For the first time ever, I was asked for proof of vaccination in a Vaccine Passport. The ‘ask’ was by the receptionist at a private club in Manhattan. My CDC card is locked away. Therefore, as proof, I presented an iPhone with the New York State app, Excelsior Pass. I was permitted to take off the mask. Friends with no smart phone or CDC cards had to wear masks until seated. We felt like haves and the have nots. It reminded us of a scene from ‘A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to The Forum’, the hilarious Mel Brooks movie.…
For a travel addict 2020 was deeply painful and depressing. Personally a sighting of a suitcase brings tears. In The Women’s Travel Group are many travel addicts reading this post. Here is the story of others just like me and probably you.
For me addiction started at St Agnes Public Library, 444 Amsterdam Avenue, in a then dangerous NY neighborhood.
It is July 4, let’s be patriotic and let the government spy on us. Here is one practical reason to let the government spy on you. You should get Global Entry now. Global Priority is a popular program that allows travelers coming home from overseas to re-enter the United States on an expedited basis. You fill out copious forms on line and email them. One of the hard ones for me personally is to list every country visited and when visited. Be prepared. …
Over the Rainbow… Women ready to travel? Time is getting nearer and nearer when we will. The virus is no Wizard of Oz; it is real, dangerous and in control of our lives right now. But things are changing even though it feels like they are not.
So who is wearing the mask on our Ethiopia trip?
Slowly slowly, travel is coming back. Travelers are antsy. Airlines are sparkling clean, as are airports. Hotels are sanitized. Even the NY City subway is polished and primed.…
Haven’t we survived historic health problems on airplanes? Yes of course. And we tolerated these health problems on airplanes as the ‘norm’. Moreover remember smoking on airplanes and in the airport? We flew anyway and sat next to smokers in the departure lounge. Smoking was the ‘norm’. Therefore, there will be new ‘norms’ now. We argue that none of them is worse that what we had before.
(Image source: CDC Public Health Image Library)
Here are some of the proposed changes that might effect you when you next travel.…
We have time right now for insights into The Women’s Travel Group travel psyche. Do we have travel worries? Or travel addictions?
Do we really miss travel?
Do we really need travel?
Why do we miss travel despite what we don’t miss about travel?
Five things we really miss
We miss the anticipation of a trip: thinking about our first sighting of the domes of Florence (VisitFlorence.com Source), from the air or the crooked cobbled streets of a Moroccan souk.
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. …
Shocking reasons women travel. To get away from routine or boredom. Many women travel to reaffirm independence. Many women travel to learn. Even more travel to avoid loneliness.
Who doesn’t like to get away from routine and miserable weather? Going South in winter is a welcome break. However, that women travel break can also include going to a beach alone with no one to hold your wallet. It can include trying to enjoy dinner amongst talkative families. My first trip to Ixtapan Spa in Mexico was alone (admittedly at the invitation of the owner.)…
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.…
