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Author Archives: John Rintoul
OMG, he buried the lede!
Since we have a few days before Apimondia convenes we headed east from Montréal to visit Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, a Benedictine abbey near Knowlton, Quebec. Betty’s curiosity about the abbey stems from her longstanding interest in the mystery novels of Louise … Continue reading
Posted in Apimondia - Montréal
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Tending to the bees or heading off to explore
Earlier this year when we headed off on our Mediterranean cruise, I made a choice. I could stay home. Tend to the bees. All in the hope of improving my 2019 honey harvest. Or I could visit six countries of … Continue reading
Posted in Apimondia - Montréal
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Epilogue – All of the stuff that didn’t fit elsewhere
Honey Bee Buon Viaggio There are several subspecies of honey bees. The Italian subspecies (Apis mellifera ligustica) is known to be the gentlest. For that reason American beekeepers favor Italians. When Stephen arrived to take us to the airport the Italian … Continue reading
Posted in Mediterranean Cruise
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We saved the best for last – Barcelona
Barcelona is a clear winner as far as I am concerned. The city deserves a trip by itself. We saw only a small part of it, but what I saw, I liked. And what I only saw from a moving … Continue reading
Posted in Mediterranean Cruise
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Marseille
This is the morning that greeted us in Marseille. I was fighting a head cold. The forecast called for rain. As a rule, I’m not fond of big cities. Marseille is the second largest city in France. All things considered, I decided … Continue reading
Posted in Mediterranean Cruise
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Villefranche-sur-Mer on the Côte d’Azur
When we returned to the ship after our excursion to Pisa the Captain announced that we would be unable to dock at our next planned destination, the Principality of Monaco. High winds would prevent our entry into the harbor. He … Continue reading
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Easter Sunday in Pisa
Today the Viking Star brought us to the port city of Livorno. Livorno is primarily a commercial port, but it serves as a gateway port for Tuscany, Florence and Pisa. We chose to head to Pisa hoping to avoid the … Continue reading
Posted in Mediterranean Cruise
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Roman Holiday aka Rome on a Holy Day
The word “holiday” is derived from “holy day.” Our visit to Rome was on the day before Easter, traditionally known as Holy Saturday. A great time to visit Rome if you are a devout Catholic, not so great if you … Continue reading
Posted in Mediterranean Cruise
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Happy Easter!
When we originally booked this trip it didn’t occur to us that we’d be in Rome on Holy Saturday and in Pisa on Easter Sunday. But clearly our Viking crew was aware of the holiday timing. When we got back … Continue reading
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Day 9 – Visit to Herculaneum
Rather than heading to Pompeii with the rest of the Viking tourists we opted for a private tour of Herculaneum. Herculaneum is a smaller site and more easily accessible for Joanne. The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD destroyed … Continue reading
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