Still in Stuttgart, it is warm here. Next week should cool down.
Did find out that T mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom. texting and data was free. However, data was only 3G. Phone calls are .20/min if not over wifi.
My T-Mobile phone worked well in Iceland and Denmark, calls from the US came through just like at home. Have yet to notice any extra cost in our bill.
We went to Italy in October. The weather was pretty good. It was a last minute trip. The Ellebuds aren’t averse to last minute trips. We called the kids and off we went…six of us!
We stayed at the Una hotel in Milan. Not expensive (200 per night per room). Including breakfast. We went to Lake Como and went to Bellagio on the last day it was open.
Well, it looks like I may have to postpone my trip to Italy until winter or spring. My husband is having surgery on Thursday for a hernia. It’s supposed to be a laparoscopy but they may have to do a traditional incision, because this is his second hernia surgery, and will be his 4th abdominal surgery! If there is too much scar tissue, they will have to do it traditionally, :(.
So I’m waiting until after his surgery on Thursday to make any changes to our trip or not.
I’m thinking February or April, and I’m also thinking that April may be more pleasant.
We had also made a hotel res for Sorrento for 5 nights so we could se the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii, and it may be better weather in April anyway. We’ll see.
Bee, wishing your hubby a speedy recovery!
Just back from my first trip to London, which was everything I dreamed it would be (for decades) and more. It was a good workout for an old lady. The next time I go, I’m going to invest in some ultra high-end walking shoes because walking on concrete for hours isn’t the same as walking on a more forgiving surface. We thought we were in pretty decent shape (my d has run 5 marathons this year), so why did our feet KILL every night?
We visited most of the historic sites and museums on our must-do list but quickly realized we could never do everything. So glad we included the Museum of London - it was one of the very best museums I’ve ever seen. Great theatre, including Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart in “No Man’s Land.” Not what you’d call an enjoyable play, but it was a thrill to see two great actors on stage. McKellan had the better role and he was just a marvel with it.
Also, so many people smoking on the street. SO MANY. That was really the only thing I found off-putting. I’d go again in a minute. What an amazing city.
I just got back from a long weekend in Iceland (landed Saturday morning, left Tuesday afternoon).
Aside from having zero problems, Iceland is FANTASTIC. If you like to enjoy nature on your travels, do yourself a favor and put Iceland on your travel list. It is one of the best places I have ever been (alongside the Berner Oberland in Switzerland). Waterfalls, volcanoes, glaciers, beaches (not warm… lol), hot springs, geysers… the list is endless (Northern Lights!!!). The people are nice, they all speak English, and the tourist signage is top notch. The only downside is that restaurants are ridiculously expensive.
And, the round trip ticket from DC was only $350 on WOW airlines.
I don’t go to most places a second time, but I will return to Iceland.
@soccerguy315 I could google it but do you know the best time of year for northern light viewing?
doschicos, The answer is not so straightforward:
http://www.northernlightsiceland.com/the-best-time-to-see-the-northern-lights-in-iceland-2/
Well, you need to have darkness. In the summer you have almost no darkness, so that’s not the optimum time to go.
I’ve got an 8 hour layover at Heathrow next Saturday, arriving 1pm and departing 9pm. Any ideas on what to do to pass time? Is it worth it to go into London?
It’s about 30 minutes by train into Paddington Station from Heathrow. It’s certainly doable, and gives you enough time to do some major sites and grab a meal before heading back.
Just returned from France (a week in a villa with a big group of awesome people near Nice) and Croatia. France was of course wonderful. Explored some hill towns (Eze-- wow) and enjoyed Nice. And Croatia!! What a revelation! Cool walled cities, clean, nice people, amazing history. Dubrovnik (with a really fun private Game of Thrones walking tour), Hvar (a port city of fun filled with young people from all over the world), Split (amazing historical site). It was great.
I have a friend currently in Hvar on a cycling trip. So picturesque!
Just came back (again) from Frankfurt, London and Oxford. The weather in London/Oxford from Friday to Wednesday was great. A bit rainy on Thursday AM.
My niece just moved to Madrid this summer to teach English. My brother, who has never been anywhere out of the U.S. except to the eastern part of Canada, went with her to get her settled. I am so happy for him and can’t wait to hear all about it!
@doschicos - I’ve heard that the best time for northern lights in Iceland is March and September.
Is Hvar the island where they grow all the lavender? I’d love to go to Croatia.
Saw this online today:
“On Wednesday evening, the city of Reykjavik, Iceland, turned off street lights and encouraged people to darken their homes so that everyone could watch the northern lights.”
Yes, @greenwitch. Though many have abandoned their lavender fields to work in the populated areas to make a living from tourism. We took a cool eco walking tour with a Hvar native who walked us through an abandoned village (used to have 400 inhabitants, now 6). Eerie and beautiful. The former villagers left their lavender and olive trees to work in the city of Hvar. Sad and haunting. We talked to a really old lady who was cleaning the church courtyard. She’s one of the six who stayed.
@doschicos it is kind of tricky… summer is out, because Iceland has a midnight sun, so it never gets dark. In general, it is most active in winter, but you also have to avoid the clouds. In general, the longer you stay, the more likely you are to get good weather. I do believe that March/April and September/October are the best chances to see it.
I went to Alaska last year and scheduled in Fairbanks with the hope of getting a chance to see the northern lights, but it was cloudy the entire time. That was disappointing.
I also just bought a ticket for next May… going to Scandinavia! Never been. Ticket is round trip DC to Stockholm ($480), and will definitely hit Norway. Likely Finland and a day trip to Estonia also.
I would also love to go to Croatia… haven’t been to that part of Europe yet either. There are so many cool places to visit!