An article appeared in the Chicago Tribune Travel Section yesterday, Sunday April 13, with a full page of Rick Steve's recommendations on stretching your money against the Euro. Good suggestions with the exception of two.

Rick's Suggestion #6, was to skip your hotel breakfast with its 10 Euro charge and eat in a local cafe for 7 Euros, a 3 Euro savings and/or the breakfast buffet (approximately 15 Euros). I disagree because:

- A cafe traditionally serves ONE cup of coffee and ONE croissant with charges for an extra cup of coffee and/or roll. You will only save money if you are satisfied with this. We are not.

Continue reading "Saving Money In Europe" »

Posted by Sheila at 07:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An article about hiking to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro appeared in today's Chicago Tribune Travel Section (6/17/2007) and really upset me. The writer, comically, wrote about "the 10 things she learned about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro."

I'd love to demolish each point she made, for example, "it's okay to be naive"..."climbing Kilimanjaro just sounded like such a hoot"...but I'll settle for plainly stating -- she had absolutely no business setting foot on this mountain!

Continue reading "Hiking on Kilimanjaro" »

Posted by Sheila at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I am livid...frothing at the mouth and vibrating over the latest ATM charges. If you are anything like ex-Marine (husband, Steve) and myself, we speed-read through the little bank information sent on occasion notifying changes in accounts, bank policies, etc. Of course, it doesn't help that you almost need a magnifying glass to see anything and any important change is hidden in a long paragraph.

We just returned from a trip to France and did the usual ATM charges expecting the usual good rates against the Euro versus using dollars to exchange and get a worse rate. How wrong could two people be. It seems that Chase Bank has now added an additional 3% surcharge on all ATM use outside of the United States for the privilege of allowing you to use your own money!! So instead of the official 1.34 Euro Rate on May 21 (I double-checked), the transaction came through as 1.39 Euros. The Euro takes a little getting used to and that meant it cost us $1.39 US to get 1 Euro. It may sound like pennies and is pennies but in the big scheme of travel can add up.

Continue reading "Hidden ATM Charges for International Travel" »

Posted by Sheila at 08:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For those of you who have an interest in Mountain Gorillas and have been reading my set of articles, Steve and I read an extremely disturbing newspaper article recently.

A Mountain Gorilla was recently killed on the Democratic Republic of Congo side for bush meat. With the good old "Catch 22" situation, the Gorilla had been inured to visits by humans and showed no fear when it was shot. Most primates are then sold in the marketplace to be used as meat.

So very sad and one less Mountain Gorilla in the World...

Posted by Sheila at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's difficult to keep our "giving/helping" instincts in tow when traveling through poor countries. Children standing along the roads in West Africa calling, "bickee, one bickee, one bickee" (Bic pens)..."cadeau, cadeau"..."bon-bon, bon-bon" (in French West Africa, cadeau is "present" and bon-bon a "candy")....East Africa, "gimme mawnee, gimme mawnee, gimmee mawnee" - repeated as quickly as possible until both words become a blur...beggers... hard not to give!

Don't do it! We recently came back from Uganda/Rwanda (watch for series on Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda in January, 2007) and witnessed an incident that was frightening and could have been disasterous for the children.

Continue reading "Hand-Outs While Traveling" »

Posted by Sheila at 07:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have met so many women over the years who say, "I'd love to travel, but my husband (or significant other) has no desire."

What are you waiting for? Do they consult you when a fishing, hunting, golfing trip is planned with the boys? I think not!

Go with a group...whether it's hiking, rafting, kayaking, trekking, painting, cooking classes, fishing, tennis camp, spas, volunteering, sightseeing....there is a group (or trip) for you. It doesn't have to be a specialized "women-only group."

Continue reading "Woman - Leave That Man at Home and Travel!" »

Posted by Sheila at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The comments I hear most often from friends and neighbors is "how can you spend so many hours on planes?" "Why don't you just travel around the U.S.?" "Drive?"

My theory - sooner or later - age and my body won't be able to take those distances. I haven't received any sign from above (or below), that I will live a very long time with intact knees and any kind of memory. I'm hopeful, when the time comes, the ex-Marine will push my wheelchair, carry the supplemental oxygen and bags of medications. Until then, go for it!

Another reason is the cost of flying domestic. My son lives in Oklahoma, and it is rare find a fare for under $350 round trip from Chicago! Right now, you can fly to London, Ireland, Paris and other places for the same Fares!!! No offense, Oklahoma City, but I'd rather fly to Ireland.

Continue reading "Flying Around The World" »

Posted by Sheila at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)