I started European Focus three decades ago as a custom-designed, private tour service. When I proposed the concept to the owner of a travel agency (who happened to be a family member) he scoffed and said “no one will pay that much to travel.” Now, 321 tours later, travel in general is in a “pause” […]
Tag Archives: off
We Hope that “Bucket Lists” Die
We take the slow road and oftentimes the undiscovered road, which admittedly is getting harder to find. But, we find them. Our tours are the antidote to the “If it’s Tuesday this must be Belgium” kind of travel promoted by the big bus companies and cruises. From a picnic by the side of a little […]
Highlights of Our Trip with Four Australians
We are always happy to greet guests from Australia. After all, coming to Europe for them is a major investment in time. I’m not certain we would be very happy flying for 24 hours to reach my destination. But once here, we totally spoil our guests from “Down Under.” We find that our Aussie guests […]
Magdeburg’s Magnificent Cathedral
August 25, 2015 Magdeburg was one of the most important medieval cities in Europe starting from the 10th century and lasting all the way up to 1631 when it suffered terribly during the 30 years war of 1618-48. Presented to Edith as a wedding gift from her husband’s father, the market town on the Elbe […]
Off Limits Cities for July and August
June 4, 2015 This came up recently while discussing a potential future trip with a family from Canada. European Focus no longer takes guests to the following “Red Zone” cities and areas from mid-July through end of August: London Amsterdam Berlin Paris The South of France Italy (all of Italy) Portugal Spain Why? Because of […]
Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
July 11 After a string of negative experiences we have taken the Vatican Museums and the attached Sistine Chapel (you cannot visit the Sistine without going through the maze of the museum) permanently off our list of things to see and do in Rome, until they either change things in a major way at the […]