Any Travel Plan for 2019?

[Nemo2]

Nemo..are you by chance referring to a bar, Larry’s Hideaway that used to be near or around Alan Gardens. Years ago we would walk or cycle by that area on the way to U of T or to Sick Kids. We lived in Cabbagetown for three years.

Never went in but one could not miss the neon sign.

No...this fellow, long since passed I would imagine, was actually named Larry - the hotel, the name of which I never knew, was right on Jarvis St.

Lot of dives around there......I picked up Bo Diddley, (they were trying to get him to endorse a guitar), and took him out to the showroom one time - (he was a regular at Le Coq d'Or) , and the entire band were staying in adjoining rooms in a low end hotel....the girls, (I got to meet Cookie), were frying chicken in their room.

 

[W2R]

No...this fellow, long since passed I would imagine, was actually named Larry - the hotel, the name of which I never knew, was right on Jarvis St.

Lot of dives around there......I picked up Bo Diddley, (they were trying to get him to endorse a guitar), and took him out to the showroom one time - (he was a regular at Le Coq d'Or) , and the entire band were staying in adjoining rooms in a low end hotel....the girls, (I got to meet Cookie), were frying chicken in their room.

Bo Diddley? Wow, what an amazing life you have led. Bo Diddley was iconic back in the day, even if the word "iconic" was not used much back then. OK, I simply have to post this for those ER wannabes half a century younger than us who never heard of him (if there are any that young, here).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Diddley

 

[Nemo2]

And here's Cookie...sadly she came to a bad end I heard.

 

[brett]

We fly to Gold Coast, Australia in a few days (from Thailand). We have plans to visit Tasmania for eight days. We just hope that the weather cools down and the fires are abated prior to our trip.

One month in Australia and then home via Hawaii for a few days. With any luck the deep freee at home will be over by then and most of the snow will have melted.

 

[Lucie]

Just finished a conference last week and now enjoying a cup of coffee overlooking the ocean in Costa Rica. Life is good!

 

[StephieJean]

I looked, and there has not been a new thread on this popular topic for 2019. So I am starting one.

I just booked flight for a Spring trip to Spain and Portugal. The duration will be a bit more than 5 weeks. The time is mid April to mid May.

We have been to Spain before, but this time will visit some new places in addition to going to Portugal and the Basque region, the latter two we have not visited.

Flight to Barcelona is cheapest, so that's our flight to/from destination. Will pick up a car to drive to Andorra, then cross the Pyrenees and visit Toulouse, France. After that, will continue on a counterclockwise direction to San Sebastian, Bilbao, Oviedo, A Coruna, before arriving in Portugal. Cities to visit in Portugal are Porto, Coimbra, and Lisbon.

The return to Barcelona from Lisbon includes stops in Cordoba, Granada, Cartagena, and Castellon. We have been to Seville and Valencia, so will skip these.

Most driving legs are of less than 300 km (190 mi), and the stays at each city range from 2 to 4 nights. So, the driving should not be too bad, even though the total distance will be around 2,000 mi.

yes, we have travel plans for Rome and Greece. Land and Cruise. We are Air B & B-ing it in Rome. Greece portion is a 9 day cruise. WE will stay in Vatican City while in Rome and take public transportation. WE are fine just being tourists and soaking up all of the ruins and cathedrals.

 

[NW-Bound]

We are in Thailand at the moment. Our fifth winter here.

Each year we seem to see more and more older North American men parading their much younger Thai brides or live ins about as if it is some sort of prize. Many of them clearly do not know what the score is...especially the ones that appear to be with bar girls or ex bar girls. Oftentimes the women appear so disinterested. Sad really.

I'm unclear what you mean.
I could guess you mean, the girls are there only for the money ?
Or that there is a longer game going on, that the men will later be obligated under some penalty to pay huge sums for some reason. ?

Money can't buy true love, but it buys some sex and companionship.


I'll give you all I got to give if you say you'll love me too
I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you
I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love

 

[NW-Bound]

... WE are fine just being tourists and soaking up all of the ruins and cathedrals.

We are tourists too - can't help it when we stick out like a sore thumb wherever we go. But I try to be more like a traveler and go to some additional places not so crowded after visiting the main drag.

Been fleshing out my itinerary. Cut back time in Toulouse to add a stay in Albi. Delete A Coruna, and add Santiago de Compostela.

 

[Nemo2]

add a stay in Albi.

I think you'll enjoy Albi.....population's only ~50K....amd there's some good stuff to see.

(That said, we didn't get tired of Toulouse.)

 

[NW-Bound]

That's good to know.

Instead of 2 nights in Andorra + 3 nights in Toulouse, I will do 1 in Andorra, and 2 each in Toulouse and Albi. I like to stop in Andorra just to look around, as the chance of me being there again is slim, and also to break up the drive to make it more relaxing.

PS. Already booked Airbnb in Albi and Toulouse, both with private parking and in walking distance to the town centers. In Andorra, I found a 3-star hotel right on the main drag for less than $30. Must be the shoulder season in April.

PPS. I do not even drive directly from Barcelona to Andorra which is not that far away, but make a 1-night stop in a small midway Spanish town. Yes, my goal is to travel slow.

 

[Nemo2]

Instead of 2 nights in Andorra + 3 nights in Toulouse, I will do 1 in Andorra, and 2 each in Toulouse and Albi. I like to stop in Andorra just to look around, as the chance of me being there again is slim, and also to break up the drive to make it more relaxing.

We 'did' Albi in a day; for us one night there would have been more than sufficient.

Toulouse, we stayed ten days, with a couple side day trips, (one of which was Albi), didn't tire of it. (We lived about a 7 minute walk from the train station...bought our tickets the day before, caught the early train and were almost alone on the streets when we started exploring.)

Andorra...never been...heard it was nothing more than an electronics, etc, store. Girona, perhaps on your way there from Barcelona, is quite nice.

 

[iloveyoga]

We returned last week from a lovely trip to Key West, we had an awesome, warm time. Right now I have only two trips planned. In July I am going with my DIL and two granddaughters to a dance competition in Sandusky, Ohio (!!). In December, I am going with my son's family to the Walt Disney World to see the decorations, ride the rides, and see the fireworks.

Up in the air....we are in Iowa, so will we make it to spring without another warm weather getaway??

 

[NW-Bound]

We 'did' Albi in a day; for us one night there would have been more than sufficient.

Toulouse, we stayed ten days, with a couple side day trips, (one of which was Albi), didn't tire of it. (We lived about a 7 minute walk from the train station...bought our tickets the day before, caught the early train and were almost alone on the streets when we started exploring.)

Andorra...never been...heard it was nothing more than an electronics, etc, store. Girona, perhaps on your way there from Barcelona, is quite nice.

The drive from Andorra to Albi may be 4 hours, hence I like to stay an extra night. The next day I will do a short day trip to Cordes-sur-Ciel, a French hill town. Toulouse is such a short drive from Albi, so we will have almost 2 full days there in Toulouse after Albi.

Girona is not really on the way, so I will have to miss it.

Andorra may be boring, but I like to spend the night, walk the stores without buying anything to be able to say I have been there. If we get bored too quickly, may drive a bit out of town to take a hike, as the countryside is hilly and should be green in early spring.

 

[Nemo2]

a short day trip to Cordes-sur-Ciel

Not having a vehicle we had to give this one a pass, although we really would have liked to visit it......trying to get there by bus/train was a real PITA at the time so we let it slide.

Enjoy...and post pics!!

 

[NW-Bound]

All this talk about travel in France makes me want to post a French song. This is one I listened to in my early teens. The song writer/singer was Françoise Hardy, still alive and 75-year-old.

Le Temps de l'Amour / The Time of Love

C'est le temps de l'amour / It's the time of love
Le temps des copains / Time of friendship
Et de l'aventure / And of adventure
Quand le temps va et vient / When the time comes and goes
On ne pense à rien / One thinks of nothing
Malgré ses blessures / Despite his wounds
Car le temps de l'amour / For the time of love
C'est long et c'est court / It's long and also short
Ça dure toujours / It lasts forever
On s'en souvient / One remembers it​

 

[jfn111]

Starting our drive to Florida today. Not looking forward to 25 hours of driving but someone has to haul all the grand kids crap down.

 

[Helios]

Leave in 2 weeks for a cruise from buenos aires up to rio for carnavale. Have tickets for the sambodrome.
Each year I said that I was going, this year it happens.

 

[NW-Bound]

Continue to flesh out the Spain-Portugal trip coming up in two months. I need to make up my mind on the lodgings.

Yesterday, I added an Airbnb for Granada and a hotel in San Sebastian to the "done" list.

Today, finally made up my mind on a hotel in Cordoba, and another hotel in Bilbao.

Cordoba was a tough one, and I spent a lot of time surfing the Web on this. The town center is small and the streets very narrow. A car is a liability, and it is not easy finding a place to park it not too far from the hotel. And we want to stay in the town center to enjoy the lively atmosphere.

In working on Oviedo, I decided to stay near Aviles and make day trip to Oviedo instead. Aviles is less crowded for a change in scenery, and closer to the Atlantic coast for some additional sightseeing.

Still have to book for Santiago, Porto, Coimbra, Lisbon, Cartagena, and Barcelona. There's a good chance of finding Airbnb's at these places for these longer stays of 3 and 4 days each.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have always wanted to visit Asturias, the Northern region of Spain, ever since I listened to the classical guitar piece of the name, called "Asturias (Leyenda)".

Perversely, the piece is said to be not representative of the folk music of Asturias, but rather of the Southern Andalusia region. And it was originally written for a piano! Yet, it sounds so much better on a guitar.

Here's a wonderful rendition by a talented Croatian guitarist.

 

[NW-Bound]

And I will also get to visit the palace of Alhambra in Granada, which is celebrated in the guitar piece called "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" (Memories of Alhambra).

And again, it's the music that inspired me to visit this locale.

Here's the same guitarist, although all classical guitarists have played these famous pieces.

 

[gayl]

Princess had a $1 deposit / OBC / Specialty Restaurant promo yesterday so booked ANOTHER cruise .... have 4 lines up [emoji568]

 

[EarlyBirdly]

No real travel plans...maybe a trip to Quebec. ( Already been there twice, but that was 40 years ago. )

Been retired 2.5 years and that will be the first "real" trip other than a few automobile forays into nearby states to visit with friends and family.

No desire to do much else. 30 years in the Airline Industry will do that to a fella'...(!)

Pretty much " been there, done that". Anyone wanna' buy some T-Shirts? I seem to have way too many of them laying around here.

And, Surprise! - Any trip I take will likely be a combination of Train and Car travel without an airport in sight, anywhere.




Birdman

 

[NW-Bound]

And I will also get to visit the palace of Alhambra in Granada, which is celebrated in the guitar piece called "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" (Memories of Alhambra)...

I knew that visiting the Nasrid Palaces inside the Alhambra required advanced reservation, but I had to nail down the itinerary first. I secured lodging last week, and should have booked the visit right away, but though I had time.

Today, went to the Web site and found out that I almost missed seeing it. There were only 3 slots left, and on the last day of my stay. Holy mackerel! And this was more than 2 months out, in late April and not the peak season. I was clicking like crazy to secure 2 slots.

Almost missed it! Come to think that I could have made the effort to go there and not being able to see the most celebrated area of Alhambra. Arghhh!

 

[anethum]

I recently returned from 17 days in Colombia, mainly bicycling and hiking. I flew to Medellin, and was mostly in the coffee growing region southeast of there. Beautiful country with friendly people. The hiking in cloud forest and tropical forest was superb. The cycling was very difficult due to the extremely mountainous terrain & altitude. Medellin is a pleasant city. Colombia is in the same time zone as Eastern Standard Time, and no night flights are required to get there if coming from North America, so it's an easy trip.

 

[lcyn]

Croatia bike trip

We have a great trip scheduled for early September 2019 in Croatia. I have eight siblings, and we are all retired. My siblings, along with their spouses and significant others are going to go on a bike and boat Trip through the islands of Croatia. This is an eight day trip, onboard a boat with 17 cabins , so it will accommodate all of us. The bikes are e-bikes, which makes the biking fun and easy for us old folks. (Some of us couldn't do this trip without e-bikes)
I have never been to Croatia before, although I have been to Italy and I understand that the weather is fairly close to Italy and warm and comfortable in September. Has anyone else ever done these bike trips? The tour company that we are going with is called Tripsite. They have a really nice looking boat, a guide on our daily bike trips through the islands, stopping in small villages of Croatia. They provide lodging and meals, and the price is very reasonable. I will report back and let people know how this trip went. This company has electric bikes, which make the biking through the hilly country of the Croatian islands very easy. A lot of us already ride electric bikes, and so are familiar with them.


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