Helen Beatrix Potter was born in London on July 28, 1866 and died in Near Sawrey, in the Lake District of England December 22, 1943 at the age of 77. Over her lifetime Beatrix had many passions that included her pets, science, illustration and writing. In her later years, she became an astute businesswoman, farmer, sheep breeder and conservationist.
In her day, during Victorian England, girls were not given an education, however, being from a wealthy, upper-class family, she was educated by her governesses. Growing up, she had numerous pets and even kept mice under her bed which she trained to eat out of her hand. Holidays were spent in Scotland and the English Lake District where she developed her love for nature; drawing and painting the flora and fauna she found in woodlands and in the landscape. She began to study fungi and became adept at producing detailed watercolour illustrations.
Back in 2001, I found myself looking at 2 full weeks with no pending obligations. So why not take a trip? At the best of times I require little justification to travel, and that time was no exception. So out came the maps to consider my options. While I adore Rome, Paris and London, I yearned for a more ‘off the beaten track’ European destination and for me, the ‘road less travelled’ is very appealing. Slovenia came to mind and it fit the bill perfectly. This being over 15 years ago I can assure you that Slovenia was definitely not on the radar for most travellers to Europe. In fact, when I told friends of my destination, they inquired ‘where is that’ or ‘why would you want to go there’? Well let me tell you...
When my Mum was a little girl, kids made fun of her because of her Sicilian heritage and her inability to speak English. Consequently, I grew up in total ignorance of the beautiful and diverse island of Sicily, until one day, out of the blue, it hit me “I’ve got Italian blood running through my veins!” Since that day, ...
If you are unfamiliar with The Azores and you Google it, one of the most symbolic images you will see of these beautiful, volcanic islands will likely be a photograph of Lagoa das Sete Cidades on the Island of Sao Miguel. This “postcard” photograph of the twin lagoons represents just a fraction of the spectacular views you experience exploring The Azores.
I remember asking this very question when I was first asked if I wanted to go to The Azores. I soon discovered that The Azores are one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal. This archipelago is composed of nine volcanic islands located in the North Atlantic Ocean about...
Take a step back in time as you walk through one of the seven gates in the medieval walls surrounding the Old Town Rhodes, Greece.
If you've known me for a while, you may remember I fostered a baby elephant, Dupoto, from The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya. Here's the 
This past weekend I enjoyed the fulfillment of a dream. In my past visits to Kenya I had never visited the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. This is an elephant orphanage begun by Dame Daphne Sheldrick in 1977 in memory of her husband David who even today stands out as one of Africa’s most famous and proficient pioneer and natural park wardens of all time.
Helston in Cornwall is a quiet town, pretty, lots of interesting local shops and a couple of great bakeries.
Travel Adapters
Being on Safari is a little surreal. It is the ultimate field trip.
Any idea of the size of Africa? – We all know it’s big. A quick check with Wikipedia let’s us know that the continent covers 30.3 million sq. kms (11.7 million sq. miles). To put that into perspective it is larger than the combination of: China, the continental United States, all of Western Europe, Argentina, India, the British Isles and 3 Scandinavian countries.
The English Lakes area is an absolutely beautiful region. My first tour of the area happened soon after an artist friend of mine contacted me to let me know that she had just seen the movie "Miss Potter" illustrating the life of Beatrix Potter in England's Lake District. She quite glibly asked if I would build a painting tour for her to lead in this lovely corner of England. She didn't realize that I was thinking of looking into this very region to build a walking tour for Today’s Woman Traveller.
Following closely on the heels of 
‘Travelling on my own makes me very nervous - I’ve never done it before.”
Ahh, Paris, the City of Light! Few other cities have inspired as Paris has! It is one of the most iconic places in the world, where people return over and over again to take in its fascinating art, culture, and history. Difficult as it is to try to create a definitive "Top Ten" list for Paris, the tour leaders at Today’s Woman Traveller have put together our own list of 10 great things we adore about Paris.
As a single woman whose friends are her family, I have to admit to a sense of relief that all of the Christmas comings and goings are finally over. It’s great that most of my friends have now returned to their regular routine – which means that we can call each other up or get together on the spur of the moment again. I do love many aspects of the Christmas season, but those of us without children or close relatives nearby miss the special sense of connection and cheer that our friends bring us during other seasons of the year.
With so much competition in the cruise industry, cruise lines are continually offering bigger ships, better ships, cruises with more perks, cruises with more inclusions – all often at lower price points. At Today’s Woman Traveller, we’re always eager to find out about the new offerings and the latest cruise news.
For those of us in North America, it may be a lesser known airline alliance than Star Alliance, but the 20 airline members of SkyTeam are a formidable bunch. They fly 16,323 flights a day to 1,052 destinations in 177 countries. They cover most every area of the world and are the largest air alliance in Greater China. SkyTeam’s airlines are some of the most respected and best ranked you’ll find.