Tagged With "new years"
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Re: Trains in Cuba
Great question...and possibly not an easy clear answer. Cuba's trains have generally been in poor shape in recent years as older equipment has run down and spares not available. However, according to Mark Smith (The Man in Seat 61), that's changing with the arrival of a fleet of new Chinese-built locomotives. On his site ( Seat61.com ) he has an extensive update of recent changes in schedules, routes and locations (that's important because Havana's main station is closed for a 3-year...
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Re: Celebrating New Year's in Sri Lanka
This year the Sri Lankan New Year's Day is on Easter Monday, 13th April - at least that is what one of my friends there tells me.
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Re: 12 Countries ask vouchers instead of refunds
In a conversation with Travel Rob last week, I set out my minimum conditions before a bailout or other relief can be discussed: 1) All boarding to be by efficiency, no priority for anyone except physical need 2) minimum one free checked bag for all flights over 250 miles (under 250, you should drive or take a train, anyway) 3) elimination of most nuisance fees 4) minimum 32" pitch with no more than 2" recline 5) 20-year cap on exec salaries...CEO to earn max 20x full-time flight attendant...
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Re: Dec. 20, 2018: Liverpool Central Library Ceiling.
What an amazing photograph !! Garry should submit this for photo of the year in many contests.
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Re: Fotografiska, New York's new photography museum
Looks interesting, but the entrance fee is rather steep!
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Re: Fotografiska, New York's new photography museum
Yup, it is pricey. On the other hand, Museum prices have been going up in NYC.
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Re: January 20, 2020: Newport Beach, California
Great photos Rob. Can I use your POD page to ask a question that I've been afraid to ask ? When I visit my US Family each year from the UK I am impressed with the good standards of Restaurant Food. But when I ask why some Restaurants are rated better than others the answer surprises me. "Because Restaurant C serves huge portions" In a health concious World I wonder do folks ever question themselves ?
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Re: Tips to help with packing no matter where you are going
I bought in-suitcase bags from e-bags last year. I love them. And I wish I had them the one time that the airline broke my suitcase and took it from me at the airport to fix.
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Re: Interview: Orion Travel Tech's Gary German
The part I like most about Gary's ads on luggage plan, is the bags will be distinctive. I've really had a hard time of late distinguishing my luggage from everyone else's and these bags should stand out. As for all of Orion's plans , I can't think of a company that has so many different startups planned for the next few year. It will be fun to watch and I thank Gary for the interview.
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Re: Yes, Winter's coming: France gets first snow
We almost got snowed in as we were leaving Krakow, Poland. Yes, it's that time of year when winter is letting us know it's coming.
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Re: Miscou Island Lighthouse, New Brunswick, Canada (Where Gumbo Was, #134)
Very interesting!! Such a beautiful location too!
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Re: Miscou Island Lighthouse, New Brunswick, Canada (Where Gumbo Was, #134)
Interesting story. A little known bit of Canadian history. Thanks. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
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Re: July in France: More than Bastille Day
Great photo of the lavender field. I remember all the years living in Germany, seemed there were weekly fests going on in our village or in one of the neighboring villages. Any excuse for outdoor music and to gather with current and new friends to drink local wines and beers along with plentiful grilled meats. I truly miss that part of European living. Fests all year long and never a rain date ... they just put up tents and partied in the rain. Photo of my wife Diane with two musicians at a...
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Re: Limone, Lake Garda, Italy
I used to have a Meyer Lemon tree in my yard when I lived in California. It was a dwarf tree, no more than 1.5 meters tall, but it produced more than 300 lemons each year, more than we could consume. I miss that tree!
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Re: Visiting My Backyard—Riverside Park
Glad kids are still using the park. I also think I going to parks is an important part of growing up and in most cases very safe. A few years ago FBI statistics showed crime was at a 40 year low in a lot places in the US, but perception was crime was the highest its ever been. The rates might of gone higher a bit in the last few years but crime is still at historic lows.
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Re: Visiting My Backyard—Riverside Park
It was my backyard, too, for quite a while. We lived at 99th St and West End, a short walk away in the late 40s and early 50s, and my uncles used to take me for walks there. My father tried to teach me to ride a bike there (our family story is that I learned, but he didn't teach...go figure). Later, I went to Columbia for several years; aside from anything else, it's where I escaped from tiny apartments and roommates to spread the Sunday NY Times out on a bench. Glad to see it's alive and...
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Re: Visiting My Backyard—Riverside Park
It's always gives a "feel-good factor" to revisit the playgrounds of our childhood. I remember the field where I hit my first six runs in cricket. To do it today I would have to hit the ball through 16 windows. Time and bad City Planners can be so cruel.
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Re: Bangkok still #1, but most-visited list shifts
It’s all in the methodology: these figures are based, as stated, on overnight hotel stays. A quick look tells me that a very different measure is used for the figures that place Orlando at 72 million last year, with 62.8 million in NYC and 42.2 in Las Vegas. Once again, the question is ‘what’s being measured,’ and I’d love to see an expert explain the choices made in the two calculations!
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Re: Slim airline seats unpopular
Well, that's the question. Initially they are saying this is how we can keep 32" and still add seats. Next year, they may ask what's wrong with 30". Just as banks first encouraged ATM use go reduce cost of tellers...and then, when that saving was realized, began charging for their use.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan, 21, 2014: Raccoon, Vancouver, British Columbia
And they are smart. When my kids were young, we used to camp every summer in Maine, at a site where raccoons came every night to feast at the cans. One year I decided I'd had enough, and brought chain tethers to keep the lids on. Worked fine, the lids stayed quiet all night. But in the morning, when we left our tents, we found that our two stryofoam coolers (which were not in use) had been shredded, all the implements from the table were on the ground, and the ropes securing our storage tarp...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, July 13, 2015: Gettysburg at dusk
If you are going to Gettysberg, I highly recommend also seeing the Anteitam battlefield. It is about an hour's drive away, and well worth the trip. I would probably do Anteitam first as it the battle there was about a year earlier in the war.
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Re: Chinese Celebrate Year of The Horse
The year of the horse is not my year mine is the year of the sheep, i'm a '91 liner still so young hehe
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Re: India Easing Visa Requirements
Advance visas have always been something of a bother for potential visitors to any country but the last year or so residents of the US have been plagued by difficulties trying to obtain visas to visit India. Originally processed by the consulates, of late the process has been subcontracted to a private operator, BLS, and it's been a nightmare for many. Visas have been delayed beyond the proposed departure dates and numbers of passports have even been lost entirely. Forums are rife with...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day: Jan. 16, 2014: Liverpool Victoria Gallery
Hello GarryRF, good post. Interesting to know there is more to see in Liverpool than The Beatles (it's okay, I'm a huge Beatles fan). I've always wanted to visit there, not only for Beatles sights, but I've heard it's had a revamp over the last few years and is now a tourist hot spot. Can you recommend a good time of the year to visit and how many days to see the main attractions?
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day: Jan. 16, 2014: Liverpool Victoria Gallery
My favourite time to visit attractions is May-June-July. Before the little monsters are released on school vacation. Liverpool has hundreds of things to do - no exaggeration ! Here's 128 to go on with http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/A...seyside_England.html Liverpool makes a good hub for visiting nearby Chester with its 2,000 year old Roman Walls and Tudor Buildings. The River Dee and North Wales. All using local public transport - mostly trains. You can get a flight, Liverpool - Dublin from...
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo? #11
Chester is a Walled City. It has 3 miles of Battlements enclosing the Centre. The Roman Amphitheatre is just outside the City Gates. The seating was wooden. It has no raised sections like other Roman Amphitheatres. You can see the remains of this 2000 year old settlement and walk the circuit on the original walls of Chester. Tudor Buildings
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo? #11
CICAK. The locals call it the same as the American version of Chester. Nothing different. Maybe in a wet climate seats made from rock would be cold and damp for most of the year !
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Re: Alfred the Great's bones found!
This seems to be a good year for royal discoveries; the remains of Richard III were found under a parking lot in Leicester last year. Now if only someone could locate Jimmy Hoffa...and Judge Crater!
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Re: Thousands of flights cancelled
What I don't know is where they will find seats for all those displaced passengers. Most aircraft flying around this time of year probably have 95% of their seats filled. Some people might have to wait a week or more to get their flight home, I'd think.
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Re: "Mind Your Manners!" VisitBritain Warns Hoteliers
Agree with the sentiments. Either a rookie journalist or else an overly politically correct bureaucrat making sure every possible aggrieved individual is covered in this. As I recall the French did something similar last year. I tend to find British people to be very polite as a rule. Present company excluded, of course, GarryRF
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Re: Everglades raccoon
Those are all good resources, TravelandNature, and I certainly believe in responsible pet ownership. Lord knows we own enough pets and my wife just rushed the dog to the vet because he tore off his toenail (and was bleeding badly, poor boy ) Make sure you have a deep wallet or access to a lot of meat if you adopt a python. The python consumes 25 lbs of meat per year for each of its 225 lb adult size. Steaks and live catch preferred.
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Re: Merry Christmas from all of us at TravelGumbo
Thanks DrF for those words. We will all be trying to be kinder and more considerate people in 2014. In many countries around the world - including here in the UK. We all have everything we need at this time of year, maybe too much. So its back to the diet in January and back into those Speedo's by April ! Hope you all have everything you need over the next year !
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Re: Biggest Apple Ever: NY Gets 54M Tourists, Expects More!
Are you sure that number is correct? Paris does just over 20 million visitors a year.
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Re: Biggest Apple Ever: NY Gets 54M Tourists, Expects More!
We'd have to compare the methods used by the two cities in counting. Tourism figures are notoriously difficult (are business travelers disaggregated? Regional visitors? etc.) It's possible that if Paris used the NY methodology, it would have a much larger figure.
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Re: Biggest Apple Ever: NY Gets 54M Tourists, Expects More!
Originally Posted by PHeymont: We'd have to compare the methods used by the two cities in counting. Tourism figures are notoriously difficult (are business travelers disaggregated? Regional visitors? etc.) It's possible that if Paris used the NY methodology, it would have a much larger figure. Gotcha. A bit of an apples and oranges comparison. Sort of whether to count all migratory birds or only the snowbirds.
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo #5.5
Interesting clues here but nothing definitive. The vegetation growing through the cobblestones might indicate a moderate climate throughout the year. This path appears to be residential and not one frequented by tourists. Maybe Mediterranean or a colonial city in the Americas. The cobblestones are on the small side and are more common, I think, in southern Europe. Also the light fixtures are a modern design and not typical of a city trying very hard to preserve the old look and feel of the...
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Re: Tampa Bay Automobile Museum: 1) Museum Overview and its Czech collection
Actually, there are a number of different stories of how Ferdnand Porsche, under Hitler's direction, designed the Beetle. Another fascinating possibility surfaced last year in the Daily Mail (UK), showing similarities to a project by a German Jewish engineer, Josef Ganz, which Hitler saw at an auto show in 1933. Another aspect: the sort of streamlined design represented in all of these cars was not a unique design at the time; aerodynamic research was starting to have an effect on car design...
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Re: Happy New Year!
I'd like to wish all the Members and readers of TravelGumbo a year full of everything you've wished for yourself. I've been lucky all my life. Whenever I've been struggling to do something, been lost or just plain out of my depth there's always been someone offering to help me. Give it a try this year. It costs nothing and shows you care about others. Just recognise that "lost" look and share your knowledge.
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Re: Classic American Cars #5
Originally Posted by PHeymont: '55 Ford Fairlane, but there's something about the hood that looks a bit wrong... Well, now I know why it looked a bit wrong to me...I was off by a year!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 2, 2014
After being married for 40 years, I took a careful look at my wife one day and said, "Forty years ago we had a cheap house, a junk car, slept on a sofa bed and watched a 10-inch black and white TV, but I got to sleep with a hot 20-year-old girl every night. Now, I have a £500,000 home, a £45,000 car, a nice big bed and a large screen TV, but I'm sleeping with a 60-year-old woman. It seems to me that you're not holding up your side of things." My wife is a very reasonable woman. She told me...
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Re: Newgrange; Ireland’s ancient Passage Tomb
Walking the "Walls" that enclose the City - maybe 3 miles around - is a local ritual ! At frequent intervals there are Pubs to stop at. The idea being that you stop at each one , have a drink and proceed to the next. Its only the hardened drinkers who complete the circuit. A friend from Anna Maria Island, Florida sent his daughter to stay with us for a while. Same age as my daughter and they got along like a house on fire ! So when we arrived in Chester I told her our day was walking around...
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Re: Ellis Island Finally Open a Year After Superstorm Sandy
This is good news. Makes me want to go to NYC just to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
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Re: Christmas in Arizona--what to do?
Originally Posted by EyeWonder: Thanks everyone. I have to ask you more questions! My friends have come up with two more suggestions. One is Sedona, and the other is the Navajo reservation that Tony Hillerman wrote all his books about and that has some big canyons. Is that area too far north for warm weather? Navajo country is too far north and too high up for a warm winter break. But if you bring a warm jacket, it will be magical that time of year. Sedona will be nice, but with cooler days...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov 8, 2013 : The Sanctuary Knocker, Durham Cathedral, a World Heritage site
It's an impressive image, Mac, made all the more interesting by the story behind it. One sometimes forgets the role the church played in "forgiveness" acts through the centuries. I'm always astounded at the quality of craftsmanship behind these thousand year old items. In many ways, we've lost ground, not improved on their skills. Thanks for the education, and sharing this photo!
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Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 1) An overview of the Country and its People
To say that Ireland is typically wet and cold is true of Winter. The Summers are often pleasant and warm but when you get to the West Coast then the wind blows in of a cold Atlantic Ocean. But the weather can change 4 times a day - so there's something there to please everyone. Ireland has wonderful fresh food. Fresh from the sea and farm. Try a locally produced Vintage Cheddar Cheese or an 18 year old Jamesons Whiskey. Soda bread is a local speciality. But stay away from the home made...
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Re: Safe to fly on New Years?
This raises an interesting question. Since the calendar is based on the rotation of the Earth relative to the sun and the plane is in flight, is it still the year before on the plane as long as you do not touch down ?
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Re: Safe to fly on New Years?
If the plane arrives fifteen minutes past midnight on the New Year, that means she will be 15 minutes late all year ! Valentine's will bump into Easter. Easter will crash into the 4th of July early. The 4th of July will slam into Christmas, and before she knows it, 2015 will be all done. Oh, no !
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Re: The Worst Train in the World
Fascinating read! If I do take this train trip, and it's currently included in the plan, for our hoped for trip to Mynamar later this year, I can't say I wasn't warned. Coming from a country that shakes, rattles, and rolls pretty much every day there were two things about the earthquake that worried me. First, it was big enough to produce screams!! Second, it seems that no-one bothered to check the tracks before the train left the station. And so as I was reading I expected a derailment -...
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Re: Family Takes Year Off to Travel the World
They did not take a year "off"; they took a year "on" to live life. What lucky kids ! What lucky parents ! Bully on this family for making that "luck" happen.