How far do you have to go?

Traveling quality isn't always in the distance. Those of us who live in California and Oregon can actually see much of the same scenery we might see all around the world. Above is a photo of Lake of the Woods near Ashland/Medford, Oregon. It is six hours from Portland and six hours from San Francisco.

Can you see 10 countries in Europe in 4 weeks?

Graphic from Google



     On the Trip Advisor site a 20 year old woman asked for suggestions on what to see in a four week tour of 10 countries in Europe. It was all I could do to keep from suggesting she either stay home or just choose two.
     At 20 she has plenty of time to go back and see other things. At my age I probably should join a Japanese tour bus and see all of the United States in ten days.
     Let's put this in another way. She has 28 days in her four week trip. Deduct a day going and a day coming home and that leaves 26. Deduct one day for travel between countries (packing/unpacking get to the train etc.) and she has 16 days. Deduct one day for laundry - she cannot do a month without it - and she has 1.5 days in each country. Now, to be fair, she only wants to see one major city or geographical area in each country. Thus, she has 1.5 days in Rome, for example. That is a drive by.
     I sat in an Roman café for three hours talking politics with an Italian who knew as much about the U.S. as I do. We had tea in Edinburgh which took two hours.  We went for a four hour hike in Dingle Harbor instead of kissing the Blarney Stone. You have to make choices. I choose to focus on a few things. I just cannot imagine a tour that sees five churches in Florence in one morning. They would be a blur.
     It is all a matter of style. She may have a great trip, but I don't think it would be for me. I'd rather spend two weeks in the Dolomites in Northern Italy and two weeks in Avignon in the South of France for my total of four weeks.

(Romanian viewers are now back in second place as visitors to this blog.)

Sunday - Church Day: St. Canice Cathedral , Kilkenny, Ireland

Tours given by members of the church help pay for the upkeep of  Saint Canice Cathedral in Kilkenny, Scotland. A distant relative of President Obama is buried there. The church stands next to an ancient "Round Tower" fortification. We learned more about Ireland from the volunteer elder tour guide than from any other source.

Close (narrow alley) in Lismore, Ireland - Favorite Photos

This photo, I think, makes me seem like a good photographer. I do not show the hundreds of other pictures I have taken with are really not so good.

Little surprises

 

For me, the little surprises are worth the trip. Indeed, I love the weeks or months of planning and I enjoy the larger things of travel, but I always bring back the best memories of the things that surprise me. The above photo is one I took in Multnomah Village in Portland, Oregon. It is in front of a "service" station - today known as a gas station - that long ago went out of business along SW Capitol Highway. Left behind and yet now restored is an old gravity gas pump.  I will guess most people do not notice it or if they do they do not know what it is. But, I have to stop and look at it every time I go by.

Below is another example of what I mean. It is an old, long un-used telephone booth in Castle Gregory, Ireland. I am going to imagine that the locals do not notice it at all as they go driving by.

 





Rock of Cashel, Ireland

Picture re-posted from Tourism Ireland Facebook site. Cashel is a pretty little town dominated by this Abbey high on a rock summit. It is one of the most popular places to visit in Ireland, which you might gather from this picture. Below are two that I took.

Can I take my smartphone to Europe?

People want to know if they can take their cellphone to Europe. 1) yes, it is legal and 2) do your homework. If you are using your smartphone for WiFi that is good. If you brought it loaded with a translator or specific maps - Okay. However, if you do not check your data plan or with your provider you could be very surprised. Some phones do not work at all. Some need a new sim card with a pay-as-you-go plan. Some U.S. carriers will have a plan that will not cost a good deal. However, the picture above is a ship in Cobh Harbour, Ireland. One tourist was telling another that "last night when I called you (another tourist on the ship) about your plans for dinner, the call cost me $27.00. I checked on it today" It is rumored that you can run up several thousand dollars in roaming charges and data charges if you do this wrong. It pays to check before you go or to buy a "throw away" phone just for calls overseas when you get there. Lots more about this on TripAdvisor.com.