Let's talk about travel

[JTL]

I know that some of you here are really into travelling.  Most people I know in real life are so, too.  I have been the opposite but I am now trying to be not so opposite.  After returning from New Zealand, which was quite a pleasant trip, I started thinking about where to go next time.  I would like to hear about your travel experience:  what are your favorite destinations? Who take care of your pets when you travel? Do you buy souvenirs?  Before I leave for a place, I always announce at home that I am not going to buy anything for anyone because it is expensive (due to our weak currency) and troublesome to bring home, but I always end up buying some. I wish I hadn't bought these chocolates that are so overly sweet...(Spit!)

Although I know that the internet has a lot of better photos of the places I visited, I will still show you a couple of photos I take -- for the name of it:

[Bertha]

Beautiful photos, JTL!

As for favorite places to travel to, I would have to list the following: England, Wales, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands--all countries I have visited.  I have also traveled to Ukraine, Hungary and Japan.  Japan is expensive but has many lovely sights.  Right now, there is political unrest in Ukraine, so not sure it would be a good place but there are some beautiful sights there, at least in Kiev and western Ukraine where I was.  Budapest, Hungary is very interesting, but I don't know much about the rest of the country. 

I've always been fortunate to have a friend and/or a husband who took care of my kitties in my absence.  Also, I've had to ask a friend to water flowers in my yard when I've traveled in the summertime.  We often have long stretches of drought in Oklahoma, so the only way to keep things alive is to water them. 

I do buy some souvenirs, some for myself and some for family and friends.  A number of years ago, I hit onto a perfect souvenir. Most are relatively inexpensive.  They are lightweight and small, so it's easy to pack them.  What are they?  Bookmarks!  Nearly everywhere I've gone, whether it's a touristy area or not, I find bookmarks that show off some local place of significance.  I have given away many of these bookmarks because I buy duplicates, so I keep one and give one in many cases.  Even so, I now have a few hundred bookmarks of all sorts.  In England and Wales, I have found lovely leather embossed ones but I've also found many styles.  Friends who travel now bring me bookmarks, too! Of course, one may not want bookmarks, so there are usually other small things.  I look for locally produced items rather than those made elsewhere (nothing better says you had a great time visiting the Vatican or seeing the Eiffel Tower by having a snow globe made in China   ).  When I visited Vancouver and Victoria, Canada, last year, I bought flower seeds so I have a lasting memory of the beautiful flower gardens (Butchart Gardens).  I also collect turtles, so one of my favorite souvenirs from one of my trips to England is a turtle I found in a charity shop.  And, then, of course, I have to stop at the duty free shops in the airport to buy those chocolates and any other last minute souvenirs before leaving. 

[Gene]

JTL;

Be sure t visit Maui in the Hawaiian Islands..........................heaven on earth.................................GG

[Darryl]

That first photo looks a lot like Queenstown, JTL. I remember those jagged snow-covered mountains. The Remarkables I think - aptly named.

[davel]

I have always loved travelling as long as I can remember. Growing up in western New York state in the USA, I was four years old when we (my parents and I) drove to Florida - a long trek in those days. As a university student studying French, I lived in France for a year and travelled to other European countries during that trip: England, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.

I think it would be easier to make a list of places NOT to visit, and these I would define by being dangerous in terms of politics or terrorism.

One thing I would strongly urge any traveller to do is what I always try and do: leave the touristy areas and go down side streets or into small villages to see how the local people live. I have never let a language barrier stop me and feel I have experienced local life that many tourists miss.

[JTL]

Thank you all!  I like Bertha's idea of bookmarks as souvenirs but if I buy those, they have got to be for myself.  Too few people I know actually read books, besides facebooks.  I do buy magnets, but not for the refrigerator.  I use them on my iron drawer sets for documents. 

Darryl, you are right; that first photo is Queenstown! My sister in law who was on the same tour liked the first impression of this town so much she commented that it was the best among all the destinations (=many) she had been to.  Otherwise she said Istanbul was the most interesting.

Gene, because of your suggestion, I searched for a YouTube video about maui to have a look.  No doubt it is beautiful, but it won't be my top priority because it is hot there with coconut trees again. I got that at home! 

I think my next far-away destination is likely Melbourne and this time I am sure to do as Davel would do:  find out how the locals live! I should be able to find my way around as I have two persons I can contact if I get lost -- a nephew who studies there, and my former boss' daughter practising as a doctor there. 

JTL

[Darryl]

I think my next far-away destination is likely Melbourne and this time I am sure to do as Davel would do:  find out how the locals live! I should be able to find my way around as I have two persons I can contact if I get lost -- a nephew who studies there, and my former boss' daughter practising as a doctor there. 

JTL

Melbourne is a great place to visit, but the climate is erratic. They reckon you can have all seasons in one day there!
I lived there for a short while in the early seventies but I could never see myself as a Victorian - I guess I'm a Banana Bender through and through. As you say JTL, you would see how the locals live, and perhaps get out to a couple of the country towns too, like Ballarat and Bendigo - old gold mining localities that are steeped in history, Well, as much post-European settlement history as Australia has.
Speaking of travel, I have little desire to travel overseas again, although I did like Canada. I liked the space there (I'm used to that) and I found the people were very much like Australians. I have been to New Zealand and it was OK, except for the miserable and cold weather. France I was not impressed with, but we should have travelled into the countryside and I would have been happier there. The rural areas of Britain (where Duncan is) and Scotland were pretty places, but a bit claustrophobic. You have no sooner driven out of one place than you are at the next.
So I think my passport can now gather dust. There is so much of my own country I haven't seen. Lots of the Pilbara in Western Australia, the transcontinental railway (the longest straight railway in the world) and Tasmania, the only state I haven't visited are on the list. Well, I guess Tasmania is overseas. Over Bass Strait anyway.

[JTL]

Melbourne is a great place to visit, but the climate is erratic. They reckon you can have all seasons in one day there!

They say the same thing about NZ but I found it okay.  I brought a thin jacket and a thick one, and was prepared to sit inside the bus if it rained. It never got unbearably cold and the winds did not blow my umbrella inside out as warned. It was exciting though.

I lived there for a short while in the early seventies but I could never see myself as a Victorian - I guess I'm a Banana Bender through and through.

What is it like to be a Victorian, and can't one live in Melbourne without being a Victorian?

Speaking of travel, I have little desire to travel overseas again, although I did like Canada.

I also like the idea of going to Canada.  Since you have been there and liked it, can you suggest one city to go to?  My friend wants to know.


The rural areas of Britain (where Duncan is) and Scotland were pretty places, but a bit claustrophobic. You have no sooner driven out of one place than you are at the next.

But this could be a good point rather than a bad point if you don't have many days to spend there. 

[Bertha]

Speaking of travel, I have little desire to travel overseas again, although I did like Canada.

I also like the idea of going to Canada.  Since you have been there and liked it, can you suggest one city to go to?  My friend wants to know.

I can recommend Vancouver and nearby Victoria on the west coast of Canada.  Go in the late spring/early summer for the best weather, though.  Vancouver is a large city, but Victoria is smaller and more quaint.  Not far from Victoria, which is on an island, is Butchart Gardens.  They are beautiful. 

[Darryl]

I also like the idea of going to Canada.  Since you have been there and liked it, can you suggest one city to go to?  My friend wants to know.

Yes, I agree with Bertha - Vancouver had plenty of interesting features. We saw bears on Grouse Mountain. We were there mainly because we have friends who live there and that's where the cruise boat to Alaska departed from.
And we went on the ferry to Victoria specifically to see Buchart Gardens. Amazing place.

[JTL]

Thank you for the info!  I looked up Butchart Gardens on the internet and loved what I saw!  Canada is so far away that I will have to find at least one in-between city to spend a couple of days on land for a break.  This stepping-stone city should be a desired destination on its own.  The search has not been easy but it is going to be an interesting search!  By the way, how long has your longest flight been? Mine is only 10.5 hours. 

JTL

[Britta]

I like travelling a lot, while my husband is quite content to stay at home. He does come along, though, but it means that I normally do all the planning. I like to see new places so we don't normally go to the same destination twice. Among my favourite destinations were Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, the Alaska Cruise, India and Norway / the North Cape. On my to-do list is Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, China, ... and probably a lot more if I think about it long enough. Since we can only afford a "big" holiday every few years, we go cheaper places in-between. This year we've been to northern Italy and Austria, the Canary Islands are also a favourite when the summer has been rather cold and wet.

We have four cats of advanced age, two of them need pills and a third one injections twice a day. My son so far has been living at out place for the time we were away to care for the cats and water the plants (the latter score appears to be a bit more difficult).

I always but a gift for my son as a thank you for doing the pets. I often buy a gift for myself, we brought a cookie jar from Austria, for example. From the far-away trips I always buy something special for my parents as they don't travel out of the country. Also from special destinations we send a number of post cards but I don't do that a lot theses days.

[Darryl]

By the way, how long has your longest flight been? Mine is only 10.5 hours. 

JTL

I recall a long flight from Nerida (Tokyo) to Paris which was about 10 hours or so I think. I remember the captain saying that Charles de Gaulle airport wouldn't be open at our scheduled arrival time so we sat on the strip at Nerida for a while. The other long one was from Brisbane to Los Angeles - about 12 hours and also San Francisco to Cairns which was about the same.
I like those maps they put on the Tv screen that show the position of the plane and give you info about altitude, ground speed, outside air temp, ETA and time to go (which seems to reduce very slowly!)

[admin]

I was trustee of a charity in Tanzania for a while. 11 hours I think. But the view of Kilimanjaro poking up through the clouds was worth every minute.

[Bertha]

My first trip was the longest going and coming home.  When I was 19, I flew to Tokyo, Japan, to meet up with my husband who was stationed at Tachikawa AB.  Once I left Los Angeles after an hour flight from Tucson, AZ, it was about 18 hours or so, I don't recall.  We stopped over in Hawaii to refuel, so I was on the ground there for about an hour and then we continued.  When we left Japan, it was a military charter flight, so we stopped on Wake Island probably to pick up passengers as we didn't deplane; then we flew on to Hawaii to refuel before flying on to Travis AFB in California.  It was a very long trip with the addition of a 2 1/2 month old baby, too! 

Darryl, I think you mean Narita International Airport which serves Tokyo as an entry point.  I flew into Haneda International Airport, which is closer to Yokohama, but also served Tokyo, since Narita had not yet be built.  It was in the planning stages in the 1960s but wasn't opened until sometime in the 1970s.