Dear Ageless Traveler,

I’m writing this letter a few weeks before spring because, for the first time in many years, I will be traveling in March. Early spring is anticipation. It’s new growth. It’s romance in the air. It’s flowers blooming—and we’re personally blooming again after winter.

And let’s be honest: after months of a very cold winter, most of us are ready for a little color, a little music, and a getaway to somewhere interesting.

So this week I’m celebrating the season by taking you to places that do spring in grand style.

• Ask Adriane: Advanced Style: Dressing for Spring—and Loving It
• News You Can Use: News from the National Parks, National Forests, and Train Travel Discounts
• Culture Vulture: Tulips and Garden Magic: The Netherlands Tulip Festival, Presby Memorial Iris Gardens NJ, the Chelsea, London flower Show, and blooms in Pella, Iowa
• Luxury Travel for Less: Pro Tips for Cherry Blossom Season Around the World

On This Week’s Podcast: If you’ve never heard “April in Paris” or “It Might as Well Be Spring” sung by a real jazz chanteuse, you’re missing something special. Join me at Melba Miller’s Jazz Oasis Listening Room for a conversation with the extraordinary Melba Miller.

Never stop traveling

Cheers,

Adriane

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This Week’s Highlights

On Our Podcast Welcome to Jazz Oasis with Melba Miller

“The listening room is a haven for serious jazz listeners.” — Melba Miller

In this captivating episode, we step into the soulful world of jazz and explore why listening—really listening—matters. Melba Miller has created something rare: Jazz Oasis, a space where audiences come not to chat over cocktails, but to immerse themselves in music.

We talk about the difference between a listening room and a noisy restaurant gig, how audiences play a role in preserving live music, and dish about the “tip jar,” jazz for grandkids, and inside the world of a jazz singer.

Whether you’re a lifelong jazz lover or just curious about the genre, this conversation will make you hear music—and travel—just a little differently.

Spring Flower Festivals Worth Traveling For

The grand champion of European flower events is the Keukenhof Tulip Festival in the Netherlands. More than seven million tulips bloom across vast gardens outside Amsterdam, drawing visitors from around the world. The displays change every week, and flower mosaics create living works of art. I traveled there very early for the first bloom… very beautiful, with much fewer crowds and less expensive hotels.

How about Iowa for tulips? A hidden gem is Pella, near Des Moines, Iowa, first settled in 1847 by immigrants from the Netherlands seeking religious freedom. Today, the Midwest town’s Dutch heritage is on full display from a working grain mill (anointed the Vermeer Windmill) to Tulip Time, an annual three-day tulip festival with some 300,000 flowers in early May.

More tulips: Skagit Valley, Washington State, where the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival fills the landscape with bright fields of tulips and daffodils each April.

When I lived in Montclair, New Jersey, I never missed a visit to the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. Known as the “Rainbow on the Hill,” the gardens showcase thousands of iris varieties blooming in May and June. Walking paths wind through hillsides filled with purples, yellows, and whites. And don’t forget the hidden Peony fields in Long Valley, New Jersey, near Tewksbury, where I also used to live.

And tada! The grandmother of all flower shows, The Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show, is the most exciting I have ever visited. It is now also a culinary, craft, and shopping event of magnificent proportions. Floral masterpieces grace the beautiful and fully British London’s Royal Hospital Chelsea. 19 – 23 May 2026

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Luxury Travel for Less

Cherry Blossom Season Around the World

Cherry blossom season is one of the most beautiful—and surprisingly affordable—times to travel. Here is a potpourri of Cherry Blossom venues worth the trip. Some have iconic festivals that are worth a destination. Others are side trips if you happen to be in those areas.

Washington, DC, in 1912-The National Cherry Blossom Festival draws millions of visitors each spring. The trees surrounding the Tidal Basin create a pink canopy around the monuments. I have been there many times to also visit the Japanese Street Festival Sakura Matsuri, April 11-12, at Massachusetts and 7th Street.

The University of Washington Quad has 29 cherry trees that will reach “peak bloom” on March 20. The cherry blossom visitors’ website provides updates on bloom status as well as details on transportation, activities, and amenities. The cherry blossoms also have live video feeds for virtual viewing and their own social media accounts on Instagram and BlueSky.

​In Japan, the tradition of hanami, or flower viewing, turns parks into social gatherings under clouds of pink blossoms. Cities like Kyoto blossom through April, but Tokyo may have peaked in March. They all celebrate with evening lanterns, picnics, and festivals. Check out dates where blooms are best.​

If you are in the area, visit these sites:

​Branch Brook Park Cherry Blossom Festival in Newark. The park actually has more cherry trees than Washington, D.C., and the crowds are far smaller.

​Berlin, Germany: Japan gifted a ton of trees to Berlin. Start your walk at Bornholmer Strasse, then follow the Mauerweg to Kirschblütenallee for one of the best uninterrupted walks under the blossoms.

​Frick, Switzerland -Between Basel and Zurich, offers a Cherry Blossom walk along the Fricktaler Chriesiwäg through orchards and hillsides on an easy circular route.

​Vancouver, Canada– Queen Elizabeth Park boasts Vancouver’s cherry blossoms.

​Beijing, China–Cherry Blossom Festival in Yuyuantan Park. Still, for a more traditional, cinematic experience, the Summer Palace looks like something straight out of a movie during blossom season.

How about Cherry Blossoms in Winter? Chiang Mai, Thailand, blooms from December to February. And takes a day trip up Doi Suthep mountain to Khun Chang Khian at the summit to see the cherry blossoms. Take a red truck (also known as a songthaew) or hire a car.

And of course, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, founded in 1910. Visit the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Full disclosure, Central Park and all the boroughs have cherry blossoms, but Brooklyn is the best.

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