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"I'm ready to do more returning to places I really liked, but hesitate a bit. Sometimes I find that the first visit, if very special, can never be matched."
I am hesitant to return to places I visited and enjoyed half a century ago. What you remember is not going to be the reality of today in that locale. We first visited Athens and the Acropolis a half century ago when visitors were free to climb and move around the ruins; we loved Athens then. Our return about fifteen years ago was so different. Athens had become a place that no longer had appeal to us. Same reaction to how different the Barcelona we visited ten years ago from the one we had visited in 1970. I remembered the nightly passegiata on the Ramblas when extended families were out for the evening rather than the super touristy locale where one needs to watch out for the pickpockets. Montserrat was magical in an earlier era whereas it's now crammed during the day with tourist buses. The only thing that saved our return visit was that we overnighted there and had a very different experience once the crowds got back on the bus and left. So I have learned that frequently a return visit (especially decades later) is not a good idea. |
"...the first visit, if very special, can never be matched."
Kay & Julies, that is so true. And yet maybe we can look at it a different way, with fresh energies and a willingness to be positive? That occurred during our return to the Greek isle Folegandros, long the destination that I would trot out whenever folks had asked which was 'the fave trip of all time'. Our return there (actually Mrs Z's first visit), despite all my concerns, turned out to be great fun. Attitude is everything. As we age, it seems travelers need to readjust our plans to acknowledge changes in our physical selves. Stating the obvious I know, but still true. Btw, Nelson just posted a list of remarkable elders who'd climbed certain peaks. Jayzus... And hats off to KarenWoo for having just completed a 5-week trip to a dozen different places in Italy! *see their recent TR I am done. the end |
I go again and again to the places I love mostl
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I am young by comparison here with most (58). My husband and I followed the advice of one poster -- consider physical limitations -- we had many adventurous camping & other trips planning to see cities later in life. One of those city trips is coming next Spring to Rome with my 16yo, but my husband (55) will not be joining us. He is losing interest especially with Europe and its current trajectory. He may be becoming something of a homebody as well -- so despite the travails listed above, consider yourself lucky that many here had many more successful decades of travel. One other great point I think a few commenters hit upon -- just go to one city/area and stay -- get away from the touristy areas and just enjoy the local culture. No need for rushing or bustle. Happy trails!
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We are traveling more now that our mortgage is paid off and the children are out of University. Been doing 2 two week international trips/year for about 25 years and now doing three trips a year. Concentrating on more physical trips like Machu Pichu, Patagonia, Galapagos... Don't know when our bodies are going to start giving up.
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Originally Posted by CAH85
(Post 17667172)
I am young by comparison here with most (58). My husband and I followed the advice of one poster -- consider physical limitations -- we had many adventurous camping & other trips planning to see cities later in life. One of those city trips is coming next Spring to Rome with my 16yo, but my husband (55) will not be joining us. He is losing interest especially with Europe and its current trajectory. He may be becoming something of a homebody as well -- so despite the travails listed above, consider yourself lucky that many here had many more successful decades of travel. One other great point I think a few commenters hit upon -- just go to one city/area and stay -- get away from the touristy areas and just enjoy the local culture. No need for rushing or bustle. Happy trails!
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Really?? Everyone here is over 55-58?
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Originally Posted by raincitygirl
(Post 17667928)
I am just curious- what does Europe and its current trajectory mean?
One never knows what the future will bring, whether it's one's own health or local or world events. A friend of a friend planned to retire at about 60 and start traveling. Instead, he died that year. Take advantage when you can. :) |
CAH,
My physician died suddenly one Xmas Eve. Upon hearing the news, I reflected on how he and I had shared soooo many travel chats in his office once my ailments were dealt with. His big dream had been to take his family to Provence. He never made it. You are so correct - take advantage carpe diem. I am done. the travelers of advancing age |
Originally Posted by Saraho
(Post 17613028)
I am almost 81, and DH will be 84 next month. We are both active and healthy, except DH has low vision and I have fairly easily managed diabetes. We traveled to Europe three times last year- each trip was a combination of a National Trust or Road Scholar tour, plus ten days on our own in areas that I already loved and was already very familiar with. The last trip in September I found it very exhausting because it seemed like I had to do all the thinking for both of us. DH copes well with places he is familiar with, but needs a lot of help in unfamiliar places. Add jet lag to that, and I really didn’t enjoy the last trip very much. I thought going on tours would help, but we ( and others) found the 8:30 am to 9:30 pm schedules to be way too tiring. We usually planned to arrive at a city a couple of days early to get over jet lag, but that was not practical for our last trip. I found myself really resenting having to be so responsible for both of us the whole trip.
So what next? As far as tours, we recently did do an excellent Road Scholar trip to Philadelphia for five days of visiting art museums. DH was an artist until he developed low vision. We found it just right for both of us, two hours of art events or amazing museums every morning, then lunch followed by another two hour art exploration. We were back at our hotel by three pm most afternoons. Then we could take a nap or do our own thing. In March we are going to Charleston for a four day garden trip with National Trust. We love gardens, especially in the springtime. We will get there a day early. I think I am discovering that short trips in the US will be most of our future traveling. Also we recently spent a lovely week get together with my brothers and families. We are planning several more visits to dear friends and family members for nest year. How about you? Are you making any changes in travel plans as you age? Do you have any suggestions for great trips that are not too demanding? One of our recent trips was Paris on a slow pace with Road Scholar, but that turned out to mean 8:30 am to 9:30 pm at a fast trot! I took six "big" trips last year and tried out different "styles" of travel. I'm not sold on the small group travel I did. I enjoyed my independently planned days before and after more than the days with the group. We DID enjoy the Christmas river cruise on the Seine with "independent" days in Paris before and after. Was not a fan of my small group tour to Normandy but loved my solo days in Paris and London. I hired a private driver to go out to Bletchley Park and really enjoyed the private drivers Challiman recommended for Greece. I've been inspired by Percy's travel tales and for years he and his wife traveled with private drivers/ guides. Pricey but as I age I think I'm going to do the same. Perhaps the best trip was a return to Tuscany and Venice - self planned, rental car and totally independent travel. I'm just happiest that way. So for the foreseeable future, I'm going to go plant myself somewhere and take private drivers and/or day tours when I'm "there" - and the rest of the time will be "slow days". Slow travel. I am signed up for 2 group tours (both rescheduled by me from this year and last year), one a safari and another a bus tour but led by two guys who are friends and I enjoy being around. It's a "theme" tour. I'll do more of those if I find them. Regarding this - "because it seemed like I had to do all the thinking for both of us. DH copes well with places he is familiar with, but needs a lot of help in unfamiliar places." I would look into air tags that go into the insoles of shoes. We thought my mom was perfectly fine, until we were shuttling cars around and she took off in the wrong direction and kept on driving! We called 911 and were instructed to go back to the last place we had been together (a gas station). They put out an APB and a sheriff's deputy saw her car going merrily West and away from us. She had no idea she was "lost". We were terrified. Dad and I also realized our world had changed completely that day. I'd hate for DH to do the same, walking in a strange city. With an airtag in the insole of his shoe, at least you can track him down. Saraho, it's been a while since you posted this. I hope all is well. |
A reprise in case you missed it.
"We are young, travelling the face of the earth. Wondering what our dreams might be worth. Learning that we're only immortal for a limited time." (Johnny Shandoo & the Pyramids) *from the album 'Johnny and the boys rock out live at the Turnip Fest' |
Yes, thanks, we are fine- back a few weeks from a National Trust trip starting with three days in Windsor on our own followed by ten days visiting castles and manor houses all the way to York. We enjoyed the Albion ‘small’ group of 28, except the tour leader was new to this tour and did not seem very interested in it. She stayed in the bus while we all toured the stately homes on our own or with local guides. One of the smaller very attractive houses, Lamport, turned out to be one that my Isham ancestors had owned for over three hundred years. What an unexpected surprise! I also loved Hardwick House built by an amazing woman who was a friend of Elizabeth I.
D H did well. He enjoyed walking around on our own in Windsor. This tour only involved mostly under two hour bus rides and touring individual stately homes/castles rather than spending hours walking around cities/towns which we had found exhausting on several other group trips. Also, we spent three or four days in each hotel rather than new hotels every night or two. This was less tiring than having to repack and leave again so often. Unfortunately I caught the virus that was going around our group a couple of days before going home and DH caught it from me a couple of days after we got home. Two weeks of what was a bad cold , but not Covid or the flu. So the combination of direct flight in business class, several days on our own to get over jet lag, plus a ‘small’ group trip with mostly short bus rides and a two hour house tour each morning followed by lunch and another two hour house/ castle in the afternoon worked pretty well for us. But we probably won’t plan any more group trips to Europe. We couldn’t have seen all the castles/manor houses without the convenient bus transportation, but the group was too big although most of the people were very pleasant. We really prefer independent travel. Visiting twenty stately homes in ten days was just too many! We also went on a lovely six day trip to Charleston in March. We are going on a five day trip to Philadelphia area gardens the end of September. My dear friend of fifty years is going with us. I have really been wrestling with whether we should plan another trip to Europe for next spring. I would love to fly into Rome, then go to Assisi for the Candelmaggio spring festival and maybe Florence which DH has not visited, and I can’t not visit Venice if I am that close. That does sound a little crazy. I actually did that as a solo trip nine years ago after the death of my late DH. I was FaceTiming with my DS and DIL the other day, and DIL offered to go with us to Italy and drive us everywhere. We’ll see! |
Originally Posted by zebec
(Post 17669843)
A reprise in case you missed it.
"We are young, travelling the face of the earth. Wondering what our dreams might be worth. Learning that we're only immortal for a limited time." (Johnny Shandoo & the Pyramids) *from the album 'Johnny and the boys rock out live at the Turnip Fest' Johnny Shandoo and the Pyramids.......do tell!!! And more details about the Turnip Fest, please, sir... When I first met my partner, we began to talk about music and he said he knew something..not much. So I said I would ask him a question, and if he aced it, he scored some points with me... ( I love that kind of stuff). How ridiculous I was back then..such an easy question: "Who sang (a favorite old song of mine) CRY, BABY.....???" (and of course, it's a Bert Berns, Jerry Ragovoy song....as was another big fave with a similar name by the late, the great, Solomon Burke...). Don't get me started here; I will get kicked off the site by one of the semi-ingonito moderators for being a boring music nerd!! Aside: Recommended book: https://www.amazon.com/Here-Comes-Night-Business-Rhythm/dp/1619025418 Of course, he (now the partner of 25-plus years) got it......but he might know the American songbook and all, but he's nothing on me for blues, world music and Stax, etc etc... Ran into a local neighbor here yesterday who was raving about an Icelandic female singer who was not Bjork.....can you guess???? (I had no idea..). LAUFEY.. |
Originally Posted by Saraho
(Post 17669856)
Yes, thanks, we are fine- back a few weeks from a National Trust trip starting with three days in Windsor on our own followed by ten days visiting castles and manor houses all the way to York. We enjoyed the Albion ‘small’ group of 28, except the tour leader was new to this tour and did not seem very interested in it. She stayed in the bus while we all toured the stately homes on our own or with local guides. One of the smaller very attractive houses, Lamport, turned out to be one that my Isham ancestors had owned for over three hundred years. What an unexpected surprise!
1 2 D H did well. He enjoyed walking around on our own in Windsor. This tour only involved mostly under two hour bus rides and touring individual stately homes/castles rather than spending hours walking around cities/towns which we had found exhausting on several other group trips. Also, we spent three or four days in each hotel rather than new hotels every night or two. This was less tiring than having to repack and leave again so often. 3 So the combination of direct flight in business class, several days on our own to get over jet lag, plus a ‘small’ group trip with mostly short bus rides and a two hour house tour each morning followed by lunch and another two hour house/ castle in the afternoon worked pretty well for us. 4 But we probably won’t plan any more group trips to Europe. We couldn’t have seen all the castles/manor houses without the convenient bus transportation, but the group was too big although most of the people were very pleasant. We really prefer independent travel. Visiting twenty stately homes in ten days was just too many! 5 I have really been wrestling with whether we should plan another trip to Europe for next spring. I would love to fly into Rome, then go to Assisi for the Candelmaggio spring festival and maybe Florence which DH has not visited, and I can’t not visit Venice if I am that close. That does sound a little crazy. I actually did that as a solo trip nine years ago after the death of my late DH. 6 I was FaceTiming with my DS and DIL the other day, and DIL offered to go with us to Italy and drive us everywhere. We’ll see! 2 - I'm so glad DH did so well on this trip! 3 - That pace sounds so reasonable. 4 - 20 homes in 10 days is a LOT! I've shared this story before but on my first trip to Ireland (in 2000), guests at our B&B shared this story. They were two older couples from Alabama and had finished a group tour and were about to rent a car and go back out at their own pace for another week. A woman on the tour would return to the bus and write in her journal. The first few days she wrote and wrote and wrote. By the middle part of the trip, she'd return to the bus, scribble something and put her journal aside. Finally they asked. She would write ABA or ABC. That stood for "another bloody abbey" or "another bloody castle". LOL I could relate! 5 - My friend and I took a wonderful trip a year ago. We flew in from separate airports to Venice and stayed in a hotel close to the airport, in case one of our flights were late. Then a driver picked us up to take us to our water taxi to a fabulous hotel on the Grand Canal that annw loves. We later moved to a less expensive hotel my friend picked out (via water taxi again) and she planned that portion of the trip. Water taxi back to the airport to pick up a rental car. We drove to Tuscany and returned to my favorite place for a week. We did Florence as well and wandered a bit on our way back to Venice to fly out. It was definitely a "slow" trip and was magical. We returned in December for a Seine river cruise with days before and after in Paris. 6 - If your DIL would go and drive, that would be even better. When my parents were older, I planned two trips for them that we took together (the three of us). So happy to have those memories. Back to 4 - but the group was too big although most of the people were very pleasant We were on a bus that held 40 but there were just about 20 of us and that was nice (on a different trip). I signed up with the same guys to do Ireland this May but decided to cancel. I'm going back out with them next October on another trip because I really like them and I like the convenience of the transportation - but I'm not a fan of bus trips. I was on two other small group trips last year that had about 12 in each group. I preferred that, but still like my self-planned trips more. I may do the Costwolds with one of the small group companies but won't return with the other anywhere. I am probably just too picky. Anyway, great to hear you did another "big" trip and are still planning more! |
Fewer trips sure, but this past week was Gummy Week for us and...oh wait.
You mean...forget it. I am done. the insomniacs |
Starrs,
I don't think you're too picky. You know what you like and want from your travel experiences. If you can find it and afford it, then choose it and enjoy. Just finishing details for our October European cities trip. Making stopover after overnight direct flight from US (3 nights) to see niece, then flight to base for 4 nights in new city for both of us, then direct train to base for 3 nights in return city for me but new for husband. A direct train for another new town overnight, then (unfortunately) connecting flight home. Aware of public transport options but will load Bolt app and use taxis freely as we want. Could be more efficient time-wise by using a multiple train - minivan shuttle, but choosing simplicity. Staying in at least one AirBnB with clothes washer to keep luggage light. I second the suggestion earlier to consider a lodge based African safari. Great experience for all ages. |
Originally Posted by Kay2
(Post 17671630)
Starrs,
(1) I don't think you're too picky. You know what you like and want from your travel experiences. If you can find it and afford it, then choose it and enjoy. Just finishing details for our October European cities trip. Making stopover after overnight direct flight from US (3 nights) to see niece, then flight to base for 4 nights in new city for both of us, then direct train to base for 3 nights in return city for me but new for husband. A direct train for another new town overnight, then (unfortunately) connecting flight home. Aware of public transport options but will load Bolt app and (2) use taxis freely as we want. Could be more efficient time-wise by using a multiple train - minivan shuttle, but choosing simplicity. Staying in at least one AirBnB with clothes washer to keep luggage light. (3) I second the suggestion earlier to consider a lodge based African safari. Great experience for all ages. 1) "You know what you like and want from your travel experiences." Exactly. I was looking ahead when trying out different options. I'm going to stick with what works for me and make changes as I have to going forward. 2) "use taxis freely as we want." Yes! I made that decision over a decade ago and, for me, riding in a taxi is part of my 'entertainment". I like seeing things and people along the taxi ride. My heart pitter-patters as the taxi drives past Notre Dame on the way from the airport to the hotel. It's not just transportation for me but something I truly enjoy. 3)"consider a lodge based African safari" - I agree! I took my first one last year and loved it. I was supposed to go again this fall but pushed it back to next year. LOVED it! |
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