Our cruise began in Civitavecchia, the port city near Rome, and ended 14 days later in Limassol, Cyprus. We sailed in search of ruins, from Sicily to Tunisia, Malta, Crete, and southern Turkey. And we not disappointed. As you’ll see from the photographs in this travelogue, the Romans built their towns to last forever. Many of them in the Mediterranean have survived the centuries to an extent that you can imagine what life must have been like around the time of Christ. We feel this ship, Aegean Odyssey, which carries 350 passengers, is just the right size for an educational holiday. It offers four-star cruising to five-star attractions with all excursions included and daily lectures thrown in. We have every intention of going back for more. — TL

Like many experienced travelers, I’ve had New Zealand on my bucket list for many years. My wife and I talked about doing it in a rented camper van like thousands of others (the highways are crawling with them). But the opportunity came along to tour the country by bus with Scenic Tours. Put your trust in those who know. Yes, we would be sitting and looking out the window a lot rather than hiking up mountains. And we would likely stay in posh hotels and eat lavish meals, day after day. Happily, we did just that. As you’ll see the Travelogue below, New Zealand is as stunningly beautiful as you’ve been told, and witnessing beauty in comfort is hard to beat. — TL

We started in Istanbul and ended in Venice, spending 16 days exploring hallowed sites of the Byzantine Empire, which existed for more than a thousand years (from approximately 306 AD to 1453 AD). Mosaics and frescos were the prevailing art forms. Before this cruise on the Aegean Odyssey I had little time for them, preferring oil paintings and architecture. Now, thanks to our expert guides, and having seen some of the finest mosaics ever created during the Middle Ages, I feel the humbleness of reformed ignorance. Art done well and placed in its historical context, is inevitably a moving experience.

In fact, this entire journey was exactly that. — TL

I wrote this story in 1998, and after reading it again recently (and approving of myself), I realized almost nothing has changed, except perhaps the prices of carpets, and those have not changed much. The advice still holds: do some homework (easier now on the internet), resist impulse (tough in the swirl of buyer’s delight), and buy quality (which you will come to recognize after seeing your 400th carpet and drinking your 20th glass of apple tea). Click on the PDF below to read about my cat-and-mouse pursuit of one fabulous carpet too many. I was the mouse. — TL

Madawaska Kanu Centre (MKC) is Canada’s longest-running whitewater school. Skilled instructors teach you gently but firmly in the art of rock avoidance. Your progress will amaze you. I entered the course with a meagre paddling history, all of it on flat water. In five days, I was transformed into semi-competent negotiator of rapids. That’s a minor miracle. The spills were my partner’s fault (she will deny it). Bottom line: MKC rocks! Enjoy.

Cruising doesn’t have to be ocean-bound with 3,000 fellow passengers and an onboard wave pool. European river cruising is the refined alternative, the new rage of the over-50 crowd. This trip, on these luxurious new ships, is the cream of the crop. We boarded as skeptics. We left 15 days later as cruise converts. Click on the free PDF below to see why we called this “the best trip of our boomer lives.”