Montenegro

Despite being situated on the Mediterranean, Montenegro actually can be quite cold, with heavy snowfall in winter in the inland cities. The highlight of any trip to Montenegro is Kotor, an idyllic town on the Adriatic coast. This medieval old town has several ancient churches and some very cool architecture and wonderful restaurants. Loved Kotor … you will too!

Another must-see place is Sveti Stefan (St. Stephen) fifteen minutes away from Budva by car. It is a known favorite vacation spot for many celebrities and iconic figures, including Queen Elizabeth II and Marilyn Monroe!

The capital of Montenegro is Podgorica and the official language is Montenegrin. About 700,00 people live here. The dominant religion is Orthodox Christianity, divided between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Montenegrin Orthodox Church. Islam is the largest minority religion.

Kotor as the sun is setting … breathtaking

The colors in this ancient city are spectacular

Japan

Fish market & fish and egg shrine The Japanese people I met sensed that something was wrong with the world. Why? Because the cherry blossoms were blooming during the wrong time of year (during the “snow” season), and because typhoons were occurring more...

Kazakhstan

I was fortunate to be able to drive hours upon hours through the Southern part of Kazakhstan and its rolling hills and mountain vistas were spectacular. This is a huge country which is about 5 times the size of France and ranks in the top 10 largest countries. It’s...

Uzbekistan

"We travel not for trafficking alone. By better winds our fiery hearts are fanned. For lust of knowing what should not be known We take the Gold Road to Samarkand." These are the final 4 lines of poet James Elroy Flecker’s The Golden Journey to Samarkand. Ok, so I...