My recent trip was both a nostalgic return to Paris and London, places I had first explored as a college student in 1966, and a first visit to Southern Ireland. Three women friends and I planned two weeks in Paris and London, with two of us continuing on to Dublin and a five-day small group tour of Southern Ireland. This will not be a travelogue filled with details about every day. What I’d like to share instead are the lessons we learned as experienced travelers, older now, a little out of practice, and maybe just a bit wiser.
Preplanning all the pieces, such as the timeline for purchasing tickets, reserving rooms and museum entrances, and creating an itinerary that matched everyone’s desires is part of the joy of travel but is also an art. Despite many hours researching Rick Steves, Fodor, and individual websites, we ran into some snafus. Using airline miles for part of the trip turned out to be more expensive than paying for a round trip ticket. Making hotel reservations through booking.com seemed easy until we needed to make what seemed like a simple change and couldn’t.
In order to fit everything in, we had created a jam-packed itinerary. We had to let a few things go and add others to make it all work. Adding a magical evening concert at Sainte Chapelle meant giving up our scheduled evening at the Louvres. Once in Paris, we made time for the modern and contemporary art in The Centre Pompidou. A fun tour of Wimbleton was recommended and squeezed in just before leaving London. And, of course, we hadn’t factored in the jet lag or the great shopping in museum gift shops that slowed us down a bit.
Though this was not a new lesson, we did appreciate the surprises that we never had planned.
-
-
- Joining many Parisians in the nearby Luxembourg Gardens for a lovely evening strolling, then sitting to visit and people watch
- Stumbling upon a wonderful farmer’s market in our Paris neighborhood-The displays of fruits, vegetables, cheeses, pastries and more were beautiful and welcoming.
- In London, lunch at our favorite little cafe up on the 5th floor of Alfie’s Antiques- the squash soup, bread and scones all homemade and divine!
At the risk of being ageist, I also learned that we travel differently when closer to 80 than to 20! On the positive side,
we’re more emotionally mature and self-aware. It’s easier for us to go with the flow and not panic. When we lost track of one of our foursome in the crush of people getting onto the Eurostar from Paris to London, we were concerned, of course, but knew that she had to land in London no matter which of the trains she chose. We discovered very quickly which of us was the most adept navigator but always had a backup. Some of us heard or saw better than others, so we always checked and double-checked before hitting the submit button to order anything. True, my partner and I did not kiss the Blarney Stone because she’s not comfortable with heights, and I’m a bit claustrophobic, but we enjoyed the gardens instead! And did I brag that we walked an average of 15,000 steps many day?There were more lessons, such as the importance of having a clear and easy system in place for splitting up the costs. We had that worry after getting home still jet lagged. Another traveler friend recommended an app for that called Splid. I wish I had been more tech savvy when trying to read QR codes, label photos, follow google maps, and use some of my advanced cell phone features.
My hope is that my adventure will inspire others to travel more, no matter for how long or far. It definitely is a stretch that grows us in so many areas of our lives. Maybe that will be the topic of yet another blog.
-