Best Of
Re: Welcome to Tauck’s Canada Capital Cities Travel Forum
Yes, resort casual is confusing. If I was on a Caribbean tour my version would be completely different from my European version.
We don't usually bother with jeans because of the weight and thickness if it's hot. We are leaving for the Canadian Maritimes tour next month and for that I will bring a pair of jeans. It's likely cooler, more casual and mid tour there is a hotel with laundry facilities if we need them. I'll be doing lots of layering - thin base layer tops that can be sink washed if needed, 1-2 fleece or cardigans, and a roomy rain jacket.
As to the suitcases, I have on several Tauck land tours had my 24/25" checked bag, a 2 wheeled under seat carryon and a small personal item. I carry the under seat bag down to the bus on transfer days and retrieve it at the next hotel. The under seat bag is big enough for backup clothing and all essentials like meds, 311 toiletry bag, charging cables, etc.
Keep in mind with packing - however big your bag is you'll fill it. I would never bring both a 24" checked bag and the largest allowed airline carryon bag plus personal item. Way more stuff than I ever need for any tour up to two weeks. Plus it's more that I have to manage on my own.
Most people who overpack take too many different outfits, pack too many heavy/thick clothing items and too many "just in case" items. Packing light takes some study and effort to figure out what you really need. I learn lessons each trip and have definitely gotten better over time.
Pink flamingoes
I thought some of you regulars may find this funny and a change from suitcases and sports jackets.
While we were away on our recent trip, our daughter contacted us to ask if we would like her to check our house out because of all the recent storms, so we said Ok. We have never asked our children to do this, but still never thought it odd.
We arrived home early Monday morning and soon I went upstairs and decided to clean my eyeglasses with the spray cleaner and cloth I keep in a little dish on my nightstand. To my surprise, there was a tiny pink plastic flamingo sitting there. I asked my husband if he had put it there, but then another caught my eye and I suspected a plot was afoot and my suspicion went straight to my daughter. We have a joke about flamingoes in our family because, weirdly, my son in law loves flamingoes and on our recent trip to Tanzania, I had promised he would see hundreds of them on the lake in Arusha National park like we had seen at that time of year on our first visit… but there were none. The guide said they were away breeding Fortunately, we did see some at the lake in the Ngorongoro. I called my daughter and she told me we had another 88 to find scattered throughout the house! Apparently, a few months ago, she had seen something on YouTube or equivalent where someone had posted about putting plastic animals all over. She and my son had been trying to figure out how to catch me out all that time and especially when she found she could buy 100 flamingoes online. She said it might take me months to find them all but also said it was a good way to get over my jet lag. It is certainly working. Since then I’ve managed to find 80 and they are pretty impressed with my total. I'm know for always dusting and cleaning so I guess that has helped and boy have we been laughing all the time! I have a feeling this might become a recurring occurrence 😂😂😂

Re: Welcome to Tauck’s Canada Capital Cities Travel Forum
I wish someone would define Resort Casual

Re: Destination London
We missed that play but saw him in Jerusalem and La Bete.Yes, also looking forward to Wolf Hall especially as we were just at Hampton Court Palace 😀

Re: Canadien Capitals and Niagara Falls 2024
Really appreciate everyone's comments! Looking forward to seeing more posts when people return!
Re: Leisure dinner
You're quite welcome. I'm not sure when your trip is but please consider reporting back with your thoughts. It's always nice to compare notes.

Re: Welcome to Tauck's La Belle Vie: The Rhône, Geneva & the Riviera Forum
I like that this tour is a fortnight. The itinerary from Lyon to Arles seems to mirror that of Savoring France, but I wouldn't mind returning to Provence at all. The region north of Lyon seems intriguing. I could do without Monoco, but I'm sure the hotel there would be nice, but perhaps a bit too ostentatious for my taste. I love ending in Geneva, however.

Re: Private Message
You can click on a person’s name, their specifics will come up. You will see the word ‘Message’ click on that and you can send a message privately to that person. Unless they have blocked everything about themselves as some people do.
If you have received a message, it will appear by the envelope in the right of this page as stated, in red. It’s easy to click the wrong area, so be accurate when hovering over the envelope.

Re: Laundry options during Best of Ireland trip
Most of the hotels are likely to have laundry services at a steep price. If you look on their websites they will usually list what amenities they offer. For example, under the FAQs for Ashford Castle they say that they offer laundry services.
Many are at resorts away from town centers. However, the Old Ground in Ennis where you stay one night is in an urban area. You might use Google maps to locate a laundromat within walking distance of the hotel.
Re: 2024 Wildfires
We are not scheduled to go on our tour until mid-September but we are also considering cancelling. This is a once in a lifetime trip for us and we hate for it to not be all that we expected or hoped for, and Jasper was at the top of our bucket list. I'm keeping an eye on the clean-up and hoping to see our updated itinerary to include some locations not originally considered, and ultimately a plus. Taking it day by day right now. Praying for those impacted by the fires in the meantime.