Janet's Jaunts Blog

Summer a season of challenges

Summer as a time of setting goals and meeting challenges was the subject of my recent travel section in which readers heard from a man about to set off on a 500-mile dirt bike challenge over...

Why Lyon is the gastronomy center of France

  Study the geography of Lyon, in south central France equally distant from Marseilles and Paris, and it’s easy to understand why many people consider it the country’s food capital. It lies at...

Lavender season in France

I’m recently back from France where I spent time in the Rhone Alps region around Lyon. There July’s blooming lavender was covering the landscapes sometimes next to huge fields of blooming sunflowers who turned their...

Surfing in landlocked Munich

  It was a rainy day in Munich as our guide stopped the van at the south end of Englischer Park near the modern art museum. It was an early May day...

Yummy Sunday at Tampa’s Thai temple

Few others seem to know of its existence but regulars at the Sunday Morning Food sale include those from Tampa’s growing Asian community and the international couples stationed at nearby MacDill Air...

Why this blog

Inspiration and information is my goal. Here’s the fortified city of Carcassonne in the south of France which you can read about by clicking on the contrasting type. Launch an exploration by boat...

Nic DeLange welcomes us to his 5,500 acre country estate Wharekauhau, about two hours from Wellington, New Zealand.His sheep are the white dots in the background.

New Zealand’s sheep worth meeting

New Zealand’s merino wool was one of my quests when I visited New Zealand a few years ago. I’d received some merino wool long johns the previous Christmas and, looking at the...

Amazing Lozère, least populated in France

A panic attack by my seat mate punctuated my visit to Lozère, France’s least populated area. After leaving the rugged Tarn River Valley our van was climbing a windy road to a...

Tasting a place

I always like to try regional specialties when I can. Tasting the essence of a place literally makes that place a part of you. Consuming foods nourished on an area’s water, grains and...

Niagara Falls not frozen over

Major media have reported that Niagara Falls has frozen over. That’s just not so. It may look that way since a layer of ice covers everything, but tons of roaring water still...