Big_Hitter
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
^ IAH
^ IAH
^ IAH
Not too exciting. It's on the north side of town and the biggest airport. Close to where several of us members live (The Woodlands), but we are not a real exciting group.
Barcelona pics since we'll be there in August.
You can see from this weather log that it will be hot, humid and very sunny in August. A good portion of the Barcelona population leave the city during this month to go on holiday. Many of the smaller shops are closed - but for the larger stores it will be "business as usual". The beaches are popular and a little overcrowded at this time. Barcelona suffers from high humidity in this month so make sure your hotel is fitted with air conditioning that will not only cool your room but take some of the humidity out of the air. High factor screen block and sun shades are a must at this time. Get around the city by metro which is mostly air conditioned on most of the trains.
I'm getting to thinking that I'm an obsessive traveler, and it's time to slow down.
Just bought airfare to Copenhagen. We're taking a Baltic Cruise up to Estonia, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm and back to Copenhagen. Then, flying over to Oslo and taking the train and fjord cruise trip over to Bergen. I wouldn't have taken the trip, however the prices I found online were ridiculously inexpensive.
Going on six week trip in a week in our new travel trailer. Leaving MN to Black Hills, on to SLC to Yosemite. Then to DW sister near Reno. Across northern Cal (Napa Valley) to coast then north up Oregon Coast. On to Ranier then to DW other sister in Wenatchee WA then on towards Yellowstone and back home. First summer vacation in 42 years. Retired Dec-2014
We are heading to Germany - 2 week driving trip thru southern part.
Flight to Stutgart for only 833!
Sounds great! We will be there next week.We just returned from our first trip ever to Paris, and have to say that I now understand why it is the most visited location in the world. In spite of having traveled to many places we consider absolutely wonderful - London, Rome, Sydney to name just a few - Paris absolutely enchanted us. We stayed 10 days in Paris before moving on to tour the rest of France, and we could easily have stayed 10 more without feeling that we'd run out of things to do, see or experience. Having the dollar be so strong against the Euro was an unexpected bonus, and allowed us to dine and shop a bit more indulgently than we might have otherwise. Thank goodness Paris is such a walkable city, or we'd have come home a lot heavier than when we set out. Yes, the food really is that divine!
We are already plotting our return.
Sounds great! We will be there next week.
Did you find you needed to make lunch and dinner reservations? Or was it a bit less structured than that?
We did not dine out during lunch - we primarily picked up baguettes, quiches, etc., and ate on the go or at a park - but from what I observed at the many eateries we walked by, no reservations should be necessary.
For dinner, it would seem to depend on the size of the restaurant. Some of them are teeny tiny, with as few as 12 tables, and reservations would probably be prudent. The larger restaurants and bistros were busy but not 100% full during our stay. The cafes were fine for the most part before 8:00 pm.
We utilized Rick Steves Paris book extensively to determine where to dine each night, and were never disappointed.
Just booked a southern France river cruise for August. VRC had a free air thing that looked like a pretty good deal to me. Swapped the direct return with one from Paris. So I'll be booking a train to Paris at the end of the cruise, and some hotel nights. We'll probably buy the hop on hop off bus for a day or two, then hang out with a brewer buddy of mine for a few more days.
Sardinia, Cinque Terre and other parts of the Ligurian coast, Pisa, for me in early June.
Sardinia, Cinque Terre and other parts of the Ligurian coast, Pisa, for me in early June.
We are keeping our eyes open for a good price on a Baltic cruise in late Aug. Prices seem soft. I am optimistic that we can get something once the final payment date has passed. After that south to Greece for some island hopping perhaps. We usually do late booking offers.
Only other challenge is to convince my spouse that this is a good idea!