thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Oct 15, 2015 14:22:02 GMT -5
We really like to travel, and make sure we do a bonafide vacation every year. We grasp onto that all year when we wish we had an extra room in our house, or better cars. I know there are people that save for that "trip of a lifetime" and I feel like we have one every year - at least to some people. I don't really consider a weekend at Disneyland a trip of a lifetime - but I know it can be for some people. How many 'trips of a lifetime' have you taken in your life? And what were they? What was your favorite trip? We have done: - New York City and Philadelphia - Chicago - Cancun - The big circle through California - Yosemite - San Francisco - down the coast with some beach time - Boston - Disneyland (an easy drive for us) - San Diego - Denver (summer) - Durango - both winter and summer - Utah (skiing) - Atlanta Before we had kids - we did London and Norway, Caymen Islands, New Orleans, Cleveland, San Francisco several times, Seattle/Portland and a bunch of skiing. Still on our list: Washington DC (with the kids - but that will be like a social studies field trip for them - so whoopie ) and a whole bunch of international destinations - Spain, Italy, Paris, Australia, Tokyo, etc. Some places I would like to go, but I am a little overwhelmed at the idea of going. Some places have some bad reputations out there - so I know you have to do some careful research and planning. Maybe after the kids leave and I have time to get something done. I love that my kids have been some of these places. When they talked about Paul Revere in school, my kids could relate - she saw his house, and saw the area where he rode, and had been to the Lexington battle field.
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Oct 15, 2015 14:32:03 GMT -5
Egypt Turkey Hiking through the Swiss Alps Croatia Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim by myself Hiking through the Havasupai creeks to all four of the falls
Hiking the Panorama trail from Vernal Falls to Glacier Point in the Winter. I had Glacier Point to myself
I'm sure my hike along the John Muir Trail next year will be a trip of a lifetime!
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Oct 15, 2015 14:38:23 GMT -5
thyme4change, why do you not start to travel internationally with your kids now? They are not so little anymore and there are so many wonderful places to visit
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alinal
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Post by alinal on Oct 15, 2015 14:48:58 GMT -5
I've never considered any trip to be the "trip of a lifetime". I'm always open to returning if I enjoy it.
I've been on 5 cruises (if you count the one when I was 15, which I do because I paid for it with my babysitting money!) Iceland 3 times Italy/Germany Japan Grand Canyon Western SD parks Vermont/New Hampshire Savannah Utah (hiking) Montana (hiking) multiple times Smokies (hiking)
I love DC - it's "on my way home", and I don't stop as often as I'd like to.
Next up is hiking to Machu Picchu.
Sooo many places on my to-do list now, mostly national parks for hiking.
Dream vacation (due to price) is Antarctica ~ that one might qualify as a trip of a lifetime.
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Ombud
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Post by Ombud on Oct 15, 2015 14:49:47 GMT -5
3 month long trips were throughout: Western Europe South America Central America Middle East × 2 Israel / Jordan Western US Canada Mexico
Shorter (2+ weeks): England Denmark Sweden Russia Turkey × 3 Egypt Columbia Peru New York Boston Texas (business ... San Antonio) Didn't like Houston New Orleans Miami Alaska × 1 Jamaica
Cruised to: (16× on Princess, 5× on Carnival, 1× on Commodore bought out by someone) Europe Mediterranean Thru Panama Canal East Coast Carribbean Alaska × 2 Mexico several times as its easy
Next one: Japan / China
Been up and down West Coast inc Grand Canyon
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Ombud
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Post by Ombud on Oct 15, 2015 14:57:01 GMT -5
GKs have been limited under WHTI but he's 18 now so Japan / China is possible
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cael
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Post by cael on Oct 15, 2015 14:57:13 GMT -5
My two 'trips of a lifetime' so far have been Africa and Greece. Africa (Ghana) was amazing and I want to go back, but I think I liked Greece overall better - I think some big reasons were because it was a longer trip, we had family to meet, and I wasn't afraid of food making me sick like I was in Ghana. We did have a pretty 'once in a lifetime' experience in Ghana though that any tourist may not get... stayed in a village with a pastor's family, went to an Easter church service, went to a funeral, a community picnic, got caught in a scary storm in dugout canoes on a river, went to this giant engineering/fabrication/metalwork open market-type place. It was amazing. If I have the time and money I'd do international travel with my kids as soon as I felt they were ready. A woman at my church is considering taking her 7yo daughter to Ghana... which I'm not sure I'd do at that age because I don't know how much she'd gain from the experience. Safety isn't a huge point for me, as I actually felt much safer in Ghana than I did in El Salvador, but I just don't know if a 7yo would find it overwhelming and confusing. We decided depending on our future kid's personality we may consider bringing him/her to Greece anytime after 5. Other bucket list travel spots for me are Iceland, Germany, Patagonia, Nepal. I'd pretty much go anywhere though. I really want to go to Antarctica, but besides taking a science post there I'm not sure that could happen. Within the US, I really want to go to Alaska! That'll happen sometime, maybe a cruise. I also want to do a trip to CO/UT since I haven't been since 8th grade, and DH would love that part of the country (Canyonlands, Moab, Arches etc)
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cael
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Post by cael on Oct 15, 2015 14:58:28 GMT -5
Dream vacation (due to price) is Antarctica ~ that one might qualify as a trip of a lifetime. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who wants to go to Antarctica!
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sapphire12
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Post by sapphire12 on Oct 15, 2015 15:10:55 GMT -5
My ultimate dream trip was Egypt.
Other high-ranking trips: Turkey, Mediterranean Cruise, including the Greek Isles, Italy. Hong Kong China Soon, I'll be on my way to Dubai and India. If I'm lucky, I can drive the Autobahn on my layover on my way home. Next year is Australia, New Zealand and Cook Islands.
Other dream trips include: Israel, Paris, South Africa and West Africa.
I've been several other places, 41 other states, several Caribbean Islands. I have no desire to get to Antarctica.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Oct 15, 2015 15:16:20 GMT -5
I've had many luckily- though like others have said, I really want to go back to almost all and I'm not done with travel. My most notable trips: -2.5 weeks backpacking through southern Island of New Zealand (Routeburn trek, swam with wild dolphins in the ocean, watched king penguins on the beach, stood on the southern most part of NZ). -2.5 weeks backpacking both the north and southern islands of New Zealand (Mt Taranaki, Kepler route) -2.5 weeks backpacking Patagonia (W trek, glacier walks) - 2 week "baby moon" when I was 6 months pregnant and we did the Jasper-Yoho-Banff Alberta trip. I hiked 16 miles one day and ate all the food we were carrying when we were done and H didn't get any dinner. People were side eyeing me trying to tell if I was just awkwardly fat or if there really was a baby in there. We camped about half the time. I felt so much better at 6 months pregnant than I had the rest of the pregnancy! - month long trip to Australia. Drove from Canberra to Cannes hiking, eating, sight seeing the whole way. I was a poor graduate student but the conversion rate was SO affordable. We got a private plane (seriously!) to a private boat out in the ocean to go scuba diving and it was like $250 apiece. It was amazing. Too bad the relationship with the guy I went with didn't work out, but it was still amazing. -2 weeks backpacking Peru, saw Machu Picchu, hiking, and fished for and successfully caught a piranha in the Amazon. -2 weeks in Ecuador - hiked up 16,000 feet up a Volcano. -2 weeks in Hawaii. Kauai (we did the Kalaulau trail) for one week, big island for the 2nd. Camped the whole time. It was magical! Other trips: - We go skiing for a week every year in a ski in/out condo. Snowmass, Aspen, Whistler, Big sky, etc. - week long cruise to Honduras/Mexico/etc. - long weekend to Belgium and I gained SEVEN POUNDS in 4 days! I love travel and being outside/backpacking/hiking. It's one of my top priorities and goals in life to spend as much time outdoors and traveling as I can.
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lexxy703
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Post by lexxy703 on Oct 15, 2015 15:17:54 GMT -5
Turks & Caicos Bahamas X2 Switzerland & Germany Grand Canyon NO LA CA wine tour
I have been a handful of other places but those are the better ones.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Oct 15, 2015 15:21:21 GMT -5
Domestic:
NYC Boston San Fransisco San Diego Las Angeles Las Vegas Several places in AZ (Grand Canyon, Sedona, Flagstaff, etc.) Orlando Alaska Hawaii
International:
Ireland Italy Belize Hondorus Mexico Canada Puerto Rico
I was in my late 20s when I went to Italy. At the time I considered it be a "trip of a lifetime." It was my first international trip. It actually was one of my first big trips in general. I wasn't making a ton of money and it took me a while to save up for it.
There are so many places I still want to visit: Greece, Scotland, Norway, Germany, Austria, Iceland and France to name a few. I want to go back Ireland.
I am with those who said they would classify Antarctica as a trip of a lifetime. I will also put New Zealand in that category because if I ever make it there I will stay for a month and it is doubtful I will make there more than once.
I will add Egypt to that list as well. I wish I had gone years ago before it became so unstable.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Oct 15, 2015 15:29:54 GMT -5
We really like to travel, and make sure we do a bonafide vacation every year. We grasp onto that all year when we wish we had an extra room in our house, or better cars. I know there are people that save for that "trip of a lifetime" and I feel like we have one every year - at least to some people. I don't really consider a weekend at Disneyland a trip of a lifetime - but I know it can be for some people. How many 'trips of a lifetime' have you taken in your life? And what were they? What was your favorite trip? 1990 - Spent 10 days touring Egypt, then 10 days scuba diving in the Red Sea on a live aboard boat 1993 - Took DH on a 3 week tour of Japan 2000 - 2 weeks scuba diving in Fiji - one week on a live aboard boat and one week at a resort 2001 - 10 days exploring the canals of Holland on a rented boat 2007 - 1 week in Scotland, 1 week in Ireland 2010 - 3 weeks in China, including Tibet and a 6 day river cruise on the Yangtze 2012 - 3 weeks in Italy 2013 - 2 weeks in Nepal & 2 weeks in Bhutan 2015 - St Petersburg & the Baltic area; 7 days on a boat on the coast of Norway 2016 - Cruise from Venice to Istanbul; then river cruise from Bucharest to Budapest They've all been "trips of a lifetime". My favorite is whatever I am planning to do next. After next year, it will probably be Australia & New Zealand
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2015 16:14:11 GMT -5
- 2 week "baby moon" when I was 6 months pregnant and we did the Jasper-Yoho-Banff Alberta trip. I hiked 16 miles one day and ate all the food we were carrying when we were done and H didn't get any dinner. People were side eyeing me trying to tell if I was just awkwardly fat or if there really was a baby in there. We camped about half the time. I felt so much better at 6 months pregnant than I had the rest of the pregnancy! My Aunt went trekking in the Himalayas with my Uncle when she was 5 months pregnant! He was based in Guam at the time so they figured they should take advantage of it. She said she'd lie down to sleep and the baby would start kicking.
DH and I have had MANY trips of a lifetime. We're so blessed- and we're very frugal in other areas so we can travel. Where do I start? Some of the best were our honeymoon in St. Petersburg, the trip to Dubrovnik where we went kayaking around the city walls, our two small-ship cruises in Alaska where I went on snorkeling expeditions, Iceland this past August, and a trip to Edinburgh and the Orkneys. My trip to the Taj Mahal with 3 colleagues was also memorable- even the drive from Delhi, starting in the dawn's early light, is part of the enchantment.
At some point when DH is no longer able to travel I want to go to India again and I want to see Australia and NZ. He's not the least bit interested in India, and the long trips for both would probably wear him out too much. Iceland worked out VERY well- only 5 hours from Boston. We're hoping to go again next year. As long as he's up for travel I want to spend the travel $$ on places we'll both enjoy.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Oct 15, 2015 16:24:45 GMT -5
Someone tell me about Iceland! I am trying to decide where to go next year.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Oct 15, 2015 16:30:43 GMT -5
Scotland/England/France and Germany - 4 weeks Turkey/Greece/Paris - 3 weeks Turkey - Istanbul, Cappadocia, Kas, Kucadasi - 3 weeks
I've been to Mexico 3x, Calgary, Canadian Rockies (this past summer). We go to Vancouver probably about once/mo.
In the US, we've made vacations of where ever I have had a research meeting. This includes San Diego/LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Miami/Key West, Orlando (Disney World 2x), Hawaii (included Kauai and Maui after this meeting in Honolulu).
I have a friend who owns a condo on Myrtle Beach, and we've been invited there several times. They've now bought a condo in FL and want us to visit them there too.
In December, we're going to France for 2+ weeks and doing Normandy and Paris (TD's never been).
July, we're going to South Africa and the Maldives for 3 weeks.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Oct 15, 2015 16:36:00 GMT -5
thyme4change, why do you not start to travel internationally with your kids now? They are not so little anymore and there are so many wonderful places to visit We went to Cancun last year, and we are talking about Europe in the next couple of years. The places I don't want to take them are places that are either risky, or so culturally different - especially food wise. My son can be a real butthead when it comes to trying new food, and he doesn't like many of the Asian flavors, and hates fish. Going to Thailand or something like that - just not worth the effort at this time. Maybe when the kids get a little bit older. But - taking them to London, Paris, Italy, Greece, etc, is totally on the list.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Oct 15, 2015 16:43:55 GMT -5
thyme, you can get any kind of food in Bangkok... We spent three days there after Nepal and Bhutan and were hungry for western food. We ate at an Irish pub two nights, a Sizzler steakhouse one night, and the Hard Rock Cafe one afternoon....
Now, outside Bangkok, I don't know....
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Oct 15, 2015 16:56:17 GMT -5
thyme, you can get any kind of food in Bangkok... We spent three days there after Nepal and Bhutan and were hungry for western food. We ate at an Irish pub two nights, a Sizzler steakhouse one night, and the Hard Rock Cafe one afternoon.... Now, outside Bangkok, I don't know.... I am sure you can in any large city around the world. But I don't want to travel around the world eating in McDonald's because my son is fussy. I will just wait until he is more flexible or until he is on his own and I can go without him.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Oct 15, 2015 16:59:59 GMT -5
Or let him go hungry... (just kidding)
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Oct 15, 2015 17:03:28 GMT -5
thyme, you can get any kind of food in Bangkok... We spent three days there after Nepal and Bhutan and were hungry for western food. We ate at an Irish pub two nights, a Sizzler steakhouse one night, and the Hard Rock Cafe one afternoon.... Now, outside Bangkok, I don't know.... LOL.... The ONLY time I have ever eaten from a US chain in my travels in Europe was when I got horribly sick one day from the meal I had picked up the day before. I was catching the night train to Germany, was starving and was afraid I'd be spending another night in the bathroom on the train......so I went to McDonald's. Otherwise, I avoid US chains like the plague...even in Turkey, where by the end of our trip I would have killed for an American breakfast of bacon and eggs!
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Oct 15, 2015 17:06:37 GMT -5
This may sound bizarre but I ate the BEST pizza in Ireland. We were tired of fish and chips (even though it was fabulous!) and I was craving pizza or pasta. We asked some of the locals where we should eat and 2-3 of them suggested this little family owned Italian restaurant. It has been over a year and I still think about this pizza from time to time
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Oct 15, 2015 17:08:16 GMT -5
This may sound bizarre but I ate the BEST pizza in Ireland. We were tired of fish and chips (even though it was fabulous!) and I was craving pizza or pasta. We asked some of the locals where we should eat and 2-3 of them suggested this little family owned Italian restaurant. It has been over a year and I still think about this pizza from time to time Hahaha. I had the best fries of my life in France!
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cael
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Post by cael on Oct 15, 2015 17:21:44 GMT -5
I needed a Dunks and a slice of pizza BAD when we got back from Ghana - the food was actually good and I did better (meaning wasn't as paranoid and picky) than I thought I would! It was quite different though, some days I ended up eating my peanut butter crackers for a meal. My favorite over there was the groundnut (peanut) soup with fufu (pounded sticky white yam), joloff rice, and something they called garden egg stew, which was basically small eggplants in a tomato stew. SO GOOD. Didn't see many chains there, but we weren't in the cities too much. Managed to not get sick, just a little traveler's upset stomach at the change in diet. El Salvador had American chains eeeeverywhere - the local food was super good, but you have to be VERY careful what you eat and from where or you'd get sick (happily I did not get sick). But the rice, beans, plantains, pupusas, meats - so good. In Greece we actually never had a point where we wanted American food or a chain restaurant. The family on Crete one night wanted to take us out for pizza and we were like nooooooo... we can get pizza at home! I wasn't as concerned with food there as I was in Ghana for obvious reasons, and none of us got sick even after eating crazy Uncle Niko's meatballs that had been sitting out for 6 hours Greek food is aaaaaamazing and I'm sure a picky eater could find something, even a simple salad or pastry or pasta, they could eat somewhere. Dammit, I'm so hungry now!!!!
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dannylion
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Post by dannylion on Oct 15, 2015 17:25:27 GMT -5
This may sound bizarre but I ate the BEST pizza in Ireland. We were tired of fish and chips (even though it was fabulous!) and I was craving pizza or pasta. We asked some of the locals where we should eat and 2-3 of them suggested this little family owned Italian restaurant. It has been over a year and I still think about this pizza from time to time Hahaha. I had the best fries of my life in France! I had my favorite pizza in Germany and the best fries of my life in Switzerland. Now I want pizza. And fries.
I have lost the will to travel. I had my fill of travel while I was working. I had the opportunity to visit many, um, interesting places. I was just happy if I got to go someplace where no one was trying to shoot me or blow me up.
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plugginaway22
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Post by plugginaway22 on Oct 15, 2015 17:33:40 GMT -5
Traveling is my passion. DH has willingly gone along and has gotten the bug more as we age.
US-- The only state east of the Mississippi I have not been to is Maine! We love the West; CO, UT, MT, WY, AZ, NV (our National parks are SO amazing!) Grand Canyon Yellowstone Rocky Mtn Natl Park Grand Teton Natl Park Mountains of Utah Red Rocks of AZ New Mexico Texas Hawaii Florida--lots of trips NC/SC beaches Bermuda Bahamas Puerto Rico Canada Mexico France Italy Switzerland Greece
Now our 3 kids have the bug and are taking their own amazing trips! We also live pretty frugally to allow for our adventures.
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cael
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Post by cael on Oct 15, 2015 17:44:04 GMT -5
pluggin - plan a trip to Acadia NP to get your Maine checked off, absolutely gorgeous up there!
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Oct 15, 2015 17:48:55 GMT -5
Travel isn't a priority for us right now. We do weekend trips here and there. The biggest trip was a few years back. Disney cruise/park combo. DH will probably tell you about the time he got to go to France and England. So did I, but I was working so didn't have much free time.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Oct 15, 2015 17:52:08 GMT -5
DS and DIL with their 20 month old boy (the best grandson ever   have just returned from Hungary where they trekked around for a couple of weeks, going where their whims took them. They had a great time and I loved seeing the pictures which were just a 30 year newer version of the pictures I have at home. They dragged the kid everywhere and also visited each and every playground they passed Travelling with kids is easy. In iffy places food-wise you just have to be a little more careful (like only bottled water from a still sealed bottle, maybe no food from food stalls along the road, etc.)
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Oct 15, 2015 19:03:40 GMT -5
This may sound bizarre but I ate the BEST pizza in Ireland. We were tired of fish and chips (even though it was fabulous!) and I was craving pizza or pasta. We asked some of the locals where we should eat and 2-3 of them suggested this little family owned Italian restaurant. It has been over a year and I still think about this pizza from time to time Hahaha. I had the best fries of my life in France! I liked the garlic hot dog stuffed into a baguette at a tollway service plaza north of Beaune.
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