History

—by Vernon Hoium, Minneapolis, MN

Having completed a cruise on the Caledonian Canal, the Betty and Dick Wood's Scottish journey continues with an Orkney Islands extension.

Following a tour of the lovely city of Inverness, a group of 10 of us boarded a 37-passenger turboprop plane for a flight to Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands.

My family and I had a wonderful 10-day trip through Spain in June ’05. We fell in love with Seville, where we had a fabulous local guide. Concepcion Delgado (phone 902-158-226 or mobile 616-501-100 or visit www.sevillawalkingtours.com) speaks excellent English and loves sharing her city with others. Anyone with only one day in Seville ought to begin the day with her tour.

“France’s Most Beautiful Villages,” the tour my husband and I took of the Dordogne region in September-October ’04, visited places where large tour buses cannot go. Our 12-day tour was with Intimate France (Box 92, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956; phone 800/676-1247or visit www.intimatefrance.com).

We traveled in a van with eight people, with Intimate France owner George Nevin as our chauffeur and guide. In such a small group, our trip was more personalized and flexible. Sometimes George changed the itinerary to accommodate the group’s interests.

by Lois Edwards, Greensboro, NC

by Harvey Hagnan, Fort Myers Beach, FL

by John Scheleur, Arnold, MD

A trip to Uruguay in April ’04 was my first to that country. I went to see Montevideo, its capital city. I also wanted to visit the small town of Colonia (its full name is Colonia del Sacramento) in the southwestern corner of the country, about a 2-hour drive from Montevideo. Having seen photos of its quaint, cobblestone streets and having heard that it had begun its existence as a Portuguese settlement, I was intrigued.