Even in this period of pandemic and travel restrictions, I’m happy to keep sharing travelers’ contributions (with my own comments added, where appropriate) in this series on On-the-Road Travel Tips. So please continue to send in wise, creative or unusual tips on anything that makes your travel experience work better for you while actually traveling. (Write no more than 125 words per submission; see the end of this column for where to write to.)

Mel Rabinowitz...

Although we've had to postpone trips to Europe due to the pandemic, I believe a weekly dose of travel dreaming can be good medicine. Here's one of my favorite European activities – a tasty reminder of what's waiting for you at the other end of this crisis.

As a budget traveler, there's no better experience than a picnic sourced from a local market and then eaten outdoors with a lively square, peaceful park, or rejuvenated harborfront as a backdrop. Picnicking...

When I took my first solo trip to Europe in 1973, I must have kept my parents on the edge of their seats.

The day after my high school graduation, I headed to the airport accompanied only by a good friend, a rucksack and a youthful sense of adventure. Throughout the months-long trip, the only way of communicating with my folks back home was through postcards, since paying for international calls was beyond my Europe-through-the-gutter budget. Still, I managed to send a postcard...