Who: Dee McConnell, Director of UnTours Ventures What: Viking’s Rhine Getaway Where: The Rhine (Basel to Amsterdam) When: October, 2017 How: Sailing the Rhine What were your favorite stops on the trip and why? Strasbourg (below) was a true gem and quite charming with its small canals and colorful flowers. The Cathedral was gorgeous too….
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Bellinzona, A Swiss City With Italian Flair
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Ticino is a region of Switzerland that surprises and delights travelers, as those who have taken our Swiss Ticino UnTour will tell you. And the town of Bellinzona is the surprise of Ticino! At the crossroads of the valleys leading to Italy from the Alps, Bellinzona is a natural sentinel and crossroads of trade…
Meet Hundertwasser’s Whimsical Vienna
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There are so many reasons to love the arts and architecture in Vienna! The city has had a reputation for interesting architecture since the completion of the Ring in 1865. The Hundertwasser House is a great place to start! Innovative Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser has enraged and delighted an equal number of Viennese with…
Home Cooking from Tuscany: A Recipe for Gnocchi with 4 Cheese Sauce
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Tuscany is a wonderland for those who live to eat and believe in vino veritas. So the Tuscany Wine and Food UnTour was a natural. Here Donella, Serenella and their family, who will lead one of the events, share one of their favorite recipes. It’s a a hearty and satisfying dinner for a cool,…
Vickie’s London: 9 Tips (and 14 websites) to Help You Make the Most of London
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We have been traveling with UnTours for 26 years. Hard to believe it has been that long! Our most recent UnTour was two weeks in London and one in Scotland. If you are interested, I maintained a daily blog with photos for our friends at web.wordpress.com. Researching and preparing for a trip is part…
Toasting Vienna: A Guide to Austrian Wines
Though it is not well known for its viticulture, Austria produces excellent white wines and increasing good red ones. Vienna itself is a wine-growing region, surrounded by vineyards which supply the Heurige (see below) in the city and the outskirts with young local wines. The most popular and wine in Austria is fruity, food-friendly…
Eating in Secret Paris: Sweets, Cooking class, Take-out and More
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Paris is a city for foodies, a true epicurean paradise. While its restaurant scene is storied and extremely well known and documented, we have our own lesser known favorites. Here are some of our favorite ways to eat • Pack a picnic and head out to the Jardin de couvent pour habitant laïc,…
The Paradox of Glasgow: Sacred & Contemporary
There is so much to see and do in Scotland, we need two UnTours to contain and cover it all! For a healthy jolt of urban life, shake off the castle cobwebs and head to Glasgow in Central Scotland. With its busy modern center, office buildings and traffic, it is a perfect foil to…
London Beyond the Majestic and Stately
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Well, with one exception, I would say that the wild parakeets of London carry their own majesty. But aside from meeting these marvelous birds, my London adventure this summer with my husband to visit our daughter, was anything but the London I’ve known in the past. Here’s our daughter in Hyde Park…
A Marvel & Maze: Untourists’ Venice Report on the Regatta, Churches and Other Marvels
The Toepfers just returned from the Venice UnTour and shared these thoughts and images. Venice is a miracle marvel: A unique city with its magical and spectacular scenery that claims a priceless art and historical heritage was a true miracle of creative genius. It is an engineering marvel built on mud, sand, and slime in…