India and China Fire and Ice

Our first tour to India was a great success. A really lovely group of 26 travelled to see 5 cities – Delhi, Agra, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Udaipur and the countryside in between. To say that India is a land of contrasts is a real travel cliché. But is so true. Beautiful timeless monuments and temples and endless poor areas. Holy cows do indeed have the run of India. Highlights included the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Udaipur and of course plenty of Indian curries. The second part of the tour was to visit the frozen north of China – to the ice town of Harbin. Harbin host the world’s largest ice and snow carving festival and it was truly spectacular as you can see from the images. In India it was 40 degrees – in Harbin it was -30 degrees. A tour of contrasts!

Japan Cherry Blossoms

A small but enthusiastic group of 11 travellers visited in Japan in time for the wonderful Cherry blossom season on 1st April 2014. The cherry trees were superb in Tokyo, Kanasawa, Kyoto and Hiroshima. A few really special places were included on this tour. Mt Fuji. Floating tori gates on Miyajima Island. Giant Buddha in Nara. The tour was led by the redoubtable Ike Hasigawa who charmed everyone with his good humour, knowledge and helpful nature. 16 days in Japan was followed by 3 nights in the contrasting hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. The tour reinforced one truth – Japan in Cherry blossom season has its own very special atmosphere and is a must see for any garden lover.

Central Europe and Mediterranean

The 2014 Central Europe and Mediterranean Garden Tour was a tour that covered many and varied sights throughout Europe.  Thirty two travelers enjoyed the main tour that went from Munich to Stuttgart, then on to Lake Constance, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna, Ljubljana, Bled and then we had our final destination which was Venice.  In Venice an additional five travelers joined us for the Holland America Cruise Line Mediterranean Empires Cruise where visits were made to Katakolon, Athens, Santorini, Istanbul, Ephesus and Lesbos. Some of the highlights of the tour were The Botanical Gardens in Munich, Augsburg Botanical Gardens, The Porche Museum, Swarovski Kristallwelten Crystal Worlds, Mainau Island, Neuschwanstein Castle and the wonderful city of Salzburg.

China - World Horticultural Expo

The 2014 China Garden Tour was an exciting trip.  Thirty four travelers enjoyed the sights of Qingdao where we visited the International Horticultural Expo, Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuzhen, and Hangzhou.  Some of the gardens we visited were the Beijing Botanical Gardens, Tiger Hill Garden in Suzhou, Yuyuan in shanghai, and Guo’s Villa in Hangzhou.  Travellers were overcome by the size of the area in which the Terracotta Warriors have been located in Xian.  A cold ale was shared when a visit was made to the Tsingtao Brewery Museum in Qingdao.  We also visited the water city of Wuzhen for an overnight stay and this part of China was absolutely spectacular. While visiting Hangzhou we had a boat cruise on the famous West Lake. Our journey ended in Shanghai where we enjoyed an evening cruise on the Huangpu River to see the amazing lights of Shanghai.