Jim and I have been going on big trips ever since we got married almost 28 years ago. Most of our traveling has been in the US, but we’ve now made three international trips together. Back in the summer of 2018 we spent a blissful three weeks in France to celebrate our 25th anniversary (one year late). I was struck with a number of tips and ideas that don’t show up in regular travel books or are given a slant with which I don’t agree. So I decided to write a brief travel book of my own, spelling out some of these unconventional ideas. Jim has recently revised it and gotten it up as an e-book on this site and as a paperback and Kindle edition on Amazon. I’d encourage you to get a copy if you’re planning any type of trip, even if you’re not going to Europe. My emphasis is on that area because that’s where we’d just gone, but my ideas are widely applicable. There’s an appendix with tipping info for most of the countries in Europe; I don’t have anything about tipping in, say, Japan, but that’s the sort of thing that’s easily accessible online. Who’s going to tell you, though, to:
1) bring your own top sheet if you’re traveling in duvet country, or
2) take a good probiotic for several weeks before you go on your trip and then continue taking it during the trip so that your gut flora retain some stability, or
3) avoid mindless snacking, the main cause of vacation weight gain (and weight gain in general).
I also talk about physical and mental preparations; as I was writing this post I realized that I’ve failed to take my own advice about doing at least a little language prep beforehand. We’re leaving on another trip to France (with a side trip to The Netherlands) in about three months. I was a French minor in college, but that rusted-into-oblivion knowledge didn’t serve me very well last time. It’s totally not true that “everyone in Europe speaks English.” In the book I detail several situations from 2018 for which a working knowledge of French would have been extremely helpful. So just now I stopped writing and installed an app on my phone called “Duolingo.” I did an extremely easy test and first lesson and now have a podcast on my phone–something about listening to easy-to-understand stories in your chosen language. I picked this app because I liked the logo image. Nothing like deep research, I always say.
I realize that right now everyone is freaking out about the coronavirus, but we’re assuming that air travel will still be going on by May. My dear friend Ronnie, a nurse and all-around practical person, is of the strong opinion that this whole thing is getting a bit overblown. (But no, Mr. Limbaugh, it isn’t “just a cold.”) I’m planning to lots of hand-washing and a daily commitment to sinus irrigation and nasal spray to ward off my typical problems. Buy the book and you’ll get to read the fascinating account of how I came down with something on our previous trip and spent five days having almost constant coughing fits. (I’d be quarantined without hesitation if I were over there now doing that!)
So I’ll leave it at that for the present. Honestly, folks, there’s a lot of weird advice out there–some of it even from Rick Steves. I promise not to steer you wrong when it comes to the really vital stuff–such as how to find a bathroom.
Stay tuned later in the week for recipes and guidelines concerning the food I’ll be making for the reception after the Friday-night performance of the Cherry Creek Chorale’s Celtic concert. If you’d like to read all the posts I’ve included so far about the music for this concert, head on over to the “Behind the Music” page on the Chorale website. And if you’d like to attend either the Friday or Saturday concert (no reception on Saturday, but we’ll have one performance under our belts), get your tickets now. We will probably sell out, so showing up at the door probably isn’t a good idea. Hope to see you there!