Gardens

This is the first in a series of three articles on gardens in Sicily. I visited the island at the bottom of Italy’s boot in June 2016 as a guest on the land portion of Overseas Adventure Travel’s “Sicily’s Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions” itinerary (Oct. ’16, pg. 18). It’s important to note that the three gardens written about, while located in areas visited, were not part of the tour itinerary. I researched the gardens, made my own contacts and, in the tour program’s free time, paid the admission charges and visited them. — YMH 

Friends and I were going to be in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in May 2016 and we wanted to hire a guide to take us to the Alkmaar Cheese Market festival (auction) in Alkmaar and then to the Keukenhof garden to see the tulips and other flowers.

In late February, I contacted the hotel where we were going to stay, the Mövenpick, and said that we needed an understanding local guide for our “mature” group of four (all over age 75). The guide recommended to us was Pieter Drieman (phone +31 650 638 729 or email privatehollandtours@graansilo.nl).

On our initial visit to Vietnam, the first place my friend and I stayed turned out to be exceptional. Beginning Jan. 19, 2016, we spent two weeks at the Magnolia Garden Homestay (75B Nguyen Duy Hieu St., Hoi An, Quang Nam, Vietnam 560000; phone +84 510 3915509, magnolia homestay.com).

In Paris, along the west bank of the Seine, the Voie Georges-Pompidou expressway was closed to vehicular traffic on Sept. 26 for at least six months, with city leaders suggesting the closure may be permanent. During the six months, the road will host a riverside park with gardens, playgrounds and restaurants plus courts for games of boules