State Your Vacation Location!

[Herdfan]

I hope you have a good time! I’ll say one thing, Imo, the smaller the ship the better, less people, less time to load and unload, less crowded, this Viking ship held about 950, and had a pool. Dining was always comfortable, so I’ll be interested in what you think of the jumbo ship.

We also tend to prefer the smaller ships. But I have always wanted to try one of the megaships. We have done the Carnival Destiny Class and RCCL Voyager Class, but not one of these mega's.

Might hate it, but still want to give it a try.

 

[myscrnnm]

Nice views of Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko from Oishi Park; although the flowers seem to be between seasons right now. Should look even nicer when summer comes around.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Skomer island for a day. Does that count. I have to go via boat, so for me that's a vacation!

 

[960design]

Skomer island for a day. Does that count. I have to go via boat, so for me that's a vacation!

Heck yeah that counts!

 

[Apple fanboy]

Heck yeah that counts!

Well I think so. It’s all I’m getting at this stage anyway!

 

[Huntn]

Early April2024- fly into London, take the train to Scotland (either Edinburg, or Glascow), rent a car, see sights, jump on a train from Edinburg or Glascow to Killarney, Ireland (train, ferry, train), visit with wife's cousin, train from Killarney to London to fly home. What could go wrong?🤗

Any suggestions about any portion of this itinerary? I'm not clear yet on what the train will cost. Wife looked it up and said something like $80 from London to Edinburg...

A couple of years ago we did our Normandy tour, flew into Paris, rented a car, and Booking.com became our best friend. That was simple in comparison.

 

[ritmomundo]

Early April2024- fly into London, take the train to Scotland (either Edinburg, or Glascow), rent a car, see sights, jump on a train from Edinburg or Glascow to Killarney, Ireland (train, ferry, train), visit with wife's cousin, train from Killarney to London to fly home. What could go wrong?🤗

Any suggestions about any portion of this itinerary? I'm not clear yet on what the train will cost. Wife looked it up and said something like $80 from London to Edinburg...

A couple of years ago we did our Normandy tour, flew into Paris, rented a car, and Booking.com became our best friend. That was simple in comparison.

We took an overnight sleeper train last year from Edinburgh to London - The Caledonian. A sleeper train is not necessarily something that I would seek out (I prefer my hotels stationary lol), but it came recommended by a friend. It was a bit more expensive than a regular train ticket, however we also got a night's stay out of it. And it was nice not having to spend half a waking day in transit.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Early April2024- fly into London, take the train to Scotland (either Edinburg, or Glascow), rent a car, see sights, jump on a train from Edinburg or Glascow to Killarney, Ireland (train, ferry, train), visit with wife's cousin, train from Killarney to London to fly home. What could go wrong?🤗

Any suggestions about any portion of this itinerary? I'm not clear yet on what the train will cost. Wife looked it up and said something like $80 from London to Edinburg...

A couple of years ago we did our Normandy tour, flew into Paris, rented a car, and Booking.com became our best friend. That was simple in comparison.

Just keep an eye on train strikes and rail repairs. You may find a portion of your train ride is a replacement bus service!
If you can stop off in Northumberland on your way up. Some beautiful scenery. Not that there is a shortage of that in Scotland.
Only been to Edinburgh once. For the military tattoo. Set in the Castle. Brilliant show.

 

[Huntn]

Early April2024- fly into London, take the train to Scotland (either Edinburg, or Glascow), rent a car, see sights, jump on a train from Edinburg or Glascow to Killarney, Ireland (train, ferry, train), visit with wife's cousin, train from Killarney to London to fly home. What could go wrong?🤗

Any suggestions about any portion of this itinerary? I'm not clear yet on what the train will cost. Wife looked it up and said something like $80 from London to Edinburg...

A couple of years ago we did our Normandy tour, flew into Paris, rented a car, and Booking.com became our best friend. That was simple in comparison.

Scratch the above…
Tomorrow heading back to France for our third trip there. It was original scheduled during the year of COVID, even had tickets purchased, then cancelled, and now we are giving it another shot visiting some estates and gardens, in central France including Giverny and Paris., Today we relocated to Minneapolis to see family, and tomorrow catch the direct Paris flight. More to come!

 

[Mellofello808]

2 weeks until Japan!

 

[obeygiant]

2 weeks until Japan!

Have a green tea frap at the Starbucks in Shibuya!

 

[Mellofello808]

Have a green tea frap at the Starbucks in Shibuya!

Been to that SB several times, but we are headed to Osaka this time, and then off into the woods to Hike the Kumano Koda, and then up to cycle 200km around lake Biwa near Kyoto.

The nature in Japan is amazing. Fingers crossed for good weather

 

[Huntn]

Been to that SB several times, but we are headed to Osaka this time, and then off into the woods to Hike the Kumano Koda, and then up to cycle 200km around lake Biwa near Kyoto.

The nature in Japan is amazing. Fingers crossed for good weather

Get out of the Kanto Plain and it’s wonderful, but even so there can be little jewels. 😀 And of note it’s been 20 years since I’ve been there. 😔

 

[gigatoaster]

Japan is amazing, you’re so lucky! Get in the countryside as much as possible, the nature is beautiful.

You can check this post if you want some tips:

Travel Advice - Japan 🇯🇵

Hello there I just bought my flights for Japan, I am very excited to go there because it will be my first time! I'll go from the 20th of September until the 7th of October. I was wondering if you have any recommendations of things to see, experience and not to be missed. As we don't have a lot...

forums.macrumors.com

On my side, I waited to be on the plane before sharing. We have an air traffic controller strike in France, 65% of flights cancelled. Mine was retimed the next day at 9am instead of the day before at 10:40pm. I managed to fly a day earlier and change my train tickets and flights.

In the afternoon they canceled the strike but it was too late they couldn’t “uncancel” the flights! Ah strike & France, it’s part of the charm I suppose.

Anyway, I’m spending an extra night in Singapore, then I’ll go to Manila & Boracay. Only 4 hours left before landing. I don’t know why they put Singapore so far, haha!

 

[Huntn]

France 2024-
After Tuesday (4/23) arrival, checked into an CDG airport hotel to catch up on some sleep and acclimate. It’s amazing that I can get 10 hrs of sleep, wake up at 8:00 (01:00 my home time) and still feel like I don’t want to get up. 🙃

Wed, (4/24) We rented a car from north of Paris, drove down to Chateau De Fountainbleau, about 3 hrs to tour the property. As we left Paris, fortunately the rain stopped and the traffic thinned. It’s Spring, highs in the 50s (10s C) shrubs are blooming and bulbs are pushing up and some have popped.

Found in the Anglais Garden. Does anyone know what shrub this is? On the Fountainbleau Estate,
the leaves remind me of Rhododendron or Mountain Laurel.
Update: iPhone 13 IDs it! Rhodendron, sweet! 😁


​

We then made our way to a nice country home, with rooms for rent in Montlouis-sur-Loire. This time of year, quiet. I personally love the lack of tourists, especially nice when having dinner at a local restaurant. 🙂

Today (4/25) heading to Chateau De Chenonceau.

 

[Mellofello808]

I cycled through the Loire valley a few years back. Lovely area, with lots of amazing wine.

I was glad we were on protected bike paths after a few wine tastings lol.

 

[Ben J.]

This summer? Right here. On the couch. Watching the olympics.
Sad, I hear you say; quite the contrary - at this stage in life, I'm happy to leave the experience-hunting to younger people, while I enjoy the time I've left on earth the best I can. I enjoy my library of videos and photos of decades of memories, printing posters and decorating, and revisiting and remixing my studio recordings.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

This year we've ended up with 3 trips to the UK:

Easter: A short week in Edinburgh
May: A long weekend in London
July: Two weeks (mostly) in St. Ives, Cornwall

This is actually our second UK-only year in a row, as we went to London twice last year, and nowhere else.

We used to diversify a bit more pre-Covid, and had some bad luck after that eg. with an airline strike in 2022, preventing us from going to Greece that Summer.

Hopefully in the next couple of years we'll manage to do some other destinations. Next year I'm (vaguely) planning up to 3 shorter breaks in Europe during Spring (only one of which will go to London), and a Roadtrip in the Summer (which may be domestically, we've never done an extended Norwegian holiday before).

 

[Huntn]

This year we've ended up with 3 trips to the UK:

Easter: A short week in Edinburgh
May: A long weekend in London
July: Two weeks (mostly) in St. Ives, Cornwall

This is actually our second UK-only year in a row, as we went to London twice last year, and nowhere else.

We used to diversify a bit more pre-Covid, and had some bad luck after that eg. with an airline strike in 2022, preventing us from going to Greece that Summer.

Hopefully in the next couple of years we'll manage to do some other destinations. Next year I'm (vaguely) planning up to 3 shorter breaks in Europe during Spring (only one of which will go to London), and a Roadtrip in the Summer (which may be domestically, we've never done an extended Norwegian holiday before).

What do you think of Scotland? It seems like it’s more suited to outdoorsy activities, not as much in substantial historic structures… in other words, I think I should have gone there when I was younger… 🤔 Any big Scotland fans, please don’t yell at me. 😉

 

[Huntn]

France 2024 Part 2:

We’ve been staying at the Chateau de la Bourdaisiere in Montlouis-sur-Loire. With off season rates I’ll call this an outstanding value as per the airport hotel we stayed at for 1 night which was significantly more. It has a large comfortable room, splendidly decorated with a big comfortable bed, and wonderful views of the forests. With a small number of guests, quiet and pastoral.

I rented an economy, sub-compact (?) and ended up with a Citroen C5, a nice midsize, 6 speed stick, SUV. I’m in the groove now shifting the “new to me“ vehicle and navigating a bumper crop of round-abouts, a piece of cake.

Yesterday we visited the Chateau de Chenonceau. The wife saw this on a Monty Don show, Gardens of France and that was it. It was built for some King’s mistress and it’s not that big, but its unique feature is that the building started as a mill but then it was expanded to span the river. It also has 2 large square gardens adjacent to it, bursting with flowers, along the river.

​

Taken with iPhone 13

After that, I was very pleasantly surprised when we drove to a nearby small village known for its flowers, planted next to and growing on the sides of buildings and homes. The name is Chedigny. The place seemed almost empty so it was very pleasant strolling through.

Today we tried another village, Crissay-sur-Manse. It was ok, but not nearly as nice from a flower perspective.

 

[Mellofello808]

This year we've ended up with 3 trips to the UK:

Easter: A short week in Edinburgh
May: A long weekend in London
July: Two weeks (mostly) in St. Ives, Cornwall

This is actually our second UK-only year in a row, as we went to London twice last year, and nowhere else.

We used to diversify a bit more pre-Covid, and had some bad luck after that eg. with an airline strike in 2022, preventing us from going to Greece that Summer.

Hopefully in the next couple of years we'll manage to do some other destinations. Next year I'm (vaguely) planning up to 3 shorter breaks in Europe during Spring (only one of which will go to London), and a Roadtrip in the Summer (which may be domestically, we've never done an extended Norwegian holiday before).

I have been to the UK 3 times now, but never for a extended trip.

Last year we had a magical experience. We arrived in early June, fresh from a 30 hour flight, only to find that the whole city was shut down for a cycling race. Being huge cyclists we drank 3 espressos, and hopped directly on bikes to explore the whole city void of traffic.

The next day we did high tea at the museum, and had quite a few beers at some amazing pubs.

When the weather is on your side it is an amazing city. I really do need to get out of London, and explore the rest of the UK some day.

We are spending 3 weeks in France later on this year, and I was attempting tou route through London, but we ended up licking out with some amazing fares on a more direct flight.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

What do you think of Scotland? It seems like it’s more suited to outdoorsy activities, not as much in substantial historic structures… in other words, I think I should have gone there when I was younger… 🤔 Any big Scotland fans, please don’t yell at me. 😉

We love Scotland. We did a long roadtrip in 2018 going from Aberdeen, then heading north and roughly doing the North Coast 500, with a few detours, like the Orkney Islands. We even went to a small, local version of the Highland Games, which was just awesome.

Only downside was the day we went around the Isle of Skye it was just extremely foggy. We climbed up to the Old Man of Storr, and attached here is how it should look, and the picture I took about 50 meter from the base:

 

[Chuckeee]

What do you think of Scotland? It seems like it’s more suited to outdoorsy activities, not as much in substantial historic structures… in other words, I think I should have gone there when I was younger… 🤔 Any big Scotland fans, please don’t yell at me. 😉

I always wanted to go to Edinburgh Fringe (and Beyond the Fringe) Festival

Home | Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Official website of Edinburgh Festival Fringe, one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture in the world. Find everything you need, whether you want to take part or book tickets.

www.edfringe.com

 

[Huntn]

I always wanted to go to Edinburgh Fringe (and Beyond the Fringe) Festival

Home | Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Official website of Edinburgh Festival Fringe, one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture in the world. Find everything you need, whether you want to take part or book tickets.

www.edfringe.com

Why 54 of course.

 

[Huntn]

France 2024- Part 3
Have been lucky with the the weather, rain on and off, but so far when we head out to see something. Driving North from the Loire valley to, I got hit by another type of storm, an urgent need to take a huge dump! Fortunately I was at a gas station at the time and barely made it to the toilet. This turned into the runs which I have been plagued with for the last 2 days. My wife accuses me drinking tap water but my defense is we have been here, twice before, granted in different locations, but it has not bothered me before so my position is that the cause is unknown. Could have been some food! 🤔 Anyway, it’s a real bummer to have to get up 4-5 times a night to run, and have a squirt on the toilet. I broke down, found a pharmacy, since the grocery stores don’t seem to have any over the counter meds, and bought some Imodium which quickly seemes to have turned this situation around… I think. (just had a little squirt).

In Giverny, we visited the Monet House and Garden. Since every place before had light crowd, instead of buying tickets online, I took my chances of buying the gate… mistake, an hour wait to get in. 😳 The garden is lovely, but many blooms were already spent (there will be more). The famous Water Lilly pond was divine, the house was packed so we skipped that and walked down the street, to The Impressionism Museum. That was a bit of a disappointment, because there hardly any Monet works in there, but in hindsight this might make sense because all his good stuff has been farmed out to museums around the world.