Anyone got any travel planned?

[Rosie]

Crater Lake is beautiful! We hiked Mt. Scott. A bit scary at one point. I was shaking and clinging to the wall but I survived.

On that note, here's a very helpful sign I encountered on that trail up Mount Scott.
I filed it under "No Sh** Sherlock"

The hike is well worth the effort.

 

[audreyh1]

Going to Nice, France Oct-Feb for french immersion. Besides studying the language I'd really like to get some mountain biking in, but I'm having difficulty finding access online. Anyone else spent much time in that region? Any recommendations? Food, skiing, pubs, etc.


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Just left there two days ago. Had a great time. There is tons to do. We stayed at Hotel Mercure Centre Grimaldi, and really lucked out because there were two fantastic restaurants just up Rue Grimaldi - Le Sejour Café and Mon Petit Café. Haute Cuisine at non-haute prices, reservations recommended. We also ate at La Maison Marie, a few blocks away, and that was also excellent - they serve some regional dishes and fine dining in general. We ate very, very well in Provence and Côte d'Azur. I'm sure, based on our experience that there must be tons of great places to eat, although there are also many tourist areas full of restaurants that probably serve less memorable meals.

I didn't notice any mountain bikers, but saw tons of road bikers going up very steep mountain roads (paved) - obviously a popular sport in the region. Looked really challenging to me! A guide mentioned the ski resorts and how accessible they were from Nice, so that should be easy.

Should be great! We were careful, but didn't have any problems with pickpockets, although we got harassed by a few beggars. We used the tram and bus system a lot. That was exciting - squeezed onto a few very, very crowded buses - and you had better hang on! But it made it very easy to get around, and we enjoyed the adventure. We visited quite a bit of the area surrounding Nice, and it was fabulous!

 

[braumeister]

Spending a few days at Lake Lucerne, Switzerland next year.
Besides enjoying the old town, the Mt. Pilatus "Golden Roundtrip" is in the plan.

Anything else that might be highly recommended?

 

[brett]

We really enjoyed the ferry ride around the lake. Also took the train to Zurich for a day.

 

[explanade]

Mt. Pilatus is really spectacular. I went one February and it was in the 60s in the city but still frozen at the top.

So you could see the green zone from Lake Lucern gradually giving way to snow-capped peaks.


Otherwise, I did take a short day trip via train to Bern.

Of course if you haven't been, Bernese Overland is a must, though it's not really a day trip.

 

[Huston55]

We leave Thursday for a 10 day trip to Santa Fe and Taos. I have made arrangements to fly a MiG 15 at the Jet Warbird Center in Santa Fe. We will also stop at Chimayo to get some of the miraculous dirt to heal us.

Suggestions:

1. Visit the Rio Grande Gorge bridge just outside Taos; walk the bridge.
2. Drive the Enchanted Circle one day; stop @ Red River for lunch; ride the chair lift to the top if you're so 'inclined'.

 

[jconk46044]

C:\Users\Joan\Pictures\2005 ID,WA,OR\042_422.JPG

 

[DrRoy]

DW and I are waiting out a day of bad weather in Ramberg, Norway, in the Lofoten islands area. We have a couple days left on our 2 1/2 week trip in Norway. The last couple days will be near Reine.

 

[Nemo2]

Great pics! Do you have others?

 

[simple girl]

Beautiful!

 

[DrRoy]

Great pics! Do you have others?

Ha! Do I have more pics? Be careful what you ask. It might be Pandora's Box.

.

 

[Nemo2]

Ha! Do I have more pics? Be careful what you ask. It might be Pandora's Box.

.

Always love travel pics...keep 'em coming!

 

[Lsbcal]

We're taking a car trip down to Carmel-by-the-Sea for 3 nights. We'll walk by the beach, go to Pt. Lobos, and poke around that neighborhood. Not exotic for us but an easy trip and relaxing.

We've been to the Monterey Bay aquarium several times but might do it again. There was an article that the bay otter's population is well out of the danger zone now. It's fun to look for them in the waters and we've done this around sunset with good success some years ago. Just find a place to park and watching the waters off the beach.

EDIT: corrected to Pt. Lobos

 

[braumeister]

We've been to the Monterey Bay aquarium several times but might do it again. There was an article that the bay otter's population is well out of the danger zone now. It's fun to look for them in the waters and we've done this around sunset with good success some years ago. Just find a place to park and watching the waters off the beach.

When I lived there, I frequently saw them up close around the Fisherman's Wharf area at high tide.

 

[check6]

Of course if you haven't been, Bernese Overland is a must, though it's not really a day trip.

It's my favorite place in the world. Just returned after spending five days in Wengen overlooking the Lauterbrunnen Valley. I have been going to the region since 1976.

 

[check6]

I have made arrangements to fly a MiG 15 at the Jet Warbird Center in Santa Fe.

Now that is going to be exciting. Report back on how many "G's" you pulled.

Check Six!

 

[pullmyfinger]

Just got back from a 2 week trip to Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn and Copenhagen. We went on our own and took the Tallink ferries between Tallinn, Helsinki and Stockholm. I had been to Stockholm and Tallinn on a short trip in the 90's but not to the other cities. I would highly recommend Helsinki. It has beautiful architecture, beautifully designed streets and is so walkable. The perfect weather we had there didn't hurt either. Not too big, not too crowded and a safe, comfortable feel. I also really loved Copenhagen. Much bigger, but so many beautiful streets to walk and things to see. The downside is that Scandinavia is so much more expensive than my favorite country to visit - Germany.

 

[explanade]

I remember seeing this one web site showing violent crimes and a couple of European cities stood out from the rest, Glasgow and Helsinki.

Couldn't understand why.

 

[brett]

nemo...Porto and the Douro Valley are some of our favourite places in Portugal.

.....just bought a few bottles of Douro plonk at our Costco liquer store yesterday!

 

[pullmyfinger]

I remember seeing this one web site showing violent crimes and a couple of European cities stood out from the rest, Glasgow and Helsinki.

Couldn't understand why.

I remember reading 20 years ago that Helsinki had relatively high suicide rates. I assumed that it was due to a combination of the winter darkness and alcohol consumption.

While I was planning this trip I read "Helsinki Noir" which is part of a series of books with short mystery stories based in cities around the world. Some of the stories were creepy but I was intrigued and it did get me more interested in visiting the city.

I have read many Denise Mina novels which are based in Glasgow and I would highly recommend them. I have to admit they have made me a little paranoid about traveling there, so I have to be careful with my consumption of Scandinavian, Icelandic and Scottish mysteries.

 

[Nemo2]

I remember seeing this one web site showing violent crimes and a couple of European cities stood out from the rest, Glasgow and Helsinki.

Couldn't understand why.

I recall reading, decades back, (I think it was Lonely Planet), a guide book with a section featuring Helsinki......one sentence stuck in my mind, pertaining to a particular bar, "Stay an hour, see a fight".

 

[gayl]

Loved Helsinki & Tallinn ... but that was 2010

Off to Cote d Azur 10/18-10/27

 

[Souschef]

Thank you

I would like to thank the person that recommended the restaurant in Chimayo. The food was fabulous, and as we left, a tourgroup entered from Tauck. We sort of smiled,glad we were on our own.

 

[kcowan]

We just completed a motor trip with 2 other couples. In the large Merc with 3 seats and we mixed and matched each seat. Great time travelling to Whistler and then across to the Okanagan, visiting friend's son and DIL ranch and another son's candy factory, mixing in a couple of large ranches and wine tasting. Too good!

Saw lots of beef cattle being raised (many calves), and many vineyards. Quilchena (Nicola Valley), Predator Ridge (Kelowna Golf) and NK'Mip (Osoyoos) were the staying locations. Great weather and fun times. Stopped at roadside stands on the Hope-Princeton highway. Amazing fruit and vegetables. Lots of different squashes.

 

[grasshopper]

I would like to thank the person that recommended the restaurant in Chimayo. The food was fabulous, and as we left, a tourgroup entered from Tauck. We sort of smiled,glad we were on our own.

My pleasure, we are planning a 5-6 day trip to Chaco Canyon and if we don't go north to Durango, we may hit Chimayo and than Santa Fe on the way home. We live in Arizona and are only 3 miles from New Mexico, and 30 miles from Old Mexico.