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Topic: Travels and Impressions

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Cincydawg

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #518 on: October 27, 2023, 08:39:38 AM »
We avoid rental cars when we stay in larger cities.  I've driven pretty much all over France seeing a lot of out of the way places not serviced by trains.  We toured Normandy twice now, a rental car is really neccessary there.  Bordeaux, same if you want to visit wineries.  Had one in the Alps, that was pretty neat, Chamonix, would like to go back there.  We have friends/cousins to visit at times who live pretty far out of Paris, used to have step daughter and family in tiny village maybe 60 miles SW of Paris.  Parking in such places is pretty easy of course.  Step daughter is not in SD.
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847badgerfan

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #519 on: October 27, 2023, 08:41:02 AM »
Sounds like you had a not-so-good cruise over there.

100 knot winds? Jeesh.
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Cincydawg

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #520 on: October 27, 2023, 08:53:31 AM »
The cruise overall was pretty decent, my wife liked it a lot.  I'd rank others we've done as being better, more interesting.
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847badgerfan

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #521 on: October 27, 2023, 09:22:53 AM »
I guess it comes down to interests.

We have little interest in the Baltics. Copenhagen sure. We'd fly there. The rest are too close to Putin.

Not much interest in South America. Argentina sure. We'd fly, but doubtful.

Japan and South Korea are on the list.

These might be of interest.

35-NIGHT EUROPE GRAND VOYAGE (azamara.com)

62-NIGHT NEW ZEALAND TO JAPAN GRAND VOYAGE (azamara.com)

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Cincydawg

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #522 on: October 27, 2023, 09:25:45 AM »
Our Baltic cruise that got nixed because wife tested positive was a nice one initially, it had two nights in St. Pete and Helsinki and Stockholm and Berlin (by rail).  They changed the ports of call after the invasion of course, but it became less interesting.

We'll probably do Thailand/Vietnam/Phillipines next after Japan/SK.

I bet I'm the only one here who has been to Oman (not that there was anything special about it really).

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847badgerfan

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #523 on: October 27, 2023, 09:33:33 AM »
O man, I would never go to Oman.
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utee94

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #524 on: October 27, 2023, 09:50:04 AM »
Quote from: Cincydawg on October 27, 2023, 08:12:55 AM
We usually have to rent a car given the places we're going, in France at least, and often in other countries.

They aren't all that pricey relative to here.  We're headed over in February as part of a symphony trip (which we'll extend on both ends).  I don't think we'll need a rental car, but I don't have all the details yet.

Delta has a nonstop now from here to Nice, which I guess is nice, but a bit obscure relative to places like say Vienna which they don't service nonstop.  We discussed flying to Nice and renting a car but decided that isn't really the better plan than just flying to Marseille.



Yeah I couldn't really do all the things I wanted to do in France, without a car.  Touring Bordeaux and Provence were high on the list and you lose a lot of time if you're trying to do that by rail.  Driving and parking in Paris sucks, but I don't spend much time in Paris, anyway.

Italy on the other hand is more easily trainable, and like badgerfan we like to stay IN Florence so catching trains (or even touring vans) out to the countryside is very workable.
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Riffraft

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #525 on: October 27, 2023, 10:51:20 AM »
Quote from: utee94 on October 27, 2023, 09:50:04 AM
Yeah I couldn't really do all the things I wanted to do in France, without a car.  Touring Bordeaux and Provence were high on the list and you lose a lot of time if you're trying to do that by rail.  Driving and parking in Paris sucks, but I don't spend much time in Paris, anyway.

Italy on the other hand is more easily trainable, and like badgerfan we like to stay IN Florence so catching trains (or even touring vans) out to the countryside is very workable.

When we did Italy we used the train, touring vans, public transportation and uber.  If I have tried to drive in Rome, I would have gone crazy. We stayed in an VRBO in Rome and used it as a coming off point to various cities and places.
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Cincydawg

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #526 on: October 27, 2023, 10:54:56 AM »
Driving in European cities is a thing to avoid if possible.  It can however be a necessity if your plans include touring smaller cities and towns.  A small city like say Saumur in France is a nice place and driving is pretty easy.  I drove to and in  Luxembourg City a while back with no issues, I wanted to tour the Battle of the Bulge area.  I drove a lot on that trip, a Grand Circle from Paris to Strasbourg to Luxembourg to Brussels to Normandy then Samur and back to Paris.

That was a great trip.

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utee94

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #527 on: October 27, 2023, 11:16:34 AM »
Quote from: Cincydawg on October 27, 2023, 10:54:56 AM
Driving in European cities is a thing to avoid if possible.  It can however be a necessity if your plans include touring smaller cities and towns.  A small city like say Saumur in France is a nice place and driving is pretty easy.  I drove to and in  Luxembourg City a while back with no issues, I wanted to tour the Battle of the Bulge area.  I drove a lot on that trip, a Grand Circle from Paris to Strasbourg to Luxembourg to Brussels to Normandy then Samur and back to Paris.

That was a great trip.


Yeah that would be an awesome trip.  I'd like to do that.

Honestly the only city I've ever driven in, in France, that was troublesome, is Paris.  Everything else is pretty easy.

I also found Brussels and all of Belgium, and Amsterdam and all of the Netherlands, to be pretty easy by car.

I've never had a car in Italy proper, but I did when I was in Sicily.  The island is navigable from city to city by train, but if you want to get off the beaten path (and you definitely do), then having a car is nice.  And the company was paying anyway.  Unsurprisingly, it got stolen from my hotel parking lot.  The locals at the hotel and at the fab where I was working told me, "yeah that happens a lot."  And when I went back to get another rental car, they said "yeah that happens a lot."  Crazy place, is Sicily.
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847badgerfan

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #528 on: October 27, 2023, 11:20:09 AM »
Being in Europe as much as I have, I can really only compare what driving in a big city would be like in our country.

Boston is a mofo to drive in. I'd rather not do that ever again. Which is why I don't drive in big city Europe.
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FearlessF

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #529 on: October 27, 2023, 11:35:22 AM »
I didn't have trouble in Boston, but that was 30 years ago
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utee94

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #530 on: October 27, 2023, 11:38:46 AM »
Yeah if you don't like driving in Boston then definitely avoid Paris.  But most of the other cities in Western Europe are easy enough.

I've never driven in London, I imagine that's no fun.
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Riffraft

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Re: Travels and Impressions
« Reply #531 on: October 27, 2023, 11:46:21 AM »
Wife is from Boston, so I get to drive there at least twice a year.  Its not good, but not too bad. Always from trying to get to and from a Red Sox's game.
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