Vivian V. Russell Travel -

Algarve, Portugal – Sun and Sea

Portugal’s southern coast, known as the Algarve, is famous for its 100 miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches and 300 days a year of sunshine. It has long drawn Europeans, and it’s true that some of the coastal development is dense and unattractive. Yet the region remains...
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La Mamounia Hotel and Travel Exploration Morocco

La Mamounia is one of Morocco’s most beloved hotels, and an undeniable beauty. It was built in the 1920s on the site of the sultan’s palace within the ancient walls of the old city. Its style is a mix of Art Deco and traditional Moroccan. Its 16th century gardens...
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Essaouira, Morocco

First impressions upon arriving the Atlantic coastal port town of Essaouira at midday on an early spring day: clear, brilliant light; wind and crashing ocean waves and screaming gulls; whitewashed buildings that look inviting, familiar, European. And then you go through the...
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Welcome to Malaga—Moscata de Alexandria

Arriving Malaga in the evening via a low-fare flight from Amsterdam, the taxi deposited me a distance from my hotel, pointing me down a broad marble-paved pedestrian street that appeared to be the scene of a big party. It turned out that Avenida de Larios was a main street...
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Rembrandt and the Dutch Soul

Thanks to the loan of a museum pass from a local friend, I was able to obtain a hard-to-get ticket and entrance time to a new major retrospective of the works of Holland’s greatest master, Rembrandt van Rijn. The exhibition was devoted to Rembrandt’s works from the...
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Sicily Travel — a Sicilian Idyll

Winter in Italy and Sicily in 2012 was called the Grand Gelé, or the Big Freeze. One of the coldest winters in modern Italian history – the canals in Venice froze – didn’t deter our Sicily travel plans. One advantage of traveling in Winter — you have the attractions all...
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Amazing Vietnam!

A ten-day exploration of Vietnam As an American who remembers well the war in Vietnam, to be a tourist in Vietnam means to revisit the war on some level. Vietnam will always be the place where a terrible war was fought and millions of people, including more than 58,000...
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Incredible India

To quote UCLA Professor Stanley Wolpert in the opening paragraph to his masterful work, India, “India is at once the oldest and most sorrowful as well as the happiest and most beautiful civilization on earth.” I confess, I am hopelessly enchanted and ensnared by the wonderful...
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A Trip Through Provence et le Cote d’Azur

A ten-day exploration of the charms of the French Riviera and the grandeur of a Rhone River cruise. The following is a detailed report that follows our trip itinerary and includes traveler’s notes on the places we visited, impressions of our river cruise and hotels, meals and...
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"Journey with an open mind and gentle heart"

By my spirit, words and actions, encourage others to travel the world in peace.

What I Do

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A travel professional knows Trip Planning.  Custom-tailored and complete, down to the smallest detail. Travel Product Evaluation. I can help you make well-informed decisions. Internet Research.  Let me gather, refine, and distill information for you and give you only the best, most useful content. Travel Services.  For corporate meetings and special events. My experience includes technology and wine and food-related events. I can be the corporate meeting planner’s best friend.

Top 10 Reasons To Use Me

1. For my expertise, and my willingness to conduct thorough research.
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3. For my professionalism and dedication to the principle of integrity in travel.
4. For my in-depth knowledge of travel products and my ability to assess true value.
5. For my support of ASTA and its efforts on behalf of travel consumers.

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