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Updated cities visited map

My second blog post included how many cities I've pinned on Tripadvisors' map. Here is an update, but again they don't really have every city. Plus, I can't realistically remember every city I've been to, or through.

211.

Non-scientific study

I have done extensive research on something and keep arriving at the same conclusion - the more time I spend in an airport, the more money I spend. And there is a factor that probably doubles or triples this effect - being in an international airport.

Just for some clarification....I do not fall for the "duty free" crap. I know that stuff isn't really as good of a deal as they want you to believe. In part because I live in a state where I already don't pay sales tax on clothes, shoes etc. But even without the tax you may be paying more than if you simply bought the product at your local Target or mall. Especially cosmetics!

The draw, for me, especially in international airports are products I can't easily get at home. I just bought several boxes at the Amsterdam airport of stroopwaffels. A delicious, sweet waffle-like thing with caramel sandwiched between. There are versions available in the US, but these are better! (Yes, another non-scientific study.)

I also picked up two huge bags of Haribo gummy bears. (One for Andy, and one for my friend PMS.). The flavors available here are slightly different than what I've enjoyed in the US.

I spent lots of time looking at the liquors, but I know they are cheaper at home.

See previous post for my new solution to this shopping problem.

Airport lounges

For reasons I don't really understand, my status with Delta airlines entitles me to free lounge access abroad. I have to pay to enter Delta's lounges in the US, but I get in free outside of the US.

Today was the first time I've taken advantage of lounge facilities. It is mostly quiet in the lounge at the Oslo airport....just one guy gabbering on his mobile phone.

I can help myself to soda, water - still and sparkling, wine - red and white, beer, coffee, tea, and there is food too! Cheese, ham, cereal and yogurt.

And perhaps the best two parts - internet access and line-free toilets.

I like the lounge! It even feels a little spa-like. But....I'm not sure I would pay for it unless perhaps I had a long layover.

Another bonus -- the more time I spend in the lounge the less time I spend shopping. It is almost like I am being paid to relax in the lounge!

Rude and obnoxious tourists

I've heard many times that Americans are hated abroad because of their behavior and unwillingness to learn the local language. I resent that stereotype as an American, but I am about to make the same one about people from another country.

First...I traveled around Japan for two weeks. I found everyone to be very polite and helpful. The only behavior I encountered that was odd was how the people in Tokyo would stare at us. Perhaps they were judging? Or maybe just curious about us large blond people.

I've encountered many Japanese tourists in my last few weeks of travel. They are loud, rude and act as if they are the only people on the planet. I was physically pushed twice so one of them could get ahead of me in line. Do they realize or care about the reputation they are creating?

It could, perhaps, be said that Americans don't act differently abroad. If they are rude at home they will be rude elsewhere. And I do know plenty of loud and obnoxious Americans. But the Japanese tourists I've encountered are very different from the gracious people I met in Tokyo and other cities in Japan. Maybe their culture is so rigid at home travel is their escape from being polite?

Or is this all evidence of people struggling to understand people from other places, or people who look different?

Buses, trains and a boat

Also known as Norway in a Nutshell. This was the perfect tour with my parents. My feet don't hurt and I saw lots of Norway.

We were supposed to start on a train out of Oslo. Their train station is closed. The whole thing...not just some tracks. Weird. So we started on a bus that took us to a train.

While my feet didn't hurt, my arse does after sitting on a train for hours. Not a complaint. I saw beautiful country, quaint little towns and snow. Yep - lots of snow.

And lots of waterfalls which must be a result of snow melting. It is July so the snow must be melting.

We then got on a ferry, in the rain, for a two-hour fjord cruise. I love water. We had terrible visibility because of fog....or were we in the clouds?

Our adventure began at 6:30 am and we didn't get back to Oslo until 10 pm. Long day. Full day. The scheduling was very precise and I appreciate everything that was packed into a single day; but the most we had at any stop was 15 minutes. Most of the beauty and splendor had to be appreciated en route because there was no time for exploring any of the quaint little towns.

I can imagine doing a similar trip on my own sometime, but I will rent a car and drive the big parts of it so I have more flexibility. I would still take the Flam train and the boat though.

Voss, Norway

My great-grandmother Helena (see earlier family tree post) was from Voss. She left Norway at 18 for America. It doesn't appear as though Helena was her birth name, but was the one she adopted after moving country.

I am traveling with my parents, and this was the part of the trip my mom was most excited about.....even though she didn't really know her grandmother very well. Due to economic hardships my grandmother was given up for adoption as a young girl. My mom loved the woman who adopted her mom. Loved her very much, and was very close to her. My grandmother, who I loved very much, never held a grudge. Ever. She tried to maintain close relationships with her birth mother, and other family members.

My grandma always told me I look just like her mom. She might be right, but I think I have the personality of my other Norwegian great-grandmother - Kaja.

End of the additional family tree stuff....

We didn't spend much time in Voss, but it is lovely. Beautiful lake and picturesque mountains.

Fjords of Norway

The fjords in fog look very much like most places in the fog. I can visualize and look online for better pictures because I'm sure the landscape is beautiful. I love jagged mountains and water. I love this type of scenery so much that it was the only thing I ever created during forced art classes when I was young.

I agree the fjords are a must see. Hopefully the weather will be better when I return.

These were some very food-motivated seagulls. They can catch bread when tossed at them! But, they are careful to not get too close to the ferry.

Lefse

Lefse is a Norwegian delicacy. Some describe it as a flat bread, but it is closer to a tortilla. But lefse is made with potato. My Norwegian grandma used to make lefse. I love it!

Most put butter and sometimes sugar on their lefse. I only like brown sugar on mine; so of course grandma would make special rolls for me....her only granddaughter.

I purchased lefse from a grocery store last night. It wasn't great, but it was lefse. I don't regret trying it, but I won't buy more.

Family tree

The older I get the more interested I am in my family tree. And I want to gather as much information as I can from my parents while they still remember. The short summary:

2 Swedish great-grandfathers
1 Norwegian great-grandfather
1 German great-grandfather

None of them were still alive when I was born. My father never met one grandfather and the other died when he was very young.

My mom never met either grandfather. One died when her father was a boy. Her other grandfather died when she was young, but she never met him.

2 Norwegian great-grandmothers
1 Swedish great-grandmother
1 German great-grandmother

All 4 of them were alive when I was born. My Norwegian great-grandmothers were Kaja and Helena (top picture). Kaja died when I was an infant. Helena died when I was in college. I met her once when I was about 5 years old.

Bertha (bottom picture) was my German great-grandmother. I remember her trying to teach German to me. She died when I was in high school.

Clara was my Swedish great-grandmother. She died when I was little. I have a picture of her holding me at my first Christmas.

My grandparents were all born in the US. None of their parents were.

Munch museum

Munch was a prolific painter. His most famous was the Scream. I think his paintings are dark and are indicative of a tortured soul. I see bits of other famous artists in his work - Picasso, Gaugin and Monet.

The museum has a larger collection of his work than I anticipated. And it wasn't everything.

On the plus side, we got in free because it was 30 minutes before closing time. On the negative side, that probably wasn't enough time.

In the book.

Viking ship museum

Skol!
This is in the book.

The outside of the building looks like a church. The inside is four large wings. Three of them have recovered or reproduced Viking ships. Way back in the day the Vikings were "kings" of ship building, and the waters in and around Scandinavia.


I would not have wanted to sail in these ships. I couldn't handle the trip. They aren't ships the way we use the term today. They were big (for the times), but toally open. No indoor space.

The museum also included artifacts recovered when some of the ships were dug up. Yes, dug up. They buried these ships with their captains as a large and ornate coffin. That seems like way too much work!

The museum did not have benches, but portable chairs you could carry with you and sit wherever you want. I loved the chairs! All museums should have these.

Oslo, Norway

New country! My homeland. I am very excited to be in Norway for the first time. I most identify with my Norwegian heritage.

I love water. I love cities on the water. I don't like sailing, but I guess I could if I lived in a city like Oslo.

I met my parents here. They arrived early ahead of a north European cruise. The timing was coincidence, and worked out perfectly at the end of my business trip.

London June 2011

I didn't spend much time in London, but my trip was longer than normal. My first work UK trip was when we had five or six clients to visit and I could see them all in four days. If scheduled correctly.

I spent seven work days visiting clients and saw less than half of them. I made it to eight or nine. All great meetings - training sessions. One very long travel day. I may have said this before but it bears repeating....this is a big little country.

Perhaps I am good luck because two new contracts came in while I was here. I didn't get to meet these new clients yet, but I am tentatively returning in October.

Take away

Take away is the British term for food to go. They even give you a discount on food and drink if you consume it elsewhere. Or....are they charging more to eat on their premises?

I went to a Starbucks this morning to buy a bottle of water. It was 20 cents cheaper for take away.

I'm not sure how aggressively they enforce this. I didn't stick around to find out.

I had excellent take away twice while staying in Crawley (near Gatwick airport and GovDelivery's UK office). The first was fish and chips. The second was chinese.

Quarter past

It is quarter past 10. I am sitting on a park bench in London waiting for a colleague.

It is 10:15! There are some British ways of saying things that I can't get used to. It is 10:15!

No theatre

I've been in the UK for more than a week now. I wasn't blogging much because it is a business trip...working long days, and because I've been here many times and will probably return.

This is my first trip to London in a very long time where I haven't seen any shows. I'm pretty sad about that because I love theatre. It just didn't work out this time. I could possibly go tonight but I've been sick since before I arrived aand I think I should rest because I am not going home yet.

Pictures

I walked by Parliament and Westminster Abbey this morning on my way to my last London meeting. I walked by dozens of people taking pictures. I wonder two things...

1. How many times has Parliament and the famous clock been photographed? There is no way to know for sure, but that number might be even larger than US's debt.

2. Why do people continue to photograph famous buildings when it is so easy to download pictures from the internet? Do they need to prove they were really there?

Since I don't own a proper camera I download lots of pictures from the internet - especially for this blog. I know I was there!

Cheating

I am in the UK again for work. And I am cheating.

Cheating on my kitties with other kitties. I'm sure my kitties would feel betrayed and be highly offended.
Simba and Nahla belong to Amish and Shameela. Amish is one of my UK colleagues. They very generously offered me their spare room for my first two nights.

Their kitties are very sweet and I think we bonded straight away.

Please....don't anyone tell my kitties.

Red-eye flight number 2

I was home for about 15 hours after Vegas before I left for London.

I knew taking red-eye flights two nights in a row was a really bad idea. But I did it anyway.

Thankfully I was able to sleep a few hours on the flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam. That helped...a little.

Too much travel in a short period of time. Being sick has made it even worse than it should be.

Red-eye flight number 1

I don't like red-eye flights. I can sort of sleep on planes, but beds are so much more comfortable.

I am about to take the first of back-to-back red-eye flights. I wouldn't do this on purpose. I am doing this to maximize my time at home before leaving on an international trip.

I am taking the red-eye from Vegas to Minneapolis. I could have kept my original flight but then I could only be home for three hours before leaving the country for two weeks. I think I made the right decision, but probably won't know that for sure until Wednesday when I arrive in London.

Hopefully I will sleep on this first red-eye.....and will dream of how to use the miles I am accumulating.

Shortest taxi ride

We took a taxi from Cesaer's Palace to the Mirage, which is next door. Las Vegas blocks are bigger than anywhere else I've ever been, but this is still a short taxi ride. The driver didn't judge us - at least that I could detect - but I felt weird about not just walking.

Las Vegas June 2011

Family trip to Vegas. It was short but memorable.
Sun
Pool
Shopping
Cirque du Soleil "O" at Bellagio
Sleep
Sun
Tequila
Pool
Tequila
Sun
Shopping
Celine Dion
Champagne
Pool
Sun
Tequila
Great food
Excellent people watching
Sun
Bellagio Fountain
Sore feet
Great laughs with my cool cousin Kerry

Where are my pictures

I don't own a camera. My mobile phone has a decent camera, but is is mostly good for emailing pics to my friends....not so much for trying to get pictures on my blog.

Sometimes I borrow a camera, so I do have pictures of some vacations. They are currently posted here:

http://community.webshots.com/user/JulesDawn0311

I might make the move to Flickr, but for now they are on Webshots.

Orlando, FL

I feel so grown up. This is my first trip to Orlando where I did NOT go to an amusement park. How refreshing!

Spa, tropical drinks and wine, a lazy river. And best of all -- a dear friend!

I wasn't quite prepared for the heat. It has been unseasonably warm - even by Floridian's standards.

Gelato

I've done extensive research and firmly believe that food tastes better when cooked by someone else. This is my primary motivator for not cooking. I like food. I like tasty food and I will just mess it up.

I need a new research project. Does food taste better in other countries than at home? I think I need to do some additional research on this, but I did come to that conclusion during my last trip abroad. I really like gelato. I don't eat ice cream at home. But I ate gelato every day when in Europe.

I drink more vine in France than at home.
I drink more beer in Britain than at home.
I eat more fish & chips in Britain than at home.

I guess...when in Rome..... I wonder what I will like better in Rome when I am there in September.

St. Tropez

St. Tropez is also in "the book" but I don't really know why. It isn't a beach town, but it does have a lovely port. It does have beaches, but they are several miles away.

St. Tropez is difficult to reach and not really worth the effort.

Lunch in Cannes

Cannes, France is home of the famed film festival, and the home of the Carlton Hotel. The Carlson was featured in Alfred Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief." The hotel is in "the book" so of course I went in for visit. It looks different than I expected based on the movie, but it is a very pretty hotel.


And the beach is much smaller than I expected. But, this was our best weather day of the entire trip so we ate lunch on the beach at a restaurant that Brad Pitt alledgedly ate at.

Bridges and Tunnels

We drove the Grande Corniche from Nice, over Monaco. We then drove through Menton, along the Mediterranean, to Italy. It was Andy and Jill’s first time in Italy – new country alert for them.

We found a Mediterranean café and had some proper Italian food – lasagna and spaghetti.

We decided to take the highway back to France. The A10 in Italy connects to the A8 in France. This road is a series of tunnels and bridges. Very high bridges! We never drove on normal road. It was an odd and unique experience. I admit to being anxious, probably because I wasn’t driving. And it was raining. I kept thinking of Princess Grace and her horrible death.

Aix-en-Provence

Aix-en-Provence - in "the book."

I was very conflicted on this one because I am a big fan of Rick Steves, and he said Aix is not a must see. It doesn’t have ruins, or significant museums. But it was a quaint town so we drove around, found a main thoroughfare and had a fabulous dinner.

Les Baux-de-Provence

Les Baux de Provence - in “the book.”

The very top part of Baux is known as the Dead City….ruins from long ago. It was very difficult for me to imagine living there – now or when it was built. I also can’t imagine how they built it. I think I can guess why they built here – easy to defend, and…..

The views in this area are breathtaking. But the wind was intense. Andy threw a rock and the wind brought it right back to him.

The lower part of Baux is a restored village filled with quaint shops and little restaurants. I did some shopping – hoping that part of the money I spend in places like this goes to helping keep it for future generations.

Baux is out of the way, but I am glad we made the trip.

Vincent Van Gogh was in a mental institution near here.

Arles Amphitheatre

Arles Amphitheatre - in “the book.”

It is pretty easy to find a huge coliseum / amphitheater / arena in a small French town. Arles has many Roman ruins, but the coliseum is the main feature. And…the ruins are in a compact area thereby limiting the amount of walking required.

The coliseum is being restored, but it is in really good shape considering its age. I am so amazed at what people built thousands of years ago without the technology we have today. The coliseum has many creepy, dark alcoves and hiding spots. I would not want to be there in the dark.

The other impressive ruin in Arles is the Ancient Theatre. The stage is now very modern, but most of the seating is original. Lying around the area are some of the original columns and other artifacts from Roman times.

Arles is also known as the city where Vincent van Gogh lived and worked near the end of his life. He apparently painted many of his masterpieces here, but the local museum does not have any original art; so we skipped it. Van Gogh was living in Arles when he went mad and cut off his ear.

We visited a local cathedral. It is not an ornate cathedral – pretty plain actually – except for the beautiful stained glass. One section of the cathedral contains boxes with remains. I saw a skull. I could have skipped this part.

Vieux Nice

Vieux Nice = Old Nice

In "the book."

This is the type of neighborhood where you want to get lost. Don't use a map. Just wander around and see where the winding streets take you. You can't really get lost because of the geography, so just go with the flow!

We walked through a market on the edge of Vieux Nice.



I stopped in a chuch that was built in 1640. I lit a candle there for the baby of a colleague. (This one's for you Kaylee Hope!)

I saw maybe a dozen art studio/stores. I love to buy from local, struggling artists. I didn't buy anything though because I saw too many beautiful things and couldn't decide.

I saw pretty fountains and was mooned by a pigeon who was bathing in one of them.


I ate passion fruit gelato.

I ate in a Dutch restaurant. (Yep, this was a bit strange in this part of France, but it was tasty.)


We climbed up to Castle Hill and saw beautiful panoramic views of the Mediterranean. We also stopped and played in a playground.

We saw a Shiba Inu as we were walking down the hill. He was just as stuck-up as my Shiba. I always miss my pup when I am traveling. (My prayer to all of the missing Shibas and humans in Japan.)

Mediterranean

I love the Mediterranean!

Yes, this is the entire post.

Boscolo Exedra hotel in Nice

I don't usually write posts about hotels that I stay in, but this one is special.

It is the biggest hotel room I've ever stayed in while in France.
There are benches in the elevators.
There is a spa in the hotel; with pool, sauna and steam room.
There is a pool table (billiards) in a room off of the lobby.
The door handle is a rose.
Bathroom has a bidet.
We have two balconies (ledges) - one off of the bathroom and one off of the main room.
We are four blocks (approx) from the Mediterranean.
We have four different fragrance options for bath products (shampoo, etc.)


This hotel allows dogs, so we also have a barking dog two doors down. I have a dog and love her to death. I like how much French people love their dogs, but I don't really like dogs barking in my hotel.

DH and Andy have their own room, which isn't quite as nice as ours. They only have one balcony; and their bathroom is separated from the main room by a curtain, not a door.

I think this hotel is in the top 2 of the nicest places I've ever stayed. Number 1 is still the Halekulani in Oahu, Hawaii.

Monte Carlo

I've been to Monte Carlo, Monaco once before; but this was the first trip with the kids. My previous trip to Monte Carlo was about 4 hours long - it was a port on a cruise.

It was raining so this was a good day for fun, family, indoor activity - an aquarium. Great aquarium! And it is built on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, so it has awesome views.

I like turtles. Big, sea turtles. Their main tank had one, lonely turtle. We hit it off right away!

I spent a very long time watching a little fish pick rocks up in his mouth, move them to a new location, and deposit them in a mound. He was creating a hiding spot, I think. He was constantly looking around for predators. I assume there weren't any in his tank, so I assume it was an instinct thing.

Andy had a good time scaring the clown fish. They would all scramble into their protective sea creature when he would wave his umbrella in front of the tank.

Yes, we are both easily amused.

We also drove around Monte Carlo....sort of lost, but it isn't really possible to get lost. The sea is on one side - so don't drive that way; and the mountains are the other geographical feature.

I picked out a lovely yacht in their port, for after I win the lottery.

We also poked around in some of the expensive stores, like Louis Vuitton. Jill tried on a lovely, 3100 euro leather jacket. It was the softest leather I've ever felt, but not really in our budget.

I purchased a bottle of my favorite French champagne. It is chilling in the mini fridge in our room.

Eze

Eze is a medieval town in France between Nice and Monaco. And, it is in "the book."

I applaud the courage and determination it must have taken all of those years ago to build this town on a cliff. What a huge challenge, but worth the view and location! It was cloudy when we arrived so we couldn't see the Mediterranean, but I can image what it should look like.

Eze reminded me of Mont Saint Michel - narrow, winding streets that were not built for high heels. I wasn't wearing high heels because I know better!

Eza had a really cool garden.


There are many cute, quaint little shops on/in Eze. I have mixed feelings about that part of tourism, on a site that is so important it was included in "the book." I suppose selling stuff to us tourists helps everyone here financially, but I didn't go to Eze to buy stuff.

My little rant - I was reminded in Eze of something about France that drives me crazy -- the lack of public restrooms. Very frustrating! But a very nice man who runs the Eze gas station (yep, there is only one) let me use his bathroom. We "rewarded" his generosity by buying a bottle of water from him that we didn't really need.

A change in plans

I like frequent flier miles. I use them to take international vacations with my family. By international I do NOT mean Canada. (Love my neighbor to the north, by the way.) I save my miles for as long as it take to get tickets to Europe and Japan.

I cashed in 180,000 miles nearly one year ago for three tickets to Tokyo. A friend woke me up Friday, March 11th (my birthday, by the way) to tell me there was an earthquake in Japan. I rolled over and went back to sleep. Japan has earthquakes - no big deal.

I woke up 30 minutes later and turned on the tv to watch the news. It was a huge deal! Narita airport was closed and tsunami warnings were issued for Hawaii.

I was sad. Sad first and foremost for those affected by this tragedy. And sad for me and my family. What was going to happen to our vacation? A trip we planned for nearly one year.

I've never tried to plan an international trip on short notice. It isn't as stressful as I anticipated. I checked major cities in Europe to see where we could go with the minimum number of Delta miles. I came up with London, Paris, Nice, Venice and Athens. I then checked the weather forecasts for all cities. I really wanted to go to Venice, until I learned it was supposed to rain every day. Every day.

We are going to Nice! The French Riviera isn't going to be warm enough for beach and swimming time, but we will still have fun.

Andy is very sad we aren't going to Japan. We made him watch the news to help him understand why we made the right decision to go somewhere else.

The Book

I am referring to my travel bible, not the real Bible. (No disrespect meant to The Book.)

Yes, I still have a goal of getting to 50% of the places featured in "1,000 places to see before you die." I leave in two weeks for another trip - spring break in Tokyo. This will be my second, and probably last, visit to Japan. So....out comes the book to see what I missed during my first trip.

Dang, nothing! Been there, done that. It will still be a fabulous trip; and I will blog about what I do and see. Maybe I will find something worthy of being included in the book.

There is a slim chance the weather will be warm enough for cherry blossom viewing. I've seen them in DC, but it would be super cool to see them in Japan.

Sedona

Sedona, Arizona!

Just as beautiful as I imagined, but more touristy than I expected. It is a little cool there in January, but that probably kept most of the tourists away.

The colors of the Red Rock are amazing, especially in the places where the sun enhances them.

Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa

It was just as beautiful as I imagined it would be. This picture was taken from the golf course's pro shop. I only did a quick drive-by. I still hope someday to be able to actually stay here, even if it is for a single night.

The Biltmore is one of the 1,000 places I was supposed to see before I die.

Arizona

Palm trees
Sun
73 degrees in January

I love palm trees!
I love sun!

I am visiting my parents for the weekend, where happy hour is celebrated every afternoon. These retired people really know how to party and relax.

Crystal ball

My crystal ball (weather.com) says it may snow on Friday and Monday (Jan 28th and 31st) in Minneapolis. Those are my next two travel days.

It has been more than one month since I've been on an airplane and I am really itching to go somewhere. I booked my next trip back in September. I am going to Arizona this weekend to visit my parents. It should be warm - at least warmer than Minnesota. But I still have bad memories of trying to get to Vegas last month.

Here is hoping for no travel headaches this weekend!