Blogs from Île-de-France, France, Europe - page 4

Without another set of eyes and ear, traveling solo can be somewhat daunting if you are not organized, and thinking clearly. A little feedback goes a long way, as does some advanced planning. I try to use the evening before to plan the next day's activities. And despite the best plans, things can go wrong, like the weather. Travel and Leisure had this to say about traveling alone and making mistakes. Packing and overpacking-I am usually guilty, but I often give or donate clothes at my destination. Layering is the key, particularly when visiting both warm and cold destinations. I am getting better about packing with each trip. And I still give away clothes along the way. Overscheduling-Fortunately, I rarely do this. I try to reserve time for one activity in the morning and one in ... read more

Due to Technical Difficulties, There are no Pictures (Camera is on Strike) The day started at 6 am, our normal get up during vacation time. If a certain someone did not take 90 minutes to get ready, we wouldn’t have to get up so early (no I am not that certain someone), in any event, down to breakfast at 8. Had several good conversations with other quest, the majority seemed to all be from Washington State. The woman couple at the table were off to Versailles for the day (Sunday is the better day as that is when the fountains are working), we gave them a few hints on their visit and some dinner tips for later in their trip. We woke up to pouring rain and I mean hard Portland Oregon Winter rain. Fortunately, we ... read more

So shut up, live, travel, adventure, bless, and don’t be sorry.-Jack Kerouac I was on the fence about writing another travel blog for this trip, but here I am. Apparently there is a few people that still read it and were asking about it prior to our departure. Sometimes I feel the more ordinary trips in accessible countries don't deserve the same amount of chronicling, but then again these are the trips people are most interested in because it is recognizable and within easy reach for their own travels. As with all our trips I utilized my credit card miles to purchase the airfare, this time through a KLM credit card signup bonus. This time we needed to unfortunately fly out of LAX to score the deal, our most hated airport. However it was a direct ... read more

This morning we woke to a light frost. It was below zero overnight, and that hits you after 5 weeks of warm sunshine. The bags were packed, they were overweight, so some careful rearranging will take place in our hotel room before we go to the airport on Friday. I jettisoned some books, alcohol, and like a boxer weight cutting before a bout, I think we will make it. Tim and Natalia had to go into their respective offices this morning ( so they do really work ) , so we dropped Natalia off, Tim unloaded us at the station, and continued on. The traffic is a slow crawl in the morning, and this is the norm. So I can only assume that we have a sister city thing with Luxembourg, and a study group of ... read more

The url=https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/france-travel-advisory.htmlState Department issued a Level 2 warning for France as well, citing terrorist activity and civil unrest. The warning adds that dangerous activity could occur in public transit hubs, religious centers, markets, shopping malls, cultural events, airports, schools, clubs, restaurants and other public locations. In the midst of url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2022/10/04/state-department-travel-advisory-violence/8179510001/Mahsa Amini’s murder by the Iranian government, Paris has seen increased civil unrest and protests, which are forecast to continue in the coming weeks, according to url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2022/10/04/state-department-travel-advisory-violence/8179510001/USA Today. In direct contrast to Iran’s hijab ... read more