Trip Tip a Day

Flying Dallas-Heathrow-Stockholm on AA/BA, I encountered the following line up at the connecting flights area of the airport.  Prior to booking a flight, use this Heathrow link to check your connection time to allow for worse case scenario. My bags were tagged from Dallas to Stockholm and did not need to be collected at Heathrow. http://www.heathrow.com/flight-connections   If you end up with short connection time and a huge line, alert the Heathrow connecting flight personnel in purple suits, and they will expedite you to an express line. Heathrow look left..... Heathrow look straight......that's a snake around line for connecting passengers Heathrow Security line London Heathrow consists of five terminals: Terminals 1 (currently closed 6.2016), 2 and 3, which are connected and a short walk from each other Terminal 4 Terminal 5; the A Gates are in the main terminal building and B and C Gates are in separate satellite buildings B...

Tip of the day:  Fly nonstop For our Thanksgiving trip to New York City, we bought  non-stop tickets from Dallas to the Newark, New Jersey airport (EWR).  Worth the extra cost to not have to deal with the hassle of transfers, possible delays, missed flights, etc.  Easy transport from Newark Airport to New York City.  We took the train - 25 minutes, $12.50, airport to Penn Station http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=AirportConnectionsTo

Tip of the day: Consider a leisurely bike ride wherever you go Here is the Avignon site for bicycle rental - Velopop! http://www.velopop.fr/

Tip of the day: Have Passport, will travel. The passports arrived - it was a short wait from applying on Sept. 25 in the County Clerk's (Denton County TX) office to receiving them October 10. The original birth certificate that accompanied the application returned to us a few days later under separate cover. Step 1 for any trip to Europe - complete.

Tip of the day: Enjoy a fresh perspective Travel - always brings out my fresh perspective. Like these petals on flowers that look nothing like any other flower petal I've ever seen before. Fresh. Gotta love that.

Tip of the day: Visit Trevi Fountain in Roma It's a video-clip-on-the-blog experiment - Trevi Fountain still photographs, Trevi fountain video clip to capture the sound. Let's see if it works. Who is the King of the European fountain - Trevi perhaps?

Tip of the day: Enjoy a cappuccino in Italy Here's a beautiful cappuccino from a cafe near the water in Cecina Mare, Italy. I love the cup, the saucer, the little spoon, the foam and the delicious taste. Ahh.

Tip of the day: Enjoy the view from a bridge over the Seine in Paris Day Night

Tip of the day: Be prepared to see lots of grafitti in Rome Rome has it's share of magical sights - Trevi fountain and the Coliseum are just two. But Rome has a big share of grafitti that leaves an impression. A shame, not sure. Something that captures your mind and your eye, yes.

Tip of the day: Enjoy another Paris fountain!

Tip of the day: Enjoy the fountains! What do I love? Fountains. And Paris has some beautiful fountains.

Tip of the day: Have a sandwich I was surprised to see pre-made delicious looking sandwiches on crusty yummy looking bread in Italy and France. Can you picture any beautiful display of pre-made sandwiches in America? Hmmm......I can't. Enjoy the European sandwich if you need a snack or lunch.

Tip of the day: Have good friends who bring you treats from Europe! My friend just returned from a 2 week European tour with chocolates for the gang. There were many choices, but when I saw the familiar lavender wrap on the Milka chocolate I chose it. And, lo and behold, Milka has come up with a resealable wrap. No foil on this chocolate. That's handy. My daughter is sick today, possibly early pneumonia. Tonight was the night to break out the chocolate and let one of the little squares melt on my tongue. Ahh.

Tip of the day: Apply for your passport EARLY! We just got back from the County Clerk's office where we applied for Passport books for our 2 younger children. You need the U.S. Passport book for Europe It's a pretty painless procedure at our County Clerk's office. If you stop by ahead of time, they'll give you detailed instructions and the application form. Then when you come back, it's a piece of cake. When I return I bring: -the application filled out ready to go (not signed!!!) -the original birth certificate (the State/City/County copy), -the child (must be present), -their natural father, my spouse (must be present), -$60 check to Dept. of State for each passport, -$35 cash for each passport for execution fee ($25) and photos ($10), -my driver's license. They told us today it would be a 4-6 week wait. We'll see. When a trip is even a glimmer in your eye, go ahead and apply for your passport. Then, when the time comes, you'll be ready to go.

Tip of the day: Float the River Aare in Berne Switzerland Ever since my Swiss "brother" Kurt, told me about floating down the River Aare in the summer, I was determined to experience this. As a long time swimmer and current master's swimmer, I love the water. I even talked my daughter into accompanying me. Kurt acted as cameraman for us. In late July, you can see that we were the only (crazy) souls floating that day. The water was freezing. I don't even know what the temperature was, but it took your breath away upon entry. It was too cold for the Swiss to float, but for us "perhaps once in a lifetime Americans", we went for it. See our little heads coming down the River? The gorgeous blue of the water? I can't wait to go back and experience this again - maybe next time all the way to downtown Berne in August. Too fun. Your comments are welcome! I'd love to hear from you dear readers.

Tip of the day: Find the Medici Fountain at the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris The Jardin du Luxembourg is very large and very beautiful. Within it, you may find the Medici Fountain. It will feel a bit like a scavenger hunt, but a challenge is always fun. There's lots of history - but I'll leave that to you to discover!