I worked as a teacher a few years ago, and I loved it. Kids in that age can be demanding, but they also give me a lot of energy.
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I worked as a teacher a few years ago, and I loved it. Kids in that age can be demanding, but they also give me a lot of energy.
lobeyonekenobi
macrumors regular
It's a 15 day cruise, starts and ends in Barcelona. Usually there is one full day in port, sometimes 2 days that includes city tours or optional ($) excursions. All of the stops are in the E.U. so there is no customs, although usually a security check, metal detector is required to return to the ship. There is plenty of time to explore town depending on what you want to see. Take the tour or explore on your own via bus/taxi. We've also done the 15 day Amsterdam to Budapest which was outstanding, a small boat with about 150 passengers. Nothing beats cruising down the river. 🙂
However, I don't recommend a cruise if you have a location in mind you want to explore in depth. A good example would be Italy, the Tuscany region. You can easily spend a week there, renting a car, and exploring the country side which you just can't do with a cruise.
This cruise, stops one day at Piza, 2 days in Rome, and 1 day in Naples, so that's a good taste of Italy, but IMO not as good as renting a car and heading inland. We love Tuscany and on that dedicated trip based in Florence, we visited Pompei (Naples), Pisa, Florence and some outstanding art museums, Sienna, small walled towns, and even ventured into the Southern Italian Alps.
How did we do Pompei on our Tuscany trip you ask? 😉 We flew into and departed from Rome and spent first night by airport outside of Rome. First day felt rested enough to drive to Naples about 2 hrs away to spend the day at Pompei. Drove back that night, then next day drove to Florence.
The 15 day cruises are long, but usually are 2 for 1 so that's about $4500 a person, 2 weeks all inclusive including excellent food, wine and beer included, but airfare is extra. That beaks down to $1200 a person for food, lodging, and transportation (in Europe) per week. Viking offered excellent coach airfare deals ($650 a person), but I've seen fares as low as $350 round trip to Italy from the States. However for Premium economy, you could save money by booking the airfare yourself. And I'll admit, 2 weeks is on the long side. Viking offers shorter trips.
Where do you live? I've always dreamed about living in the Appalachian/Blue Ridge Mountains. 🙂
filmbufs
macrumors 6502
Thanks for the reply, @Huntn. It's an intriguing idea and one day we might do that. We tend to explore on our own, usually by car, or stay in a location for a few days before moving on. But a cruise might be a great alternative, especially considering food, lodgings and most of the transportation is included. 15 days is long but the last few go by really, really quickly. 🙂
lowendlinux
macrumors 603
Cruises are nice it's been a lot of years now since I've been on one but it was memorable
filmbufs
macrumors 6502
That picture of Alaska looks beautiful. So many people I know suggest taking a cruise through Alaska but Europe keeps enticing me to come back.
lowendlinux
macrumors 603
Monaco today, one expensive cool place, a slew of super-yaughts, including a 269' (82m) behemoth called Graceful, we watched pull out, the design reportedly built for Putin. I don't belong there, but it was fun. 😉
Maybe I'll get some of my own pics posted before the end of the trip. 😛
Maybe I'll get some of my own pics posted before the end of the trip. 😛
lobeyonekenobi
macrumors regular
In this country if you don't headbutt a shark once in your life you're not a maaaan!! 😱
LizKat
macrumors 604
I’m up in Delaware County (NY) in the northwestern part of the Catskill Mountains, which are part of the dissected plateau in New York, northwest of this state’s part of the Great Appalachian Valley. The county is a major watershed area, containing the headwaters for both the east and west branches of the Delaware River as well as the northern branch of the Susquehanna River. We're about 160 miles northwest of NYC.
The terrain is only partly glaciated in these foothills of the Catskills proper, so it can be very rugged. The beautiful valleys tend to be fairly narrow, and horizons often shrink to a half-mile or less in any direction. Hill peaks run from 1300-3000 feet (say 400-900 meters) above sea level.
Everywhere here there’s water running nearby. Seems like half the roads are named after the creeks or brooks and the rest are named for the hills they traverse. As the area provides the drinking water for New York City, the land as well as waterways and wetlands are subject to strict environmental controls to protect city reservoirs. A lot of the little creeks look inconsequential but may flood suddenly in spring or after heavy rains. In the big picture it’s all downhill from here to the ocean, so that water is on a mission. The Army Corps of Engineers has helped repair damaged embankments from the terrible floods in 2006 and 2011.
The area is noted for trout fishing opportunities and is also favored by deer hunters because of plentiful forests, including those in state parks. Next county over, on every Memorial Day weekend, the General Clinton Canoe Regatta takes place on the Susquehanna; usually around 1500 people from all over the country show up for that event. Bring warm clothes, sometimes it's cold here well into June!
AlliFlowers
macrumors 601
That's what we did last summer, and it was terrific. If you take an Alaska cruise, make sure you get a balcony room so that you can really see the glaciers.
Here is a couple of pics, uploads are slow and laborious 😉:
Monte Carlo
Corsica Cathedral
T Coma
macrumors 6502a
Mama is running an ultra marathon in Taiwan in a couple weeks, so we're making a vacation out of it and taking the kids there for Christmas and New Year's.
02.0 hours: pre flight wait at ORD
04.5 hours: ORD -> SFO
02.0 hours: layover @ SFO
14.0 hours: SFO -> TPE
01.5 hours: customs + ride to destination
--------
24 hours door to door, assuming no delays. And that's with a 6 and 8 year old.
My parenting abilities will be tested.
02.0 hours: pre flight wait at ORD
04.5 hours: ORD -> SFO
02.0 hours: layover @ SFO
14.0 hours: SFO -> TPE
01.5 hours: customs + ride to destination
--------
24 hours door to door, assuming no delays. And that's with a 6 and 8 year old.
My parenting abilities will be tested.
AlliFlowers
macrumors 601
What city? I lived in Taichung back in the early 70's and loved it.
You will have a great time!
You will have a great time!
T Coma
macrumors 6502a
New Taipei City, Bitan area. Looking forward to that tasty street side é gān with Tiger Beer, and of course chòu dòufu!
Obviously, I'm not running the marathon. 😉
AlliFlowers
macrumors 601
Hard (for me) to believe this:
Is next to this in central downtown Rome.
One of the seven hills? The archaeology area is much more extensive than I imagined.
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LizKat
macrumors 604
Those are great wonderful photos!
Certain still photos --and the cinematography of assorted movies-- have sometimes made me want to go check a place out for myself. Usually they're totally impractical ideas, considering my dislike of travel and my budget:
1) a photo of some goats wandering around someplace wildly scenic in Sardinia.
2) I loved the opening of The English Patient, flying over the dunes, and god knows where they were when filming it, they probably needed GPS and backup GPS to find their jeeps after doing the takes.
3) a photo of the Jal Mahal palace through early morning mist
4) photo of workers bicycling on an over-water road, elevated on high wooden pilings, someplace near Mandalay.
And etc. etc. So I stash this stuff on a laptop and in desktop photos and wander up into the back meadow (in summer) if I'm looking for an actual change of scenery. Works for me just to see something like a mama skunk and her many babies on the day she decides it's time to move them down to the creek across the way. You have not lived if you haven't seen a proud mama skunk and all her progeny making a black and white wave through a meadow. Of course they have the right of way... I've seen cars halt in front of a line of little skunks!
Certain still photos --and the cinematography of assorted movies-- have sometimes made me want to go check a place out for myself. Usually they're totally impractical ideas, considering my dislike of travel and my budget:
1) a photo of some goats wandering around someplace wildly scenic in Sardinia.
2) I loved the opening of The English Patient, flying over the dunes, and god knows where they were when filming it, they probably needed GPS and backup GPS to find their jeeps after doing the takes.
3) a photo of the Jal Mahal palace through early morning mist
4) photo of workers bicycling on an over-water road, elevated on high wooden pilings, someplace near Mandalay.
And etc. etc. So I stash this stuff on a laptop and in desktop photos and wander up into the back meadow (in summer) if I'm looking for an actual change of scenery. Works for me just to see something like a mama skunk and her many babies on the day she decides it's time to move them down to the creek across the way. You have not lived if you haven't seen a proud mama skunk and all her progeny making a black and white wave through a meadow. Of course they have the right of way... I've seen cars halt in front of a line of little skunks!
Of interest, and I all ready knew this, but the guide mentioned and confirmed the best time of the year to visit (Rome) and most big cities in Europe to avoid crowds is during the Winter. Temps have been in the 60s (F). Still the place was pretty busy and I had to work hard not to capture people in my pics. 😀 We went to Paris one year in Jan, and temps were in the 40s. At the time we lived in Minnesota so this was a win win, relative balmy temps (for us) and we had Paris to ourselves. 😉
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filmbufs
macrumors 6502
I've been toying with the idea of visiting Paris and Italy in November so it's nice to hear your take on this. I would go in with the attitude the weather will become ambiance rather than something to regret. We typically go in the Spring and have thus far been lucky with fewer crowds than the peak seasons.