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    Pilkington Travels

    Independent Affiliate of Big Creek Travel

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    Orchestrating Beautiful Experiences

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    New Year’s Day on AmaMagna
    Jonathan Pilkington
    • Jan 5, 2020
    • 1 min

    New Year’s Day on AmaMagna

    Everything had a bit of a delayed start on New Year’s Day, but I was up, as usual. I had my early breakfast, did a bit at the gym, walked around the ship, watched us go through a few locks, and had lunch. We arrived in Melk at around 2:00, where the big tour of the day was Melk Abbey. That involved a short bus ride up the hill to the Abbey, a tour of the Abbey, and a walk back down the hill and through the town, on our own. Here are some highlights of the day: As a friendly r
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    Don’t like tours or cruises? Maybe you’re a FIT. What’s that?!?
    Jonathan Pilkington
    • Aug 18, 2019
    • 3 min

    Don’t like tours or cruises? Maybe you’re a FIT. What’s that?!?

    When traveling, some people like to go to a companies that offer tours, whether they are small groups or large groups. These tours often have a specific purpose or theme, such as “Spanish Wine Tour” or “Classical Music in Vienna,” and the group will have a set itinerary, which probably also allows for a certain amount of free time. These can be great, and I encourage you to check out my host agency, Travelex International, which offers several wonderful music, food, and wine
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    UPDATED Cruise vs All-Inclusive: The Pilkington Perspective
    Jonathan Pilkington
    • Aug 12, 2019
    • 10 min

    UPDATED Cruise vs All-Inclusive: The Pilkington Perspective

    December 3, 2020 Update This post was originally written after my first visit to an all-inclusive (AI) resort in August of 2019, during a time when cruising was an option. Since then, I have been on more cruises (last one in March, 2020) and have visited seven more AI resorts. While I miss cruising greatly and am sad each time more cruises are canceled, the experiences I have had at AI resorts in 2020 have been excellent, for the most part. You can read about them in my 3-par
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    5 Facts About Using a Travel Advisor
    Jonathan Pilkington
    • Aug 1, 2019
    • 3 min

    5 Facts About Using a Travel Advisor

    Pilkington Travels, LLC is my company name, and I am an independent affiliate of Travelex International. That is a mouthful, but it is all important! Travelex International, established in 1992, is a Virtuoso® member travel agency that advises travelers in personalized leisure travel, custom group travel & corporate travel. As a Virtuoso® member, one of the top 1% of travel agencies worldwide, we provide custom itineraries for our distinctive clientele to the seven continents
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    My Solo 7-Day Alaska Cruise: How and Why
    Jonathan Pilkington
    • Jul 29, 2019
    • 3 min

    My Solo 7-Day Alaska Cruise: How and Why

    travel advisor with Travelex International. Summer is a scary time for an educator since income is reduced, but I’ve become pretty good at saving thanks to my budgeting app that I mention later. While I might be a bit crazy to book an Alaska cruise with a somewhat uncertain future, I knew that everything would work out (without going into debt)! I usually cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line because they have studio cabins, which are intended for solo travelers. In case you didn
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    Day 12: Just look at the pretty pictures
    Jonathan Pilkington
    • Jun 26, 2017
    • 2 min

    Day 12: Just look at the pretty pictures

    This is the time late in my trip that I don’t feel like writing about every detail, and you might not feel like reading them either. 🙂 I’m going to post a bunch of photos and make comments when needed. It was a good, full day of squeezing in as much as possible in a sort period of time. The main thing is that I absolutely love this city and the people here, and I definitely need to return to explore more of the city and the rest of the country! The morning. A stroll through
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    Last day of this trip & Closing thoughts
    Jonathan Pilkington
    • May 17, 2015
    • 9 min

    Last day of this trip & Closing thoughts

    Considering that I only had about 1/2 a day to complete my time in Oslo, I was pretty productive. It certainly helped that it was another beautiful day! After breakfast, finishing up yesterday’s blog, and actually falling asleep again (because I woke up around 5:30), I went out to explore the Akershus Fortress at the recommendation of my host. On the way there, I stopped by Joe and the Juice, a juice and coffee bar that I’ve seen since I was in Reykjavik. I got a juice that I
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    Copenhagen/København, Torvehallerne, & Alpha Waves
    Jonathan Pilkington
    • May 14, 2015
    • 8 min

    Copenhagen/København, Torvehallerne, & Alpha Waves

    Well, I seem to be on a alternation of sleep patterns. I think the constant rocking of the ship lulled me to sleep rather than keeping me awake. That’s very fortunate, considering that there would be nowhere to nap today! I had already bought yogurt and blueberries in Oslo, so I just needed to go up to deck 7 for some coffee. I got my coffee and had my light breakfast in my room. Since the ship was scheduled to arrive in Copenhagen (København) at 9:45, I had plenty of time to
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    For the beauty of the Earth
    Jonathan Pilkington
    • May 11, 2015
    • 8 min

    For the beauty of the Earth

    We’re now in Gudvangen following an amazing 2 hour Fjord cruise. Once again, I awoke much earlier than I had hoped since the sun rose at 5 AM. I got coffee and juice from the hotel restaurant and waited for breakfast, which began at 7 AM. The television in my room only had a few channels, and all that was playing this morning was some low-budget German show. Breakfast was quite a large assortment of food, including eggs, fruit, potatoes, fish, and breads. It was quite good, a
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    Oslo-Myrdal-Flåm
    Jonathan Pilkington
    • May 10, 2015
    • 4 min

    Oslo-Myrdal-Flåm

    I’m now on the train en route to Flåm. We’re approaching Ustaoset, and this place is a winter wonderland! The ground is covered with snow, and the water is frozen. I wasn’t expecting this, but it’s completely beautiful. The rest of the train ride has been great too, and it has only gotten better as it it’s gone along. It’s like judging a singing competition. You don’t know how to judge the beginning until you get farther into it. As we left Oslo and saw the first sights of fj
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