Iregeo

I'm looking for similar solace for upcoming travel to Italy in April. We're taking our kid and although we want to show him the world, different cultures, history, etc., I can't decide whether its irresponsible to be traveling at this time. But then again, will it be different in 6 months, or next year?

kbella

My husband & I just returned from London Monday night after a short 4 day "let's go to the theater in London"on a whim trip.We were there in time for the Gatewick incident and to see the million person peace march.All in all we did not feel uneasy or compromised in any way.Security was tight all over the city but not constraining. I hope you decide to go as London is truly a great city.

elle

There's well-informed prudence, and then there's unfounded hysteria (and no, they are not the British sisters living upstairs).

I don't like flying--never have--and of course since 9/11 have been even more of a basket case. But then, I commute more than 70 miles a day on a major interstate where the probability of being killed is much higher than in a plane, whether due to terroristic acts or an accident of type. I take some comfort in this when I'm at the airport (but not when I'm on the road.)

We have travel plans for May and I suspect we will keep them, but if at the last minute I see something at the airport that I don't like or there is a credible air threat (and I mean really credible), I will lose the $$ and cancel the trip.

I'm not too worried about the actual trip, as we will not be in too many major tourist centers, and even when we're in Paris, we'll be well off the beaten tourist track. We tend to stay in small hotels, not in places where there would be a high density of targets.

All the same, I am planning our time in Paris to avoid the metro. As yesterday's attack in Korea demonstrates, all it takes is one madman, not necessarily a global terrorism operation. Fortunately, I love to walk and Paris is such a walkable city.

I also tend to avoid the area around the American embassy.

I used to ride horses, in particular hunter-jumpers. After Christopher Reeve had his accident, people started to ask me if I was afraid to ride. Well, I was always afraid to ride (just like I am afraid to fly) but the benefits of doing so are amazing and I felt so incredibly fulfilled when I was on the back of a 1,500 pound animal, jumping over a two-and-a-half -foot fence that I told my friends that if I died while I was riding, at least I died happy. I feel the same way about traveling, which doesn't lessen my fears, but somehow or other, with each trip--like each fence--it gets easier.

cnmiranda

Apparently a lot of people are having the same feelings as you regarding travel overseas. My "guaranteed departure" for a trip to Italy we were planning has been cancelled because we are the only ones signed up for the tour mid May! We're taking another, longer tour (same company) of Italy in it's place. I consider it like this, we're much safer over there then we are here, and anyways, if I'm gonna go I'd rather go having no regrets of places I'd wished I'd visited. As many say, life is short. I'd rather go doing something I love than sitting at home and being afraid. Go, and have a wonderful time.

david_west

You can't get close to the US embassy in london. There is a Ring of British steel around it, with an american cordon inside that.

I imagine something similar occurs elsewhere

elle

I was reading an article recently--maybe it was that Frommer's article about budget restaurants--that described a place located directly behind the American Embassy in Paris. It sounded like such a nice place, but I really could not dine there comfortably right now. My fears tend to be idiosyncratic, however, so I suspect other travelers will not feel the same and the restaurant will be packed with people who saw the article. . .

maxie

I asked this same question last week and it turned into a nasty Blair/Bush political debate and I believe the Fodors police removed it. We are also going to London in March. 5 weeks & counting! It is scary to be traveling with war in our near future but we must continue to live life to the fullest. I don't feel that London is any less safe than the U.S. but being an American puts you a little on edge. You never know how people will respond to you. I've been to London several times and have only encountered the nicest of people. I think my biggest fear now is, will United still fly me to LHR in March or with impending war will they liquidate? That may be silly but I don't want any last minute surprises.

mm

I consider myself duly chastised.

Go for it. Travel wherever you want. Don't be afraid. Life is too short...

MM

daph

If your passport is lost or stolen don't you have to get into the American Embassy to get another? [I actually did this with a tour member in Paris in 1980].

KathyNZ

That's very funny Kate and on my latest trip none of these things happened of course, the fact of the matter is that is the way it was then and people there lived with these things going on. Just because you were in safe in the ol' US of A presuming you were and you did not have to live with these dangers you cannot appreciate how it for the people of the UK and Europe. I may add that this is why they are loathe to be included in a war because they have already been thru it on home ground which is something you and I have not had to do - yet. Personally I am still very happy to travel to the UK and Europe.

buerkle

Thanks to all for the many responses. I suppose I didn't specify enough: my primary concern is security at the airports and during the flights (especially from the UK to the USA). And in regards to the many folks that (more or less) said "seize the day", I couldn't agree more--you see, my wife has metastatic breast cancer. Despite that, we've enjoyed numerous trips abroad. Thanks again for your encouraging words. Any additional thoughts on my revised question would be appreciated.

elina

Don´t worry about the airports in UK. They really search you. That type from Venezuela (the one with the hand granade) was caught in UK – why wasn´t he caught in Venezuela (if that is where he departed)?

Last time I was in both Heathrow and Gatwick, I was pulled aside. I felt really stupid. A middle-aged Finnish woman having her bags searched through and through. And my husband laughing on the other side. The reason for all that fuss was my inhalator. On both airports I had to describe why I have it in my hand luggage.

And remember Richard Reid, the "shoe-bomber". he was caught.

But I wish somebody would tell those security people about people´s diseases. Although it was sort of funny, I felt a little bit embarrased. But not to the extent I felt 30 years ago on the border to Switzerland. I had a full body search because I looked "too hippy" for their taste.

Sue_xx_yy

Buerkle, you have nailed it on the head when you say it is an illogical fear, because those are the toughest fears to confront. Logic probably won't help you, nor will any anecdotes about how other people have never had any ill result from traveling, because one of the things about fear is that it convinces you that YOU will be the exception, the one-in-ten-million casualty.

You may be waiting to 'feel better about things' before you travel, but in my own experience this a recipe for failure. I am afraid of a lot of things, so much so that I have resigned myself to leaving space in my suitcase for my fears. : - ) Oddly enough, not putting demands on myself to feel at ease everywhere all of the time makes it easier to cope. So, pack those bags (apprehensively), board the plane (with trepidation) and find out what happens. Going on your trip will be the equivalent of opening that mysterious closet door - you just gotta find out if the monster is in there, or not.