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Seeing the World High Up
What the Paris Olympics told me…
Some European cities are magical. From high up they are fantastical. I hate heights, but panoramas tell a story like no other. Watching the Paris Olympics made me reconsider climbing or riding to heights to catch the best views. From the air, wow’s are wow er.
Source Official Guide to Eiffel Tower. In Paris you can climb up to the basilica of Sacre Coeur for views from the highest natural point on a hill. You can climb the Arc de Triomphe for a panorama of the ladder like boulevards.…
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Learn to love crowded airports
Travel Tips from award winning The Women’s Travel Group. Get there early. There is no reason NOT to arrive early. One generally sits around watching the clock or doing last second chores which should have been done yesterday.
Group in Italy Avoid items that might set off TSA alarms. Even gold jewelry or a watch can activate the alarm. Remove all metal at home, secure in a zipped area of carry on. Removing jewelry in front of strangers feels chancey.…
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First Solo Trip, Where to Go
What are the best places to go for a first solo trip? Travel tips from The Women’s Travel Group.
My first solo trip was to Geneva, Switzerland. I was 15 going to a French speaking school near the Chateau de Chillon on Lake Geneva. In those days, Americans, especially teens, were exotic. With the 3 other Americans I met at the Institut, we acted fearless and, truth be told, naughty. (There is a doctor somewhere in Italy who, as a teen, gave me a first grown up kiss).…
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Back from Italy France, England Travel was not complicated
I regret to inform you that travel is not that complicated. Can you make a grocery list? If so, you can complete a travel list.
- Passport valid for at least 6 months past return date. If you don’t know about passports, don’t read the rest of this email.
- Be fully vaccinated and keep your CDC card in a safe place. The original is what you need for most countries/airlines/trains/and inside activities.
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Travel will help you lose weight.
Travel will help you lose weight. Look at the bathroom scale and scream. Most of us cooked and ate a mountain of food since March 2020. We now begin to plan travel for 2021. There is a nasty realization that our travel clothes are tight or worse: do not fit.
Tuscan gelato It is a mystery, but most women lose weight when traveling. Even when in gastronomic Paris or carb-laden Florence, we drop pounds. The first reason is we walk.…
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Packing and Weather
Packing and weather do not dance together well. During Summer, we pack light clothes and tees; therefore, forgetting that altitude and general direction of winds can create unseasonably cold air. Moreover, we forget that planes are cold and some airports as well. In winter we can overpack again forgetting that in cold weather, one can use sweaters and jeans for a number of days. But that shoes might get wet so we need a second pair.
A good way to zero in on what to pack is to make some notes on what you are wearing on different weather days.…
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Unfair Airline Situations and Rules
Airplane rules? I was on an AA flight coming home from our Tuscan Cooking Trip– coach of course- and the meal choices were red sauce spaghetti or chicken with red sauce spaghetti. Well I am not allowed to eat tomato sauce, so was totally out of luck for a 7 hour flight. (Forgot to say, the snack was pizza with tomato sauce.) As I was traveling solo, had no one to complain to. Complaining is always a catharsis even when hungry. …
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Widows: Your Wanderlust and Wishes
Please share with friends who are widows who wish to travel. Vacations for widows?
Being quarantined has made loneliness worse. This blog post was originally sent out only about taking a first trip alone. It is revised to reflect what we are going through during the pandemic: March-May 2020. Vacations for widows are even more intimidating now.
Let me start by saying these thoughts come from talking to you out there and from my friends.
Planning a trip as a solo is a different exercise.…
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The Good and Bad of Italian Street Food
Yes real WTGroup gelato hands Pizza, arancini, pastries, gelato, and its slushy cousin granita..… this is Sicilian street food you will find on our Sicily Malta Trip.
In Sicily (March 2019 trip), pizza has a thicker crust, focaccia-like. In some areas, pizza has a top crust also-who doesn’t love double carbs? The good news is if you cannot eat cheese, Sicilians also make pizza without it. The bad news is in some areas it is fried and you will absolutely have to try it!…
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Winter Sun Without Sunburn
Winter Sun Without Getting Burned
Many of us avoid beach holidays but by March, we yearn for sun and warmth. March is the horrible month for women in the North and Mid Atlantic; so we always arrange a few March warm getaways. In Spring, Sicily and Malta will be ruined by cruise crowds. In Summer, both will be intolerably hot. Go in March with The Women’s Travel Group.
Here is why you should take our Sicily and Malta Trip: it is linked here.…
