My Life and Passion for Travel – This is my Story

As most of you know, I have had the pleasure of working as a travel agent for the last 40 years. During this wonderful and exceptional time, I’ve enjoyed the blessings of travelling to some of the most beautiful places on planet earth.

From the open market streets of Mexico City, through the alleys of the hood in Denver Harbor on the east side of Houston, Texas, I proudly came out and embarked on a lifelong adventure to see the world.

I started this crazy business under the direction and guidance of Mr Alberto Cortez. He was my original mentor and the person who opened my eyes to see the world through a different lens. He was a true original travel photographer with so many beautiful shots of the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Egypt, and the scarred face of a lion somewhere in the Serengeti. His pictures were elegantly on display throughout the walls of Viajes Felgueres and the pride of some of us who worked there.

We were the original vacation travel planners. In the times when we greeted our customer who came to our office, sat at our desk, and describe in great detail their dream trip over a cup of coffee. Where they wanted to go. How much time they allotted to get away and how much money they budgeted? It was then that the mastery of the written word and the knowledge of firsthand travel experience would come in to play as he started drafting a day by day itinerary, just as they envisioned it and as they were describing it, and just as if he was drawing a masterpiece; little by little and word by word, it would all come to life. He would make their dream trip a reality.

I have done Crew Change Travel; I have done Account Management and I’ve also worked as a Sales Representative for Iberia Airlines of Spain.

As the years passed and the road took me to different paths within the travel industry, I eventually somehow made it back to where it all started. The Leisure side of travel. Vacation Travel Planning. The Art of making travel dreams come true.

I have now visited 37 countries. Over 150 cities, towns and villages from Texas to California and New York. To London. To Paris, over to the most beautiful town in the French riviera of Saint Paul de Vance. The Art déco City of Florence to the stretched canals of Venice and the beauty of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

I’ve traveled up and down the waterways of Europe; on the Rhine, the Danube and the Rhone. I’ve walked the streets of the Red-Light District in Amsterdam. I’ve marvelled at the sight of The Atomium in Brussels and the castles of Germany, Austria and France. I’ve driven through the fjords of Norway from Oslo to Bergen during a couple of crispy spring days and seen the sunset on the steep slopes of its beautiful mountains and glorious valleys. I’ve admired the winter and summer palaces of Saint Petersburg, Russia and jogged around St. Peter’s square in Moscow at 5 o’clock in the morning and witness one on one the changing of the military guard as they safeguarded the remains of a man named Vladimir Lenin right in the heart of the Kremlin.

I’ve visited all major museums in the world; from the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Louvre in Paris, El Prado in Madrid, The Hermitage in St. Petersburg and the Museo de Antropologia in Mexico City, The Anne Frankel Museum in Amsterdam, The Sofia Museum in Istanbul and the Holocaust Museum in Berlin.

I’ve listened to the most beautiful live music in some of the most renown halls. From an old tavern in London to a small music venue in Austin to a classical music concert hall in Vienna and Prague and the famous Opera House in Paris.

I’ve walked up and down the Great Wall of China, climb the Pyramids in Teotihuacán and the Yucatan and cried at the sight of the Berlin Wall. I’ve walked and swam on the beaches of Acapulco, Cancun, Miami, Nice, Santorini and Mykonos. I’ve eaten in the best restaurants in Paris. Lyon, New York, Las Vegas and Dubrovnik.

I owe it all to my career as a travel agent and the wonderful gifts it’s given me. So it is with great pleasure, enthusiasm and trust that I present to you; Journey’s ViaGiO. Here you will read stories of some of these trips. You will see city guides, tour suggestions, hotel reviews, airline sales and you will be able to compare prices and even book these travel services.