The wharf, below Congress Street in the Old Port district of Portland, Maine.

The Amtrak Downeaster Rail begins in Portland, Maine and ends in Boston, Massachusetts. In between there are stops in Old Orchard Beach ME, Saco ME, Wells ME, Dover NH, Durham NH, Exeter NH, Haverhill MA, and Woburn MA. For this series of articles I will expound upon the merits of each stop along the Downeaster Amtrak tour.

I have made absolutely no secret about my love of Portland, Maine. One of my first articles for UpTake was about the Portland Head Light. Then back in September I wrote about how I left my heart there. The fact that the Amtrak Downeaster line begins there (or ends there, depending on where you’re starting from) just adds one more point of excellence to brag about for my favorite city.

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It's art!

This is a major weekend for art, design and antique lovers, as the 13th annual Chicago Artropolis opens at the iconic Merchandise Mart today through May 3.  A veritable wonderland of treasures, Artropolis features the Merchandise Mart’s International Art Fair,  ArtChicago, which is one of the country’s leading art shows and NEXT, an invitational exhibition of emerging art. Billed as Chicago’s celebration of art, antiques and culture, this event presents fine antiques, contemporary art, design consultations and lectures by internationally noted experts, all under one roof. Read More »

Rhine River Valley

Last night my husband and I were watching “Inglourious Basterds” as I went through my tax receipts from last year, when in an odd (and slightly creepy, if you’ve seen the film) coincidence I came upon the papers he saved from his business trip to Frankfurt.

I have a long distance love affair with Germany.  I’ve never even been there, but sometime in college I became entrance by the language, by the logic and construction, by the complicated mouthfuls of sounds.  So many years later I barely remember my German, but I enjoy listening to native speech.  When my husband traveled to Frankfurt without me, I would have gladly traded places with him.  Read More »

Great Views & Beers @ StieglKeller Tavern in Salzburg Austria

When we took a trip to Vienna, Austria, one of the things I wanted to do was take a side trip to Salzburg. A favorite movie as a kid was The Sound of Music and I have fond memories of singing its soundtrack with my mom.

While Vienna is full of music and cafes and tortes, Salzburg boasts the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the original Mozart chocolate bonbon and where Maria Von Trapp lived before she began her famous journey across the Alps and away from the Nazis, to start a family lodge.

It is a short train ride, about two and half hours between Vienna and Salzburg with beautiful scenery along the way which makes it a great day trip. We headed out early in the morning and had plenty of time to see most of the major sights without rushing to catch our return train in the evening. Read More »