Any Travel Plan for 2019?

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W2R said:
None. :D I know that didn't surprise anybody, given that we have been open about the fact that we prefer not to travel.

Actually we have no travel planned, unless we have to evacuate for a hurricane in 2019. I hope not! We haven't done that since our evacuation for Hurricane Isaac in 2012, and we are older and the idea of evacuating sounds so much harder now than it seemed seven years ago. We are out of practice. :(

I hope all you travelers have a great time exploring the world in 2019! :flowers:
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Thanks to Lady Luck, we didn't have to evacuate for a hurricane this year. I know, hurricane season doesn't officially end for 13 more days but c'mon, let's be real. Anyway, we were so glad that we didn't have to go through a hurricane evacuation this year.

The farthest that I traveled from my Dream Home so far in 2019 has been 5 miles, and I don't plan to travel any farther than that before the end of the year. I love not having to travel any more! My brother, the enthusiastic constant traveler, thinks I'm nuts. But each to his/her own. Hope you dedicated travelers got to the destinations you dreamed of visiting this year.
 
Nemo2 said:
Prague:...we got up at 3:00 a.m. on a Sunday, (Airbnb apartment)......hit the Charles St Bridge at 05:00 a.m. (got there by streetcar)....last bar was emptying, so we let the stragglers cross. For about 2 1/2 hours we had the city to ourselves.

Rome: Pitch dark when we left our room near the Termini.....Colosseum not open, (we did have to return later), but lit by floodlights.

Romania: Walked to catch the 03:00 a.m. train from Sibiu to Timișoara.

And so on and so on......:dance:
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For about 2 1/2 hours we had the city to ourselves. - but what was open :confused: Besides looking at a DARK city?
 
Nemo2 said:
Prague:...we got up at 3:00 a.m. on a Sunday, (Airbnb apartment)......hit the Charles St Bridge at 05:00 a.m. (got there by streetcar)....last bar was emptying, so we let the stragglers cross. For about 2 1/2 hours we had the city to ourselves.

Rome: Pitch dark when we left our room near the Termini.....Colosseum not open, (we did have to return later), but lit by floodlights.

Romania: Walked to catch the 03:00 a.m. train from Sibiu to Timișoara.

And so on and so on......:dance:
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My wife and I like to get up early and go running while on vacation. Not 3 am early, but usually out the door by 5-6 am. It keeps us from getting fat while eating and drinking too much on vacation and is a great way to see the city while the streets are mostly empty, and by the time we're finished with our run, there are generally plenty of places open for a coffee and/or breakfast. Then head back for a shower, maybe a nap, and then out again once everything is open for business. Rinse and repeat.
 
So far I have planned a number of NP visits for spring and summer. I want to enjoy my new knee and being able to walk and hike without significant joint pain.
 
dirtbiker said:
My wife and I like to get up early and go running while on vacation. Not 3 am early, but usually out the door by 5-6 am.
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1983 - R&R from Saudi - Canterbury, England, (back when my knees still permitted running).......I got up early...it was dark & really foggy.

Ran through cloisters...could hardly see....only sound was the echo of my shoes.

By sheer coincidence I arrived at the gates just as the guy was opening them...(he couldn't have seen me coming, 'cause I couldn't see him).....said "Thank you" and trotted through. :LOL:
 
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Dirt, thanks for the tip about the castle and town. We have decided we have talked about going to Ireland and Scotland enough so are going to each of these for a week. Since we have been to Kraków twice we are crossing this off the list. I love Poland. Such a beautiful place.
 
Teacher Terry said:
Dirt, thanks for the tip about the castle and town. We have decided we have talked about going to Ireland and Scotland enough so are going to each of these for a week. Since we have been to Kraków twice we are crossing this off the list. I love Poland. Such a beautiful place.
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Sounds like a fantastic trip you have planned! I've never been to Scotland (also on our list), but we went to Ireland earlier this year. We loved it. We spent the majority of our time in Dublin, but did rent a car and traveled through Northern Ireland enjoying the narrow winding roads. We wished we had spent most of our time exploring the countryside, rather than exploring Dublin (not that we didn't enjoy that too).
 
dirtbiker said:
Sounds like a fantastic trip you have planned! I've never been to Scotland (also on our list), but we went to Ireland earlier this year. We loved it. We spent the majority of our time in Dublin, but did rent a car and traveled through Northern Ireland enjoying the narrow winding roads. We wished we had spent most of our time exploring the countryside, rather than exploring Dublin (not that we didn't enjoy that too).
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Yes, we made our first visit to Ireland this year and it exceeded expectations in every way. Spent three weeks there and got to almost every part of the whole island. Could happily have spent another couple of weeks, but will certainly go back. Only three days in Dublin and that was enough.
 
braumeister said:
Yes, we made our first visit to Ireland this year and it exceeded expectations in every way. Spent three weeks there and got to almost every part of the whole island. Could happily have spent another couple of weeks, but will certainly go back. Only three days in Dublin and that was enough.
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I wish we had three weeks there. I'm jealous! We only had one week. Four days in Dublin and three days out of the city. Whenever we get the chance to go back, we'd like to see Cork and Galway, and spend most of the time exploring the back roads.
 
dirtbiker said:
we'd like to see Cork and Galway, and spend most of the time exploring the back roads.
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Cork was fun; spent three days there. Enjoyed Kilkenny very much as well.

But the most enjoyable part of the trip was out on the west coast (the "Wild Atlantic Way"). Smaller towns, fantastic food, delightfully friendly people.
 
braumeister said:
Cork was fun; spent three days there. Enjoyed Kilkenny very much as well.

But the most enjoyable part of the trip was out on the west coast (the "Wild Atlantic Way"). Smaller towns, fantastic food, delightfully friendly people.
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Good to know for when we eventually get back to Ireland! So many places we want to go and so much work that gets in the way of traveling... And that's why we're working on ER!
 
Cork and Galway are on the list. My ancestors are from cork. Not even sure if we will go to Dublin.
 
Looks like it is going to be two months in Mexico this winter, traveling independently starting in Huatulco. A change from our usual Thailand winters.
Perhaps some time in Costa Rica as well. Much easier to get reasonable on way air fares.

Need to be closer to home via air for family reasons-ailing relatives. Mexico is five hours, Thailand is 22-26 hours depending on where we are. Plus a significant time difference.
 
jcfradio said:
Cool pictures. Brought back lots of memories from a trip to Prague in 2011.
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Those were from 2013.....year of the big flood. (Day before we left there we were planning to take a train trip 'up country'.....went online and found they were evacuating residents from the town we intended to visit......plan change. :facepalm: )
 
f35phixer said:
Don't think DW would want to get up at 330 A.M !!!!!!!!!!!
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We often claim that we get up before we go to bed!

Back in the mid 1970s I used to run 10 miles every morning before going to work.......oftentimes there'd be nobody else around.....like being king of the world......same kinda feeling ("This is all ours") when wandering around unfamiliar cities......we don't do it all the time, just some of the time.
 
Nemo2 said:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Ew_attTBQynTuALXl2dOaw9IktLT4nABXq442yNe1pQ/edit?usp=sharing

Hit PRESENT (top right) wait until it loads...use space bar to advance.

I think pics #3, 9-14, 21, 23, 31-32 might give an idea.
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Enjoy your photos as always. It brings back some memory of our visit in 2007.

But, but, but, without a guide book or researching on the Web, how would you know of the landmarks to visit? ;) You can wander around and stumble on something but that's not an efficient use of time, and even a retiree's time is limited (or his stamina of walking around day in day out).
 
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NW-Bound said:
But, but, but, without a guide book or researching on the Web, how would you know of the landmarks to visit? ;)
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One example which I've submitted previously.......we met a teenager skateboarding outside the 'tourist zone' in Kraków - he told us of old deserted military forts, and also the Krakus Mound and the Liban quarry, (the latter adjacent to the mound, and used in the Schindler's List movie)........not many people went to the mound or the quarry, and most of those that did go appeared to be locals.

Like that.

We both have a strong aversion to the idea of trudging behind a lollipop wielding guide, or walking around heads down with our noses buried in guidebooks written by people that we have no interest in emulating.

But that's us. ;)
 
Nemo2 said:
We both have a strong aversion to the idea of trudging behind a lollipop wielding guide, or walking around heads down with our noses buried in guidebooks written by people that we have no interest in emulating.
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We do not take guided tours or trips. But I still have to do research to know what makes a place special. How else would I know to go to Granada to see the Alhambra, and that it requires reservation a few months in advance?

Once I have the major objectives figured out and planned, the rest is all ad hoc and whim of the moment.
 
NW-Bound said:
We do not take guided tours or trips. But I still have to do research to know what makes a place special. How else would I know to go to Granada to see the Alhambra, and that it requires reservation a few months in advance?

Once I have the major objectives figured out and planned, the rest is all ad hoc and whim of the moment.
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Cultural geomorphological osmosis? ;)
 
Rookie Retiree travel observations

11 day Cruise portion of our 4 week adventure
Pluses
- wide variety of places to see without having to repack luggage
- seemed easier to share and compare experiences with fellow travelers
- choice of narrated group tour for places like Pompeii (we only got guided tours for half the stops)
- shipboard amenities (gym, spa, medical)
Cons
- cruisers can flood an area all at once
- reboarding lines
- limited time ashore
- limited flexibility
- more costly than hotels and self-tours

16 day self-guided touring
Pluses
- it was fun to do pre-trip planning
-Ability to soak in the locale by staying multiple days
- I always stopped in with the concierge to ask their recommendations before finishing our must see and do list for each city and received good input
- Flexibility in planning based on day of the week, weather, local impacts (strike, flood, riot).
- less expensive than cruising
- we were able to connect a bit more with the locals
Cons
- It seemed like we were a bit less connected with other travelers
- more reliance on google translator and google maps required

YMMV
 
We did more cruising while we we were working. Far less in retirement. We much prefer independent travel.

Now, when we do cruise it is either a last minute booking that we pick up while on a land trip or a cruise that we build a much longer land trip around.
 
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