I was blissfully ignorant of what my travel future held for me when I boarded a plane in Memphis, Tennessee, on Feb. 15, 2020, headed (via Toronto and Frankfurt) to Tunis, Tunisia.
My plan was to spend six days in each of two North African countries, Tunisia and Algeria.
Years ago, a colleague in an Italian-language class highly recommended travel in the south of Italy. I finally made the trip, Jan. 1-8, 2020, because I’d found a $2,700 round-trip business-class flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt to Bari in Puglia (Apulia), in Italy’s southeast.
The flight was pleasant, especially the leg from Frankfurt, Germany, when the skies cleared and we had gorgeous views of the snow-covered Alps and numerous Croatian islands surrounded by a bright blue Adriatic. Even crew members were snapping photos like mad.
A month before my 83rd birthday, I left for a 3-week solo trip in Europe. It began with a 2-week river cruise out of Budapest (Aug. 8-22, 2019) and ended with a week’s stay in Amsterdam, the terminus of the cruise.
The cruise, “Grand European Tour,” was with Viking River Cruises (Woodland Hills, CA; 855/338-4546, vikingcruises.com).
Solo traveler Edna R.S. Alvarez of Los Angeles, California, described showing up ahead of time at the assigned-seating dining room on an ocean cruise, requesting to be seated at a table with other travelers and being disappointed to end up by herself at a corner table.
Solo traveler Edna R.S. Alvarez of Los Angeles, California, described showing up ahead of time at the assigned-seating dining room on an ocean cruise, requesting to be seated at a table with other travelers and being disappointed to end up by herself at a corner table.
After a visit to Egypt some years ago, I developed a particular interest in the tombs of the pharaohs and their queens.
If you are a single traveler who enjoys cruising, we're still soliciting responses to this information request from Edna R.S. Alvarez of Los Angeles, who would like "solo travelers to each share the experiences they've had in a ship's assigned-seating environment at mealtimes."
Edna R.S. Alvarez of Los Angeles, California, wrote, "I travel extensively as a solo and have done so for over 50 years. I enjoy it a great deal. Many friends had encouraged me to take a cruise, but, as a solo, I resisted because of the issue of closed (assigned) seating at meals. In June 2017, I finally took a short coastal cruise in Europe.
"For breakfast and lunch, when meal seating in the ship's dining room was 'open,' I had no problems joining other diners. People were welcoming and friendly.
