparation have become activities we share….
Cooking with Tracy is one of our new UnTours virtual experiences! These cooking lessons are done live from Tuscany over Zoom. Our Tuscany UnTour host Tracy has invited us into her kitchen to learn some of the classics. She has lessons coming up for Tiramisu and Eggplant Parmigiana. You can sign up here. Here is…
UnTourist and UnTours Foundation supporter Jerry Nolan recently shared this touching story with us, about his memories of WWII and his return to France to reconnect with a French family he befriended. In October of 1944 the U.S. army shipped me to Europe to go to war. My nineteenth birthday passed almost unnoticed on the…
When one thinks of Bavaria, it is often the castles of King Ludwig II, which come to mind. Fabulous, daring, extravagant, (the skeptic says pointless and tacky), the castles have taken hold in a Bavarian landscape that would now seem naked without them. It was these castles which earned Ludwig the monikers “Dream King” and…
Regular readers of the UnTours blog have likely enjoyed Jessica’s regular dispatches from Switzerland this spring. In lieu of a Swiss UnTour, it is nice to get a glimpse of spring yielding to summer in Switzerland. Jessica is part of our Swiss UnTour staff, an American who lives near Interlaken. She has talked about her…
Normally Memorial Day is an important day at the American war cemetery in Margraten, in the south of the Netherlands. For decades, the soldiers resting here, fallen in WWII, have been adopted by locals. It’s considered a duty and an honor to adopt a grave. There’s even a waiting list, and the care is often…
What will the future of travel look like? It is a hot topic, and there is no dearth of articles about it. Almost all of it, even the most well researched and solidly conceived pieces, is speculation. With so little known about the Coronavirus and its waves of contagion, we are all left to use…
UnTours Blog readers may remember a post last month from our UnTours Swiss colleague Jessica Powers. She is American born but lives in Switzerland, in Interlaken. Jessica reported on her impressions of Coronavirus planning and restrictions in their early days in the American west and in Switzerland. She also mentioned she enjoys social distance walking…
The Scuole Grandi (Great Schools) of Venice were fraternal organizations, established between the 13th and 16th centuries. They operated as charitable and social organizations for non-noble Venetian citizens of standing and wealth. They played an important role in their communities and in the arts. The schools were normally associated with a church and built nearby….
Located within easy day trip distance of our UnTours in Cordoba and Andalusia in Southern Spain, Ronda is an exciting day trip! Because of its high perch in the mountains, Ronda is often referred to as The Eagles’ Nest. Standing atop a towering plateau, a plunging river gorge, El Tajo (ravine), divides the…