This cruising blog was launched by Pierre and Carolyn Mainguene, the founders of Circa Tours, a California-based travel consulting company that specializes in tours and river cruises in France, Spain and Portugal. We have traveled to those three countries dozens of times–Pierre was born, raised and educated in Brittany, France–and we get a kick out of sharing our travel stories with other travellers like you… whether a cruise through Paris at sunset, a visit to pastoral Burgundy, a week-long trip on the Canal du Midi, or a drive around hot and steamy Andalusia. On our trips, we always enjoy meeting the local people, tasting their cuisine and sampling the regional wines. We are also particularly interested in art, architecture, gardens and, lately, have gotten into learning to appreciate opera. We love writing about our travel experiences. Do join us with your comments and other fun observations from your own personal discoveries. Welcome to our travel world!

Pierre and Carolyn in Carcassonne, France.