The Trip of a Lifetime—to the Middle East
by Alan E. Lewis
Entry: June 2011
“As the traveler’s map is redrawn, parts in unsettling and tragic ways, voices might whisper, ‘Stay home.’ Don’t. There are opportunities to be had.”
Paul Theroux, Sunday New York Times, April 3, 2011
After decades of personal travel, and over a quarter century of leading a travel company responsible for sending hundreds of thousands of Americans to destinations spanning the globe, we usually find it impossible to single out any one trip as being truly beyond compare. But that changed when Harriet and I made a journey last month to the Middle East. We're home now and I can tell you, from my heart: This was the trip of a lifetime.
“Roll With It” the Vietnamese Way
by Alan E. Lewis
Entry: May 2011
The cover of Driving With No Brakes, the book I wrote with my wife Harriet, gives you a good sense of my personality: the photo on the book jacket depicts the two of us tooling down a country road on a bicycle, feet off the pedals as we exult in the thrill of the moment. Captured in that photo are many of the elements I love best about travel: joy, a spirit of adventure, and the ability to take real pleasure in the world around me. But not every bike ride is a leisurely amble through cozy woods—just ask anyone who has bicycled in Vietnam.
The Mayan’s Ancient God of … Diving?!
by Alan E. Lewis
Entry: April 2011
Anyone who knows me knows how much I enjoy diving (which I discussed here in December), and that passion constantly leads me to new places. I just returned from Tulúm on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, known for the spectacular diving afforded by its barrier reef and underground caverns. After coming ashore from an exhilarating swim among exotic tropical fish and brilliant untouched coral, I remarked to a fellow diver that this seemed like paradise. “That’s why the Mayan Diving God made Tulúm his home,” he replied, grinning.
Now, of course, I was intrigued. The culture of the Maya has always fascinated me—that’s one reason we created our Route of the Maya adventure through El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize (as well as limited-departures of our Unraveling the Maya’s Mysteries, a Travel + Leisure “Trip of a Lifetime”).
A passion for Spain—and her national dance
by Alan E. Lewis
Entry: March 2011
A few weeks ago I was meeting with some associates—we were going over the final details of our re-launch of several Grand Circle trips. When talk got around to our Portugal to the Costa del Sol vacation, I couldn’t help smiling. I’m quite sure I had a twinkle in my eye, too, because just for an instant I was transported to Spain—or, more specifically, to a tiny flamenco club in Seville.
I’ve vacationed in southern Spain many times with Harriet over the years. I don’t know what it is that draws us back to this magical region of the world most—the elegant town squares with their Moorish architecture … the simple beauty of the landscapes punctuated with tiny whitewashed villages. Or perhaps it’s the Spanish people themselves. Their charm and passion for food, wine, and life itself is inexhaustible—and infectious.
Road to Morocco
by Alan E. Lewis
Entry: March 2011
Who didn’t love those “Road” pictures by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby? Whether they were shot in a Hollywood back lot or not, they certainly piqued my interest in exotic travel. But mostly, they were a lot of fun. The films, of course, were meant to be enjoyed as broad parodies. They certainly bore no resemblance to actual travel to these foreign locales—especially to a place like Morocco.
Extremes are a great teacher—and no more so than in this fascinating northern African country. Harriet and I have witnessed so much there, such varied environs, and such ingenuity in the face of foreboding surroundings. One day, early in our journey, I was peering out of our tent onto the seemingly endless expanse of the Sahara, never having felt quite so isolated. A few days later, I found myself boisterously bargaining in a bustling Marrakech market stall, fighting for every inch of space (and every centime!). Having just come from desert climes, and witnessing the perilous scarcity of even basic resources, I began to realize why bargaining is such a necessary ritual to the native Moroccans.
Celebrating the holidays the tropical way in Turks and Caicos
by Alan E. Lewis
Entry: January 2011
You’d think with all the traveling we do that we’d really just like to hunker down for the holidays and avoid the busy roads and packed airports. Well, yes and no. We have a holiday tradition that does require an airport—but we leave behind the busy roads and, for that matter, busy anything! For 11 years in a row now, we’ve slowed down the pace of our lives to spend our holidays in a relatively undiscovered corner of the Caribbean—the Turks and Caicos Islands.
A self-governing British protectorate, Turks and Caicos are actually two groups of some 40 islands and cays (only eight of which are inhabited). And this tiny slice of paradise is home to crystal-clear waters and mile upon mile of flawless white-sand beaches.
An American in Paris—Two Americans, actually
by Alan E. Lewis
Entry: December 2010
World travel is rewarding in so many ways. But let’s face it—no matter how well you’ve planned things out, sometimes things go wrong. It’s all part of the adventure, of course. And quite often it’s exactly those unscripted events that contribute to making a travel destination so memorable.
But have you ever had one of those trips where everything goes right? And I don’t just mean right, I mean perfect. Harriet and I just had one. And wouldn’t you know it … it just happened to be in one of the most romantic cities in the world—Paris!
Road Trip: Rediscovering the American West
by Alan E. Lewis
Entry: November 2010
There’s nothing like a road trip to break up the routine that we all tend to settle into as time goes by. It’s a great American tradition, one that I consider a kind of birthright. Ever since I got my first car, I’ve loved the feeling of hitting the road. There’s nothing like taking off, having the wind rush by, and listening to music from the dashboard radio—with your best friend in the passenger seat, of course.
So a few weeks ago, as the first leaves of autumn were starting to change color, Harriet and I felt the urge for going (as Joni Mitchell sang). We looked at each other across the kitchen table, nodded, and simply said, “Road trip!” And off we went.
Another Reason to Love Iceland: Discovering Arnaldur Indridason
by Alan E. Lewis
Entry: November 2010
My literary career is only a couple of months old: Harriet’s and my first book, Driving With No Brakes, was published in September. I’m happy to tell you that the reviews on Amazon.com are terrific, and both of us are really gratified by that.
“Fantastic story. Fantastic company,” one reviewer posted. “An interesting case study about the growth of an exceptional, modern company. The style of the layout and myriad anecdotal sidebars, make Driving With No Brakes a fast-paced and worthy read. The Lewises have set a new standard in growing a company right. Highly recommended reading….”
Now I’d like to tell you about someone who’s been writing a lot longer. I heard about him when Harriet and I and our children were making our own discoveries in Iceland, which I wrote about last month. His name is Arnaldur Indridason, and he’s a mystery writer—though what he does with the genre is something new and wonderful.
Chilling out with the family in Iceland & Greenland
by Alan E. Lewis
Entry: October 2010
Many Americans look back with a fond sense of nostalgia to the days when kids were piled into the station wagon for family vacations. Times have changed, of course. But travel is still a great way to bring families together—even well after the children have left the “nest.” So it was a real treat when Harriet and our two grown children, Edward and Charlotte, were able to shift our schedules and get together for another Lewis family holiday this past July. This time we decided to visit Iceland and Greenland—destinations that had piqued our curiosity for far too long.
Leadership goes global in Tanzania, Africa
by Alan E. Lewis
Entry: October 2010
Harriet and I recently returned from Tanzania. It wasn’t our first time in Africa—and it certainly won’t be our last. But this visit was special in many ways.
First off, we were there to meet up with a group of our Next Generation Leaders. While our Grand Circle Foundation has a long history of giving back to the people and places where we travel, we also feel a responsibility close to home. The Next Generation Leaders is a program we established that’s located “right in our backyard.” It was begun to help give promising young students from the Boston community—my community—an opportunity to realize their full potential.
A Star-Spangled African Memory
by Alan E. Lewis
Entry: September 2010
Harriet and I just returned from Africa—and I plan on telling you all about it in an upcoming entry. Instead, right now I wanted to share a brief story about a visit we made to Africa more than ten years ago. On that trip, we were with Charlotte and Edward, our two children. And something happened one starry night that has stayed with us over the years. In fact, memories of it came flooding back to me when we were there just a few weeks ago, which is why I wanted to share it with you now.
Believe it or not, it all started with the words: “Oh say, can you see…”
I hear those words at Fenway Park all the time, of course. But this wasn’t Boston. And they were the last words we expected to hear in the wilds of Botswana, thousands of miles from the United States.