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The 3-1-1 Rule for Liquids you don't drink on planes
The photo above is The Ganges at Sunrise, on our India trip October 2014, don’t drink this water…
With the rules of airport travel changing frequently, it can sometimes get tricky knowing what is and isn’t allowed in your bags. The United States Transportation Security AdministrationTSA) implements air-travel regulations tofollow. To ensure safety, the TSA has placed strict rules on the volume and type of liquids allowed on an airplane.…
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Age versus Travel?
There is one word for this correlation: irrelevant.
Just back from our India trip with 22 women, all ages. So who did the best? Not the youngest and not the oldest, but the ones with adequate fitness, a sense of adventure and the right pace. Don’t let your friends say you are too old to enjoy travel!
A few mini rules:
Don’t overload your carry on weight or risk back pain.
Find the perfect walking shoes and wear them no matter how ugly.…
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The 'get rid of travel anxiety' pill
A professor of psychology in California studied stress levels of people who watched excessive news reports about the Boston Marathon bombers. She compared their anxieties against those of people who were at the Marathon. Those who overdosed on news were much more stressed than those who attended the Marathon. The article where this study appeared is about the nation’s hysterical reaction to 2 cases of ebola on our shores.
If you want to live a normal but adventure filled life, don’t watch the news on television.…
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What is the best first solo trip?
Let’s face it, many readers of our blog and Facebook page do not actually travel solo, but are dreaming of doing it. Here is what we think is the best first trip and some guidelines to adapt to your mind set.
A single stay trip might be less work than a multi city tour. Our March 21-29 Tuscany luxury farmhouse trip is an example of an easy adjustment: staying in a beautiful farmhouse,with wifi, free laundry, snacks and drinks in the kitchen etc.…
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Nasty People and Travel Review Sites
JOIN US TO::::::
Since we are all skeptics, here is our take on Tripadvisor and Yelp, and generally travel reviews. Are they to be taken for real? Or are these written by whiney and vindictive people? Yes, if you read through say, Tripadvisor reviews, you can spot idiots who are so rushed in their writing that every other word is a typo. Here are some things to look for in a travel review:
1- Typos and mis-spellings generally, showing a rushed and spontaneously angry review.…
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Wifi or Die
Wifi is our new lifeline. Way back it was whether our stockings would snag on the plane, then it was bringing your own toilet paper, then air conditioning became the must. Now it is wifi.
Some hints about wifi
Turn off your ‘roaming’ to avoid potentially huge charges. You can leave your phone on if you expect a handful of important calls. Most carriers will not charge crazily for a 1-2 minute call. You can also subscribe for a specific time period of calls in another country if you need this service.…
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Newest Adventures without Nervousness
Here are some new tourist destinations from The Women’s Travel Group, with novelty but no nerves: good for solo women travelers.
Cuba: long isolated by US laws, Cuba will eventually be a cruise stop. Go now while the island is still unspoiled, yet friendly to Americans–one of the ironies of history. Our trip is not like others: it is not a specialized art, or medical, or music or dance theme. We combine as many experiences as possible in one week: people to people, art, history, colonial buildings, music, dance and just a tad of crafts.…
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Scared Cat Travel
“The trick is not to ride your stomach of butterflies, it is to make them fly in formation”. Cannot remember whose quote this is, but I wrote it down years ago when first traveling. Why? Travel is a learned habit and a glorious one.
New travelers are prone to listening to anxious friends who never go anywhere! They allow friends to color our wonderful world with visions from CNN and Fox TV. The magnificent scenes of golden temples in Bagan or the mountains behind Marrakech can be erased by others’ so easily. …
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Flight Deals within Europe
Most Americans try to use their ff miles to/from Europe and fail. Here is another way to use them: fly to a less popular European gateway and buy an intra-Europe ticket.
Example: if you are joining our Tuscany Private Villa trip end March 2015, try to get your transAtlantic ticket into any of the following: London Heathrow,Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Rome, Milan, Geneva, Vienna, Munich keep trying the big airports. Here is a list of the busiest airports in Europe.
Now try the following European discounters for your flight to Pisa(in our example).…
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What Not to Do on a Plane
Five don’t for long distance travelers:
1-Don’t brush your teeth in the bathroom on planes,nasty water dirty area.
2-Don’t take a sleeping pill. You will still be jet lagged and sleeping through a long flight creates a risk for dehydration and worse: clots.
3-Don’t leave valuables unattended even if you have them on your person-rest on them like the Princess and the Pea.
4-Do not treat yourself to the salted snacks or that second glass of wine.
5-Do not let others bother you; it is better to ask neighbors to lower music or windows or conversation than to suffer for hours.…
