The Wandering Warners: Seniors Seeing the World

A 'Deal' at the Embassy Suites Baltimore Airport: One Room for the Price of Two

2026-10-24T10:45:23.143-07:00

Our youngest grandchild spent much of this past summer playing in lacrosse tournaments in various parts of the U.S. as a member of an elite northwest team.

Jace is a strong defensive player who gets a lot of playing time.He carries a big defensive stick.

His team won an earlier tournament in Rhode Island, quite impressive when competing against other elite teams from various parts of the country.

Grandma and Grandpa have contributed to Jace's lacrosse efforts along the way with some airline points and flights. The final tournament of the season took place in New Jersey in September.

Jace's parents were both heavily involved in September as teachers organizing and starting up their school year. The parents of a teammate kindly agreed to take him along to the tournament with their own son. They played a lot of lacrosse and enjoyed sightseeing. It was the perfect trip until they learned their return flight was canceled.

Newark (EWR) was among several major airports shut down September 21 after workers accidentally cut a telecom line. The airports re-opened several hours later, but by then the damage was done. More than a thousand flights were canceled, and more than 6,000 flights were delayed Monday.

Given the turmoil, it was fortunate the parents of Jace's teammates were experienced travelers who managed to a secure a flight out of Baltimore (BWI) Tuesday.

They rented a car to make the three-hour drive there and we volunteered to secure two hotel rooms near the airport. The Embassy Suites by Hilton at BWI looked like a solid choice, with 251 rooms and the bonus of a full buffet breakfast for hungry young lacrosse players before their evening flight home.

Kathy used Hilton points and called the hotel after booking two rooms online to request the rooms be as close together as possible before we drove to a medical appointment.

Later in the evening, when we called to ask how the hotel was, we discovered to our shock that the hotel was assigning them all to one room rather than the two for which we paid.

To make a long but somewhat boring story short, it took the better of an hour talking on the phone to two or three hotel employees before the family was assigned the second room for which we'd paid..

First, the hotel readily conceded that they could see both rooms somewhere online. They claimed, however, that it wouldn't show up in their "system." They were friendly and apologetic throughout, but claimed initially that there was nobody on site as it got closer to Midnight with the authority to override their system. Their initial suggestion was that the family crowd into one room and that we ask for a refund the following day.

Uh-uh! It was truly one of the stupidest situations we've ever encountered in our travels.

Finally, someone there either found the right link to click, or just decided to assign a vacant room and explain to the manager when he or she came on duty in the morning.

The hotel did compensate Kathy, a Hilton Lifetime Diamond, with 25,000 Hilton points, recognizing the time and grief that was caused completely at their end. They also gave the family a late checkout, which was handy as their BLI-SEA flight the following day departed in the evening.

It is still mind-boggling there was nobody on the night shift at a 251-room "full service" hotel with the authority to fix the problem immediately. At least the online reservation we'd made, rather than booking over the phone, gave us the evidence we needed.

Fortunately, on this occasion all's well that ends well.

When Reality Takes Over

2026-10-15T11:34:53.539-07:00

Electra Lake at Durango, CO

It’s been probably the longest period of time since 2001 (except during Covid) we’ve ever gone without taking a major trip somewhere.

When we returned from Australia in early June, Kathy underwent some planned major eye surgery. Recovery was going well until things somewhat fell apart, and she had emergency eye surgery about five weeks later.

Brian hadn't been feeling great for awhile, but a couple of doctors’ appointments didn’t reveal anything. We decided to attend a niece’s wedding in Durango. Once there, Brian collapsed and was hospitalized for eight days.

We managed to fly home earlier this week with the help of our son. We flew from Durango (DRO) to Phoenix (PHX) to Seattle (SEA). He flew SEA-PHX to meet us and then drove us home from SEA to our little northwest corner of Washington State.

Below, our David escorts Kathy down the jetbridge at PHX behind Brian’s wheelchair.

Our two daughters drove in to stock our refrigerator with food. Are we fortunate to have great children? Words don’t describe it, nor can they our gratitude for the help and support of Kathy’s Durango relatives, and our neighbors back in Birch Bay. For that matter, the doctors and staff of Durango’s Mercy Hospital could not have been more caring. We feel truly blessed.

There are a lot of medical appointments in our future, but so far doctors seem optimistic they can patch us up. We’ve always been grateful for our travel opportunities, and are optimistic there will be more travels to come.

In the meantime, we’re hoping to share bits of travel information with you that we find useful or at least interesting.

We also extend a welcome to new subscribers.

We’ll be very grateful if you decide to stick around for our armchair travels.

Happy and healthy travels!

A Summer Cruise

2026-09-14T21:44:53.460-07:00

In the middle of winter we found ourselves a well-priced Alaska cruise available out of Seattle in August on our favorite line, Oceania.

Even before we sailed past the Space Needle, we knew we were in for a good time.

Even better, our oldest child and her husband are now empty-nesters and available to join us.

Karen and Kathy

We’d been reading quite a few comments in Cruise Critic and Facebook groups about whether Oceania is letting its standards slips. Of course, we've been reading similar comments about a variety of cruise lines since the early 2000s, and we looked forward to checking it out with our own eyes as objectively as we could.

To cut to the chase, our early-August cruise confirmed to us that sailing on Oceania is overall as enjoyable an experience as it ever was. That's based on our cruising experience over the past 18 years once or twice a year on Oceania ships, enough cruising to earn us Platinum status (above Bronze, Silver, and Gold, but below Diamond and President's Circle) and some pleasing fringe benefits.

Cruising continues to be popular. For example, the day our 1200-passenger Riviera stopped in Juneau, we could spot the Regent Seven Seas Explorer, with about 750 passengers, the Coral Princess, with 1970 passengers, The Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas, with 3602 passengers, and the Celebrity Summit with 2200 passengers. The combined passenger capacity of those five ships is just under 10,000, equivalent to a third of Juneau's population. Big business!

Once aboard Riviera, we did spot a few cutbacks, but none were deal breakers for us. As some of our travel friends say, YMMV. Your mileage may vary! We noticed the following changes.

Oceania seems to have a new policy that prevents customers from signing up for "extra" dinners over and above the four guaranteed during a cruise of this length.

Those include Toscana, the Italian restaurant, Jacques, the French restaurant, Red Ginger, the Asian restaurant, and the Polo Grill, the American steak and seafood restaurant.

Chuck eyes the Maine Lobster in Polo.

We did enjoy our dinners in the Grand Dining Room, and more than once stopped at the Terrace Cafe for sushi and sashimi appetizers before proceeding to the GDR. As Hemingway described Paris, Oceania is truly a moveable feast.

The 5 to 6 pm daily Happy Hour in the bars is no more. There's still a late evening happy hour, but past our bedtime.

On the other hand, if you have the beverage package that includes beer and wine with lunch and dinner, you may now order one in any bar during lunch and dinner hours. You don't need to order a meal in a restaurant.

How about that? Every once in a great while the travel industry provides a true enhancement (that word we love to laugh at whenever it's utilized by the travel publicists) and it never ceases to amaze us when we spot an actual improvement.

Finally, we noticed the transition to self-service in the Terrace Cafe restaurant. Gone are the days when employees wielding tongs are dishing up all of the food. A good portion of it is definitely self-serve, which didn't particularly bother us.

All four of us thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. We two spent most of our time relaxing and enjoying the exceptionally smooth ride and glorious views, while Karen and Chuck took full advantage of the late-night activities with live music. We admired their stamina! We still love the overall Oceania experience.

This is generally how we do it... We monitor travel websites regularly and make sure we're aware of current pricing. We want to make sure we can recognize a bargain when we see it.

A useful site that we consult regularly is vacationstogo(dot)com. Offering up your email address to them gives you access to a page with a whole lot of cruise bargains. You can customize it by cruise line, cruise ship, time of year, or destination. It's an excellent resource and we've used the information to snag bargains more than once.

Incidentally, booking a cruise is the only travel experience for which we always utilize a travel agent. We've used the same agent for years, and she has been very helpful.

Another useful source of information is Cruise Critic. You have to join to gain access to the discussion forums, The forums are organized by cruise line and by ship. There is plenty of information, although sadly it is repetitive. For example, you have to wade through seven different posts about what's on the wine-by-the-glass list before finding what you're looking for. It's a big Flyertalk-size website and you might want to budget some time to look it over and decide what could be useful to you.

Cruise lines are building new ships and adding destinations and there are bargains to be had, particularly in the transatlantic cruises that we favor.

Bon Voyage!

The Stress of Arriving

2026-08-02T10:07:19.898-07:00

Travel can be stressful. Do you ever feel stress even after you've landed at your destination?

We certainly have and we have read with interest the results of a survey published as the Transfer Anxiety Report by Mozio, a travel technology company that operates a (full disclosure) global ground transportation search and booking platform. Despite the company's obvious vested interests, the results strike us as accurate.

One of the first takeaways for us is recognizing how fortunate we are to have access to free airport hotel shuttles at most U.S. airports. That is rare to non-existent in many if not most countries.

The survey's key findings include a list of the purported ten most stressful arrival airports in the world. As it happens, we've landed at all ten of them, and can confirm every airport deserves a place on the list, some more than others.

The major options available at most major airports include public transportation (bus, subway, train), taxi or rideshare, private transfer, and rental car.

We two geezers no longer rent cars when traveling abroad, but it can be a good option if you're planning a road trip.

We've used public transportation with success, although in a quarter of a century of fairly extensive travel, we've suffered from pickpockets and thieves several times. See here for a fairly recent example.

We've used rideshares with few problems. While Uber is available in many places, after research we've downloaded and registered ourselves on a variety of apps in countries where Uber isn't available. We've also booked private transfers, which work virtually flawlessly with the odd exception. Count us among those who will pay more for a pre-booked ride.

One useful source of information that we use is the easily overlooked TripAdvisor Travel Forums. Use the search function to find "airport transfer," "rideshare," etc.

At this point in our lives, our last resort would be to show up in an airport taxi queue with our fingers crossed.

Even if you're a far more intrepid traveler than we two, you're probably well advised to check your options and have a plan in place before you arrive.

Happy Landings!

Part Two: The Art of Snagging Travel Bargains

2026-06-26T10:04:09.000-07:00

An Oz Fest lunch stop

In Part One of outlining how we search out bargain airfares, we shared our "secret" to finding bargain trips.

Find a cheap fare (whether paid with cash or air miles), buy it, and then decide where you'd ultimately like to travel, adding flights or train trips to build your itinerary. There's an element of serendipity - think magical mystery tour - that we've always found just plain fun.

But what if we have a commitment to be in a certain place at a certain time? That can be a challenge.

Two of our trips earlier this year were in that category, our April canal boat rental in France and our May Oz Fest meet-up in Darwin, Australia over the U.S. Memorial Day weekend. How did we manage?

First, we check out the same sources we do for any trip, regularly checking fares on the websites of airlines that fly there.

It's a great advantage to have enough points (air miles) in your account to utilize award flights as an alternative. For example, we will book a "placeholder" fare with points so that we know that, worst case, we will be able to reach our destination.

When buying a ticket with cash, it's important to remember that round trips or open jaws (an open jaw is basically flying into one city and returning from another) are usually (not always) cheaper than two one-ways

We actively seek out possible alternative departure and arrival airports. We enjoy the advantage of living within driving distance of SEA (Seattle) and YVR (Vancouver), along with our regional BLI (Bellingham) 20 minutes away. If we're flying internationally, we'll also consider repositioning flights if we find a significantly cheaper fare from a distant airport. While that may look extravagant, we're seeking out business-class flatbeds for outbound overseas flights, so a well-priced domestic flight can actually be cost effective.

We've utilized a couple of other strategies more than once. First, when most airlines change your flight times more than one hour, you're allowed to change to any other available flight with the same origin and destination from the day before to the day after your original flight. Second, some airlines, including Alaska, allow customers with status to make same-day changes for free. This has allowed us to change to a more convenient flight into or out of little BLI that we'd originally avoided because of the cost.Even without status, the same-day change fee can be very cost effective.

For our canal boat trip to France, we found the cheapest flat-bed flight to Europe was between Seattle and Frankfurt on Condor. From FRA, we bought a flight to NTE (Nantes, France), on LH (Lufthansa) and a short train ride onward to our ultimate destination. We found similarly priced flights for Kathy's brothers between DEN (Denver) and MUC (Munich).

The price of flights can vary greatly from one day to the next. For our return flight, we had no problem spending an extra couple of days in Nantes in return for saving a lot on the fare

As we previously mentioned, we changed our outbound trip to DRW (Darwin, Australia) several times. We started off on Starlux Airlines with a stopover in TPE (Taipei, Taiwan), and ultimately flew US (United) nonstop from LAX (Los Angeles) to MEL (Melbourne), with a 10-hour stopover there in an airport hotel before flying onward on the same UA award ticket with VA (Virgin Australia, a UA partner) to DRW (Darwin).

In summary, our "secrets" to booking an affordable fare boil down to starting as early as possible, continually seeking out cost effective alternatives right up to departure, and being flexible and creative in regard to scheduling and routing throughout.It's definitely helpful to have enough frequent flyer points to consider award flights as an alternative.

Part One: The Art of Snagging Travel Bargains

2026-06-21T13:31:54.000-07:00

“How do you do find your bargain trips?"

That's among the most common questions we've been asked over the years about our travels.

Others include "What's your favorite country?" and "How do you travel with only rollaboard suitcases?”.

If there are magic secrets for finding bargains, we still haven't uncovered them in a quarter-century of reasonably intensive travel that includes more than two million miles flown, hundreds of nights in hotel rooms and on cruise ships, and well over 80 countries visited.

We can, however, modestly offer some suggestions

We've previously written here about our main travel-on-the-cheap strategy. Find a bargain airfare, buy it, and then decide where the final destination will be.This works particularly well in Europe, Asia, and anywhere low cost airlines and/or extensive rail networks exist.

Ah, you say, but where do you look for bargain airfares?

In our experience, there's no substitute for research. A tourist lost in New York City asked a local, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" "Practice!" was the quick reply.

Likewise, "Research" is our immediate answer when asked how to find bargain fares, We often spend upwards of four hours a day between the two of us doing our travel research. For us, it's a pleasant pastime.

We read the FlyerTalk forums on mileage run deals and premium fare deals. We scan several travel blogs - we list some of our favorites on our home page. We check Google Flights and ITA Software.

ITA software in particular is a very powerful tool, but it has a steep learning curve, You can learn to use it by accessing sources like Nerd Wallet, or simply by reading about extension codes and routing codes on the ITA website.

We also subscribe to a few free and paid websites that highlight cheap fares. Needless to say, we spend time perusing the actual websites of the airlines we commonly fly.

A key component of a thrifty purchase lies in acquiring a good idea of the average prices, high and low, of any fare being considered. With that knowledge, you can jump quickly on any attractive looking fare that appears. Finally, know the rules regarding the purchase. Do you have 24 hours to cancel? Are there any limitations regarding seats, luggage, or miles learned?

We'll offer one caveat. In your eagerness to buy a bargain airfare, make sure there are lodgings available in line with your budget.

Your cheap air ticket may not look as attractive if you can't find a hotel under $300 a night. This can sneak up on you especially if your destination is an island or otherwise isolated locale (Iceland, Malta), or if there's a national holiday or major convention taking place. Ask us how we know!

Oh, and book early when possible. Watch your flight right up to the day of departure. For just one example, we made four or five changes as our May 2026 trip to Australia approached, each one an improvement over the previous itinerary. We ultimately flew outbound on a different airline (United) for less than half the price of the one we'd originally booked (Starlux). Most of the U.S. domestic carriers have curtailed or cancelled change fees. Keep an eye on your hotel reservation for the same reason, especially if you're staying with a major chain.

All of this can be a convenient way to plan travel. What, however, if you have to be in a certain place at a certain time, whether to board a cruise or to attend a friend's wedding?

That's a more challenging proposition and we'll discuss it in Part Two.

Thanks to subscriber Daz for suggesting this topic.

The Long Trip Home

2026-06-02T07:05:18.000-07:00

We've really come to appreciate the advantage of booking a hotel day room or a transit hotel when the layover time on a long itinerary permits it. Does this mean we’re getting older and wiser, or just older?

Our first such stop on our most recent trip was a stay of several hours at the PARKROYAL hotel right across the drive from Melbourne Airport's International Arrivals. While we didn't sleep, we were able to rest for several hours after our SFO-MEL nonstop on United flight 60, landing around 9 A.M. local time.

At around 7800 miles and a duration of close to 16 hours, UA 60 definitely falls into the ultra long-haul category.

Our connecting flight to Darwin, four hours in Virgin Australia economy, albeit in an exit row with plenty of legroom, departed at 7:45 P.M., and didn't land at DRW until after Midnight.

We were tired, but that 11-hour layover would have been close to intolerable without that day-room, and it was well worth the expense.

On the post-Oz Fest return trip, we departed DRW at a civilized 3:45 P.M., flying Singapore Airlines to Singapore, landing at 7:10 P.M. We stayed at the IHG Crowne Plaza, within the airport complex, a property rated in some places as the "world's best airport hotel." We wouldn't argue with that at all, and would happily stay there again.

The next morning we availed ourselves of coffee and some food in the Silver Kris Business Lounge, before our ongoing four-hour flight to Manila, again on SQ metal (i.e. a Singapore Airlines plane).

We two experienced travelers made a rookie mistake in not checking the requirements to enter the Philippines. While there's no visa or ETA needed, each traveler must complete an online E-Travel form before entering the country.

We found the instructions a little ambiguous, and the pulldown menus awkward to complete on a cell phone. For example, we had to find the United States, then Washington State, then pull down for a rather arbitrary list of cities, before settling on "other" at the very bottom.

After wrestling with the forms for upwards of half an hour in an airport corridor, we eventually threw ourselves on the mercy of a friendly young immigration supervisor, who completed the forms on our phones in about two minutes time for each. He mentioned that they weren't happy that airlines such as SQ failed to warn passengers of this requirement in advance.We aren’t either!

We used our Grab rideshare app for the first time, after learning it's widely used in Manila. It worked quite well, and the fares are amazingly cheap by our standards,with a fare of roughly USD $6 for the 30-minute drive through Manila's horrendous traffic between the airport and our hotel, the Hilton Conrad, overlooking Manila Bay.

We were rewarded there with a magnificent corner room, more of a junior suite, with absolutely spectacular 180-degree views of the bay (the scene of a massive and rather ugly reclamation project), and an amusement park that's part of the huge Mall of Asia complex.

The Conrad is connected to the mall by a covered bridge. We walked over to it once, but malls hold little appeal for us these days, especially hot and crowded ones.

In fact, the weather was so hot and humid that even the locals were complaining. The temperature hit 92 F (33.3 C) and we decided to hang around our hotel, a spectacular property, rather than take a tour. We ate breakfast once in the downstairs buffet, and twice in the Executive Lounge, which we preferred.

The Filipino employees we encountered during our stay were universally friendly and helpful. They would be finalists in any contest choosing the nationality with the biggest smiles.

On our first night in the Executive Lounge, a half dozen employees, having noticed Kathy's birthday was two days earlier according to her passport, serenaded her with the Birthday Song and presented her with a beautiful little cake.

The following morning a second birthday cake was delivered to our room.

After we mentioned that we’d be attending our youngest granddaughter's high school graduation when we returned home, and that she was a class valedictorian, we received a third cake, this one adorned with "Congratulations." Let them eat cake!

We discovered the Conrad houses a wonderful Chinese Restaurant, China Blue by Jereme Leung. Leung is a celebrity chef and restaurateur who owns upwards of a dozen restaurants in various parts of Asia.

China Blue just recently received recognition from Michelin that in our humble opinion is well deserved. Their huge menu includes dim sum at lunch, and we chose dim sum for two of our three lunch visits there. The food, decor, and service are outstanding. Our average bill for a large lunch with a glass of wine each was about USD $65, so we'd have been fools not to.

See if you can spot the “fake” mushrooms and pears below, edible works of art.

The boiled peanuts are strangely addictive, especially when our chopstick skills enabled us to snag one nut at a time.

These are actually mushroom-shaped truffle buns with a delicious minced mushroom filling.

Those pears are actually beautifully constructed pear-shaped dumplings with stems crafted from whole cloves, stuffed with smoked duck and mushroom. These had a touch of sweetness. To be frank, while visually stunning they looked better than they tasted.

Our Japan Airlines flight to Tokyo Haneda didn't depart until just before Midnight, so we arranged to keep our room until 8:00 P.M., giving us time to rest, relax, and shower before the nerve-wracking drive back to the airport. We whiled away some time in a cavernous but pleasant contract lounge before boarding.

We fell asleep as soon as the wheels were up. It's not all that far from MNL to HND, and we landed early just after 4:00 A.M. We proceeded through transit security without difficulty, and found our way quickly to the Royal Park Transit Hotel. Our first hotel stay of the trip was the PARKROYAL so it seemed fitting - or at least symmetrical - that our last stay was the Royal Park.

In fact, the transit hotel didn't open until 5:00 A.M., but a night clerk roused himself to get us the room we’d reserved for 6:00 A.M. months ago.

This was by far the smallest room of the trip, but it had everything we needed and we managed to get a few hours of sleep before rising around noon. A shower for Brian and a bath for Kathy made us feel ready to face the world, or at least the elegant Japan Airlines First Lounge, only a five-minute walk.

OneWorld Emerald status has its privileges.

There we ordered food at our table electronically, and compared the taste of a leading British sparkling wine and Perrier Champagne, with ample time before our 4:20 P.M. departure on JL 2, bound for San Francisco.

Boarding in Japan seems ceremonial, with lots of employees (we counted 8-10), bows, and signs displaying boarding groups and a mood much more peaceful than we see elsewhere.

The JL Boeing 777 was definitely not new, but we felt cozy in a sort of mini-cabin business class just behind the First Class cabin. We ate dinner and slept for several hours (it's only an eight-hour flight) before touching down at SFO an hour late at 10:45 A.M. local time.

Despite a surprisingly lengthy Global Entry line at SFO, with only three kiosks and one agent on duty turning it into a half hour wait, we had time for a Cappuccino in the spiffy new Alaska Lounge before boarding our AS flight for Seattle.

We had a closer connection in Seattle but still had time for a bite to eat, given that we landed and took off from the C gates, also the location of an Alaska Lounge.

We landed in Bellingham just after 5:00 P.M. Saturday evening, and one of our wonderful next-door neighbors and her large pickup truck were welcome sights. We were completely exhausted by now. Carmen dropped us off at our house about 36 hours after we left the Conrad in Manila.

We've been slowly catching up on sleep and will continue to sleep whenever we feel like it. That's a minor joy of being retired.

We learn something every time we travel. For example...

Check the fine print in advance for any entry requirements for any country you visit. Incidentally, courtesy of Live and Let's Fly, that European ETA may still fcome into effect in the last quarter of 2026, but the word is there'll be no charge for those over 70 or under 18.

Build relaxation time into your schedule whenever possible on long and demanding itineraries. That includes skipping a tour when what your body really needs is some rest.

Take advantage of any opportunity to eat in a great restaurant, especially when it's a bargain.

Finally, especially if you're a senior on an ambitious itinerary, be aware that your reserves are going to ebb as the trip progresses. A flatbed business class seat provides no guarantee that you'll get a decent night's sleep. Be prepared to pamper yourself as you near the end of the journey.

Jumping Crocs and a Fake Snake in Northern Australia

2026-05-25T18:27:10.000-07:00

Another Oz Fest has come and gone.

Our second visit to Darwin (named in honor of Charles who never set foot there) was at least as enjoyable as our stay 15 years ago.

We dined and toured and dined some more with about 40 fellow members of FlyerTalk, some of whom we’ve known since our very first Oz Fest “Do” in 2007.

This was our 17th Do and our 19th trip to Australia.

One of the highlights was the Jumping Croc Cruise. Northern Australia has the largest concentration of crocodiles in the world, and our tour guide / boat captain lured a few out with chunks of lamb on a hook.

Crocodiles and their relatives are truly impressive killing machines who have survived since prehistoric times.

They can move quickly when they want to, and can even jump for a snack.

We passengers didn’t need reminders to keep our hands, arms and heads inside the boat.

There were birds in abundance, from tiny ones to hawks and herons with large wingspans.

Darwin is located close to the Equator, and the temperature during our stay averaged about 86 F or 30 C, a little too toasty for our comfort.

Darwin was attacked by the Japanese in early 1942, overseen by the commander of the Pearl Harbor raid. Some Australians are still grateful for U.S. support, while others have no idea it occurred. The same probably holds true for Americans.

The fake snake in the title refers to a model of a giant python placed high in a tree by mischievous Aussies at the local botanical garden. It’s fooled scores of tourists over the years, including those on our bus.

https://naturalhistoryproductions.com.au/our-projects/giant-python-darwin-botanic-gardens/

We departed Darwin yesterday and landed in SIN, Singapore’s Changi Airport, overnighting at the excellent IHG Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Singapore Airlines naturally has a major presence at SIN, and we’ve been enjoying a Terminal 2 Silver Kris Business Lounge, enjoying a breakfast of various Chinese dumplings, soup for Kathy, and a splash of Champagne.

Manila lies ahead, after a 3 1/2 hour flight in SQ Business Class on an A350. Impressive!

‘It's a shocking trip, the one you just completed’

2026-05-20T18:49:15.000-07:00

‘It's a shocking trip, the one you just completed.’

That was the verdict, delivered yesterday only partly tongue-in-cheek, by an Australian frequent-flyer friend.

How challenging was it?

Bellingham to Seattle. 98 miles

Seattle to San Francisco 654 m.

San Francisco to Melbourne 7,862 m.

Melbourne to Darwin 1941 m.

Incidentally, all flights other than SFO-MEL were late, but we still had ample connection times.

Put simply…

BLI-SEA-SFO-MEL-DRW = 10,555 air miles.

That included more than 22 hours in the air, and three leisurely layovers, including 10 hours at Melbourne that allowed us to relax in a reasonably priced (USD $72) day room at the luxurious PARKROYAL Hotel across the street from MEL International Arrivals.

Our total travel time from start to finish was well over 30 hours. We’re feeling fine, which shows the importance for us of building in some relaxation time along the way.

We used air miles to fly United Polaris business class on the long leg. It proved to be a good choice for two main reasons.

First, the flatbeds were slightly roomier than many others we’ve experienced.

Second, the cabin was kept relatively cool through the night, allowing us to snuggle up with our pillows and blankets. Not quite blissful, but pretty good!

Before boarding our SFO-MEL flight, we took full advantage of UA’s Polaris Lounge, a truly elegant operation.

We took advantage of the dining room option and ate well.

We even found room for the brownie-in-a-skillet dessert.

In our experience, you’ll generally eat better in a quality lounge like this one than you will onboard.

We skipped drinks and dinner once on board and fell asleep almost immediately after takeoff(well after Midnight PDT).

We slept well for seven or eight hours. After waking up, Brian slept several more hours, while Kathy rested. Thus, we both “deplaned” (that word we love to hate) fairly well rested.

Along with relaxation time at the PARKROYAL, we were able to return to the airport and walk over to Terminal 3, where Virgin Australia is located.

Getting into the weeds a little, UA and VA are “partners,” although VA is not a member of Star Alliance. That’s why UA was able to sell us a mileage-based ticket all the way from San Francisco to Darwin. It does not, however, mean we’ll get good seats on the partner’s flight.

At the Virgin counter’s bank of self-serve kiosks we found an employee who was able to efficiently move us into extra legroom exit row seats. She even waived the fee because we were “nice.” Everyone in Australia is nice, so we don’t get it, but we were happy to accept it.

We then entered the VA lounge, to which we have access by virtue of being UA Gold-status members.

Kathy promptly suffered a nasty allergic reaction to something, most likely some ingredient in the featured Thai Pumpkin and Coconut soup, which is all she ate.

For awhile the upcoming 4 1/2 transcontinental flight (Australia is a big country) seemed in jeopardy, but she toughed it out.

The plane was an older Boeing 737 that felt crowded. We found ourselves sitting in the relative luxury of our exit row seats.

We made it through the flight, landing in a time zone 30 minutes behind Melbourne.

A lot of flights seem to land in Darwin around Midnight, but we found an Uber without difficulty.

We arrived at the Darwin Hilton quite efficiently. The clerk has worked for Hilton for four years and told us Kathy was the first Hilton Lifetime Diamond he’d met. Feeling special in Darwin!

Our room on the Executive Floor is more than adequate, not to mention the welcoming gifts of macarons, a fruit plate, and a mickey of Darwin Gin.

Yes, that’s a crocodile on our bed, the largest towel animal we’ve ever encountered in all of our travels. The eyes are coffee machine pods.

We slept very well last night, and celebrated with well-made Eggs Benedict for breakfast.

We enjoy the view from our window.

We’re meeting friends for dinner nearby, and enjoying the unstructured time before the weekend activities begin.

That included a glass of wine with another friend just down the street.

Our only previous visit to Darwin was the 2011 Oz Fest.

This will be our 17th Oz Fest and our 19th trip to Australia.

We’re looking forward to it.

Ozward Bound

2026-05-18T11:59:46.869-07:00

It doesn't seem that long ago that we flew back home from our canal boat expedition in France.

It was only two days ago that we watched our youngest grandchild play lacrosse in Stanwood, Washington, about an hour's drive south of us (he’s in red above and they won!).

We depart Bellingham in a couple of hours and fly to Seattle on Alaska.

There we have a fairly tight connection to San Francisco, also on Alaska.

At SFO we'll have several hours. We plan to visit the Alaska Lounge before moving to the United Polaris Lounge.

We depart for Melbourne (MEL) in United Polaris Business Class shortly before Midnight for a 16-hour flight.

When we land in MEL on the morning of Wednesday, May 20, we've secured a day-rate room at the Park Royal Hotel, just across the street from International Arrivals.

After a few hours of sleep (hopefully!), we board a Virgin Australia flight (a United partner but sadly in economy class) for a 4-1/2 hour flight to Darwin, arriving around Midnight local time.

All this is to position us for our 19th trip to Australia and our 17th visit to Oz Fest, our first being in 2007 at Melbourne.

We're looking forward to seeing many old friends again, and following an enjoyable itinerary, arranged by several of our Australian friends, especially if we can rest a bit along the way!

Dining Our Way Through Brittany

2026-04-27T07:20:42.663-07:00

Bretagne, the French region known in English as Brittany, lies in the northwest of France.

It’s the historical home of the Breton people, and was a kingdom and a duchy before being united into France in the 1500s.

It has its own language and culture, and we met numerous Bretons proud of their traditions.

As one friendly local told us, “ I am a Breton first, and then French.”

The cuisine features the seafood you’d expect of an area with a significant Atlantic Ocean coastline.

Bretons are especially proud of their oysters, and the raw oyster lovers among us agreed they are outstanding.

The salted Brittany butter is a delicious and addictive regional specialty, as is their unsalted butter.

Brittany is also the home of the galette, a thin buckwheat crêpe on which are placed savory foods, in contrast to the dessert crêpes we know.

One of our more memorable meals was in a pleasant crêperie whose proprietor was a Russian woman speaking flawless English.

The restaurant, like others we saw throughout our trip, advertised Galettes et Crêpes, with ingredients varied enough to fill an entire menu, not dissimilar to the once popular pancake houses in the U.S.

We sampled everything from galettes to Blue Lobster to the best steak we’ve ever eaten in France.

Other than a couple of pizzeria outings, we stuck to the local cuisine as we found it on the menus. It generally ranged from very good to excellent, with a few truly outstanding dishes along the way.

Dining in France continues to be a leisurely experience, with ample time between courses. At lunch we often selected the Formule, a set menu with two or three courses comprising entrée (appetizer), main, and dessert for a fixed price.

Yes, we cheerfully admit to usually savoring a minimum of two courses, often with a dessert added for a third course, more than we would ever plan at home. After all, we’d be fools not to order a house-made Crême Brûlée, wouldn’t we?

French food quality continues to be of high quality from raw ingredients to finished product.

The hospitality and genuine kindness of the inhabitants greatly enhanced our meals and our entire travel experience.

Without further ado (not adieu), we add in no particular order some photos to whet your appetite.

Whole “Blue” Lobster

Great escargot

Foie Gras

Huitres (raw oysters)

Desperate times! This sausage in tomatoes and rice was the only food in town, proving you can get a poor meal even in France, if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. The fact that it was Ellyn’s birthday made it even more poignant.

Galettes and Crépes Suzette

A tasty rib steak!

Pizza with a French twist

More desserts

We’ve seen dogs quietly lying at their owners’ feet in European restaurants, but a mooching cat was new to us.

Full plates kept us satisfied, and we couldn’t finish the grilled platter for two just above.

In summary, we learned that dining well is still a conspicuous part of French culture.

As Julia Child put it, “ In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport.”

Touring France Canal Boat Style

2026-04-25T08:18:30.800-07:00

The view looks different when seen riding horseback.

Similarly, the countryside looks different when observed from a canal boat gliding along at a few miles an hour.

Above is the boat that was our home for eleven nights as we sailed up and down the Oust River, the Aff River, various canals, and many locks.

The scenery was lovely, not necessarily spectacular but beautiful stretches of French countryside in the Brittany (Bretagne) region of France.

The people we met, from lock keepers to restaurant owners to ordinary citizens, were invariably friendly and welcoming to visitors.

Above are Ellyn and Greg with two local residents, Jean and Bruno. They stepped up to help when our two got lost on a shopping expedition.

They ended up escorting Ellyn and Greg all the way back to the boat. We took them out for dinner as a small thank you, including Jean’s wife. Google Translate in our phones kept the conversation lively and made for a splendid evening.

Occasionally traversing a lock even attracted a small crowd of spectators.

Most of the time, it was just the five of us - brother Tom, brother Greg, sister Kathy, in-laws Ellyn and Brian - and the lock keeper.

As the photos above show, we encountered hand-cranked locks and electrically powered locks, but none of the self-service locks we encountered years ago in Burgundy.

Greg was our captain and the rest of us were generally co-second mates. With years of experience running houseboats on Southwest lakes, Greg found our 38-foot Pénichette-style canal boat, with its diesel engine and bow thrusters, to be easy going.

Greg had no problem utilizing the bow thrusters to slip us in and out of locks, and through narrow bridge pillars without touching.

The scenery was amazing in its own way and surprisingly varied, from open river to swamp-like canals.

Our boat was mechanically flawless. The diesel engine started immediately and ran quietly.

What, then, were the less attractive aspects? In a word, the boat’s accommodations.

We had rented one of the larger boats with three cabins, each with its own bathroom. As experienced boaters, we should have known that the “cabins” are more accurately described as sleeping areas with doors, two forward and one aft.

As Brian said, they’re so small that you have to step outside to change your mind (rim shot).

As to the bathrooms, the combination of toilet, wash basin, and shower nozzle and hose made a shower in particular a challenge.

The black basin fixture pulls out and doubles as the shower nozzle. Some would call it convenient and compact.

Our consensus was that five days aboard would be more than enough.

As to cost, dividing the expenses among three of us on an off-season special worked out roughly to be the daily equivalent of a reasonably priced hotel room, so it didn’t break the bank.

We found restaurants available for lunch and dinner most of the time, and will share some photos in a subsequent post.

In the meantime, we have fond memories of the scenery and the people we encountered along the way.

We rented from Locaboat, which is now Riverly. There are rentals available from various companies throughout Europe.

Despite the claims, we all agree it would be a good idea for someone in your party to have boating experience.

Cruising the Canals of Brittany

2026-04-23T07:16:05.949-07:00

As we complete our twelve-day self-driving cruise of canals in France’s Brittany - Bretagne - we have a lot to share about our journey, mostly good but a little not so good.

We hope you stay tuned for upcoming posts within the next week or so.

Airline Technology Comes Through

2026-04-10T09:54:08.977-07:00

When we last checked in, we were reeling from the news of a Lufthansa strike by flight attendants Friday, April 10, the traditional end of the European Easter holiday, and the day we’d planned to fly LH to Nantes, France.

There we were, sitting in a YYZ (Toronto Airport) Priority Pass Lounge, frantically looking for alternative ways to get to Nantes, France from Frankfurt (Kathy and Brian) and Munich (Tom, Ellyn, and Greg).

We came close to buying €1,300 worth of train tickets, but decided to hold off. We boarded, enjoyed some generally top-notch Condor food and drink, and slept fitfully.

By the time we landed at FRA, we’d learned LH had rescheduled us on KlM / Air France through AMS (Amsterdam), departing and arriving on the same day.

We alerted our Munich contingent and learned they were successfully rescheduled as well.

Today, Friday April 10, has been, ah, interesting.

Tom, Ellyn, and Greg arrived early at MUC, and arrived in Nantes even before their rooms in the Hotel Okko were ready.

We two took a train to FRA Terminal 2, new territory for us, and then the fun began with a series of emails.

Our 2:15 PM flight had been delayed to 4:15 for “operational reasons.”

Please disregard the previous email. Our flight was now leaving on time at 2:15.

Please disregard the previous email. Our flight was now leaving 15 minutes late at 2:30.

We queued, boarded by bus to a remote gate, boarded the plane (E190 operated by German Airways as KLM City Hopper), and sat for at least 40 minutes waiting for the pilot to arrive, comfortable at least in our exit row seats.

By now we were an hour late, fine for us with our original six-hour Amsterdam layover, but stressful for fellow passengers with close connections.

The pilot eventually arrived, and explained the trains weren’t running between Cologne and FRA. The company hired a taxi for his two-hour ride. Now we know the “operational reasons” cited in KLM’s original email!

We landed eventually, took another bus to the terminal, and found ourselves in the midst of a crowded AMS for the first time in many years.

We’d bought our way into business class for the second leg, five dollars more than a three-hour lounge pass, and it includes a lounge pass.

We made good use of it.

We’re about to board our 90-minute flight to Nantes, hoping we’ve experienced all of the travel excitement for one day, and trying to stay awake for a 10:30 PM landing and transfer to our Nantes hotel.

It’s been a busy 36 hours.

The Wandering Warners Lose a Round to Travel Technology

2026-04-08T09:19:47.123-07:00

We should have known better.

It was unwise to write about our meticulous planning on the eve of a major trip.

When Phileas Fogg, the hero of Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, confidently states “The unforeseen does not exist,” twelve-year-old Brian was too young to recognize the irony of the remark.

Some decades later, we both definitely do, as it hit us like a ton of bricks this morning.

We suspect the cause of our misadventure was the well meaning efforts of an Alaska agent yesterday after we landed at Seattle.

We asked her to print boarding passes for our flights to Toronto on Alaska, SEA-YYZ, and our Alaska codeshare flight on Condor onward to Frankfurt, YYZ-FRA.

After a light dinner and lighter night’s sleep at the SEA Airport Doubletree, we arrived back at the airport around 5:50 AM in plenty of time for our 9:00 AM departure… or so we thought.

When we arrived at the TSA PRECHECK line entry, the monitor turned us away because Kathy’s BP didn’t include the necessary “PreCheck” confirmation.

Back we went to the zoo that’s Alaska’s baggage drop area. A lot of is self-serve, and the trick is to find an employee carrying an iPad.

As we searched, Kathy managed to find an online BP that included the magic words. We returned to the line, showing off our credentials, and the line monitor let us proceed.

Problem solved? Not quite.The TSA agent discovered that Kathy’s birthdate on her BP didn’t match the one on her passport. In fact, it was identical to Brian’s. It was back to Alaska in search of an employee who could fix the mistakes.

Eventually we found one, but it was a tense 5-10 minutes of searching, the kind of moment in which the traveler wonders if the whole trip has gone up in smoke.

She managed to fix everything on her iPadwithin a few minutes and it was back to the PreCheck line monitor and the TSA agent, both of whom were old acquaintances by now.

To cut to the happy ending, we’re seated in Row 1C-1D nearly halfway to Toronto.

We’ve enjoyed surprisingly tasty breakfast hash dishes, accompanied by yogurt and fresh melon, and lubricated by breakfast cocktails - Bloody Marys for Kathy and Screwdrivers for Brian, since you insist on knowing.

Our marsh has been mellowed, and short power naps are in order, given that we still have Canada immigration and CATSA (Canadian Air Transport Security Authority) to navigate in Toronto, not to mention German immigration when we land at FRA in 14 or 15 hours.

So far, so good, they muttered optimistically to each other.

The unforeseen does indeed exist. How you deal with it is what counts.

Next time we’re scanning every detail on newly issued boarding passes for a start.

And now news arrives of a Lufthansa flight attendant strike this weekend. We’re all scheduled to fly from Germany to France Friday on Lufthansa.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-08/lufthansa-faces-cabin-crew-strike-on-busy-vacation-friday

Stay tuned.

Planned Spontaneity on a French Canal Boat Cruise

2026-04-07T07:13:54.566-07:00

“Planned spontaneity" is definitely an oxymoron. Brian heard a school superintendent use it a few decades ago when someone had suggested the value of spontaneity.

He was a strange fellow. Still, we think of that expression as we plan our travels. We plan in fairly meticulous detail, and intensify those efforts when traveling with others.

Today, for example, we're setting off on a trip to the Brittany region of France, where we've rented a Pénichette Premium canal boat and intend to cruise the Brittany canals for 11 days.

The boat itself is nearly 40 feet long and has three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. With expenses divided three ways, it's close to a bargain and definitely a good value.

Our traveling companions are Kathy's two brothers, Tom and Greg, and Tom's wife Ellyn. We all have some boating experience, Tom and Greg in particular. We completed a similar cruise in Burgundy quite a few years ago with Greg and his wife, June, who is unfortunately no longer able to travel. That included sharing the rather large Saône River with freighter boats and included an adventure or two we don't care to repeat

We've helped Tom and Greg find good business class airfares and accommodations on their way to and from France. We've documented everyone's details in our invaluable Tripit app.

In fact, they're first flying to Munich while the two of us are flying to Frankfurt. From Germany we all fly to Nantes, France, where the five of us will meet up. A couple of hotel nights and a train ride later, we hope to pick up our boat and start the spontaneous part of our adventure.

We've planned as best as we can. We'll let you know along the way how it works out in reality.

Part Three of Our March Trip to Europe: Dubrovnik, Croatia

2026-03-28T11:32:37.571-07:00

First, we extend a special welcome to new readers as we return from our last bout of travel. We’re happy to have you along.

Our recent European trip divided itself up into three distinct and separate segments. If it had been a hockey game, we'd call it a hat trick.

This itinerary provides a pretty good example of our travel strategy to buy a bargain airfare first when you find it, and to decide later how and where you'll spend your time on the ground.

That strategy is especially important as we two seniors only fly business class on overnight flights. As we often say, we suffer from jet lag even when we stay home, so even a few hours of fitful sleep on a lie-flat seat is an imperative.

The bargain fare in question was on Condor Airlines, an Alaska Airlines partner that we've enjoyed flying fairly regularly over the past few years.

If you've been reading our blog recently, you already know that we landed at FRA and then flew onward to Florence on Air Dolomiti. We then traveled by train to Civitavecchia, Rome's port, and embarked on a seven-night Mediterranean cruise on the Sapphire Princess.

Following that, we traveled by train to Orvieto, Italy, and enjoyed a wonderful three-night stay at the Altarocca Wine Resort.

We had been thinking of returning to Croatia, and discovered the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik, a highly rated property no more than half a block from the entrance to the Old Town, and available at a good price for a five-night stay.

We booked flights on Croatia Airlines, flying from Rome to Dubrovnik, and Dubrovnik to Frankfurt for our return flight on Condor.

Our other overarching strategy is a controversial one among frequent travelers. We benefit from travel loyalty programs and generally choose our flights and accommodations based on our loyalty status. Other folks do very well by ignoring such limitations. All we can say is that our strategy has worked well for us over the years.

For example, on this trip we earned about 40,000 Alaska Airlines points on our Condor business class flights booked through Alaska, of which about 25,000 count toward status for 2027.

We booked all of our intra-Europe flights through United Airlines points generated from our Chase Ultimate Rewards credit cards. Croatia Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance, as is Air Dolomiti, a small regional Italian airline owned by Lufthansa. As Lifetime United Airlines Million Miler Golds, we enjoy lounge access, priority security, and priority boarding, despite flying in economy. Those perks aren't a big deal but they're not hard to take.

In the Frankfurt Airport Hilton, the Rome Airport Hilton, and the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik, Kathy's Lifetime Diamond status resulted in suite upgrades, great free breakfasts, and lounge access. When we stay in a Hilton property, we're either earning points or burning points, which can be very useful. For example, when you stay on points you don't have to pay those annoying resort fees that so many U.S. properties tack on. When booked with points, a four-night stay also gives you a fifth night free, which is a heck of a good deal.

On the other hand, the Altarocca Wine Resort near Orvieto has no affiliation at all that we know of, and our stay there was a genuine highlight that we would have missed if we'd remained absolute slaves to brand loyalty.

We only returned home Thursday night, but as of Saturday morning we've already managed to accomplish a few necessary tasks. We also have had time to look over the photos we took along the way, and remind ourselves that the experiences were worth the planning and effort. For example...

Our suite at the Hotel Imperial Dubrovnik

The Executive Lounge

Breakfast in the restaurant. Why not Eggs Benedict? We'd be fools to turn it down. We skipped the breakfast Champagne to prove to ourselves we had willpower, and confined ourselves to fresh orange juice and double-shot Cappuccinos.

Visiting Dubrovnik's walled Old Town

The gondola hadn't started up for the season so we hired Mario, a friendly taxi driver, to deliver us to the top. The hilltop war museum is quite moving and documents Croatia's 1991 battle for independence.

Looking down at the Old Town.

We dined in the hotel restaurant that night. It was better than okay.

We made a deal with Mario, our congenial taxi driver, and the next day he took us on the long drive to a country new to us, Bosnia and Herzegovina. That would appear to be the 84th sovereign country we've visited, but who's counting?

Our first stop was Ston, a fascinating Croatian village with a thriving salt industry and the Walls of Ston, its own "European Great Wall" that rivals China's in size, if not in length at a total of seven kilometers, or a little over four miles.

The border crossing between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina wasn't complicated and we enjoyed some beautiful scenery along the drive to Mostar, our eventual destination.

It started to rain lightly there and we retreated to a friendly little restaurant where we shared a meat-lover's lunch. At about 30 Euros for two, including a half-liter of white wine, it was a delicious bargain but we could only eat a quarter of it.

As night fell, we returned to Dubrovnik, crossed the illuminated Franjo Tubman Bridge (Tubman was president of Croatia when it became independent in 1991), and said our good-byes to Mario, who was off early the next morning to his other job as a truck driver delivering food to restaurants. We slept well after our long day of driving and sightseeing.

The next day it was back to the Old Town, with new views around every corner (although we avoided walking up and down the lengthy medieval stairs, many of which lacked handrails).

A large flock of pigeons in square provided some entertainment, especially when scared into flying off in all directions, and perilously close to tourists. Duck! No, pigeon!

Down at a docking area, we talked to a couple of friendly fisherman (as fishermen usually are) who told us they were catching mackerel.

We enjoyed lunch outside on this beautiful day at the Soul Kitchen, an eatery that lived up to its reputation with a couple of especially friendly waiters, one from Nepal. When Brian ordered a burrito, the waiter warned him it actually contained Bolognese-style meat and sauce. Brian enjoyed this Italo-Mexican combination. Kathy liked her prawns and pasta, even though it wasn’t what she'd ordered.

Eventually it was time to fly back to Frankfurt, and we told the Hilton Imperial employees that this one of the very best Hiltons we'd ever visited. We were lucky to load our boarding passes onto our phones after considerable effort, and spent some time in an elegant looking lounge before boarding our flight to Frankfurt.

The Airbus A220 was a very nearly brand new plane and everything about it was excellent. We had snagged an exit row with plenty of room, and the overhead lockers (as they call them in Europe) held our rollaboards with ease. The seats were comfortable, and one tip-off the plane was new was the lighted sign next to the no-smoking symbol indicating the WiFi was operational.

Before long, we landed at Frankfurt and walked at least a mile to reach the Airport Hilton above the train terminal, which rewarded us with another magnificent suite.

We were too late for Happy Hour, but not too late to dine a five-minute walk away at perhaps our favorite airport restaurant in the world, the Paulaner.

We'd booked two nights at the Hilton, and considered taking a train into Frankfurt's Old Town. However, we awakened to somewhat rainy weather, and we contented ourselves with relaxing in the hotel, including a daytime visit to the Executive Lounge.

We also completed successfully a bit of detective work. Regular readers will know that we warn fellow travelers away from the European ATMs such as Euronet and Travelex that aren't affiliated with banks. They basically offer lousy exchange rates along with hefty fees.

A friendly security officer pointed us toward a bank ATM located in "The Squaire," the massive area that leads downstairs to the train station and upstairs to the Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn properties. All you have to do is walk to the Squaire West, right to the front of the Rewe Supermarket, and there you will find a Sparkasse bank group "Auszahlung" (literally Payout) or ATM. Bitte sehr (you're welcome).

On our final evening, we enjoyed a glass or two of wine in the Executive Lounge, and then (what else?) returned to the Paulaner for a final hearty German dinner with a shared salad, a Schnitzel for Brian, and Kathy's favorite Pork Hocks mit Kraut.

Kathy encountered a slight detour the following day while navigating the German border exit controls.We were assured it wasn't a "criminal matter" by a friendly young female Polizist, but Brian was still a little nervous snapping a photo of Kathy as she waited.

The problem was simply that, for reasons unknown to us, there were two separate "profiles" for Kathy in their new system as they prepare to implement ETAs in the last quarter of 2026. They claimed it was all straightened out, and off we went to visit a pleasant Lufthansa Business Class Lounge, a privilege provided by Condor for its business class passengers.

The boarding was a smooth one and we settled into our seats for the ten-hour flight home. Condor excels in the air with excellent service, and generous amounts of good food and beverages with one full meal and a lighter meal before landing.

Yes, Condor feeds its business class passengers generously.

It was another long walk at SEA from the plane to immigration, but we were through Global Entry without having to show our passports.

We rented a car to drive home from the Seattle Airport, and two sleeps later we're almost ready to start thinking about our next trip in less than two weeks, featuring a do-it-ourselves French canal boat cruise in Brittany with Kathy's brothers and a sister-in-law.

That's a post for another day.

Sfero Con Sfero: A Notable Sculpture at the Rome Airport Hilton

2026-03-19T02:00:40.821-07:00

Look what caught our attention as we walked to the Rome Airport Hilton elevators this morning after breakfast.

We’d never noticed it during previous stays, and snapped a photo so we could research it when we returned to our room.

Arnaldo Pomodoro “Sfera con Sfera 1997/1999 (Bronze)”

Well! It seems Pomodoro, who died in 2025 on the eve of his 99th birthday, is considered one of Italy’s leading sculptors, known in particular for his detailed “Sphere Within Sphere” sculptures.

His massive bronze spheres, starting with a commission at Montreal’s Expo ‘67, adorn more than 40 locations from the Vatican Museums to the United Nations… to the Rome Airport Hilton. We haven’t yet discovered how or why the Hilton acquired one.

Italy’s Culture Minister is quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying that Pomodoro’s “wounded spheres” symbolize “the fragility and complexity of the human and the world.”

The artist himself said the smooth globes with clawed out interiors represent the superficial perfection of exteriors and the troubled complexity of interiors.

That’s worth a few more photos.

As for our stay at the Rome Airport Hilton, we could have written about our newly renovated Executive Floor room, the Executive Lounge tucked away at the back of the restaurant, or even the dinner and breakfast we enjoyed.

Instead, we’re writing about a sculpture and its creator, a famed artist whose last name translates literally into English as Tomato.

You never know where you’ll find art in Italy. If you ever happen to stay at this Hilton property, you’ll find this magnificent sculpture near the elevators.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2025-06-23/arnaldo-pomodoro-whose-bronze-spheres-decorate-prominent-public-spaces-around-the-world-dies-at-98

Altarocca Wine Resort: A Gem Near Orvieto, Italy

2026-03-17T06:55:44.549-07:00

After disembarking from the Sapphire Princess at the Port of Civitavecchia, we discovered to our mild delight that shuttle buses were available to transfer from the port to the train station at €6 per person. Too easy!

At the station, we were able to switch to an earlier train to Rome, rather than face the strong possibility of missing a tight connection caused by an earlier schedule change.

We were now on an Italian regional train with no reserved seats, and we were lucky, among the throng that boarded, to find seats together.

A note in passing: don’t count us among those who overly romanticize the European train experience.

They can be difficult to climb on and off, even with only a rollaboard and a shoulder bag. It can be challenging to find the right car and the right seats. We’ve learned that lesson more than once.

As we learned last year on a French TGV between Paris and Nantes, you also have to keep a close eye on your luggage.

https://www.thewanderingwarners.com/2025/04/a-surprising-theft-on-french-train.html?m=1

In Roma Termini we had a three-hour layover. What to do? We discovered that a massive second-floor area is home to a wide variety of restaurants.

We chose Wagamama, a pan-Asian chain new to us. We quite enjoyed our Pad Thai and another dish recommended by a young waiter with a fluent command of English.

When we asked him where he was from, he replied simply “Iran.” What do you say to that? As we left, we told him we wished him well, which he seemed to appreciate.

A little more than an hour later, we stepped off the train at Orvieto, called the Altarocca Wine Resort, and soon were on our way in a Mercedes van on a speedy ride up the twisting roads.

The countryside is arguably as glorious as any wine region we’ve seen anywhere. The resort itself is beautiful, and before long we were in the suite that would be our home for three nights.

Breakfast was included, so we broke our boycott with some bread, salami, cheese, and yogurt, avoiding this gorgeous array of desserts typical of an elaborate Italian morning repast.

We needn’t have worried about being a captive audience for lunch and dinner, a €25 cab ride each way to and from Orvieto making for a hefty meal surcharge.

We found the meals here were at another level, with separate multi-page menus for lunch and dinner. The food is of high quality, beautifully prepared and presented, and - last but not least - quite reasonably priced.

A generous appetizer to share…

A tasty amuse-bouche…

Beautifully cooked lamb chops…

We burned some calories strolling around the hilly countryside, including a climb to the top of a large rock offering fantastic views.

Another twisty path at the resort’s entrance leads us to more accommodations and a wine production area (we quite like their reasonably priced reds and whites!).

What a glorious part of the world this is, and the Altarocca Wine Resort is a fabulous place to enjoy it.

Would we return here? In an instant!

https://www.altaroccawineresort.com/

Luxury Cruising at Bargain Prices

2026-03-14T04:58:21.927-07:00

We’re currently docked in Naples, Italy, as we wrap up a seven-night Mediterranean/ Adriatic cruise on the Sapphire Princess.

When the Sapphire Princess was christened in Seattle in 2004, its 951-feet length and 2670-passenger capacity made it one of the largest cruise ships afloat. Now, of course, it’s considered somewhat smaller than average.

We’ve enjoyed the ship more than we thought we would. First, there are numerous cozy locations to sit and relax without feeling crowded.

Second, we’ve previously visited all of the ports other than Corfu, and didn’t feel the need to sign up for shore excursions. This allowed for more relaxation time aboard.

Third, as we have on our other two recent larger-ship cruises, we signed up for all-inclusive beverage and specialty dining packages, giving us something approaching a premium cruising experience on a mass market line.

The wines in our premium package include several Champagnes and a Silverado Cabernet Sauvignon that retails ashore for $50 a bottle, or $20 a glass plus about 18% in service charges aboard.

We managed to make reservations long before the cruise to dine every night in one of their three regular specialty restaurants, an Italian trattoria, an American steakhouse, and an authentic Japanese sushi and sashimi eatery.

It’s not a bad way to spend a leisurely week, appreciating the calm seas, the gorgeous weather, and the spectacular scenery of places such as Kotor, Montenegro.

Tomorrow we disembark at Civitavecchia, take a train to Roma Termini, Rome’s cavernous main train station, and catch another train to the hillside town of Orvieto, a name well known to Italian white wine lovers.

From there it’s a taxi ride to the Altarocca Wine Resort, where we’re booked for three nights in our current triptych of travel experiences.

It’s not exactly a grueling schedule, and that’s just fine with us.

Buy the Bargain Airfare - Figure Why Later

2026-03-07T18:27:50.473-08:00

First buy that bargain airfare. Then figure out why. We’ve been using that strategy successfully over the past 25 years of fairly intensive travel.

If you spot a bargain airfare that fits your schedule, buy it without hesitation and then figure out what you want to do at your destination. You can also travel onward.

Our current trip offers a prime example of this strategy.

We jumped on a bargain round trip business class fare from Seattle to Frankfurt on Condor Airlines, an Alaska partner we’ve flown regularly for a number of years.

From FRA you can fly almost anywhere, so we (mainly Kathy) researched possibilities.

We settled on three more travel bargains, starting with a seven-night Mediterranean cruise on Princess, three nights in an Italian “wine resort” with great reviews, and five nights at a Hilton in Dubrovnik, Croatia that some reviewers describe as the best Hilton in the world.

The next step was to consider the transportation logistics. That’s why we flew from Frankfurt to Florence last night on Air Dolomiti, staying at a lovely Hilton Garden Inn that.was a cheap and easy 20-minute tran ride from the airport.

Today we rode a Frecciarossa high-speed train (business class €58 for two when we bought it) to Rome today, rather than fly an expensive FRA-ROM non-stop.

Our earlier ten-hour SEA-FRA flight in an Airbus A330 was fine. The seats do feel tight. The foot space is a cramped well and suffers for that reason in comparison with, for example, the larger British Airways A350 we flew a couple of weeks ago between Vancouver and London.

It still beats the heck out of economy, and the food was excellent in terms of quality, quantity, and presentation.

So here we are, a couple of days later, pulling into Rome’s port city, Civitavecchia, on a regional train, in anticipation of boarding Sapphire Princess Sunday for our cruise.

Incidentally, the train was parked way out at Rome Termini’s Gate 28. That required us to walk briskly from near Track 1 to Track 24, and then another 450 meters (1476 feet) out to Track 28. Whew!

Passengers stand around at large European train stations waiting for their train’s platform to be posted, sometimes with little time to spare.

First, we check in at the modest but friendly Hotel Traiano. We’re assigned an amazingly large suite, albeit furnished in an earlier era - the 1950s?

We grab a forgettable pizza at one of the only eateries open at this early hour within a ten-minute walk.

That’s okay. Our young server was friendly and the red wine was drinkable for a bill of €37 all-in.

Tomorrow will be a busy day, with the promise of better food and accommodation.

Larnaca, Cyprus the Second Time Around

2026-02-24T12:39:50.857-08:00

I grow old ... I grow old ...

I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
By T.S. Eliot

Why would we fly to Larnaca, Cyprus. a third of the world away from us, especially since we traveled there almost exactly two years ago?

Cyprus of course is an island nation in the eastern Mediterranean with a total population of well under two million people, south of Turkiye and close to the Middle Eastern countries of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel.

In no particular order, we can offer up at least three reasons.

First, we still enjoy flying long distances in business class on bargain fares. As we wrote here, we agree with financial guru Clark Howard, whose secret trick is to "buy the deal first and then figure out why you want to go there."

British Airways (BA), a OneWorld Alaska partner, was offering a cheap business class fare with a connection at London Heathrow. In fact, flying to Larnaca was considerably cheaper than flying only as far as London.

We enjoyed our first visit there in 2024 and were happy to return for a low-key stay featuring leisurely walks along the Mediterranean beaches and tasty meals. We also spent less for food and lodging there than we did in Tampa, Charleston, or Puerto Vallarta on our first three trips of 2026.

Second, we're hoping to re-qualify for at least one more year of elite status on Alaska Airlines. The benefits are significant, including access to some splendid OneWorld first class lounges like the Cathay Pacific First Lounge we just visited at LHR on our way back from Cyprus. As of now, Alaska remains one of the few airlines still awarding a point for every mile flown, with no reference to the cost of the fare.

This trip earned us each a total of 37,202 points (miles), of which 16,910 are status points, sometimes referred to as Elite Qualifying Miles or EQMs. Alaska is making changes to the program that may make it more difficult to earn miles, so it's timely to add some to our accounts under the current rules.

Third, and with reference to Mr. Eliot's aging Prufrock quoted at the top, we want to test our own somewhat diminishing powers of endurance as seniors traveling overseas. After all, between March 1 and June 1 we've scheduled two trips to Europe and one to northern Australia.

We've reassured ourselves, reading articles like this one, that jet lag does affect you more as you get older. It’s normal. It's not just us!

The author of another article concludes with these realistic comments: "After investigating jet lag for older adults, it doesn't mean I won't be travelling; it simply provides me with a better understanding of how to prepare, what to expect, and to allow adequate adjustment time when I return home."

This trip to Cyprus involved overnight hotel stays in London going in both directions, a significant help, and no strenuous activities, not even a guided tour.

Still, while the U.K. is eight hours ahead of our Pacific Standard Time Zone, Cyprus is a noticeable ten hours ahead. Just as we were starting to adjust to the local time, it was time to fly home.

Several days later we're still prone to restless nights and afternoon naps. We choose not to worry about it, and eventually our sleep cycles will return to normal.

The journey itself started with what's ordinarily a 45-minute drive from our house to YVR. We got caught in the afternoon's Greater Vancouver "rush" that cost us nearly an extra hour to get through Highway 99's Massey Tunnel bottleneck. Ugh!

Before dropping our venerable Subaru at the Vancouver Park'nFly near YVR, we rewarded ourselves with a quick stop at what is undoubtedly our highest-ranked food court eatery in the entire world (and there's nobody in second place), R&H Chinese Food in Richmond's Lansdowne Mall. Yelp Canada agrees.

There we shared an order of one of our favorite comfort foods, Xaio Long Bao, while watching two employees making the soup dumplings by hand at the front counter. We added green scallion pancakes, all for about ten bucks, and savored every morsel before making the short drive to YVR. Yum!

YVR, Vancouver International Airport, is a well maintained, soothing, and thoroughly pleasant facility with Aboriginal art displays, aquariums, and generous seating.

It never fails to put us in a good mood for travel.

BA's contract lounge, the Plaza Premium Lounge, was overcrowded and its modest buffet was depleted. A half dozen teenagers, a rare sight in a lounge, were noisier than we would have allowed back when supervising field trips in our own teaching days. (Hey you kids...get off our lawn!)

Once aboard the A350 in our flatbed "suites" complete with sliding doors,we enjoyed a decent nine or ten hour flight YVR-LHR, punctuated by dinner and breakfast.

Brian limited himself to an appetizer and found the jumbo shrimp delicious and filling. He caught perhaps four hours of sleep, while Kathy didn't sleep at all. Brian opted for a continental breakfast, while Kathy limited herself to coffee.

We landed at LHR's Terminal 3 Our onward BA flight to Larnaca, Cyprus (LCA) was departing from Terminal 5 the next morning at 7:01 AM, and we had a plan. We took the 10-15 minute bus ride from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3, went through immigration e-gates there without having to talk to anyone, turned right as we emerged into the terminal and easily found our way to the Sofitel, attached to the terminal by a walkway.

Our room was ready for us, and we were pleased to see a separate bath and shower, not a given even in five-star hotels.

If your LHR plans include Terminal 5 and an overnight stay, we can enthusiastically recommend this property. Sign up for an Accor Hotels account and download the app, and you'll get an automatic 5% discount. It's not much but every little bit helps, especially as the Euro climbs in value against the U.S. dollar. Accor, while not a major presence in North America, has properties ranging from budget (Ibis) to Luxury (Sofitel) in many parts of the world.

The next morning we were up earlier than we needed to be, and found our way to T5 and BA's Fast Track security entry at the far end for security and direct entry to BA's First Lounge, to which our OneWorld Emerald status entitles us. We enjoyed two of the best machine-made Cappuccinos we've ever tasted, and limited ourselves to one glass of Champagne each at 5:30 AM.. Moderation in all things!

The four to five hours of flying LHR-LCA in BA's intra-European configuration added up to an experience we endured rather than enjoyed, but other than crowded knees we somehow managed.The blocked middle seat in business class allows us to squirm a little without encroaching on a seat-mate's space.

Larnaca's airport is modern, and the immigration lines are short, especially since we bought ourselves access to the Express Lane for five Euros each.

As in 2024, we again used George Cyprus Taxi for a pre-arranged transfer to our hotel, the Mercure Larnaca Finikoudes Beach, another Accor property. Between our five-night stay here and our stay at the LHR Sofitel, we've earned Accor Silver Status for the year. Look at us!

Our room, other than its slightly awkward entranceway shape, was quite comfortable.

The air conditioning was turned off, but fortunately a fairly large window in the bathroom opened and kept the temperature down to a comfortable level. Now that we were settled in, how were we going to spend our time?

During our five days on the ground, we didn't once feel the need for transportation other than our feet. We walked two to three miles daily, mainly along the waterfront esplanade framing Finikoudes Beach, only a block or two from our hotel.

We would have walked around nearby streets more, but several were torn up as a result of some major street renovation project. They were mildly hazardous at worst.

The local residents we spoke to had no idea when it would be finished, but they cope the best they can.

We visited two of the area's best known landmarks, starting with Larnaca Castle. a twelfth-century structure used variously as a fort, a prison, and an administrative center over the centuries.

We also stepped inside the Church of St. Lazarus, whom the Bible tells us in the Gospel of John was raised from the dead by Jesus. At some point after the death of Jesus, Lazarus was forced to flee Judea and came to Cyprus, where he was appointed a Bishop. His reputed tomb is in the basement of the church.

Our other pastime was dining. We subscribe to the late Luciano Pavarotti's view: "One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating."

For our opening night of dining (not opera) we walked around the corner from our hotel and managed to find a table at To Edesma Tou Paradisou, a Greek Cypriot taverna ranked by Trip Advisor as Number 5 of 384 restaurants in Larnaca.

The service was friendly and the food, served in ample portions, was reasonably priced. A rough online translation of the name is "The Savory Food of Paradise," and we wouldn't argue with that.

Still, one visit to a taverna with its meaty menu sufficed for a short trip, and we sought variety for the remainder of our stay. We almost always revert to Italian and Asian cuisine in such circumstances, and Larnaca was no exception.

This included pizza at Pizzeria Napoletana 485.

Notice the thin somewhat soggy crust and "skimpy" toppings by North American standards. That's authentic Italian-style pizza and tasty in its own way. It featured an impressive Italian wine-by-the-glass menu.

We returned to the Mystic Bar Lounge & Restaurant, where we'd chatted with the owner in 2024. He remembered us because he'd been fascinated with the photos we'd shown him of our 2021 Colorado mushroom-foraging expedition with Kathy’s brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Ellyn. Mystic features both Asian and Italian food, the owner's wife being Asian.

We savored duck salad, bao buns, sushi and a Thai green curry. They squeezed us in for an early Valentine's Day Italian dinner the next night.

One slightly rainy day we ducked in for lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall joint called the Potbelly. We dined on hearty pulled pork sandwiches with fries (Brian), onion rings (Kathy), and a local beer, Keo, for each of us.

That rather basic and filling meal set us back only 27 Euros and we had neither need nor desire for dinner that evening.

Incidentally, throughout our Larnaca stay, we noted with interest the thriving food delivery business, with delivery riders on motorbikes picking up orders constantly from various eateries.

Soon it was time to go home.

Our return flight LCA-LHR was an evening departure, so we left our rollaboards at the hotel and wandered back down to the waterfront for a leisurely lunch at Aldente Cucina Italiana, another beachfront Italian joint, this one run by two friendly young brothers from Nepal of all places.

The exterior of Kathy's Calzone was impressive, but all that she found inside was a bland combination of luncheon-meat ham, not the prosciutto advertised, mushrooms, and cheese. Brian's risotto dish, nesting in a Parmesan shell, was more successful.

Back at the hotel, it was time for a George Taxi transfer to the airport, a visit to a bright and uncrowded lounge, a tiring night flight to LHR that landed at 10:30 PM local time, an overnight at the Sofitel, a free Heathrow Express transfer from T5 to T3 the following day, an already-documented visit to the marvelous Cathay Pacific First Lounge, an enjoyable LHR-YVR flight (we both got more sleep than on the outbound overnight flight), and an easy drive back across the border to our own bed - air travel can work so well.

By the way, do check out the impressive list of LCA’s flight destinations in proximity to ours.

Now it's time to review the details of our next trip that starts in a few days. That 22-day excursion includes a Mediterranean cruise, a visit to a “wine resort” near Orvieto, Italy, and a side trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia, flying into and out of Frankfurt on Condor Airlines, so there are lots of details.

Think of our trip to Larnaca as a good dress rehearsal.

A Visit to Cathay Pacific's London Heathrow First Class Lounge

2026-02-19T16:41:14.335-08:00

London's LHR Terminal 3 is the site of a number of OneWorld lounges, the airline alliance Alaska joined in 2021.

The lounges widely considered the best in T3 are the adjoining Cathay Pacific First and Business Class Lounges, and the nearby Qantas International London Lounge.

We've visited all three of these lounges on previous trips through LHR, but on our recent stopover en route home from Larnaca, Cyprus to Vancouver, we happily confined our attention to the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge, open to passengers flying any OneWorld airline and holding Emerald status.

The lounge itself is intimate, inviting, and fortunately uncrowded during our two-hour visit.

It features comfortable seating and great runway views.

The self-serve bar is well stocked and its wines include a variety of no fewer than four Champagnes just waiting to be sampled.

We had spent a restful night at the Accor Sofitel connected to Terminal 5, and arrived at the lounge entrance after traveling between terminals on a free inter-airport section of the Heathrow Express.

We first were led to a table in the small restaurant and ordered from the menu.

As on previous visits, the service was great and the food was delicious.

We both started with the Dim Sum Basket. We had skipped dinner on the previous night’s flight and this was our first meal of the day. We obviously could have enjoyed a couple more baskets, but these were tasty morsels.

Brian chose a pan-fried Miso Salmon and Kathy a Vegetable Hot and Sour Soup. Still feeling peckish, as the British put it, we topped off our meals with Dan Dan Noodles.

Fully fortified, we lounged some more before making the 10-15 minute trek to our gate, where we boarded our British Airways A350 flight to Vancouver.

A highlight of this journey was the time we spent in one of the world’s most attractive lounges in one of the world’s (dare we say it?) least attractive major airports.

The Devil Is in the Travel Details

2026-02-10T13:26:42.776-08:00

According to Wikipedia, that source of so much information, even if not considered a suitable reference for term papers and legal briefs, the expression "The devil is in the details" isn't as ancient as we two would have thought. It's derived from an earlier expression, "God is in the details."

The general idea is that details can be complicated and devilishly cause problems, and that whatever we do we should do thoroughly, which is a divine objective!

We would append to those precepts the reminder that attending to travel details can also be profitable. Two very recent examples come to mind as we prepare to fly to Cyprus on British Airways.

We have long shared the importance of reviewing flight and hotel reservations regularly and right up to departure and beyond. By doing so, we have just managed to correct a BA seating error on one of our flights, and save ourselves a significant amount of money on one of our hotel reservations.

Our flights are YVR-LHR-LCA with an overnight at LHR in both directions. In other words, we're flying from Vancouver to London Heathrow to Larnaca, Cyprus.

Checking our BA flight reservations three days beforehand, we suddenly noticed the seats on the five-hour LHR-LCA leg had been changed.

We had each mysteriously been re-seated in window seats on opposite sides of the plane and a row apart. We couldn't change them online and called BA. Fortunately, we got through quickly and an apologetic rep. fixed what he called a computer problem. Our reservation shows us seated together again.

Second, in checking prices at the LHR Sofitel we're planning to stay in both ways, we noticed that the price had dropped for the night of our return stay. That resulted from spotting an "app countdown meter" promotion that revealed a large discount for booking on the app, a new gimmick to us.

We rebooked, saving about US $40 in the process and bringing the price of a supposed 5-star hotel in one of the world's largest airports down into the affordable range.

Regular readers will have read this advice before, not at all unique to us. We do think it bears repeating.

The savings are in the details? That's not as catchy a phrase as invoking the devilish or the divine, but it works for us.

A Hasty Hola y Hasta La Vista to Puerto Vallarta

2026-02-08T16:19:05.736-08:00

Ignacio Luis Vallarta Ogazón (1830-1893) was a Mexican lawyer and politician. At one point he was governor of the state of Jalisco.

In Jalisco is a city founded in 1851 as Las Peñas de Santa María de Guadalupe, eventually being renamed Puerto Vallarta in honor of Senior Ogazón.

It grew from a small village into a bustling resort city which is often referred to by tourists as Vallarta or PV. We've visited there several times over the past 20 years, mainly staying at all-inclusive resorts with our children and grandchildren, and have many happy memories of those family times.

When we saw a sudden bargain fare on Alaska, we agreed it would be possible to squeeze in a trip there for old-times' sake before our previously planned mid-February flights to Cyprus.

The itinerary was simple: fly from Bellingham to LAX the first night, stay at the nearby airport Hilton, fly onward the next day to PVR, stay three nights in Puerto Vallarta, and fly back to Bellingham via San Francisco and Seattle. We learned a few things along the way that we're more than happy to share.

It was a lovely evening to land at SEA.

On our outbound flights we were upgraded to First and finally got to dine on Alaska's famous Tillamook Cheeseburger. It's okay and not too messy.

In fact, it was better than the rather gloppy and tasteless Mexican-style whatever served on the next day’s flight. That one gave Brian indigestion. Who has heard of catching Montezuma’s revenge before landing in Mexico?

Alaska’s canned wine isn't as awful as it sounds.

Be prepared for chaos at PVR airport, both arriving and departing. If it's just busy rather than crazy, be grateful.

When we landed, the captain announced a delay "due to some kind of traffic jam." He wasn't kidding. It was 35 minutes from touchdown to the door's being opened at the gate. We then had a long wait to get through immigration. The newish automatic photo-taking gates were causing another traffic jam, as some passengers had to try two or three times to make it work,with an employee standing by to offer assistance. There was one line staffed by personnel and we would have chosen that one if given the chance.

Finally, it was our turns to slap down our passports, have our photos taken, and then proceed (on first try!) through the automated gates. It was then time to wend our past the timeshare touts who wait in one designated area. Do you avoid their gaze? Do you boldly attempt to stare them down? Do you smile and repeatedly mutter "No, gracias"? The third is our normal routine as we ran this particular gauntlet and looked for Aeromovil, our car transfer outfit.

Aeromovil proved to be a big disappointment and we wouldn't use them again. When we found where they were located - and the instructions list upward of three potential meeting spots, ours being the final one - it took some length of time to process our ride. Eventually, another employee escorted us to a line outside. There we waited for well over a half an hour.

One couple waiting in front of us explained that the reason several people deal with us and then pass us along is that everyone gets a "bite." It was both confusing and annoying to see others being escorted toward our queue and being seated in vehicles and driven away while we continued to wait.

Our hotel was almost near enough to the airport to walk, if it weren't for the busy traffic.

There are strict limitations on who is allowed to pick up passengers at the airport, with one company apparently holding the taxi monopoly. Ubers, for example, are allowed to drop passengers off but not to pick them up.

Eventually, a small sedan arrived, the employee handed us over to the driver, and he whisked us to our hotel within a few minutes and without drama.This was not the "VIP" treatment we'd been led to believe on the company's website. We had the impression they were farming the fare out to whichever driver they could get, as they handed the driver a paper that looked like a voucher. Live and learn.

Another time (despite this 2-3 hours of nuisance at the airport, we'd happily return to PV), we'd save time and money and schlep our rollaboards and shoulder bags up and over the pedestrian overpass that leads from the airport to a pickup spot for taxis and Ubers. It isn't just about price, although that transfer cost us $25 plus tip, in contrast to the return Uber to the airport that cost us about $3.50.

We used Ubers half a dozen times during our brief stay. The cars were all presentable, the drivers were safe and friendly, and the prices were cheap by our standards.

The Holiday Inn & Suites Marina & Golf, not to be confused with the nearby Holiday Inn Express, proved to be a fine spot for a short stay. It was modern and clean.

We'd upgraded ourselves to a junior suite for a modest amount over the regular rate, and it was great, complete with a large private deck.

We could see cruise ships docked in the distance.

The marina, a touristy spot lined with restaurants where we spent most of our time, was only a seven or eight minute walk away. That does includes crossing a busy six-lane street, but once you have it figured out it's not all that difficult.

For a similar length of stay, we would happily return to this property. Sometimes we would walk over and take an Uber back. Drivers were quite willing to pick us up for quick trips and low fares.

This area of the marina is lined with restaurants and bars, pharmacies where many prescription drugs (for us) are available over the counter, and a few time-share offices.

We know at least one boater friend who would love to have this sporty little vessel for his tender. We weren’t the only ones taking photos.

There was also a sign to beware the crocodiles.

They didn't just post that to tantalize and terrify the tourists.

As to meals, we ate the first night at our hotel, having read positive comments about it. The best we could summon up would be "Meh," and we're happy we didn't opt for their all-inclusive plan.

We subsequently dined at three different eateries, two of which were pretty good, and the highest-rated one, Christina Vallarta, being downright disappointing.

La Terrazza di Roma served up the best meal of the trip. No upsells either!

Speaking of upsells, Brian also let himself be upsold at Christina Vallarta to a very expensive bottle of Mexican wine.

It was good, but not worth doubling the cost of the mediocre meal and the disjointed and bungled service, complete with upsell attempts from more than one employee. We would not return there, despite the visually impressive globes.

The empanada appetizers were by far the meal’s highlight.

We spent a few hours at our hotel one afternoon relaxing within the largely deserted pool area at the other end of the corridor from our second-floor suite. The pleasantly warm hot tub proved to be extremely comfortable.

Before we knew it, the time had come to check out and fly home. Our hotel offered a generous 1:00PM checkout, which was perfect for our 2:40 departure. We arrived at the airport three hours early, giving us plenty of time to spare.

The departures area was not nearly as unpleasant as arrivals had been. It was mildly busy, making it easy to navigate through security and the temptations of the duty-free stores.

Before we knew it, we were seated at our departure gate with lots of time to spare. Our flights home were good, with no upgrades PVR-SFO-SEA, but decent seats in Alaska's premium economy. We did sit in first for our 24 minutes in the air between Seattle and Bellingham. Yippee!

We were home and in bed by 1:00 AM, and we think we'll be well rested before flying in a couple of days from Vancouver to London, and then onward for a return trip to Larnaca, Cyprus.

Adios.