I’m trying to see if my brother wants to head up timmins way into the bush camping and fishing. and if not, do I want to take some students, or wait until reading week in october, or neither.
Sounds like the Galapagos are getting crowded.
Been doing a bit of trip planning this weeked for our Paris trip this October (for our little ones 6th birthday) and attempt #2 at doing our Peru trip next April. We will have a bit more time to do it this time around. Roughly 14 days doing Sacred Valley/MP (8 days), Cusco (3 days), Lima (3 days) which I think gives us enough time to explore a bit. I am also looking forward to trying out the culinary scene in Lima (which has gotten world class in the last few years).
Our little one is also on a Frozen kick (loves the Elsa character) so am also looking to see if I can plan a short trip to Disneyland Paris next July as they are opening a big Frozen attraction at one of the parks.
Will be staying in Rio for Dec/Jan as we have quite a few family gatherings/invitations, so will be doing that plus relaxing a bit with the family.
Really late response, sorry about that.
I have a similar worry about hiking alone. Have you looked into getting yourself a personal locator beacon? They seem to be getting more reasonable in price these days.
Thinking about England/Ireland for Thanksgiving break.
Wife gets the whole week off.
CHE-FCB on that Tuesday. So that is a bonus, or the main reason.
Well, at first I assumed those were airport codes, so I’d say a bonus. But you do you, I’m not here to yuck your yum.
Not sure what airport codes they are.
Saw tickets for $60!
I wouldn’t go just for that. We’d go with compadres (that’s “in-laws of my son”). Will see new British citizen / old friend of ours
Push a whole weeks’ worth of sightseeing.
If we go through with it.
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Since I’ll be traveling to Europe later this month, I’m hoping this isn’t too much of a PITA. Given it will be brand new, I expect at least some delays if my port of entry is one with the new system. I’d bet it is one that goes live early.
The article also mentions that the EU’s new visa waiver requirement will also be coming into effect soon. It was annoying that the UK had implemented it just before I arrived there in August but refreshing that France didn’t then have the requirement. I see now it was just a matter of timing.
Seattle - SoA Impact meeting
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Yo, Bee Gee!! I flew very recently to the US of A - with a sweet, sweet per diem!!! 
I think I want to return to Europe Sept 2026 but I can’t decide if I want to go to Ireland, England, Southern France, Germany, Poland, or something else. I like beauty, I’m not into history and don’t want to see ruins. I want to see art, architecture, castles, and some gorgeous landscape or maybe drive a mountain range. Where to go… Suggestions always appreciated.
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You did Scotland already, right? But with a friend that had some limited mobility…did you get out to the highlands?
Pyrenees look beautiful as well. Iceland has some great landscapes and is on my list to do one day.
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First thing I can think of for art and architecture is the Musee D’orsay/Louvre/Pompidou and La Defense in Paris. Europe’s not the place I think of for architecture (I’m more into modern architecture) - no doubt there’s some great architecture in Europe but it doesn’t have the concentration that cities like Shanghai, Chicago and New York have. That being said, London has some pretty amazing new buildings and I also liked the older Hampton Court (45 mins from London) and Winchester Cathedral (2 hours from London).
Haven’t seen a lot of castles but Edinburgh was worth the trip and the dracula castle in Bran, Romania was good. For beautiful scenery and mountains, anywhere that had a mountain stage on Le Tour, the Giro or La Vuelta looks great.
I’ve been to Paris four times and Orsay twice. I went to Edinburgh but I went with an older guy who couldn’t walk much and I really didn’t get to see the city as I would have liked, thinking of returning but apart from a day in Glasgow also I don’t have further ambitions northward. I’ve also been in London a couple of times but would not be opposed to seeing other places in the UK. Might have to also coordinate with Simple Minds touring schedule when they make 2026 plans… I watch a bit of UK TV online, maybe catch a west end show…Maybe Oxford/Cambridge? Stonehenge was underwhelming and I also was in Cardiff.
We started in Edinburgh, drove by Loch Lomond en route to Oban, Craignure, Isle of Iona, Glenfinnan Viaduct, Isle of Skye, then up Loch Ness to Inverness. All that in about four days. Obviously we weren’t going to be hiking much with my friend around. Very pretty.
If he is going to do this solo, a 10-day ring road trip in Iceland would fit the bill.
Its definitely an experience worth doing (September is also ok for doing this as the weather is still ok).
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The hiking is really great through all of that, although catching good weather can always be a challenge. Lake District in England and Snowdonia in Wales are some other UK options further South.
Whew, Iceland looks pricey to solo, like it would be 1k a day between a rental car and a place to stay. Campervans are an option, but like they would be limiting to take off the main roads. Any suggestions on this one?
Campervans do actually give you a few more options in Iceland (some areas are so remote you only have a few places to stay) but the limiting factor would be that you could not take them into F-Roads (mostly gravel, need higher ground clearance, and you can run into water crossings).
Price will always be an issue in Iceland (even more so now I think. Prices have gone up even more since we went in 2021), but with adequate forward planning (12 months or so), you don’t have to over-pay for accomodation (there are cheaper options available they just get snapped up quickly).
The car rental is trickier as it will depend on what roads you want to take (large SUV type for F roads vs normal car for ring road or similar). Same issue as accomodation as well, you have to book this super early or dynamic pricing will really sting if you try to rent closer to your travel dates.