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Travel Shopping: Is it a Waste?
The women who travel with The Women’s Travel Group want to bring home something tangible. Our tours are full of experiences, sights, talks, and walks; however if there is a shopping experience truly unusual, we include it. We just added the high-quality Sabato Crafts Market to our Mexico City tour.
What are our favorite ‘worth the time’ recent stops?
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul November 2015
Handmade jewelry or fabrics spread on animal skin in Southern Ethiopia! March 2016) One spot left
Florence Central Food Market April 2016 (one room left for 1-2)
Dilli Haat in Delhi Annual India tour December 2016,
Balaaro Market in Sicily December 2014
Cashmere Markets in Mongolia ( Mongolia is part of our upcoming China trip).…
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Laughing Through a Travel Woe
Laughter should be packed in your suitcase and easy to reach. Laughter overlaid a jet-lagged face will open doors, create friendly helpful strangers and probably speed up whatever request you are aiming for.
Studies suggest that laughter causes blood vessels to dilate and thus increase blood flow and then inflammation. There are stressful moments in travel that can be assuaged with laughter.
Bargaining: in some cultures, bargaining can become aggressive if the vendor thinks you are dissing his merchandise. This happened in Turkey a year ago when I questioned the fabric of a scarf.…
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5 Tips for Navigating a Street Market
On some Women’s Travel Group tours we include a street market if it is exciting, local and has good products. Those might be Florence on our Tuscany Cooking/Seeing trip, an organized and both local and tourist market. Or they might b the Sabato market included in our Mexico City trip, the best crafts market in Mexico’s capital. Or finally it might be one of the more upmarket street scenes in Delhi on our India trip. You will never have either enough time or energy to feel you really ‘did it’.…
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Yes it is summer in NY
Planning for unexpected weather on your trip, weather.com gives you a 10 day look so LOOK the day before you leave. Getting warm is easier than getting cooler.
Always toss in one t shirt. I love Hanes men’s tees for their 10% cotton and budget.
Long sleeved shirts that are easy to push up work.
As ugly as they are, Columbia and others make zip off pants. Pants become shorts.
In some countries go shopping: India, China and Mexico are excellent for cheap and cheerful.…
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Heavy packables to throw out
Travel clothes today are easy, leggings have replaced trousers/ washables have replaced cotton. So why is your suitcase so heavy? Travel doctors tell us that back issues are the number one health problem for traveling women. Moving your heavy case in the hotel room is one reason. So here are some weighty things to leave home.
Shoes: toss heavy shoes and replace with light walking shoes. Merrell is one brand that produces solid but light walkers. Also: Easy Spirit, some Rockports, Keen.…
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Dip in Tourism is Brief after Terrorism
I just returned from Istanbul with The Women’s Travel Group 19 women, and then London for a wedding. In both places, the tenor of life is very different from that in the States. First of all, people are not scared of their shadows, as they are veterans of both world wars in their backyards. Europeans do not stop traveling with each headline.
European newspapers reported in Paris, of course. However, front pages still included domestic politics, arts features, climate, etc. TV news was the same: balanced and matter of fact- not hysterical and frenzied.…
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Mexico City on the Map with a low Peso
Now is Mexico our new safe haven? Mexico has always been safer than news media wants to paint it. As writers confide quietly, they don’t get headlines by writing positives. They get headlines with fright and fear. Count the number of times scary words appear on google then count pleasant words, the scary ones have many more millions of mentions.
We will shortly be going to Mexico City, a global capital that spans pre Colombian times to 21 century art and architecture.…
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How to assess danger in travel
Our group of 19 women returned from Istanbul 3 days ago- see photo at left. The Women’s Travel Group looks at the US, UK and Canadian State Department notices for ongoing news. There had been an incident in Ankara; 1 or 2 women called nervously. What has now happened in Paris is sad and ironic for those who worried about Turkey! We found Istanbul not only safe but so welcoming to us as women and Americans.
After problems, security is tightest combined with the local population being on alert.…
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The 5 Items You Might Forget from Women's Travel Group
Here are the five items we risk forgetting. I just packed for The Women’s Travel Group Istanbul trip, so these important things are fresh in my mind!
Photo of everything important that I removed from my wallet. Always clear out your wallet with cards you will not need. Photograph others like AAA which you might need in a pinch?
An electric plug for the outlets in an airport where yo have a long layover. Say you have 4 hours in Britain and want to recharge your phone, you will need to pack a UK 3 prong square adapter.…
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Drinking Dangers when Traveling
Admit it most of us drink alcohol, wine, at least, when we travel. Wine is part of the meal experience and on some trips like Paris for the Holidays we include it. Drinking alcohol when you are traveling, comes with some serious cautions!!!!!
Some Do’s and some dangerous Don’ts.
Do enjoy a drink on the plane if it helps you relax. Secure important items like money, passport, docs, ipad so no one can intrude if you fall asleep. That might mean actually pushing your money container inside your pants and locking up your ipad in your overhead bag. …
