At the Spring-2016 Midwest Travel Writers Association (MTWA) meeting in Columbus, Ohio,  Janet Steinberg, official blogger for The Travel Authority, an ALTOUR company, was awarded two Mark Twain Awards in MTWA’s annual Mark Twain Travel Writing Contest.  Steinberg received the First Place Mark Twain Award for the Best Travel Travel Blog...

BY JANET STEINBERG    Looking back into my childhood, my most treasured memories are those of good ole summertime Ohio River cruises aboard the majestic Island Queen. For 35-cents, this grand and stately, green and white, 5-deck side-wheeler traveled ten miles up river from downtown Cincinnati to Coney Island, the beloved...

BY JANET STEINBERG The jewel of the Great Lakes and Wisconsin’s largest city, Milwaukee has grown from “Brew City” to  “New City”.  Bold, beautiful, and spectacularly progressive, it is the kind of place where you can best experience the very spirit and values that built America.  This city of contrasts and...

BY JANET STEINBERG Dear Fellow Travelers,  Once in a while I come upon an unusual item that I feel compelled to share with you.  This particular item is not only practical, but for me it was inspirational.  It inspired me to do what I had been threatening to do for...

PART 4: SUNSET KEY: KEY WEST'S HIDDEN GEM BY JANET STEINBERG Sailing some 172 nautical miles from the port of Ft. Lauderdale on the first day of my 8-day Caribbean cruise aboard Silversea’s Silver Spirit, we arrived at Key West, Florida at eight o’clock in the morning. SILVER SPIRIT DOCKED IN KEY...

PART 3: ANATOMY OF A 9-COURSE DINNER BY JANET STEINBERG Seishin, one of the two alternative restaurants on Silver Spirit, takes it name from the Japanese word for “spirit”.  And spirits were certainly high among the 24 passengers anticipating the innovative Asian fusion cuisine that was to about to be served to them in...

PART TWO: WELCOME ASHORE WITH SILVERSEA BY JANET STEINBERG In Part One of my last post, CHILLING IS FULFILLING, I showed you how I cruised for the unmitigated pleasure of just cruising…never leaving Silversea’s Silver Spirit for an entire week and loving every minute of it.  Now, in PART TWO, allow...

PART ONE: CHILLING IS FULFILLING BY JANET STEINBERG Whenever I took a cruise (and I’ve taken over 150), I had always thought about doing nothing…just totally chilling…possibly never leaving the ship.  Yes, I had always dreamed of doing that.  However, “Type A” individual that I am, I have never allowed myself that luxury.   But finally it was time.  I...

BY  JANET STEINBERG     "Cities are like gentlemen," the late Will Rogers orated, "they are born, not made.  You are either a city or you are not.  Size has nothing to do with it.  I bet San Francisco was a city from the very first time it had a dozen...