–
In the interest of making the world a little smaller, I suggest you take a look at the weather we’re experiencing. New Zealand is a small country (about the size of Colorado, but long and skinny) with only about 4 million people. But they get far more than their fair share of natural disasters. There are lots of earthquakes every day, Cyclone Debbie flooded a big portion of the North Island last week, and now Cyclone Cook is hitting today, adding even more water where there is room for none.
Long walk down to the sea.
We’re safely in Picton, NZ in the north central part of the South Island. Cyclone Cook will hit us about midnight (7am Minnesota time), they even cancelled the ferry runs between Wellington and Picton, which seldom happens. We’re far up a hill from the ferry port and bay and should be safe and sound, high and dry.
All the road closures and horrible rains have kind of messed up our (very loose) plans to visit the North Island, but we’re enjoying the South Island and the people here and all is well.
We’ll report more here and on Facebook tomorrow, I’m sure.
Hello from Dijon, France. They have excellent mustard here.
I’ve been dumping stuff out of my brain for a while and it’s time to share.
To paint my view of our UK experiences with broad strokes:
The English people we met were very friendly and nice and helpful and made our time there great.
The Scottish people we met were friendly, seemed willing to pay for your groceries, invite you to dinner, and dive into an icy river to save your children if needed.
We loved the Scottish countryside and nature hikes and such but I think, subconsciously or not, it was the people that kept us there for over a month.
I really don’t miss anything about the food at home. Maybe Carbone’s pizza. And I miss hockey.
People look at us like we’re crazy when we tell them we’re traveling by rail and bus. I’ve run the numbers a bunch of times and we’re coming out ahead for sure. In addition to the hassles of driving and finding our way around in traffic, most days we walk through cities or hike around. That means we’d be paying for a rental car that would just sit, parked, in a paid spot most of the time. We definitely give up some flexibility, but not enough to have a negative effect.
My hiking boots died in Annecy in November. I had them for at least 15 years, wore them a ton all over the US and the world, and the toe stitching finally blew out. RIP.
My feet will miss you.
I got new boots from Amazon and started wearing them in late November. I’ve worn the new less-comfortable-but-cheap boots for two full months, walked literally hundreds of miles in them and, for some reason, I just got blisters after a 6 mile walk to see the aqueducts in Lyon this past Saturday. Was it the Roman ghosts getting back at me for not fully appreciating all they did? Or did my luck just finally run out?
I bought the new boots from Amazon.fr but you can kinda see what I’m wearing here, if the link works, although I only paid about $30 for them at the time (Disable ad blocker if you can’t see the links, and let me know.)
[amazon template=banner easy&asin=B005BK9IQQ]
My son’s entire waking day is one big High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) session. Why walk when you can run? Why stand when you can jump? Why not bounce off walls instead of just staying on the sidewalks? There’s something to be said for boundless energy.
There comes a time at every location we visit when I just get soooo sick of planning routes and finding lodging. Then we move on and discover new places and people and all is well again. And we’ll keep going.
We’re having a blast and learning a lot but, since I’m not working, there are somethings that I think just aren’t worth the money. We’re certainly not sleeping in hostels and stealing breadcrumbs from pigeons like I may or may not have done while in college, but we’re also not eating 4 course French dinners. It’s tough to strike a balance and keep the experiences good.
Other than the boots, the other best purchase I’ve made on this trip are batteries which are SUPER expensive in stores in France – use the links below to get your own (if they work – I’m making this WordPress stuff up as I go – disable ad blockers if nothing is showing up):
[amazon template=banner easy&asin=B00LH3DTYS]
[amazon template=banner easy&asin=B00NTCHCU2]
Old is relative:
Our St. Paul house is from 1941…most of the Twin Cities was still farmland then.
The Lyon Roman ruins are over 1000 years old, Some Greek ruins are older…way older.
Some of the stuff we see is from the 1500’s but have BRAND NEW upgrades done in the late 1700’s.
And all this stuff we see, no matter how relatively old, is still standing. People just live by it, work next to it, or shop in it…just like it’s totally normal to be hanging with a 1000 year old gargoyle.
I hope all is well with everybody, always. Above all, have fun!
Two parents and their two children are in Scotland. They wish to travel and experience the world for the next few months. However, if they spend less on travel, they can see and experience more and for a longer time.
Through some friends they have free lodging available in Lyon through Jan 29.
The family also wants to go visit friends in Melbourne, Australia, with potential free lodging and transportation there for a limited time.
In short, they have more time than money but want to maximize the travel dollar. They need your help!!!
Constraints:
All four must travel together
Travel must be reasonable and must not involve more than 8 hours on a land travel day and no more than 31 hours to Australia.
The family can spend only 16 more days in the Schengen countries until March 7, 2017.
For calculation purposes, assume $85/night in the UK and Paris and $75 in Lyon and other European locations.
Flights, buses, taxis, ferries, and trains are all allowed.
The family can walk at most 40 minutes with backpacks (the rail station to/from their lodging, for example).
The family can walk 90 minutes one-way without backpacks (to navigate cities and see sights).
For sanity and safety purposes, no travel should begin before 8am or end after 9pm.
Currency fluctuations over time can be ignored. Convert all answers to USD.
Tips:
Some flights from Paris are cheaper than from Lyon, but travel and extra lodging may negate the air savings. Apply similar logic for travel to Sydney vs. Melbourne.
Flights from the UK to mainland Europe can be cheap, but ferries and the Eurostar may be cheaper AND take less time than airport transport, security, and check-in lines.
Friends and family discount rail card applies to most UK trains.
Child discount card works on most French rail trips.
Some airlines give child discounts, some do not.
The SUPER cheap airlines charge for seat reservations and even for carry-on luggage, so they are not always a deal.
Given this info, what should the family do?
Part A (20 points): State your itinerary with dates, times, modes of transport, prices, and locations. Minimize costs (for lodging and travel) while also minimizing travel time and meeting the desired points of interest.
Part B (20 points): Explain, in a grammatically-correct paragraph of 200 words or less, how you calculated this itinerary and why you perceive this as “the best” option.
Part C (10 bonus points): Discuss in 100 words or less what Mike could spend his 2-3 hours per night doing OTHER than logistics exercises to save time and money and enhance these travel experiences.
Part D (1 bazillion bonus points): Find a well-paying job Mike will love and can do remotely on his own schedule to help reduce the need for such careful planning and saving. State this any way you’d like. Even an employment contract waiting to be signed will be accepted.
I’m an “experience” person, not a “stuff” person. Of all the places I’ve traveled in the past 20+ years I think the only thing I’ve ever bought for myself is a New Zealand All Blacks Rugby shirt. I did get in the habit of buying super ugly magnets for both of my Grandmas from almost everywhere, but nothing for me. (Note: I still had both Grandmas until 2005 and my 98-year-old Grandma Zech still has a refrigerator door FULL of magnets…and she still likes to get them…and then complain about how many she has.)
So, I’ve established that I don’t buy souvenirs but, while we were in Edinburgh and the rest of the family was waiting for food at a nearby pub, I quickly ran in to Cadenheads and got a small Islay 1842 cask-strength bottle. It was reasonably priced (I’m a cheapskate) and bottled just for me.
With just a wee bit of water, as suggested, it’s super tasty – kind of a combo of Laphroaig and Ardbeg, but with a very smooth, smoky finish (not eye-crossing). And at over 57% alcohol, it’ll last at least through our trip in the UK. I’m sure I won’t be able to bring it on a plane, and I ONLY allow us to have carry-ons (more about that in a later post, I’m sure), so I’ll HAVE to drink it.
