Anyone got any travel planned?

[BellBarbara]

Of to Italy in May ending in Paris where I am moderating a panel discussion. I have never been to Europe except for literally two days at a time for business. I am so pumped.

This sounds awesome! Europe is the best for travel. Have a great time!

 

[misanman]

Looks like we will book European river cruise tomorrow. The actual cruise won't be until 9/2016. Can't believe we have to plan so far ahead.

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[rodi]

Back from Spain. Great trip - prices are good, and the dollar is in great shape. We spent about 3 weeks - Sevilla, Ronda, Granada, Barcelona and Madrid. We fell in love with Barcelona and are thinking about moving there for a year when we downsize and use it as a base for Europe travel. Have not checked into whether or not this is even doable, we have plenty of time to think about this.

Weather was perfect, people friendly, food is sooooo good.

BellBarbara - Nice to hear you had a good time. I did a southern Spain trip a while back and hit Ronda, Granada, Seville, and ended in Madrid. I'm going to Barecelona this summer, and am super excited. I've heard nothing but good things about Barcelona.

Any "must sees". Already planning on a lot of time exploring Gaudi's work - including, of course, La Sagrada Familia.

 

[whatnot]

Trip planned for France at the end of May. Getting excited. Hope the Euro exchange rate cooperates!

 

[audreyh1]

Back from Spain. Great trip - prices are good, and the dollar is in great shape. We spent about 3 weeks - Sevilla, Ronda, Granada, Barcelona and Madrid. We fell in love with Barcelona and are thinking about moving there for a year when we downsize and use it as a base for Europe travel. Have not checked into whether or not this is even doable, we have plenty of time to think about this.

Weather was perfect, people friendly, food is sooooo good.

Wow, great! Glad you had such an amazing and inspiring time!

 

[audreyh1]

Hmmm - you guys have got me thinking.

When I realized this year how Barcelona dovetailed nicely with southern France/Provence, it moved up the priority list.

I'm almost fluent in Spanish, and DHs comprehension is quite good even if his spoken Spanish is limited. We would probably do great in Spain. But for some reason it hadn't felt that urgent.

 

[explanade]

BellBarbara - Nice to hear you had a good time. I did a southern Spain trip a while back and hit Ronda, Granada, Seville, and ended in Madrid. I'm going to Barecelona this summer, and am super excited. I've heard nothing but good things about Barcelona.

Any "must sees". Already planning on a lot of time exploring Gaudi's work - including, of course, La Sagrada Familia.

Watch out for the pickpockets.

I like Casa Batllo and La Perdera. Sant Pau hospital is out of the way but worth a look if you like Gaudi.

Gothic Quarter is nice but I've found it easier to stay in Eixample.

For day trips, Montserrat is often advocated. But there are Roman ruins up and down the coast.

 

[BellBarbara]

Barcelona is so great. Yes, see all the Gaudi buildings, and the park. The basilica just floored us (La Sagrada Familia). Make sure to go down by the water - lovely. And the earliest section of the city (right down there). The Bus-touristico (hop on/hop off) was really one of the best we have ever been on. You can buy a ticket for two days and see everything.

We did a day trip to Montserrat - it's a monastery on the side of a mountain. In all the pictures and such it looked like a quiet contemplative place but when we got up there (aerial tram) it seemed like Disney to us! hotels, shopping, etc. It's still lovely and you can find some nice easy hiking/walking by taking the train even further up on the mountain.

We stayed in Eixample also, as we don't like crowds so much. No issues with pick pockets. Enjoy!

 

[karen1972]

Just booked the Viking Grand European cruise, Budapest to Amsterdam for end of April but still waiting on flight confirmation.. would not have gone if Viking didn't have such good airfare pricing.. promised my honey we would make it to Germany this year.

 

[audreyh1]

You'll have a great time!

I hope you enjoy the sight of the Hungarian Parliament Building from the Danube. That is the cathedral looking building that is shown in the Viking Cruise promo video.

 

[audreyh1]

Looks like we will book European river cruise tomorrow. The actual cruise won't be until 9/2016. Can't believe we have to plan so far ahead.

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Why did you have to plan so far ahead?

 

[Looking4Ward]

Next month: a few days in Chicago.

June: a three week road trip to Orlando and Islamorada.

July: one week on the Texas Gulf coast.

August: a 7 day cruise out of Galveston.

September-December: Haven't planned yet, but will probably do a week in Estes Park over Thanksgiving and Orlando for two weeks over Christmas/New Years.

 

[rodi]

We stayed in Eixample also, as we don't like crowds so much. No issues with pick pockets. Enjoy!

We're staying right by Plaza Catalunya

 

[flyingaway]

Plan to be in China in May, Dominican Republic in June, Spain (or Italy) in July, + a driving tour in the U.S.

 

[mpeirce]

Why did you have to plan so far ahead?

You'd be surprised at how far ahead some of the cruises get fully booked.

 

[REWahoo]

You'd be surprised at how far ahead some of the cruises get fully booked.

+1

We just booked an Alaskan cruise for September and got one of the last remaining balcony staterooms.

 

[akck]

We're off to Cancun early May. Then I have a trip to Maryland to help my oldest with some house projects at the end of May, first of June.


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[Moemg]

+1

We just booked an Alaskan cruise for September and got one of the last remaining balcony staterooms.

Don't forget to bring binoculars ! We saw six bald eagles teaching their babies to fly from our balcony .

 

[Bamaman]

We often book cruises on a week's notice for very, very low fares. That's when the prices get ridiculously low. Last cruise was down to Curacao and Aruba 8 days for $269 plus port fees. I watch VacationsToGo.com religiously. Other great buys are transatlantic repositioning cruises in April and October.

I'm leaving for Seaside in Florida in the morning for the weekend. Wife's staying home. Looks like rain all weekend, however its a man's weekend.

 

[mpeirce]

Don't forget to bring binoculars ! We saw six bald eagles teaching their babies to fly from our balcony .

I love to see Bald Eagles.

But they are getting pretty common in a lot of places. My DF in Florida actually has an eagles nest in the large pine tree in his back yard! And here in central Ohio I see them flying around. There are a few nests in our area. Still cool to see!

 

[Nikita]

Just booked a Big Island Hawaii trip for the last two weeks of June. Taking sis and her grandson, who is graduating eighth grade the day we depart. A cousin moved there a year ago, so lodging is "free".

I used a combination of Alaska miles and a $99 companion fare to get us there from San Diego, non stop, at a reasonable cost for high season.

 

[Cassie]

Going to Massachusetts in May. Staying with family and also at a Inn and do some historical sightseeing.

 

[audreyh1]

+1

We just booked an Alaskan cruise for September and got one of the last remaining balcony staterooms.

Yeah, but that wasn't for September 2016, was it?

I was just surprised the poster felt they had to had to book a 9/2016 European river cruise now - a year and a half in advance.

They said they couldn't believe it either, so I was asking why it was necessary.

 

[misanman]

Quote:
Originally Posted by misanman
Looks like we will book European river cruise tomorrow. The actual cruise won't be until 9/2016. Can't believe we have to plan so far ahead.

Why did you have to plan so far ahead?

The tour is the Viking Grand European Tour (Budapest to Amsterdam) and our desire was to go in May or September because of weather and to avoid the summer tourist crowds. We have quite a bit going on this year and availability wasn't there for the dates we wanted. We steered clear of May, 2016, because we have a grandson's graduation then. So that left September, 2016.

So going so far out was mostly our choice. It just seemed strange to be planning a trip sixteen months out. A lot can change in sixteen months.

 

[misanman]

Viking Cruise Availability

So going so far out was mostly our choice. It just seemed strange to be planning a trip sixteen months out. A lot can change in sixteen months.

Maybe I should add that even for September of 2016, there were only three French balcony cabins left on our sailing date, and choosing Budapest to Amsterdam instead of Amsterdam to Budapest allowed us to move up the sailing date by one week.

In February, a friend of ours tried to book Amsterdam to Budapest for October, 2015, and they weren't able to get their preferred sailing date but were able to grab a cabin on a different date that became available due to a cancellation. The Viking Long Ships have a total of less than 100 passenger cabins.