Best Of
Re: Vaccinations
I will continue to follow the advice of my primary care physicians whom I have been with for decades and trust implicitly, not 'experts' herein. I and my specialists control my health decisions. This is merely my opinion.
Re: “Impressions From The Seine” Trip Review April 8 – 17, 2024 (Part 3)
Dinamo: Here are a couple of images I took. These were at Pointe du Hock, bunkers, one with view looking towards water, one with closeup of bullet holes, a couple of images at cemetary.
Re: Petra to Pyramids April 7-19, 2024
You got one of the best in Rikkus. We were privileged to have him as our tour guide in Botswana, Zambia and South Africa in 2022. And then "arranged" a meeting with him again in Abu Simbel on the Egypt 2023 trip when he was leading a different group. Top notch tour leader and a credit to Tauck If you get a "Rikkus tour" you are just about to experience the Best.
Re: 28 Aug - Classic Tour review
kfnknfzk - I was on this tour w/Claudia. On Day 10 w/the guided walking tour, at the end of the city walk, anyone who wanted to see the Lion Monument continued on w/the guide. Only 6 of us went to see it.
Re: Duffel bags for K&T
mil, thanks again. I should have clarified, and apologies for misleading everyone. The comment about the tripod is for the Zanzibar portion of the trip. I have heard about the fast pace of the jeep portion of the safari, but I wanted to get some unique shots of Stone Town at night, necessitating a tripod. If any of you have words of wisdom on my plan, please feel free to let me know as I have never done one of these before. To be clear, I never intended to use the tripod on the "Safari" portion of the trip, just stone town...and maybe in camp??? Or should I give up on the idea of a tripod altogether? It wouldn't break my heart to ditch it, it's a pain lugging it around all over the world. One last point. I don't have anything greater than a 70-300 lens...thoughts? Should I rent a larger lens, or stay with what I have? I appreciate all the pearls of wisdom.
Re: Regular Sneakers or waterproof trail runners needed for Switzerland Crown Jewel Tour
The nice thing with the tour is there's very little need for dressy clothes so you can focus on the weather. I was surprised how warm it was at the Italian end. Wished I'd brought some shorts at least for sitting outside on our balcony ( everyone had balcony rooms overlooking the lake in Lugano).
Re: Regular Sneakers or waterproof trail runners needed for Switzerland Crown Jewel Tour
It is cold. A packable mid-length puffer jacket, gloves, warm hat to cover my ears, warm socks were fine for me. Those packable puffers swish into nothing. You’re not going to need these warmer clothes anywhere else. The views were spectacular. .
Re: “Impressions From The Seine” Trip Review April 8 – 17, 2024 (Part 3)
@travel maven That's a great picture of the crosses at the American Cemetery.
The memorial that you have a picture of honors the 1st Division, 2nd Division (landed on June 7th), and the 29th Division which landed on this beach. But it must have been paid for by veterans of the 1st Division because 1st Division definitely got first billing on the monument
Several of us on the tour were veterans, and the guide kept using the term "casualty". In military terms, casualty has a very specific definition. Casualties are those who are missing from roll call. That includes killed in action, wounded in action, sick, missing, captured, deserted, anything that would remove a person from the fight. It was unclear if the guide was using the term correctly or to mean “killed in action”. Our attempts to get her to clarify were unsuccessful. Maybe she didn’t know.
Re: Duffel bags for K&T
Hulka
10:01AM
. . . .I have been considering reducing the camera backpack that I usually carry at home to just two lenses, the body and a tripod (never leave home without a tripod), maybe 7-10lbs total.
Hulka, you might want to reconsider your decision to take a tripod, unless it is mini-pod or mono-pod. You will be in a safari vehicle on a game drive most of the time you want to take photos. There is no place- no space and no time, to set up a tripod in a safari vehicle. You almost never get out of the vehicle on a game drive- exception, to check the spare tire. Also, remember, that you may be in very dusty conditions, bouncing along on bumpy heavily rutted dirt 'roads' where it can be very dangerous to change lenses. If you are a DSLR or mirror-less camera user, a good camera body with one good zoom (e.g. 24 - 300) lens is all you need.
Re: Scandinavia in Spring Packing List
It should go without saying that with the effects of climate change, fluctuations will occur. We have already seen glaciers retreating in areas above the arctic circle, as well as colder than normal winter temperatures in the far north. Nonetheless, you will experience clean, safe cities and breathtakingly beautiful vistas. Enjoy!