Travel

I can’t decide how this should be organized, but hey, I’ll figure out something eventually.  In the meantime, here are a few travel hints and some photos. Needless to say, the current COVID-19 pandemic means people aren’t traveling and most of these places are temporarily closed. But once people start traveling again, you might want to check out some of these places and services.

Must-See Places

• Sedlec Ossuary, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic
• Churchill War Rooms, London – see how it was for Churchill and his cabinet in WWII
• Musee d’Orsay, Paris
• Great Mosque of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain – a mosque so big there’s a Gothic cathedral inside!
• Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens, a few miles north of Hilo, Hawaii
• Waipoua Forest, North Island, New Zealand
• Great Orme Mines, Llandudno, North Wales – a Bronze Age copper mine you can tour

Canary Wharf across the Thames from our condo

Good food

• Old Thameside Inn, Pickfords Wharf, London (try the steak and ale pie!)
• India House, Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Restaurant Menelik, Montmartre, Paris
• Zemam’s, Tucson, Arizona
• Sonny’s Bar-B-Q, St. Petersburg, Florida
• The Anvil, Ste. Genevieve, Missouri (definitely get the onion rings!)

A Paris street on our walk to an Ethiopian restaurant for dinner.

 Where to stay

• Karrel’s Double K Ranch, Tucson, Arizona – stay in a real caboose!
• Feels Like Home in Paris – The apartment we stayed does not seem to be available any longer, but check out the other apartments you can lease.
• Odessa Wharf – it’s a hike to the nearest Tube station (Canada Water) but the quiet neighborhood and location on the Thames across from Canary Wharf make this a great getaway location.  A Thames Clipper stop is just a few steps away.

The countryside of Bohemia just south of Prague from a hot air balloon.

Tours and Package Deals

• Lord of the Rings tours, Wanaka, New Zealand
• Dive! Tutukaka, Whangarei, New Zealand
• Canoe Escape, Hillsborough, Florida – canoe among dozens of species of birds as well as alligators of all sizes!

The beach at Pass-a-Grille Florida on a July evening in 2009.

Getting Around

• Eurostar – London to Paris by train
• Oyster – get around London
• Yapta – track airfares
• Metro – Paris metro passes

Black tailed rattlesnake, Sabino Canyon, Tucson. One of only two venomous snakes we’ve seen in all our travels.

Get in a Helicopter!

• Kaikoura Whale Watching, Kaikoura, New Zealand
• Niagara Falls