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About the website Press Clippings Client Log-in Passport information (from U.S. State Dept) Trip Evaluation |
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In 1995, the first group of Walking Softly adventurers set forth on a journey to the Italian Dolomites. Ever since, we've continued to invest our time and energy in developing and delivering high quality trips that put you in touch with world's treasury of art and culture. We never forget that a Walking Softly adventure is your adventure. We firmly believe that the first job of a trip leader is to facilitate your travel experience. Our job is to set the stage and choreograph the trip so you're free to explore and enjoy. Relax and let us handle the details! We'll work to make sure your journey abroad is rich, rewarding, and memorable! We’d like to thank you again for the wonderful trip you put together for us. The locations, accommodations, meals, variety and schedule made our week as enjoyable as it could possibly be! You are elite professionals; that combined with your individual skills and charm…make "Walking Softly" a wonderful success! --SUSAN LAWRENCE AND LEE JALOVEC Founders |
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Amy and John Osaki are the founders of Walking Softly Adventures. Amy Boyce Osaki studied art at the Louvre Museum in Paris, holds a master's degree from Winterthur Museum, and worked as a museum professional for over a decade including six years at the Portland Art Museum. She has led art trips to Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Barcelona, Budapest, Krakow, Peru and Japan for the last 14 years with Walking Softly Adventures. Many of the trips were offered for graduate credit from Portland State University where she is an adjunct professor. As a travel professional, Amy has led sixty-five trips to fifteen countries on four continents. She is fluent in French and speaks Spanish, as well. Her photographs, many of which appear on this website, have been exhibited in juried exhibitions, group exhibitions, and can also be found in private collections. Amy is a Certified Travel Counselor, a level of professional certification that is the travel industry’s highest. | |||||
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John Osaki has spent much of his working career in the great outdoors. He was a backcountry ranger in Washington State's Olympic National Park before moving to Philadelphia where he managed interpretive programs at the Independence National Historical Park. He later administered educational programming for the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Region. As a travel professional for the past fourteen years, John has led sixty-six trips to seventeen countries on four continents. He is an accomplished photographer and his images can be seen on this website and as well as on the Mountain Hiking Holidays website. He has long been fascinated with old walled cities (Dubrovnik, Cordes-sur-Ciel, Sibiu) and the monuments of antiquity (Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, Tikal, Great Zimbabwe). He met Amy in 1983 while working for the National Park Service in Philadelphia, and his talents on the harpsichord helped win her heart. A third-generation Japanese-American, John was born on Oahu, Hawaii and began studying the French language when he was five years old. | |||||
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Amy is a talented trip leader... Because she was so organized and had planned so exquisitely, we were able to do and see much more than would have been otherwise possible. I would take this trip over again in a minute. --SUSAN DIMITMAN Of course I expected nothing but the best from Walking Softly, but wondered if this trip could possibly live up to the enormous pleasure I took in the walking trips. It did indeed! And what a lot I learned! --RACHEL BARD We have never experienced travel with leaders who attended to every detail with such dedication. Walking Softly Adventures attracts delightful people for a thoroughly enjoyable adventure. --SHIRLEY & DEAN SCHAMP You do a wonderful job of caring for your travelers, and we recommend Walking Softly to others. --BERNICE STEARNS AND MEL TAYLOR What wasn’t wonderful about our leaders? You attended to every detail bringing a freshness and enthusiasm to us first-timers. --SHERRE AND LARRY BARNETT The skill, warmth and caring that Amy and John put into the trip gives great pleasure. Their courtesy in introducing the innkeepers attests to their positive relationship with staff as well as guests. --SALLY SAMPLE |
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© Walking
Softly Adventures, Inc., PO Box 86250, Portland, OR 97286 |
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