Travelers' Intercom
Kudos for Cranky Concierge
This story began just before the coronavirus pandemic was recognized and travel was shut down, and it ended in April 2021.
Advantageous exchange rate
In October 2019, I booked back-to-back, 8-day tours in Italy with the British company Travelsphere (Unit P, Welland Industrial Estate, Valley Way, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 7PS, U.K.; phone +44 1858 415 128, www.travelsphere.co.uk).
The app Maps.me
Years ago, I visited Ávila, Spain, which has a beautiful, well-preserved wall surrounding the entire city. Before I left my hotel in Madrid, I took a screen shot of the bus schedule going there and returning. I also calculated the time I needed to allow for getting back to Madrid an hour or two before sunset.
Hotel preferences
Everyone has their own travel preferences. I travel alone and prefer to mingle with the locals, not setting myself apart. I don’t want to stay in a 5-star hotel and be treated like royalty. I’d rather have people think I work in a hotel than that I’m a guest.
World Expo fan
My first World Expo exposure was Expo 67 in Montreal, Québec, but I became an inveterate fan after attending HemisFair ’68 in San Antonio, Texas, and Expo ’70 in Osaka, Japan.
Museums of Winnipeg
A 2017 road trip from Calgary to Ottawa was part of our personal celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary. A highlight of that trip was Winnipeg, Manitoba.
A surprising stopover in Palau
Flying from Manila, Philippines, while on an around-the-world trip, my wife, Barbara, and I arrived at the airport in Babeldaob, Palau, at about 3 a.m. in late February 2019.
2021 visit to Yucatán, Mexico
Having traveled each winter for 45 years, I had limited options for foreign travel in winter 2020-2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel within Mexico was possible, so I decided to visit the Yucatán Peninsula.