Hope you have a wonderful trip and pls report back. I need to check out the Cuba board. Hope they are helpful.>>

mmm , yes travel - only in part. There is a real lack of information here, and the TA forums really weren't a lot better - lots of opinion, not much hard info and guide books tend to repeat each other. Flanner has been very helpful but only very recently as I didn't realise he was there in November and he didn't know that I was going in Jan. So despite a lot of reading, I still feel a bit at sea.

<< I would love to do independent travel to Cuba, but being from the US, don't want to risk it >>

I'm sure that were I in that particular boat, I would be wary of breaking the rules as well. Thankfully we're not so we don't have to worry about travelling in a group.

inspiredexplorer - you are well-named!

inspiredexplorer - congrats on your engagement. You sound like you spent more time away than at home -- good for you! I just read your Patagonia TR and it is fabulous. Brought back some wonderful memeories for me.

annhig - I've noticed not great travel books on Cuba. I have one friend who has been twice and I'm hoping she can be of help & your soon to be report :). Have a great trip!

thanks, yestravel. Ideally I would be posting a contemporaneous report but as there is very limited wifi in Cuba, I'll have to rely upon note-taking, photos and memory.

We went to Mayakoba, Mexico in Feb. of this year. Wish I could take more warm trips that time of year. It was so nice to get away from Ohio winter. Blech.

We took our kids to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando in June and loved it. My kids had read all the books and watched the movies so it was so cool to see the books brought to life.

Heading to the Grand Canyon in late March 2016. My husband and I have been but our kids haven't. So I'm excited to have them see it. Going to try to have them hike part of the way down, just a few miles.

Then our big trip to Paris, the Berner Oberland of Switzerland, and Munich in July 2016. Taking the kids... Their first time to Europe. My husband's first also. So excited I can't wait. I haven't been since I was in college.

8 weeks in Colorado to ski
Alaska for grandson's bris--and to see DDIL and our 4 beloved granddaughters; DS was deployed to Qatar.
Florida for DD's wedding
Galapagos Islands
Month in Israel

I really enjoyed seeing the scope of travel experienced by board contributors.
We were lucky this year to visit NYC (for the rabbinical ordination of our niece and her husband);
Tulsa for a long golfing weekend with my nephew (in place of the usual Cape Cod golf trip);
Chicago and Milwaukee for a summer week away from the Florida heat (inspiredexplorer's long weekend in Key Biscayne brought back many memories of trips to the Key when we had family there in the 80's and 90's);
Toronto in early September for a wedding;
Spain, glorious Spain, for 2 weeks from Madrid to Valencia to Basque country;
Finally, a 60th birthday celebration to Paris and Copenhagen in December.
No definitive plans for 2016, but going back to Italy is at the top of the list for Europe and San Antonio has been getting a look for domestic travel. Can't wait.

Jan: Chicago
Disneyland

Feb: Las Vegas

Apr/May: Belgium, Amsterdam, London

Aug/sept: Edinburgh, Glasgow, York, London

Sept: Mendocino, Ferndale

Oct: Lake Tahoe

Nov: Kyoto & Tokyo

Dec: London

WoW!
You are my heros! If only I could travel as much and as extensively as Yall! My wish list is getting longer as I read....

Keep up the good work! :0)

My (pitiful compared to all of yours) trips in 2015 included a week in Charleston SC, a long weekend in Chicago, and several days in San Antonio, TX.

We are planning 17 days in Europe (France, Amsterdam, & Germany) in late June early July and an after Christmas 2016 trip to Boston MA.

Thanks for a fun read!

yestravel: I will be so interested in how your trip to Colombia and Ecuador turns out! Colombia is on my list but I know almost nothing about the country, I've been to Ecuador all over the country and Galapagos, but was there almost 10 years ago so I'm sure it's very different now. Very excited for your thoughts and experiences!

We started 2015 on Phuket Island, Thailand. Later in January was our annual Vegas trip for 9 days.

February is usually Florida for a week, but due to just beginning chemo, I stayed at home.

In March I did get to Lucerne for a week, followed by Bangkok for 9 days in April (in between chemo treatments, which I was lucky to tolerate quite well).

In August, following a final chemo treatment, my DH and I celebrated our 50th anniversary with 3 weeks in Europe. We did Amsterdam, Paris and Venice plus a couple of other smaller towns (Spoleto Italy to stay with friends and Locarno Switzerland because we love this town).

September brought my annual trip to Oahu for a week. Just Oahu this time. Over the years I have gone to the outer islands for a few days as well as Oahu.

November was back to Europe for 3 weeks on business. This time Germany and Switzerland.

We are just now coming to the end of our annual Christmas/New Year trip to Bangkok and Phuket. Back to reality, and my next scan, on Wednesday.

I know everyday how fortunate I am to be able to travel the world even though battling cancer! I will probably start another round of chemo in February as there was "suspicious activity" on a November scan. My doctor told me to enjoy my holidays and come back in January. She knows how much my traveling means to me. It's a big part of my having a positive attitude in this tough fight. I was given 6 months to get my affairs together. That was November 2014.

Live life to the fullest!

Hi LIMMY,

Spent a great week in Dublin celebrating BLOOMSDAY last June - great weather and very sociable "book people" also celebrating James Joyce.

ANNHIG, good for you going to Cuba. Please advise Europe forum when you post your (I am sure it will be great) trip report on another forum. Enjoy!

2015:
Regal Princess Eastern Caribbean cruise-Jan

Maui-Oahu-Apr

East Coast MA, ME, NYC and Long Island-June

Las Vegas-June

Island Princess Grand Med Cruise-July

Pacific Coastal Cruise Ruby Princess-Sept

Coral Princess Panama Canal-Oct

2016: Planned so far
Sapphire Princess SE Asia Grand Adventure Cruise-Feb

Las Vegas To See Rod Stewart-Mar

Maui-Kauai-May

Paris and Holland America Koningsdam Trans Atl-Oct

simpson - good luck with all your travels - such a good lesson to the rest of us to travel while you can! [though it doesn't look as if people here need any encouragement].

annhig, Mrs B went years ago and we are looking to do a cycling tour this coming winter 16/17. Any advice once you get back would be very kind

This year was pretty quiet. We started in the UK with various days between Dorset/Bristol/Oxford seeing friends and eating christmas cake.

A good cycle tour of Denmark was a high point as was a wine buying tour of Muscadet/Bordeaux/Rioja

In 2016 we want to cycle from Prague to Hanover. I'm keen to visit Sardinia after watching the Forte girl (sorry I forget her married name and our families go back a few years) visit a series of Italian Islands on the BBC. Now all I need to do is get my Italian from A1 to B1 before then. Then Cuba to get away from Christmas in the UK at the end of the year. That just leaves a small gap for a little wine buying trip if anyone wants to come along?

Turks and Caicos
Andalucia
Turin
Lofotens and Tromso, Norway
Copenhagen

It was an expensive year. (Norway in particular but you can't put a price on taking a ten year old to see The Northern Lights and to go Husky sledding).

This year we have only booked to go to Mull, Scotland as our new puppy is eating us out of house and home. (and eating our home).

Simpson : did you enjoy Phuket? - we sailed round the islands and loved it.

Yes travel : I really like the idea of Colombia, he wildlife is regarded as very untouched.

In 2016 we want to cycle from Prague to Hanover. I'm keen to visit Sardinia after watching the Forte girl (sorry I forget her married name and our families go back a few years) visit a series of Italian Islands on the BBC.>>

Bilbo, I think that the "Forte girl" to whom you quaintly refer is Olga Polizzi, who amongst other things owns the Hotel Tresanton in St Mawes, whence we occasionally repair for a birthday lunch when we are feeling flush! I didn't see that particular prog and I've never been to Sardinia but you needn't worry about learning Italian as the Sard language is more like a mixture of French and Spanish. [or at least this is what I was told by the Italian language assistant at the College where i learn Italian who is from Sardinia]

OK a jest a little and if you are serious about learning a bit of Italian, I suggest starting with Michel Thomas's beginners' course on CD and seeing how you get on. It certainly can't do any harm.

as for cycling in Cuba, I will certainly look out for any information I can; what I have read in various guide books suggests that most cycles are in bad condition and that if you are serious, you should take your own!

We too are considering a wine buying trip, not least because I would like to give my new [to me] car a run "sur le continent" as my dad would have said. I am thinking about Alsace and the Pfalz, perhaps with a bit of Burgundy thrown in. your tips about Alsace on that other thread may prove helpful.

We went to Hanover just over a year ago and then drove down through the Harz mountains which are very picturesque if a little hilly for my taste were I on a cycle.

Lateday - I will try!

February - Cancun, Mexico - annual
March/early April - Avalon River Cruise - The Netherlands and Belgium
Mid April - DisneyWorld
July - Sonoma and the Napa Valley, California
September - Long Beach, California
October - Paris before a Uniworld Bordeaux, Vineyards and Chateaux River Cruise

For 2016
February - Cancun (sanity saver in order to survive the Chicago winter)
Spring - New York (maybe)
July - Sonoma and Napa Valley - annual
October - Another River cruise - TBD

So much fun to read about all these travels! Hang in there Simpsonc510!
Thanks for starting a "good read", limmy.

Last May, we spent a week in Umbria (in Spello) and four nights in Rome. This was our first trip to Italy.

We also spent a week hiking in the Smokies.

This year, we're revisiting Umbria (3 nights at an agriturismo near Panicale and 6 nights in Spello) plus another 3 in Rome. We just loved the region and only scratched the surface on our first trip.

We are also spending a week in Lake Tahoe in September. I'd like to add a long weekend somewhere in there but nothing is planned.

Ann,, I think I've worn the thread off the MT CDs, now duolingoing and chatting on italki, MT only takes you so far and he insists that Lei is the only "you" pronoun.

I think the girl is "Alex" (on channel 5 I've just discovered) rather than the mother "Olga" who must be into her 70s by now.

One of my SIL comes from Bad Durkheim (it of the worstmakt that I must have bored Fodors with before now) if you want to buy on the Pfalz come back and I'll give you some names if that helps, though I believe Mosel is better value as the western edge of the Pfalz is where old money posh Germans buy their wine if they don't want to buy Rheingau

Alex - of course - I knew that Olga sounded wrong but I was too lazy to check.

I misunderstood what you meant about talking italian from A1-B1 - apologies. However, I think you may be underestimating Mr T - I've just done the ENTIRE Spanish course [using "done" in the loosest possible sense] and he does cover the Tu form there, so [without checking] I suspect that he covers it in the Advanced Italian course too, in fact I'm pretty certain that I can remember that he does and the "voi" form as well. but well done with the ItalkI - I learnt about that from you I seem to remember but never managed to find the time to do it. Perhaps I'll try again when we get back, if I decide that I want to keep up the spanish.

One of the reasons that we are thinking of the Pfalz is that when we were staying with our friends there who live near Landau [which is the eastern and presumably less posh part] , we were amazed by the prices of the wines we saw there; if the Mosel is cheaper it must be very cheap indeed. And I'm very happy to be reminded of the Wurstmarkt, though we've not been for about 35 years!