Sunday Stealing on Travel

I'm joining up with Bev and the other thieves for Sunday Stealing!

1. Have you traveled abroad? Where have you been? If you haven't been overseas, which country would you most like to visit? I’ve been to Israel 4 times, including some time each trip in Palestine. We’ve been to Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Italy. Before 2016, I had only been to the islands - St. Thomas, St. John, St. Maarten/St. Martin, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas. We plan to visit Greece, Egypt, and Turkey in October. I want to go to Iceland. We both want to go to Norway/Sweden/Denmark. We both want to go to Scotland and I would like to pair that with England.

2. Where did you go on your last trip? Talk about where you went and what you did. Our last trip in the US was to the beach last October. Our last trip out of the country was to Israel in February 2023. We travel with Educational Opportunities so our trips are well planned. This last trip to Israel included things we had never done before and it was a very active trip. It was amazing.

We've been so blessed to travel with lots of

friends

This was a very adventurous day. We wouldn't
be able to do this now (this was in February 2023)
due to the fighting

This underground tunnel was so cool

3. What is the best place for a vacation in your country? Why is it good? The gulf coast is unbeatable – especially the beaches in Alabama and on the Florida panhandle. Interstate 65 goes straight through Alabama and evidently a large number of people from the rest of the country agree about our beaches because our interstate is bumper to bumper every weekend.

family beach trip october 2023

our son and granddaughter

fishing pier (the pier is why we
stay at this place)

4. What is the longest time you have been away from home? Did you feel homesick? When we went to Italy/Austria/Germany/back to Austria we were gone a full two weeks. We were ready to come home. I don’t seem to get homesick if Mark is with me. When I am by myself, I feel homesick even if I’m away a couple of nights. I still go and do fun things but I actually feel homesick.

5. How long should a vacation be? How long does it take you to really relax? It usually takes me several days to truly relax. Though I do remember when I have been away on a simple overnight trip where there was no internet and no TV (a friend’s farm) and I actually felt renewed and refreshed after such a short trip. I think I need at least 5-7 days for a real vacation, though it could be shorter or longer.

6. What forms of transportation do you prefer to use when you travel? If it is a long distance, I prefer to fly even though I really don’t like flying. I get carsick so if we are going a long way, I need to drive and I have been known to make myself carsick even when driving!! Our October trip is on a boat - the Azamara and I’m excited!

7. How do you choose where to go? Are you inspired by other people's travel stories? Or photos? Or advertising? We decided to go to Ireland on a whim – we still had to wear masks in Ireland in October 2021. They were mandatory and it was enforced. I literally reached out to our travel person and asked if anyone had a trip planned for Ireland and if so, could they take two more people. The answer was yes and we paid for the trip and met up with the group in the Philadelphia airport. We made some really nice new friends that week! I am inspired by other travel stories and photos.

8. What's more important to you when you travel - comfort and relaxation, or stimulating new experiences? May I have some of both, please? I love a good hotel and good food and bathrooms but I love to experience something brand new, too!

9. Do you like to try local foods when you go somewhere? Have you ever had something really delicious? The hummus in Israel is wonderful. The dates are wonderful in Jordan. The pesto pasta we had in Italy was delicious and I don’t even really like pesto! Mark LOVED the beer in Germany.

In Italy, we learned to love Limoncello

We ate at a cute sandwich shop
on our very first afternoon in Rome

This is the pesto pasta and it was so good

We drank from the springs and fountains
and faucets all over Italy. Our tour
guide told us to fill us and we did.
It was SOOO HOT outside.

I love seeing what kinds of snacks
are available in other countries.

Pizza in Italy

Pesto Pasta again

Weiner Schnitzel in either Germany or Austria

Appetizer soup -- I think it was squash
or pumpkin with cream

Mark was a happy man

I went to the local grocery store
several times while in Austria.
We had a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich on a fresh pretzel
roll. It was quite yummy! The store
reminded me of our Aldi.

I think this was in Jericho -- a local green
beverage which was tasty and all sorts of 
pickled veggies - they call them all salads

Food somewhere in Israel

Food at the David Citadel in Jerusalem

Bread cart in the Old City of Jerusalem

Dinner at the David Citadel

I think this was in Germany or Austria

10. Things can go wrong when you travel. Have you had any bad travel experiences? My husband’s family has a Winnebago story that was told at his mom’s funeral last week. Over the years I’ve heard that story so many times I feel like I was there. We had someone get sick in Israel and they received excellent care in the local hospital. During the 2023 Israel trip, some of our group had Covid and they had to stay quarantined in their room for several days. One lady was really sick. Mark and I tested positive the first morning we were home.

11. Do you take a lot with you when you travel? Or do you try to pack light? I try to pack light but it never works! I need options.

12. Which places in the world do you think are too dangerous to visit? Why are they dangerous? I actually just googled this question. Afghanistan is on the list of “do not go” as is Ukraine. The list of Extreme Risk countries is larger than I thought it would be. There are parts of Mexico and South America that I personally would be afraid to visit. There are cities in the U.S. where I might not be as comfortable visiting either.

13. What is the best age to travel? Can children appreciate the experience? I wish we had begun our international travels at a younger age but we plan to travel as long as we can. I do think children can appreciate the experience. I’m not sure we had enough money for all four of us to have traveled internationally when our kids were growing up. I guess we could have made it a priority and saved in other ways. We were intent on saving so that our kids could go to college debt free. I think every family is different!

14. What are the advantages and disadvantages of traveling alone? The advantage would be that you could do what you wanted, and you wouldn’t have to take into account anyone else’s desires. The disadvantage would be loneliness – no one with whom to share the experience. Another advantage is the telling of stories for years to come. If there is more than one person, more details are remembered and possibly more laughter.

15. What kind of accommodation do you like to stay in when you travel? I mentioned this earlier. I like a nice hotel room. When our house was being rebuilt and our daughter and her family were in the middle of a move and staying with her in-laws, we went to visit them. We stayed at a hotel in Wetumpka, AL and the carpet had that damp feel. I don’t like that! For 16 days immediately following the fire, we stayed at the Embassy Suites near our house. It is not a five star hotel by any means but it was clean and the people were very kind. My favorite hotel so far is the David Citadel in Jerusalem. We did stay in a place in Ireland that felt like we were in a murder mystery. The hallways and rooms just  had this cool vibe (not scary).

16. Do you like to talk to the local people when you travel? Why or why not? I like to talk to folks but have found that folks in some places are friendlier than others.

17. Would you like to go to a big international event, such as the Olympics or an international film festival? What would be good or bad about attending such an event? I think it would be cool to go to the Olympics, but I imagine the crime goes up and the crowds are probably terrible. I’m assuming it was the Olympics in 1984 . . .they were held in Los Angeles. I worked for AT&T at the time and my boss went to several events. AT&T was evidently a sponsor?? (can’t really remember) Somewhere in one of my drawers, I have several Olympic pins that he brought back to me. I haven't been to the Olympics but we did see the former Olympic site in Innsbruck.

We saw the Olympic site in Innsbruck

The Olympic site through the bus window