AT#182 - Travel to Venice and the Veneto

The Amateur Traveler talks to Brook about her recent trip to Xi’an China. Xi’an is the capital of the Shaanxi province of China and is perhaps best known for the Terracotta Army of Chinese emperor Liu Bang, but what Brook and her husband discovered was a city that warrants more time to explore. Xi’an has a wonderfully rich history as the Chinese terminus of the famous Silk Road trading route. This link to the middle creates a Muslim influence still obvious in the mosques and markets of the city. The city is also still surrounded by its ancient wall which provides a great place for biking around its nearly 12km distance. Brook tells some of the story behind the Wild Goose Pagoda. She also dubs Xi’an the dumpling capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Joulu 201032min

The Amateur Traveler talks to Karl Anders who returns to the show to talk about travel to Western Montana and in particular to the majestic Glacier National Park. Karl encourages us to drive the Going to the Sun Highway but then to get off the blacktop and hick some of the back country of the park (preferably in a group large enough to discourage the curiosity of bears). He describes some of his favorite hikes such as the trail to Hidden Lakes. Glacier is often rated as one of the top places in the United States to hike or backpack. The valleys of Glacier are carved by glacial activity although there aren't as many glaciers still in the park. Karl also talks about some nearby destinations like the National Bison Refuge, Bitterroot Valley and nearby Missoula with its museum to Smokejumpers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Joulu 201034min

The Amateur Traveler talks to Matthew Long from LandLopers.com about his trip to the West Bank or the Palestinian Authority. Mathew did day trips into this emerging state from Jerusalem and tells us about visiting Jericho and Bethlehem, the city of David. The Dead Sea was a well known highlight while Hisham’s Palace proved to be an unexpected highlight. The area boasts monuments dating back to the Jewish patriarch’s such as Rachel’s Tomb, where childless woman come to pray, and the ruins of the community of Qumran, where the dead sea scrolls were found. Do you know what you should skip doing the morning before you go to the Dead Sea? Matthew will tell you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

27 Marras 201030min

Chris, the Amateur Traveler himself, talks about the recent Ralph Velasco / Amateur Traveler Photo Tour of Egypt which was a guided tour of Egypt run by Cosmos. The tour started in Cairo with the Pyramids and the Sphinx, the Egyptian museum, old mosques, churches and synagogues before moving on to the port city of Alexandria. After seeing the historic sites in Alexandria like Pompey’s Column and the Catacombs we continued on to the site of the battle of El Alamein and then to Marsa Matruh in the Northwest corner of Egypt on the Mediterranean. We continued back to Cairo with a stop at a Coptic Monastery and then flew to Aswan to tour Upper Egypt. We saw temples from the Greek period and the New Kingdom from Aswan to Luxor including the Temple to Ramses at Abu Symbel, the temple to Isis, the temple of Etfu, the Luxor temple and the great temple of Karnak. We also visited the Valley of the Kings and a Nubian village. Along the way we shopped and photographed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Marras 201040min

The Amateur Traveler talks about his recent fam cruise on the Avalon Luminary down the Rhine River from Basel in Switzerland through France and Germany to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Along the away he visited three UNESCO World Heritage sites: Strasbourgh in France, the Rhine River Gorge in Germany and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He talks about the castles, the history and what it is like to take a river cruise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Marras 201030min

The Amateur Traveler talks to Jeremy from Palm Beach Gardens Florida who talks to use about cruising up the Norwegian coastline into the Arctic Circle on a Hurtigruten cruise. Jeremy lives someplace warm so when he and his wife travel they often travel someplace cold so cruising into the small fjords of Norway during the Winter appealed to them. Hurtigruten started as the boat that delivered the mail to the isolated villages on the coast of Norway (which it still does) but added passenger and ferry service also. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Loka 201031min

The Amateur Traveler talks to Fred who talks about a road trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Fred and his wife went to Mt Rushmore for sure, but also to other sites in the area that are less well known like Devil’s Tower, Deadwood, Wall Drug, Wind Cave National Park, Buffalo Gap National Grassland and Wind Cave National Park. There are a surprising number of sites to see in the Black Hills and Badlands of Southwest South Dakota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Loka 201041min

The Amateur Traveler talks to Beth Whitman of Waderlust and Lipstick about her recent Papua New Guinea. Beth was attracted to this remote country that produced more languages than any other country because of people separated by its rugged terrain. She tells us about the wonder, beauty and yes danger of Papua New Guinea. Beth was preparing to take a tour to the island nation and to the Mount Hagen Show which is a sing sing which allows the different tribes to compete with songs and costumes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Loka 201035min