Author Profile: Lynn Momboisse

A one hour walking tour of Carmel-by-the-Sea's beautiful Historic Hill District beginning with a walk through Devendorf Park and featuring the many Fairy Tale Houses of noted local builder Hugh...   view more

The Scenic Loop Walking Tour is a series of two blog posts. They are a self-guided walking tour featuring three miles of nature's most impressive beauty along the Carmel coast. If time does not permit, this first part can be walked as 1-1/2 miles round...   view more

This is the second part of the Scenic Loop Walking Tour featuring three miles of historic homes, amazing architecture and some of nature's most stunning coastlines along the Carmel...   view more

Join us as we go on our 2 mile walking tour through some of the most unique and historic back streets and pathways of Carmel-by-the-Sea, featuring the recently dedicated "Jane Powers...   view more

Join us as we continue our Jane Powers Walkway Loop walking tour through some of the most unique and historic back streets and pathways of Carmel-by-the-Sea, featuring the Carmel Dunes and a stroll along North Carmel...   view more

A leisurely walking tour hosted by Friends of the Carmel Forest viewing and learning about over 30 varieties of trees (including many impressive "Heritage Trees") growing in and around beautiful...   view more

Part 1 of an energetic walking tour of the historic Point Sur Lightstation just north of Big Sur. In this Part we begin our tour with a climb along the cliff roads leading up to the lightstation, stopping to learn about its history and marvel at the amazing coastal...   view more

In Part 2 of our walking tour we learn a bit more about the history of the Point Sur Lightstation and the lives of the men and women responsible for its construction and day-to-day...   view more

Part 1 of a beautiful "Nature and Historical Walk" through the Carmel Mission Trail Nature Preserve, including a guided tour along the unspoiled walking paths once followed by Father...   view more

Part 2 of a beautiful walking tour through the Carmel Mission Trail Nature Preserve, featuring a stroll in and around the grounds of the historic Flanders...   view more

This brisk one hour walking tour of beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea is tailored for those visitors who don't have a lot of time but still want to get a feel for what our little village by the sea has to...   view more

A brisk one hour walking tour down Camel-by-the-Sea's Ocean Avenue to the Carmel Beach Overlook for a chance to take in some incredible views spanning from Pebble Beach to Point...   view more

Kick off the season with a tour of some of Carmel-by-the-Sea's most historic Inns of Distinction, sponsored each year by Carmel Heritage Society. Part 2 features Happy Landing...   view more

Kick off the season with a tour of some of Carmel-by-the-Sea's most historic Inns of Distinction, sponsored each year by Carmel Heritage Society. Part 1 features the La Playa...   view more

Kick off the season with a tour of some of Carmel-by-the-Sea's most historic Inns of Distinction, sponsored each year by Carmel Heritage Society. Part 3 features Pine Inn and Lobos...   view more

Kick off the season with a tour of some of Carmel-by-the-Sea's most historic Inns of Distinction, sponsored each year by Carmel Heritage Society. Part 4 features Monte Verde Inn and Cypress...   view more

Kick off the season with a tour of some of Carmel-by-the-Sea's most historic Inns of Distinction, sponsored each year by Carmel Heritage Society. Part 5 concludes the series featuring Carriage House and Tradewinds...   view more

A self-guided walking tour in and around the Theater of the Golden Bough in beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea, featuring the fascinating history this "twice cursed"...   view more

A brief self-guided walking tour of the historic Mission Orchard House, part of the second phase of the on-going restoration of Mission San Carlos Borromeo (Carmel...   view more

A quick self-guided walking tour in and around First Murphy Park; home to the Carmel Heritage Society, a non-profit organization formed to preserve and protect the history of...   view more

A story about one of Carmel's most famous builders and the travels of one little house that so typifies the uniqueness of the little village of...   view more

This self-guided walking tour in and around Carmel Mission Ranch shows off its natural beauty and leaves no doubt as to why Clint Eastwood was so driven to acquire, restore and preserve this Historic Carmel...   view more

Part 1 of a two part self-guided walking tour of Carmel-by-the-Sea's many enjoyable wine tasting rooms. This tour features wineries included in the Carmel Wine Walk Passport offered by the Carmel Chamber of...   view more

Part 2 of a two part self-guided walking tour of Carmel-by-the-Sea's many enjoyable wine tasting rooms. This tour features wineries included in the Carmel Wine Walk Passport offered by the Carmel Chamber of...   view more

Only have a day to spend in Monterey? Be sure to visit these 5 "Must See" destinations in Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row. Have some fun and learn a thing or two while taking in all the incredible sights, sounds, and tastes of this historic...   view more

In Carmel and looking to find a great place to grab a bite with you four-legged best friend then you're in luck. Check out the 15 Best Dog Friendly Restaurants. Good food. Wonderful atmosphere. Most importantly, Dog...   view more

So many options, each with their own charm. The following (listed in alphabetical order) are a selection of Carmel-by-the-Sea's best Happy Hour options that my family and I have enjoyed, more than...   view more

In a very abbreviated history, the Narragansett people were the first to inhabit this area of Newport, Rhode Island. Later in 1639, a small group of Puritans, who had been banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for their religious views settled...   view more

As we cruised down the Saint Lawrence River we finally experienced the vibrant fall colors we had been waiting for. Arrival in Quebec City was breathtakingly beautiful. Quebec truly lived up to its name, "crown jewel of French...   view more

This is a 90 minute self-guided walking tour starting and ending at the Carmel Visitors Center. The tour will cover historic hotels, shops, art galleries, wine rooms, fairy tale architecture, Devendorf Park, Carmel Beach, and quaint courtyards and passageways that beg to be...   view more

"Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream." So goes the opening line from John Steinbeck's seminal novel, Cannery Row, about a bygone era and the characters that filled...   view more

When you're ready, continue walking straight along the trail and at the crosswalk, which is decorated with a blue wave pattern, carefully cross the...   view more

Hello and welcome to this California Walking Tour of Old Town Folsom. I am Lynn Momboisse and have lived in California all of my life and been exploring the state for decades. I love to discover new area in my backyard and bring my adventures as a hometown tourist to life in walking and driving...   view more

Hello and welcome to this walking tour of the Old Town Sacramento Historic District and Waterfront Walking Tour. You should be standing in a small tree shaded patio on the west side of the 1 Capitol Mall Building in front of the entrance to the Tower Bridge Parking Lot and across the street from Tower...   view more

Exit at Monterosso, there are more stairs as the elevator was, of course, fuori servizio. Thankfully our hotel is just a few blocks from the station. Take a right on the via Fegina and roll our suitcases a few blocks to the Hotel La Spiaggia located at via Fegina 100 (shown above). When we arrive they greet us with a glass of...   view more

Our original plan was to start our day by taking the boat from Monterosso to Riomaggiore, thus having the opportunity to see all five villages of Cinque Terre from the water. Unfortunately, the sea conditions were too rough and the ferry was suspended for the entire three days we were in Cinque Terre. So instead we took the train from Monterosso to Manarola, the smallest of the five villages that make up Cinque Terre and explore that...   view more

After taking the train from Manarola we exit the train station at the most southern of the five villages, Riomaggiore. From the station walk toward the pedestrian tunnel. At the end of the pedestrian tunnel turn left on to the via Colombo where you will find most of the options for dining in...   view more

We are not going to explore Vernazza today, so from the train station at Vernazza, walk under the tracks into the village onto via Roma the main street. Continue walking along via Roma about three hundred yards. When you get to this location on Googlemaps, between the Focacceria on your right and the green cross of the Farmacia on your left you have arrived at the trail heads to both Monterosso and...   view more

We are up early and head downstairs to another hearty breakfast at the Hotel La Spiaggia. This would be our last day to explore Cinque Terre and we had another full day of hiking ahead of us. Our plan is to take the train to Corniglia and walk the coast trail to...   view more

After one relaxing day at sea, our cruise pulled into Kotor, Montenegro. We were up early sitting on our balcony as we entered the Bay of Kotor and glided for about one hour to the shore just outside the old walled town of Kotor. It was an ancient trade center, now it is a UNESCO World Heritage...   view more

We just spent the last hour or so exploring the medieval walled village of Kotor. Now it was time to hike up the old walls to the top of the hill and the Castle of St. John. There are a few ways to make this hike. The best would be a round trip hiking one way up past (#28) the Church of Our Lady of Remedy to (#4) Castle of St. John then back down via (#6) the Kontarini Tower. You can see that route in the map...   view more

Today the Norwegian Sun pulled into Freeport Copenhagen. We said goodbye to the Øresund Bridge and the windmills, disembarked quickly and were transported by bus to the Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers Hotel an ultra modern, stark, and meticulously clean hotel across from the Øresund subway...   view more

Originally we had planned on touring this city on our own. We spent hours learning the various islands, streets and sights. As we got closer to our arrival we decided with three hours plus by train from Nynashamn alone and only ten hours in port, a guided tour would cause us less stress. Glad we made the change. Armed with plenty of knowledge we were on the first tender at 7:30am and one of the first tours to leave Nynashamn for...   view more

Our last stop on the Gulf of Finland is Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Tallinn, the old city which is surrounded by walls and towers began around 1050 with the first fortress built on Toompea...   view more

The Norwegian Sun docked at Vasilyevski Island, St. Petersburg. From the aft of our ship we could view the city skyline made up of rows of tall cement buildings with very little character. These are the "modern" buildings of St. Petersburg, built in Soviet...   view more

The Norwegian Sun docked at Vasilyevski Island, St. Petersburg. From the aft of our ship we could view the city skyline made up of rows of tall cement buildings with very little...   view more

We woke to another unusual weather day for the Baltic, partly clear skies, mild temperatures and a calm breeze. Today we will tour three Russian Orthodox Cathedrals in St. Petersburg using the Norwegian Cruise Tour Cathedrals of St. Petersburg. We will visit the Peter and Paul Cathedral, The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, and St Isaac's...   view more

We arrived in Helsinki with unusually perfect weather, clear blue sky and a warm gentle breeze. The Port of Helsinki is very busy with seven ferry companies and numerous cruise lines vying for two harbors with eight quays. Ships line up early waiting for docking instructions. Tugs, dredges and barges work at their respective tasks around our...   view more

We cruised into Massachusetts Bay and docked at the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal around 10am. With the limited amount of time we had available to us in Boston, we choose to take one of the Princess organized tours. If given the opportunity to see Boston again, we would tour on our own using this tinyurl.com/ycpjem9a we created before leaving...   view more

Hello and welcome to this California Walking Tour of Old Town Folsom. I am Lynn Momboisse and have lived in California all of my life and been exploring the state for decades. I love to discover new area in my backyard and bring my adventures as a hometown tourist to life in walking and driving...   view more

The weather that greeted us as we boarded our bus at 8:30 was 57 degrees, sunny, and remained pleasant all day. This morning we are driving from Lisbon to Santarem along the main motorway A1, about 50 miles. I must say that we slept for most of the ride. Well until Leo woke us up with "Good Morning...   view more

Around 2pm, we all hopped back on our bus in Santarem for a 40 minute ride to Fatima. As we ride through the countryside, Leo gave us a brief history of Portugal up to the time of the apparitions in Fatima. The Kingdom of Portugal from 1139 to 1910 was classified as a monarchy, alternating over the centuries between absolute monarchy to semi-constitutional monarchy. This monarchy ended with the revolution of October 5,...   view more

We arrive at our hotel the San Francisco Hotel Monumento in Santiago de Compostela around 7pm on April 2, 2025. It would be our home for the next two...   view more

After a hearty breakfast at our hotel Casona de los Caballeros dining room we leave at 8:30am for Loyola, Spain, the birthplace of Saint Ignatius, founder of the Jesuit Order. Another day of pleasant weather, around 57 degrees and partly cloudy. Our two hour bus ride will take us along the northern edge of Spain, through Bilbao one of the commercial hubs of Spanish Basque Country. As we ride, Leo will enlighten us with the story of...   view more

Lourdes, which is located in the heart of the Pyrenees, was a very small and rural town in 1858. Today however, the town has grown many times over. Every year more than 5 million pilgrims come to visit the sanctuary in search of healing, whether it be in body, mind or...   view more

As we arrive in Manresa we pass under the stone Point Vell bridge which dates to the 12th or 13th century. Then immediately the Basilica of Santa Maria which stands high on a rock comes into...   view more

It is an early 5:45am departure from Lourdes as our group travels to Montserrat Sanctuary in Spain. Our 5-1/2 hour drive will take us through the Pyrenees Mountains and across the French border into Spain. Our goal is to make it to Montserrat in time to see the Boys Choir at 1:00pm. Leo kindly lets us sleep for two hours as we travel through the darkness. After crossing into Spain Leo quietly breaks our silence with "Good morning...   view more

Back on the bus at 6pm we are on our way to Santilla del Mar and hotel Casona de los Caballeros which will be our home base for the next two nights for our visit to Garabandal and Santo Toribio de Liebana Monastery. The hotel, originally built as an estate in the late 1600's, was restored in 2006 as a 4-star hotel in the middle of the historic district of Santilla del...   view more

After another large buffet breakfast, this one served in the cavernous monk's dining room, our group of pilgrims boarded the bus at 8:30 for Santilla del Mar, Spain. On the way we will stop for lunch in Congas de Onis. Our drive will turn east along the northern coast of Spain through tiny hamlets, and past lush green...   view more