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Santa Barbara – moorish and detached

Santa Barbara has something for you ,whether you like hiking, fine-dining, water sports, lazing on the beach, culture, or a great night-life. Santa Barbara is a town with a difference Santa Barbara county is sometimes referred to as the American Riviera. Its beautiful beaches, majestic mountains, and colorful culture make Santa Barbara a premier resort […]

Los Olivos – Small and charming

Located in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, this charming little historic town is a gem. With a grand view of Santa Barbara County’s vineyards and horse ranches, Los Olivos is famous for its art galleries, wine tasting opportunities, restaurants, antiques, a great countryside and friendly residents found throughout the village. Foxen Canyon Wine Trail starts […]

Solvang – more Danish than Denmark

Solvang is a strange place to visit, it looks very much like the images you get in your head when reading H. C. Andersens tales. In a way it looks more Danish than Denmark. However, a fifteen minutes walk is all yoou need to take it all in.

The Elephant Seals of the Piedras Blanca, Cambria

Discover the elephant seals sleepy hideaway just off Highway One at Piedras Blancas   Strewn out on the beach, continuously flipping sand over their backs, the elephant seals of the Piedras Blanca are an amazing sight. Now and then two or more rear up challenging each other with mock battle roars It is breeding season […]

The Madonna Inn – a world of Kitsch

  The Founder of the Hotel, Alex Madonna has been quoted as saying, “Anybody can build one room and a thousand like it. It’s more economical. Most places try to give you as little as possible. I try to give people a decent place to stay where they receive more than they are entitled to […]

Carmel-by-the-Sea

The typical Carmel dwelling The charming town of Carmel is perhaps most famous for having actor and director Clint Eastwood as mayor from 1986 to 1988, but this charming little town has a lot more going for it than that. Founded in 1902, it is situated on the Monterey Peninsula and is known both for its […]

Monterey, Cannery Row and the Bay Aquarium

Monterey is one of the more beautiful coastal cities of California. It was originally the state capital of California, and has many historic buildings in its downtown. Today it is best known for its beautiful coastline, its world-class aquarium and from the many John Steinbeck novels set there, including Cannery Row (which has given its name to the […]

The Escape from Alcatraz

50 years on – the hunt for the three escapees continues. Half a century after the illustrious escape, US Marshall Michael Dyke is still trying to catch up. On June 11th 1962 the three men, Clarence Anglin, John William Anglin and Frank Lee Morris escaped from Alcatraz Prison. The prison was considered inescapable due to […]

Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island is located 2.4 km offshore from San Francisco.   Often referred to as “The Rock“, the small island was originally used for a lighthouse, then a military fortification, then a military prison (1868), and then as a federal prison from 1933 until 1963. Then, in the beginning of November 1969, the island was occupied for more than 19 months […]

Kiev/Ukraina – summing up.

The three days in Kiev were very well spent, the City is surely worth a visit. In many ways, of course, thanks to our eminent guide, Oksana. That we accidentally were there during VictoryDay we can only be grateful for. It was absolutely amazing to see how the nation has thrown off the Soviet heritance […]

Day 3 – VictoryDay in Kiev

On the third day of our visit to Kiev, it was VictoryDay, a day of national celebration and fiest. The city was teeming with life from the early morniing ang all the way into the small hours. We started our day with breakfast on the mini-balcony outside our rooms, overlooking the military parade on the Khreshchatyk […]

The Pirogovo Open-Air Museum

One of the most popular museums in the Kiev area is “Pirogovo – the Museum of Ukrainian Folk Architecture, Rural Life, and Folk Art”. It is  located southwest of Kiev in a picturesque setting. With its more than 150 hectares, this open air museum is divided into seven “villages” representing everyday life between the 17th and 20th […]

Day 2 – a trip to the Ukraina countryside

On the second day of our stay, Oksana took  us on a drive through the countryside, south of Kiev. We drove through miles upon miles of flat, fertile farmland. It was plain to see that Ukraina once had had, and is rapidly regaining the position of Europe’s main producer of grain.  We passed through small […]

Three days in Kiev, Ukraine

This spring brought three very pleasant days in Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine, or Ukraina as the ukrainians themselves say. Purely by chance, it turned out that the third day of our visit was on the Ukrainian National day ot Victoryday on may 9th (A real stroke of luck) This beautiful city is situated […]

Kiev Pechersk Lavra

  Kiev Pechersk Lavra or Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery and has also given  name to one of the city districts where it is located in Kiev. Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1051 the Lavra has been a preeminent center of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. Together with the Saint Sophia […]

Going to Kiev, Ukraina

Day 1:  A Kiev city walk We arrived late last night, installed ourselves in the excellent apartment and went straight to bed. The apartment is situated on the main street of Kiev, the Khreshchatyk street close to the main square. Hired through www.bestkievapartment.com, it was very good value for money. The Guide, Oksana Tsupko showed […]