International Jaunts 2020

fevereiro - novembro 2020

From the US to Turkey and back ... trips that were realized ... trips that had to be shortened ... trips that were canceled. All during a year that saw the world dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic. Leia mais

81pegadas
4países
265dias
191fotos
18vídeos
15,8kmilhas
10,0kmilhas

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International Jaunts 2020
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- 5 de fev. de 2020
- ☀️ 25 °F
- Altitude: 6.043 pés
- Estados Unidos Colorado El Paso County Colorado Springs Acacia Park 38.841651, -104.82077738°50’30” N 104°49’15” W
NTTP: Admit Two
5 de fevereiro de 2020, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 25 °F
A beautiful sunny day at home … but a frigidly cold day. Have plenty to do so no complaints. Tomorrow is supposed to be much warmer. And then we have another snow event in the forecast.

As I was planning our pre-cruise stay in England, I came across a National Trust Touring Pass that is available to non-residents. It is sold at considerable savings over what I anticipate we’ll be spending to visit some of the places on our list. What makes this pass such a good deal is that it admits two people for £58. It’s a seven-day pass, but luckily it should pay for itself in the two days we will have for sightseeing before we embark Nautica.

Anyway, I ordered the pass this afternoon and received an immediate confirmation of the purchase. We will present the confirmation at one of the two places on the itinerary for our first day of touring — May 23. The staff will exchange it for the actual pass and then we'll be good to go.Leia mais
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Sonia Gelman Good deal.
11/02/2020Responder
2 curtidas
International Jaunts 2020
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- 17 de fev. de 2020 15:00
- ☁️ 34 °F
- Altitude: 6.030 pés
- Estados Unidos Colorado El Paso County Colorado Springs Acacia Park 38.837109, -104.8205738°50’14” N 104°49’14” W
European Quest Port Plans ✔︎
17 de fevereiro de 2020, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☁️ 34 °F
Cold ... snow ... and some frozen fog as well. That's what most of February has been like. Most people probably would not care for weather like this. I don't mind much as such conditions allow me to focus on things I need to take care of indoors. In this case — making plans for shore activities for our cruise in May.

Our 10-day cruise is port-intensive ... only one day at sea. All but two of the ports are new to us. Quite a bit of research needed. The good news ... I now have a fluid plan for sightseeing. What that means is that I have a list of places and things that interest us. We'll pick and choose from that list based on weather and other considerations when we arrive in port. The only locked-in plan is for the Guggenheim in Bilbao. I purchased skip-the-line tickets for that venue today ... at a surprisingly reasonable €10pp.

Mostly we’ll be exploring the ports of call on foot ... with the help of public transportation as necessary. One exception is Brest ... we’ve rented a car to head out and explore the coast. We’ll be paying for the car on arrival, so we’re not locked into that plan and can change our minds later.

I enjoy researching and organizing trips. That said, it always feels like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders when I am able to put a check-mark next to this travel tasker.Leia mais
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Sonia Gelman I agree with you. The research is big part of the travel excitement.
17/02/2020Responder
Viajante So many things I enjoy doing are often accompanied by a sigh of relief when I check it completed.
18/02/2020Responder
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International Jaunts 2020
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- 26 de fev. de 2020 14:58
- ☀️ 41 °F
- Altitude: 6.024 pés
- Estados Unidos Colorado El Paso County Colorado Springs 38.837109, -104.81507938°50’14” N 104°48’54” W
DEN-FLL Boarding Passes ✔︎
26 de fevereiro de 2020, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 41 °F
Bags are mostly packed ... last-minute items are all that remain ... they will be placed in our luggage before we zip them up.

Pre-trip to-dos are mostly checked off our lists ... the few remaining items have to wait until we are ready to lock the door.

Travel notes and other important documents have been pdf'd and transferred to iDevices for easy reference ... so much better than carrying a lot of paper.

The last thing I needed to do this afternoon was to get boarding passes for our Southwest Airlines flight ... with early-bird check-in, it was easy to download them to the airline's app.

Now I can relax until we get on the road bright and early tomorrow morning.Leia mais
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Viajante I used to fly nonstop southwest airlines from Spokane to Orlando a lot. Back then no seat assignments. It was a cattle call. But the price was worth it. Hope it's good for all of you.
26/02/2020Responder
Two to Travel Still no seat assignments ... just boarding positions. We’re #s 46-48 in the A group. 🤞🏻we get decent seats.
26/02/2020Responder
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International Jaunts 2020
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- 26 de fev. de 2020 19:27
- ☀️ 36 °F
- Altitude: 6.030 pés
- Estados Unidos Colorado El Paso County Colorado Springs 38.832829, -104.81507938°49’58” N 104°48’54” W
Bungalow Stay in FLL ✔︎
26 de fevereiro de 2020, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 36 °F
Instead of booking a couple of hotel rooms for our pre-cruise stay in Ft Lauderdale, Florida we booked a two-bedroom bungalow through Booking.com.

Today I received an email from the property owner re-confirming the booking. Included in the information provided ... the exact address, the code to unlock the door, the wi-fi password. All very efficient.

So, not only are we set with boarding passes for our flight, but we are also set with our accommodations. Let the trip begin ... tomorrow.Leia mais
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Viajante Well, that looks very nice and clean and calm. Just your style.
27/02/2020Responder
Two to Travel Yes ... we done good by picking this place. Now if I can only find the washer and dryer that was mentioned in the description ;-)
27/02/2020Responder
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International Jaunts 2020
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- 27 de fev. de 2020 08:30
- ☀️ 45 °F
- Altitude: 6.362 pés
- Estados Unidos Colorado El Paso County Elsmere 38.858501, -104.71620238°51’31” N 104°42’58” W
Dia 1
Leavin' Home for DEN
27 de fevereiro de 2020, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 45 °F
With apologies to John Denver ... I'm plagiarizing some of the lyrics from "Leaving on a Jet Plane” ...

All our bags are packed
We're ready to go
We're standin' here outside the door ...

It's early morn
The Uber's waitin'
She's blowin' her horn ...

'Cause we're leavin' on a jet plane
We'll be back again in June ...

8:30a ... we’re on schedule. Uber just picked us up for the ride to Denver International (DEN) ... about 1.5 hours away ... worth it for the inexpensive Southwest Airlines tickets we snagged to get us to Ft Lauderdale. Sunny day ... a bit nippy with a light breeze adding a chill factor. We’re driving up Route 83N ... scenic and none of the I-25N mess to deal with. A perfect start to our travel day.Leia mais
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Viajante Have a great time!
27/02/2020Responder
Two to Travel Thank you.
27/02/2020Responder
Viajante Enjoy your trip! Bye Mom!
27/02/2020Responder
Two to Travel Thanks ... we’re beat but we got to FLL.
27/02/2020Responder
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International Jaunts 2020
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- 27 de fev. de 2020 12:00
- ☀️ 45 °F
- Altitude: 5.407 pés
- Estados Unidos Colorado Denver County Denver International Airport 39.862972, -104.67508239°51’47” N 104°40’30” W
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Dia 1
Tummies Sated @ DEN
27 de fevereiro de 2020, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 45 °F
Arrived at the DEN East Terminal at 10:00a ... as expected, a 1.5-hour drive up from Colorado Springs. Curbside check-in of bags. Then through security ... easy peasy (for the most part).

After finding our departure gate — C35 — we headed off to get a bite to eat. After all, it was already 1:00p in Florida. We opted for Smashburger for lunch ... always good.

Now we’re settled in at our gate. Our aircraft just arrived. If all goes well, 30 minutes from now we will be on the plane.Leia mais
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Viajante Never heard of a Smashburger, but it looks pretty darn good. Maybe a Colorado thing?
27/02/2020Responder
Two to Travel My brother turned us onto it ... nationwide, but apparently not in Oregon. I like their burgers because they are smashed thin so they are cooked to my liking. Good flavors.
27/02/2020Responder
In my humble opinion, Southwest is the only way to fly.
01/03/2020Responder
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International Jaunts 2020
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- 27 de fev. de 2020 19:30 UTC
- ⛅ 54 °F
- Altitude: Nível do mar
- Gulf of Mexico 28.430812, -87.01039528°25’51” N 87°0’37” W
Dia 1
Aboard Southwest 5444
27 de fevereiro de 2020 ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F
The 737-800 that is taking us to FLL pushed back at 1:00p ... 10 minutes late. But once we started rolling, there was no stopping us. Within minutes we were wheels up and winging our way east.

Southwest flyers know that there are no seat assignments on this budget airline. Our early bird check-in had netted us boarding spots 46-48 in the A group ... first to be called after passengers that qualify for pre-boarding. So we expected that we’d get aisle seats. We did better.

Because we had requested a wheelchair to get mom through the hub-bub of the airport to the gate, we were moved into the pre-boarding group. Hey, we’ll take it.

Several people went down the jetway ahead of us. So, imagine my surprise when we found the starboard bulkhead seats still open. These are premium seats with excellent legroom. Yeah, the seats are on the narrow side ... but then so are all the other seats on the aircraft. Hey, we’ll take them.

Our flight has been pleasant. I passed the time with a bit of journaling and a bit of reading. Southwest provides free wi-fi, so I was able to check in with family in Turkey to let them know that we’re on our way to Florida. And now I am going to wrap up this quickie “footprint” and prepare to stow my electronics in preparation for landing.Leia mais
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Viajante I once had pre boarding with a bum knee on Southwest, it was so worth it. As Mo says, maybe now I can get one of those tags with a wheelchair for the car. LOL and pre-boarding too!
27/02/2020Responder
Two to Travel Mom hates that we get a wheelchair for her, but she tires easily and with a long travel day ahead of us, it was a smart move on my part ... if I do say so myself.
27/02/2020Responder
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International Jaunts 2020
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- 27 de fev. de 2020 18:49
- 🌙 61 °F
- Altitude: 46 pés
- Estados Unidos Florida Broward County Port Laudania Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport 26.072618, -80.13888526°4’21” N 80°8’20” W
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Dia 1
Arrived in Ft Lauderdale, Florida
27 de fevereiro de 2020, Estados Unidos ⋅ 🌙 61 °F
Smooth flight ... early landing at FLL ... by 20 minutes despite the 10-minute delay departing DEN. Just picked up our bags at the luggage carousel.

Next up ... pick up the rental car from Alamo and drive to the condo we rented for our 3-night stay prior to embarking the ship on 1 March.Leia mais
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Sonia Gelman Now let's the fun to roll.
27/02/2020Responder
Two to Travel Too drained from our travel day for much fun tonight, but definitely tomorrow.
27/02/2020Responder
Sonia Gelman Totally understand. We drained after 3 hours on the beach. It is so hot and humid.
27/02/2020Responder
Two to Travel Saw a few of the photos on FB ... looked like a lovely beach ... I guess hot and humid is to be expected in that part of the world. Florida is surprisingly comfortable weather-wise.
27/02/2020Responder
That's always a relief!
01/03/2020Responder
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International Jaunts 2020
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- 27 de fev. de 2020 22:25
- 🌙 59 °F
- Altitude: 43 pés
- Estados Unidos Florida Broward County Sunrise Key Karen Canal 26.131883, -80.12456926°7’55” N 80°7’28” W
Dia 1
Settled into Alani Bay Condos
27 de fevereiro de 2020, Estados Unidos ⋅ 🌙 59 °F
It's not like we traveled a great distance today — just a 3+ hour flight from Colorado to Florida. But our day did start early ... we're all feeling drained. Time to relax a bit before calling it a night ... even if it is only 8:30p back at home.

We picked up our Alamo rental from the on-airport site and headed north to the condo we rented for our stay. The drive was a short one ... would have been shorter had we not mistakenly taken a "locals only" road. Oh well, a little backtracking got us where we needed to go. We did much better getting back to the condo a little later after a quick bit of shopping at the nearby Publix.

The condo is a small, two-bedroom bungalow. Quite typical of the older Florida residences ... in a quiet residential neighborhood. Clean with all the amenities we need, though I have yet to find the washer and dryer mentioned in the description on the Booking website. Even without the W/D amenity, the place will serve us well for our short stay in Ft Lauderdale.

We have a relaxing morning and some errands planned tomorrow. Then we will be off to meet friends and have some fun. If the wildlife at Wakodahatchee cooperate, I should have some photos to share tomorrow night.Leia mais
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International Jaunts 2020
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- 28 de fev. de 2020 09:39
- ☀️ 55 °F
- Altitude: 56 pés
- Estados Unidos Florida Broward County Sunrise Key Karen Canal 26.131845, -80.12487826°7’55” N 80°7’30” W
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Dia 2
Mystery Solved!
28 de fevereiro de 2020, Estados Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F
Found the washer & dryer! Turns out there is a shed in the backyard that has both appliances ... shared with the two other units. Works for us. We’ll do a quick load before we check out to go to the ship.

Beautiful day here in Ft Lauderdale! Lots of sunshine ... a light breeze. The temp is quite comfortable ... 55F currently ... high of 66F expected. No humidity to speak of at the moment. In other words, a great day to go check out some birds after we have lunch with friends in Delray Beach.

More later.Leia mais
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Viajante Have a good trip. Safe travels.
28/02/2020Responder
Two to Travel Thanks ... first some sightseeing in Florida. No snow here 🤪
28/02/2020Responder
Sonia Gelman We had similar accommodation two years ago prior to SA cruise.
28/02/2020Responder
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