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Doris M
  • Female
  • Cortlandt Manor, New York
  • United States
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Doris M's Discussions

Trip Blogs
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Started this discussion. Last reply by Untours Aug 4, 2014.

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Started this discussion. Last reply by Doris M Nov 9, 2009.

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Started this discussion. Last reply by Doris M May 28, 2008.

 

Doris M's Page

Profile Information

What is your favorite place in Europe so far?
Greece (Santorini and Peloponnese)
Where would you most like to go next?
Sicily or Holland...or perhaps back to our beloved Switzerland.
Tell us about one of your favorite places to stay on an Untour. Do you have a favorite host? Apartment? Village?
On our Alsace Untour, we stayed in the most delightful little house (The Chalet) set high on a hill in Beblenheim with a balcony overlooking the town of Riquewihr. It was perfect.
Do you have any special interests or hobbies that you follow when you travel?
I love photography. Taking pictures helps me focus on all the little details I'm seeing while traveling. We love hiking and finding the most special picnic spots to sit and contemplate - whether it be high on a mountain top or overlooking a vineyard in Tuscany or Provence. Discovering little out of the way restaurants or cafes where the locals eat is always fun but so is shopping the local groceries and cooking in our own apartment - especially when there's a balcony or terrace to enjoy.
When you upload photos to Untours Cafe, you are also giving Untours permission to use the photos in their promotional material (with credit to you)
While staying in Kandersteg, we'd done a trip over to Chateau de Chillon on Lake Geneva and gone on to Vevey for a wonderful wine festival. When we finally checked the time, we realized we'd missed the last train connecting thru Thun. So, we decided to hop back on the ferry and go still further to Montreaux where we found a beautiful room in a hotel on the lake (funny checking in with nothing at all!) and a special concert that night on the water. We enjoyed a beautiful morning in Montreaux before heading home to Kandersteg. Mistakes can be funny and very nice!!
Which Untours have you already done?
Austria, Swiss Heartland, Oberland (Kandersteg and Hilterfingen), Ticino, Tuscany, Provence, and Alsace, Prague and Budapest
What advice would you give others considering an Untour?
Do lots of reading and learn all you can about your destination. It helps you feel at home from the very beginning. Mostly, learn at least a few words of the language so you can greet the people and ask (in their language) if they speak English. It makes all the difference in the world - especially in France!
What is your favorite Untour? (so far)
Tuscany South - and always Switzerland


Doris M's Photos

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Doris M's Blog

The Colours of Spain - Andalusia in Springtime

Spain has an intensity of light and color that we've experienced in few other places. There's a vividness to the scenes that seems to burn into one's consciousness and never quite diminish. Months after our springtime visit to Andalusia, the warmth of Spain and its people remains with us. We visited many hilltowns but it was Iznajar that called out most strongly to us at first. The beautiful Patio de las Comedias, above, was at the very top of the…

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Posted on November 13, 2007 at 9:45am — 8 Comments

Autumn in New England - the quaint seaside village of Rockport, MA

Europe will always be a favorite destination for us, but sometimes travel close to home brings some rewards of its own. We drove a short five hours to reach this beautiful part of the New England coast this past September and discovered just how much beauty our own country has to offer. Rockport, MA is the quintessential New England seacoast getaway. In late September, you can have it almost to yourself. There's a wonderful…

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Posted on October 30, 2007 at 7:17pm — 12 Comments

Untouring the Swiss Oberland

We've done many Untours, but it's Switzerland that keeps calling us back. Two years ago, we returned for our fourth visit and this time chose to stay on Lake Thun rather than high in the mountains as we usually do. We stayed at a beautiful chalet in Hilterfingen just a few short blocks up from the Thunersee.

Our balcony had a view out over Lake Thun and was the perfect spot…

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Posted on September 28, 2007 at 5:52pm — 5 Comments

Pacific Northwest - Mountains to islands with the grandkids

Our grandson and granddaughter often comment on how many places we've traveled, so this August we took them cross-country to explore Washington State. It was so much fun seeing it all through their eyes! We began in the mountains on a Mt. Baker hike.

The Ptarmigan Ridge trail starts out in the snow even in mid-August which made the kids happy! After a short walk across the snowfield, we were back onto a normal but pretty spectacular ridge…

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Posted on August 30, 2007 at 3:22pm — 1 Comment

ALSACE FOR THE SWISS LOVER...and the history lover too

Alsace may surprise you. It's not just pretty little villages. It's also mountains worth exploring and trails worth hiking high in the Vosges Mountains.

We're hikers at heart and after exploring a few of those pretty little Alsatian villages, we felt a need to get up into some hiking country. Luckily, it's not far at all from Beblenheim to the Vosges...and the maps are good!…

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Posted on August 10, 2007 at 9:25pm — 8 Comments

Comment Wall (36 comments)

At 5:29pm on July 27, 2007, Marilee Taussig said…
Hi Doris,

Welcome to the Café, and thanks so much for joining.

Have you been with us to Greece? Many people think our Greek Untour is our best ever.....which is why I ask

Do let us know if we can help you in any way as you navigate the cafe.

I am sending you a friend request (we always advise people on the Café to accept friend requests only from people they know, so this is a heads up that it is on its way)
At 6:34pm on August 3, 2007, Bob Young said…
Ciao & bonjour Doris, and thanks so much for taking time to comment on my Kuchl sketch. It always makes me happy when someone "out there" sees and appreciates a drawing or painting . . . When you have a little time to burn, please have a look at my artwork (including the travel sketches) at this website:
http://homepage.mac.com/boby1/PhotoAlbum1.html
Your photos of the Alsace-Lorain UNTOUR are really nice, and very timely as Sally and I will go, with two friends, on that same tour next spring. We'll be in Bergheim (in the "Gewurtztraminer" and "Reisling" apartments!) . . .
I like your comment about learning a little of the language of countries visited, and since our first Italian trip in '99, a walk tour by Butterfield & Robinson, I've been learning Italian and have become a fairly confident "intermediate" reader and speaker. We also did the Ticino UNTOUR in '01, and were at La Canonica, near Torrenieri, Tuscany, on another UNTOUR. Great program! All the best, Bob
At 3:19pm on August 5, 2007, Elliott Vorce said…
Welcome aboard and "Greutzi", Doris. What a great idea, eh? Glad tosee "great minds think alike!!" We too are "swiss-o-philes" having been there with Untours several times. Hope to share some common experiences with you down the road.
At 2:32pm on August 6, 2007, Louise Walls said…
Hi Doris, I just looked at your pictures too, and I think they are very good, both as photos and with the memories they must bring back to you. I can see why you liked mine. We have very similar styles. The only thing that is holding me back from the Provence and Tuscany Untours is that my husband wants to go places we haven't been before. Me, I would love to just linger in either for several weeks.
At 4:16pm on August 6, 2007, Marlene Hench said…
Hi Doris,
Enjoyed your blog on Alsace. Nicely done! Torn between Greece, Alsace, and Austria for our next trip. Where did you stay in Austria? Did you find the language a real barrier in Greece? Love to have some help deciding.
At 2:25am on August 7, 2007, Marlene Hench said…
Thanks Doris for all you insight. I think you are like me just by reading your notes and seeing your photos. Frank and I really enjoy ourselves wherever we go. He does all the videos. I do photos.
Our daughter is getting married in Nov so I guess my mind wont be too much on next year's trip until then, but you sure make Greece sound very interesting. You put us more at ease about the language. I kept saying "It's Greek to me". Now I feel better!
At 2:29am on August 7, 2007, Marlene Hench said…
Doris,
I wanted to mention this to you. Marilee added another tab on the Main Page. It's labeled "What's an Untour". She wants us to write what an Untour is so that new prospects will hear it from the Untourists. With all the traveling and all the Untours you have done, you really should add a comment to it!
Your friend, Marlene
At 8:11pm on August 8, 2007, Bob Young said…
Ciao Doris, and warm thanks for the warm reception to my paintings! You have no idea how much it means to have someone "out there in the Universe" appreciate my work. The two paintings you mention, the iris and Tuscan Patterns, are two of my own favorites. The iris hangs over the fireplace in my wife Sally's family house in Madison, Wisconsin . . . and, the Tuscan piece is a view from our wonderful Untours agritusismo>> , La Canonica near Torrenieri. I did it from a photo I took from the top of the hill looking across a small valley. Not to get TOO "hucksterish," but that painting, nicely framed, is available . . . it measures about 18" by 24" and I've listed it in one showing for $650 (but not a single "bite" !) // Where were you on your Tuscan Untour? In Austria we were in Kuchl near Salzberg ---- one of the sketches you've seen. // You're so right about the "happy accidents," including, for us, happening upon a stunning concert by the entire London Philharmonic in an ancient church in Locarno . . . and similar concerts in Florence. // I note that you've done the Alsace-Lorain Untour: we're going next spring, after 2 weeks in an Untour apartment in Leiden, Holland. What an amazing program! I call it Adventure Travel With Training Wheels. So much of the risk has been taken out, but there's still lots of room for discovery & exploration.// When I hit "send" on this over-long message, I'll look at your photos. All the best, and merci mille fois >> & grazie altre tanto >> . . . Bob
At 12:21pm on August 10, 2007, Amy Schaffner said…
Thanks for the comment on the Alpentruam balcony pic. It is in my office @ work.....The amazing thing is that pic only captures a fraction of the incredible view from that balcony.

My son (11) walked into the kitchen this morning and said "Mom, I want to go back to Switzerland soooo bad"!
He has already been 3 times, but he loves to ride his bike there. He also speaks enough German to go into shop, buy food at the bakery, etc. on his own & I think he likes very much to do this.

If only we were retired & had lots more money, I would leave today!
At 5:58pm on August 12, 2007, Jean and Fred Agneta said…
Your trip to Alsace looked wonderful and you put in all the important information-- also we enjoyed all your photos. Keep more photos coming so we can all enjoy them.

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