Tag Archives: General Travel

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Travel Tips: don’t forget the packing list!

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

As spontaneous as travel can be, it’s a lot easier to be spontaneous when you’ve done the proper planning. Once I’ve selected a destination, I usually have three stages of preparation. The first stage is booking flights and other long-haul travel. I did that several months ago for this trip, and you can read about it here.

Skiing the Matterhorn is pretty special! Zermatt, Switzerland (see also photo at top!)

The second stage is planning accommodation. It’s hard to do this too early. Rates generally don’t fall as the dates approach (and hopefully my own plans don’t change) but, just in case, I try to book only fully refundable accommodation. This takes some work. Sometimes the same hotel has very different rates (and availability) depending on whether you book directly, go through the local tourist office, or use booking sites like booking.com or hotels.com. Of course, booking early makes even more sense if you *must* stay in a particular place…as is usually the case on a skiing trip.

Madonna di Campiglio, Italy

The third stage, and the focus of this post, is my customized packing list. This is very important. And believe it or not, I take my packing list with me. It came in very handy on my 2014 trip to Champagne where some of my luggage was lost by the airline. It was very easy to prepare an itemized list of what was lost, since I already had it in my pocket!

Sestriere, Italy

I have separate packing lists for ski trips and non-skiing trips. My ski list has been evolving since the 1990s, as I figured out what worked and what didn’t. I keep each list and dig it out the next year as a starting point for the new list. A reliable list is essential because taking excess stuff is both expensive (through baggage fees) and exhausting (because you have to carry it everywhere). I generally bring my ski boots to Europe: it avoids dodgy/ill-fitting rental equipment, blisters, and a poor skiing experience. However, they are also bulky. This means I’m already at a packing disadvantage.

Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

When I’m making my list for a particular trip, I need to know two things: (1) what activities am I doing each day, and (2) will I have access to laundry? With that information, I can ensure that I will (1) have the right clothes for each day, and (2) run out of wearable clothes on the last day of the trip. OK, maybe one extra pair of socks and underwear, but that’s it. If I’m in a country with stores, I can always buy more clothes in an emergency.

Zurs, Austria

Outer layers (pants, sweaters) must be worn multiple times…if not, I can’t justify bringing them. Distinctive colours? No…if I need colour, I have blue jeans. Otherwise, I mostly stick to greys and blacks because they don’t clash with anything and it’s hard to damage them if I’m doing laundry. Also – they are less susceptible to stains. And I don’t take any expensive clothes – it’s not worth the risk of loss or damage.

Skiers on the Forcella Staunies piste, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy

I must also know the electrical system of the place I’m visiting. The U.K. and Europe have different voltages than Canada…and from each other! But on top of that, Switzerland often has a extra prong that can thwart generic European adaptors. I have quite a collection of adaptors in my travel closet.

Scuol, Switzerland

The packing list ensures that I don’t forget anything if I run out of time before departure. I put even the most mundane things on the list (passports, the shoes I’ll wear when I leave) because you just never know if you will get distracted at the wrong time.

Between Champery, Switzerland, and Avoriaz, France

And I don’t leave the packing list itself to the last minute. I try to make it about two weeks before I leave. I’ll be thinking clearly, because I won’t be stressed out yet by all the other things I need to do. A well-written list means that packing itself can be done in less than an hour on the day before I leave.

Bracing myself against the fierce winds at the top of the Oukaimeden ski resort in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains

Today’s photos are just random ski photos from places I *won’t* be skiing at this year!

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Travel Regrets

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

[An explanation for the photos appears at the bottom of this post.]

I recently asked myself whether I have ever regretted traveling anywhere. Was there any place that I wished I had never seen or experienced?

“The Grapes” pub on Mathew Street in Liverpool, England. The Beatles hung out here. Photographer’s finger was not requested.

I have certainly had unfortunate travel experiences. I discovered that part of my luggage had gone missing upon arriving in France in August 2014. A couple of years before that, *all* of my checked luggage disappeared on the way back from San Antonio, Texas. We were turned back from the Argentina border in 2016 because of a visa problem. It’s been nearly nine years since I tried to get to Memphis…and I still haven’t made it there. Going to the hospital in Glasgow due to food poisoning wasn’t a whole lot of fun.

Captivating landscape near Hinton, Alberta

I’ve been to places that were not very welcoming…sometimes in general, and sometimes just to particular people. The recent surge of nationalism is unfortunately nothing new either. I was happy to move on from two particularly intolerant parts of Europe.

The famous “Lion of Ifrane” in Ifrane, Morocco. And a finger.

There are certainly a few places to which I will never (purposely) return. But any true regrets? I don’t think I have any.

???

Every experience, good or bad, has been revealing. Sometimes about the place we are visiting, but also sometimes about me or my fellow travelers. While seeing extreme intolerance made me sad, it also reinforced the importance of tolerance. And dealing with some lost luggage is really not that catastrophic in the big picture.

Laundromat in Prague, Czech Republic

In fact, some of the unfortunate travel experiences become the most vivid stories and memories. Although it happened more than 20 years ago, we still remember the miserable pelting rain we experienced on arrival in Kirkwall (Orkney Islands). It was almost horizontal due to the high winds, and we were drenched by the time we arrived at our B&B. To this day, we describe such weather conditions as simply “Kirkwall”.

Hospoda U Beníšků (obviously), Mělník, Czech Republic

So, how about these photos? They are all travel photos, but I think it’s safe to describe them as somewhat regrettable. Most are from the pre-digital era, when you didn’t realize a photo was bad until you picked up the prints at the shop. The photo at the very top is from Aberystwyth, Wales, and was apparently taken at the end of the roll.

Posts from Base Camp

2021 (Re-) Discoveries, Part 2

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Following up on my Boxing Day post, here are some more things that I appreciated musically in 2021. Today’s focus is on music with a connection to this travel blog.

In 2018, I went to a music conference in New Jersey. We saw a great band called the Weeklings: you can read more about it here. A couple of the songs they debuted at that conference (see photo at the top of this post) have since made it onto their 3rd studio album (logically, called “3”). I think the above cover of “Baby You’re a Rich Man” improves considerably on the Beatles’ original version…which is not something I say very often!

But I also like the Weeklings’ original music. “In the Moment”, “Running Away”, and the title track from “3” may not sound like 21st century recordings: hearing them is like finding previously unreleased power pop gems from the last century. And what’s wrong with that?

Another vinyl compilation I picked up in 2021 was Stevie Wonder’s “Original Musiquarium I”. This double album collects some of his best 1970s tracks along with a handful of new recordings from the 1980s. It’s hard to imagine a better sequence of music than the beginning of side 3: “Higher Ground”, “Sir Duke”, “Master Blaster (Jammin’)”, and “Boogie on Reggae Woman”.

An urgent live version of “Higher Ground”

But Side 1’s opening comes close: “Superstition”, “You Haven’t Done Nothin'”, and “Living for the City”. Despite being quite a distance from the stage, seeing Stevie Wonder a few years ago in Toronto is one of our fondest concert memories. Here’s a link to that post.

…and an urgent live version of “Superstition”, from the same 1974 German TV appearance

2021 saw me listen to a lot of Marshall Crenshaw’s music again. We saw him perform in upstate New York in 2013, and I managed to get him to sign my copy of his self-titled 1982 debut album (the original vinyl pressing, of course). He was happy to hear that I played his music on my radio program at CFRC-FM.

My signed copy of Marshall Crenshaw’s debut album

That album remains a great blast of fresh air, but I also like playing his lesser-known 1996 Miracle of Science LP. It was recently reissued on vinyl, and included a bonus single with a Michel Pagliaro cover!

Someday, Someway is from Marshall’s debut album

Michel Pagliaro may not be well-remembered, but this Quebec singer wrote and performed “Lovin’ You Ain’t Easy”. The title is rubbish, but musically it has more hooks than almost any other single ever released. When we saw the Trans-Canada Highwaymen perform at the Grand Theatre in Kingston a few years ago, they performed this song as an encore. An absolute highlight! Pagliaro is still performing in Quebec to this day; maybe we’ll get a chance to see him soon.

Music has been an important part of our travels. While the pandemic is crushing any travel ideas right now, I’m hopeful that in a few months we’ll be journeying and listening to live music again.

Posts from Base Camp

Germany – always incidental?

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I’ve recently posted quite a few blog entries about my 1999 trip to Bavaria and Bohemia. While most of the that trip was spent in the Czech Republic, it started and ended in Germany (today’s photos are primarily from Würzburg, our last stop before flying home from Frankfurt).

Würzburg, Germany: Haus zum Falken and Marienkapelle (1999)

This seems to be a common theme in my travel history. I’ve been to Germany six times, and changed planes there on a further five occasions. However, it had always been on the way to somewhere else. Three of those visits were with my family, when we were traveling between relatives in Switzerland and relatives in the Netherlands.

Würzburg, Germany: across the River Main (1999)

On my extended 1991 backpacking trip, I flew in and out of the Netherlands. I made it to Budapest (Hungary) and back, passing through Germany on both legs of the trip. However, it wasn’t the focus of my trip: I only spent a handful of nights there. It was even more fleeting in my 2014 travel odyssey: I walked into Germany from Luxembourg, but I was probably never more than a mile inside the country.

Würzburg, Germany: the Residenz (built in 1720, photo from 1999)

So, other than two nights in each of Erlangen and Trier in 1991, one night in Bad Honnef, and two nights in each of Würzburg and Munich in 1999, I haven’t had too much to report about this large country in the heart of Europe.

Würzburg, Germany: Flower and sausage vendors in the Marktplatz (1999)

In a fine example of synchronicity, I picked up a library book this weekend that I had reserved some time ago. It was about road trips in the German-speaking countries, and I signed it out to see what it said about driving in Switzerland. But when I started reading other parts of the book, I realized that there was a lot about Germany that I had never seen…and that I wanted to see.

Würzburg, Germany: a very old (from 1319!) restaurant

In particular, the extreme north and south parts of the former East Germany (DDR) are piquing my curiosity. I had never really thought about them as destinations, and they tend to be ignored by North American travel resources. But if I ever travel to Europe in the warmer times of the year again, I’m going to have to give serious consideration to one or both of those regions.

Plzeň, Czech Republic. We saw this hitchhiker on one of the platforms at the railway station (1999).

From visiting the location of the legendary East German beach movie Heißer Sommer, to exploring the natural wonders of “Saxon Switzerland” (Sächsische Schweiz), to museums documenting the oppressive East German Stasi (secret police), this could be a really unique trip. It just goes to show: even if you’ve been to a country many times, there is always something else waiting to be discovered.

Posts from Base Camp

The light at the end of the tunnel?

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

That may seem like a strange thing to say in a travel blog, as my part of the world enters another extended pandemic lockdown. But even if the quantities are extremely limited so far, the arrival of the first vaccines certainly fills me with some hope. Enough hope that I actually signed out some travel-related books during a recent trip to the library.

Our curanto in Puerto Varas!

My first travel book? A guide to the Netherlands! We really enjoyed our 2014 trip, and we’d like to explore some different corners of the country the next time. As for *when* that might happen, it’s far too early to say. But after not reading a travel book for almost a year, I think it’s significant that I actually picked one up this month.

Waiting for the boat at Puerto Frias, Argentina

In fact, I also checked out a website for the small-group tour company I used for my Latin American trips in 2014, 2014 (again!) and 2016. It’s still far too early to think about when something like that might happen…but the fact that I looked is encouraging.

The German Shepherd “sat” on the bench with his owner for at least 15 minutes (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

As I begin to consider the possibility of travelling again, my next step will be refreshing my memory on the details of some of my recent trips. While broad impressions always stay with me, some of the finer details can get lost in the shuffle. Once again, this blog makes that task pretty easy. I’m looking forward to rediscovering some of those experiences. Today’s post contains some favourite photos from Chile (the one at the very top is Volcán Osorno, taken from Puerto Varas) and Argentina!

Another picture of El Ateneo bookstore (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

I’m also about to embark on some language training. It may not be strictly essential, but it definitely makes great travel experiences easier to have. This time, I won’t be relying on free apps to learn! I’m a little apprehensive about being in a language classroom again, after more then 30 years, but it might provide the structure necessary to truly progress.

One of our friends prepares to dig in (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

In the meantime, there may be some very dark months ahead. Quite apart from the serious health crisis we are facing, there will be a lot of “everyday” personal disappointments for all of us. For example, although it was only going to be for three nights, I still had to cancel our planned winter getaway due to the latest lockdown. I’m going to do my best to keep looking forward, knowing this current state of affairs won’t last forever.

The main “street” of Recoleta Cemetery (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Stay tuned – in addition to some general travel stuff, I’ll be sharing some previously unpublished photos and stories from my 1999 adventures in Bavaria and Bohemia!

Posts from Base Camp

La Victoire!

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

My last post discussed the strategy involved in finding good airfares during the very expensive summer season.   I hadn’t bought our tickets yet but was on “high alert” for short-lived deals.   Much to my surprise, our tickets to an unexpected destination have now been bought!  Here’s the story…

The harbour in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Although we have an almost endless list of potential destinations,  our preferred destination was Lithuania.  Lithuania is a slightly-off-the-radar destination in Eastern Europe that nonetheless appeared to be very rewarding.  However, one drawback of an off-the-beaten-path destination is the lack of competition between airlines.  By the time of my last post, I had already decided that the only reasonable airfares would be to nearby Warsaw (Poland), or Riga (Latvia).

The steep backstreets of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

The airfares to Vilnius (Lithuania) were generally well in excess of C$1,500.00 unless we wanted to take a very indirect route.  However, even the airfares to Warsaw were not dipping much below C$1,300.00.     We then expanded our search to places like Berlin (Germany) and Stockholm (Sweden), which would then be combined with a overnight ferry to either Latvia or Lithuania.  These prices were a bit lower but there still was nothing under C$1,000.00.

Entrance to the Citadel: Halifax, Nova Scotia

And then, just when things were appearing bleak, my strategy of subscribing to various travel mailing lists paid huge dividends.  I was notified that WestJet was introducing a new summer service from Canada to Paris.  They were offering special promotional fares for a very limited time.  We had to make a quick decision…and when the prices are that low for a summer flight to Europe, the decision is easy.  We managed to get return tickets from Montreal to Paris for less than $600 each (inclusive of fees and taxes)!  This is ridiculously low for the first half of July.

A small summer cottage in Chester, Nova Scotia

I know what you’re thinking:  Paris is not anywhere near Lithuania.  But there were a few ways to justify this.  Firstly, if we still wanted to see Lithuania, an internal European flight from Paris to Vilnius or Riga would be relatively affordable.  Secondly, we both previously have expressed interest in seeing parts of France that are close to Paris:  my wife has always wanted to see Normandy, while I have always wanted to see Brittany.  Finally, although I had visited Paris as a 10-year-old, neither one of us had been to Paris as adults (other than changing flights in Paris).

Unplanned photo in Pugwash, Nova Scotia

The more we researched northern France, the more attractive it became.  So while our summer itinerary is not yet completely settled, I suspect that this will indeed turn out to be a tour of France’s northern coast.  And, as Paris can get crowded in the summer, we have already booked our hotel there for the last few days of our trip.

The beach at Pugwash, Nova Scotia

While Lithuania looks like it is on the back burner for now, we are still thrilled about this unexpected twist.  In fact, given how much we learned about Lithuania (and Namibia, our original destination), it’s like we are getting three trips for the price of one.   That’s one of the reasons why I’m describing this unexpected turn of events as “La victoire“!  And we’ll still make it to Lithuania and Namibia in the future.

To further commemorate the near-randomness of our summer trip, I’ve included some photos from our 2009 summer trip to Nova Scotia.

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The Science of Summer Airfares

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I thought that I would be announcing our summer destination in today’s post. However, I still have not booked the flights…and until those flights are booked, it would be premature to say anything. The big reveal of our “off-the-beaten-path” destination will have to wait!

Penguin at the New England Aquarium (Boston, Massachusetts)

Finding a good deal on intercontinental summer flights is an extremely challenging task.  It’s high season and the airlines aren’t crazy:  prices are significantly higher and any special deals are extremely short-lived.

Elizabeth Cary Agassiz House, at Radcliffe College (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

For a long time, the accepted wisdom was that the best deals could be had at the last minute.  However, as technology has improved, airlines have become much better at filling flights and extracting maximum revenue from passengers.  Simply put, any seats still empty at the last minute will probably be priced very high because there will always be someone desperate enough to buy them.

A happy penguin couple at the New England Aquarium

Alas, booking far ahead of time is not effective either:  prices are usually very high because anybody booking 6-12 months ahead of time is obviously committed to the destination and the time of year.   The trick is to find the “sweet spot”, when airlines identify relatively undersold dates and destinations…and briefly reduce prices enough so that those flights get closer to full and much higher prices can be charged for the remaining seats.

The Massachusetts State House in Boston – we went on a tour here

There are some OK deals out there now.  However, they are not for our preferred destination.  They also tend to be for flights with sleepy arrival/departure times, longer layovers, older cabins, and less comfortable seats.   This is our fallback position, as these deals tend to be available for longer periods of time.

Many creatures are motivated by food (New England Aquarium in Boston)

Sometime in the next few weeks, about 5 months prior to departure, there will probably be a good deal for a good itinerary with a good airline.  The window of opportunity will be very small and we will have to take advantage of it immediately.  While one could say it’s a lot of pressure, it’s also very exciting.  Some people like finding a good deal at flea markets…I like finding a good deal on travel.  Keeping our travel costs down enables us to travel as much as we do.

Underwater at the New England Aquarium (Boston, Massachusetts)

Of course, I don’t have any pictures of “the science of airfares”.  Instead, I’ve decided to include some pictures of our 2011 trip to Boston, Massachusetts:  something completely random, to reflect the fact that we still don’t know exactly where we will end up this summer.

You can’t have too many pictures of penguins!

Stay tuned, to see if we conquered the science of airfares!

Posts from Base Camp

Protests and Disruptions

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

It’s now been three years since I visited Peru and journeyed to the famous abandoned city of Machu Picchu.  In order to do this, our group had to take a train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes.  This all went very smoothly and I couldn’t imagine anybody having difficulty with it.  This week, however, thousands of tourists were stranded because the rail line to Aguas Calientes was shut down.

In the middle of Machu Picchu, Peru (July 2, 2014)

Two major protests coalesced in the Cusco area: one was about the cancellation of a promised airport in the region, while the other was by 20,000 teachers seeking higher wages.  As a result, the railway operator elected to close down for two days.  This reminded me of my own overseas encounter with local unrest:  a rotating local bus driver strike in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, that prevented us from skiing at an outlying ski area for a day.   There was nothing we could do about that:  it was far too small to be covered by the international news media and we were not reading the morning Italian papers.  In any case, we still had a nice day of skiing at the local area and simply took the bus the following day.

Machu Picchu, Peru (July 2, 2014)

However, there are cases where you can do your due diligence.  Just prior to leaving for Bosnia & Herzegovina, I read about some protests in Sarajevo that seemed to be getting a little out of hand.  As I was traveling independently, my only “fixed” plan was my hotel.  I e-mailed my hotel and immediately received a response:   these were anti-corruption protests at a local government building and it would not affect anything in the “tourist” areas of the city.

A rainy but very safe day in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina (April 23, 2014)

While I suppose that the hotel had a vested interest in ensuring my visit, I also felt better confirming the situation.  I figured that, having received their reassurance, the hotel might be more inclined to help me out if things did turn out ugly and I was exposed to a dangerous situation.   As it turned out, everything calmed down and I completely forgot about the protests when I was there.  I also found the hotels in both Sarajevo and Mostar to be very accommodating and concerned about their customers.

The old post office in Carleton Place, Ontario (June 2017)

Returning to the present:  I’ve been quiet about this summer’s travel plans.  There is a reason for this:  we decided to change our initial road trip destination because it was becoming too popular!  After reading one too many stories about the extreme tourist deluge hitting Cape Breton Island this summer, we decided to bail out.  For various reasons, including Canada’s 150th birthday, many Canadians are choosing to vacation in their own country this summer…and Cape Breton seems to be especially trendy.

A true Irish Stew in Carleton Place, Ontario

We are still going to do a road trip:  it just won’t be as far as Cape Breton.  It will focus on a unique part of our country and one that we haven’t visited enough during the warmer months.   In the meantime, I’m including a couple of pictures from Carleton Place, Ontario.  We stopped there recently on our way to Ottawa and enjoyed a seemingly authentic Irish lunch.  You never know what you will find, once you venture off the beaten path!

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Books and Travel Guides

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

As I’ve been reading a lot of books lately, I decided to make today’s post about travel guides and “books about other places”.

Some very popular travel guides perpetuate the myth that travel is only for the very wealthy.  When listing accommodations, these guides generally give only 5-star hotels and throw in the occasional 4-star hotel as a “budget” option.  They are often the same luxury brands we have at home (and generally avoid because of their exorbitant prices) and offer exactly the same experience that you would get in your home country.    This naturally leads to the question:  why bother traveling, if you could have the same experience at home?

A small Nova Scotian fishing village, just east of Peggy’s Cove

For such travel guides, I generally find that the cost of one night’s accommodation corresponds to what I will actually spend on a week (or more) of accommodation…with no increased risk or discomfort.   One travel writer (more about him later) says that the more you spend, the more of a wall you build between yourself and what you traveled so far to see.

Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia

So…which travel guide do I recommend?  I prefer guides that have few (or no) recommendations for hotels and restaurants.  Such businesses can change very quickly and the information is often very outdated by the time you read it.  Instead, I like guides that focus on objectively describing what a place is like and form some kind of opinion on local experiences.

The famous lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove…sadly, being renovated during our visit

When I first encountered the Rick Steves series of European travel guides, I was quite skeptical.  His books and travels shows (broadcast on PBS) assume that the reader is American.  His appearance does not fit the stereotype of an advocate for smart budget travel.  And yet, when you read his guides closely, he actually makes a lot of sense.  He is the writer mentioned above who pointed out the inverse relationship between spending and experiencing.

Lobster Traps at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia

I think Steves is strongest in describing travel in Italy, as he clearly has a passion for that country.  However, if you are traveling to any European country for the first time, you could do worse than read a Rick Steves guide.  I do disagree with him about the pace of travel.  As he assumes an American audience, he also assumes (unfortunately) that the audience has very little in the way of vacation time.  If you follow his sample itineraries, you could find yourself suffering travel burnout very quickly.

Swissair Memorial at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia

However, you shouldn’t restrict yourself to travel guides.  I recently read John Hooper’s “The Italians” to gain a little more insight into Italy and Italians, as we will soon be in Italy again.  I also read Helen Russell’s “The Year of Living Danishly” just before visiting Denmark:  it was written by a U.K. resident who moved to rural Denmark after her husband got a job with Lego!  That, in turn, led me to “The Nordic Theory of Everything” by Anu Partanen (originally from Finland but moved to New York after marrying an American).  While it is definitely not a travel book, it is an interesting read because it challenges some long-held assumptions about the Nordic countries.  All of these reflective books provide insight that you rarely find in travel guides.

Another view of the Peggy’s Cove lighthouse (still being renovated, 30 minutes later)

The pictures in today’s post are all from our 2009 visit to Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia.   Coming up next:  arrival in Italy!

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Return to Reality

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Waking up at 4:45 a.m. on Monday, December 1 was a somewhat cruel way to start the last day of my travel year.  It was actually kind of fun, though, to dash through the streets of pre-dawn London to the nearest Piccadilly Line tube station (see photo above – it’s Russell Square).  I had a good reason…I needed to get to Heathrow and fly back home.

Russell Square isn't very busy before 6:00 a.m.
Russell Square isn’t very busy before 6:00 a.m.

I thought I would be rather sad about ending what has been a wonderful year of adventure, especially after ending on such an unexpected high note in London.   While there was certainly a slight sense of sadness, or at least nostalgia, I also found myself craving a return to “regular” life.  I was ready to work.  I looked forward to preparing fresh meals at home rather than eating out every day.  I was excited about my upcoming curling matches and hopeful that my slowly-improving shoulder injury would permit a not-too-distant return to the hockey rink.  Most of all, though, I was looking forward to devoting more time to friends and family.

What some people will do to get a photo of the pedestrian crossing at Abbey Road in London...
What some people will do to get a photo of the pedestrian crossing at Abbey Road in London…

Even so, I couldn’t do everything at once.  There was a lot of “administrative work” that needed to be done in short order.   I had to set up a home office for my new job.  Various appointments had been accumulating.  The car needed a tune-up and the driveway needed a lot of shovelling.   The to-do list was very, very long but I was actually excited about tackling it.

Everybody has a travel threshold.  Some can only last a day or two before returning home.  Some need years on the road to “re-charge”.  After about nine months of roughly half-time travel, I had hit my threshold just as I was returning home from England with no further travel plans.  The timing was perfect.

Rather small building at one of London's famed Inns of Court
Rather small building at one of London’s famed Inns of Court

On a couple of occasions since returning home, I have found myself ready to plan some more travel…only to realize that there is nothing left to plan.  There are currently no “bucket list”  items demanding attention.   My wife and I are planning a quick big city getaway in January, and there is a chance that I will go skiing in early March… but there is really nothing that I need to (or can) act on yet.  All I have to do now is figure out what to do with all of the frequent flier points and Air Miles that I have accumulated!  I can always use them on gift cards if nothing else jumps out at me.

Big buses in Piccadilly Circus, London
Big buses in Piccadilly Circus, London

The next few posts will be retrospective.  I’m going to be looking at what I planned to do this year and what I actually did.  It’s always fun to look at lists so I’ll try to compile some highlights of the year.      I will probably also come up with some advice and guidance for anybody who is planning this sort of thing for themselves.  Maybe I’ll even begin to think about where I might travel in the years to come!

King's College Chapel in Cambridge, England
King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England

If you’re not too interested in revisiting this year, I think you’ll still find something of interest in this blog.  As promised, I will eventually be sharing some photos and stories from pre-2014 trips.  I’ll be liberated from writing in real time and chronological order, so you’ll never know what’s coming next!  Even after all of this time, I still enjoy writing the blog and I hope that enthusiasm continues to show.