Travel Tuesday - Scandia MN

I have been a bit busy lately; June is very busy in our household as we prepare for CONvergence.  We say that we are going to be better prepared next year, but you know how that works!  So here are some pictures of Scandia, MN.

Scandia is believed to be the first Swedish immigrant settlement in the State of Minnesota.  It even has Dalecarlian horse (or in Swedish: Dalahäst) statues.  My great-grandmother, my fathers mother's mother, Anna Ericson was born in Scandia. I think that there are also relatives from my grandfathers side too, but I am kind of fuzzy on that.

Below is a picture of what I beleive was my great-great Grandparents house on my fathers, mothers side.  Their last name was Peterson.

It would have been interesting to know the story of how she left Scandia to become an opera singer . . .and a woman who preferred to have her pedicure before she got out of bed.

Travel Tuesday - Non-touristy camera bags

I am currently reading a book on shopping and other places to go in Paris.   Yes, I know, me reading a book.  After the day that I have had today I want to go to a place like Les Bains du Marais!  I want to be wild and crazy and have an Oriental massage!  Ok, I’m from the Midwest, we spend a good portion of our lives wrapped in layers of wool. It’s probably not going to happen but it’s a good idea on paper . . .

Check out their web-site and see what you think.

http://www.lesbainsdumarais.fr/

Another website that I found that looks good is –

http://www.parisiensalon.com/

It has an article on something that I have been trying to figure out – what kind of a bag can you carry your camera in so you DON’T look like a tourist?  Can you look like anything BUT a tourist while carrying a camera?

I’m not a bag or purse kind of girl.  Give me a good Coach purse and a good quality wallet and I am set, I don’t care if they never wear out, in fact I prefer them to last forever.  In fact my current wallet is about 15 years old.  And really, doesn’t look bad.  I guess I really have gotten my $85 worth out of it.  I remember looking for the perfect wallet for months.  I found this Bosca one and it was so expensive! I mean even now that is a lot of money to spend on a wallet. (Are my Midwestern values leaking through again?) They still make that wallet by the way, or one just like is, it is the SLENDA FOLD CHECK CLUTCH and you can get it in cognac, black or red.

So I am ok with spending money on a good bag.  I bought my first Coach purse about 20 years ago.  My co-workers thought that I was insane to pay ‘that much money’ on a purse.  Mind you we worked for a well-known department store (which alas no longer exists but is now part of Macy’s) so not only did I get a great discount, I bought it during our ‘employee appreciation’ and got even more discounts on it.  I still have that purse.  It has been sent in once to get the trim replaced.  So who spent more money?  The person who bought a purse for lets say $60 and used it everyday for 10 years, or the person who paid $12 every six months for a new purse because the other one was trash?  Of course now I have been buying my purses used.  I probably have 4, but I can’t put my netbook or one of my cameras in them.

So how about a bag designed by a professional photographer? Check out Epiphanie Bags. My only wish – that the bags were made out of real leather and not synthetic. There is a reason I like Coach purses! My favorite bag? Paris of course!  Ginger comes in a close second and Belle looks nice too.  I think that I might put too much in the Paris bag and regret it!

Here is their website –

www.epiphaniebags.com

There is also listed another site for padded camera bags/purses.  You if you are looking for a fashionable bag for your camera you should check the article out.

If you aren’t looking for fashionable, just practical you can try what I currently use – a padded soft-sided lunch cooler.  It was only $15, and lacks the ‘I’m a camera take me!” look, but has enough compartments for one camera, an extra lens, charger, cords and extra batteries.

Travel Tuesday - internet, e-mail and computers

The internet and technology have changed our world considerably.  It has made it easier to get information (and dis-information) about just about everything.  I can get music in Turkish by just turning on my computer.  I can sign up at any number of web-sites for free to get help learning what ever new language that I want to learn.  I can send and receive e-mails from my phone any where that I can get a signal and have service.

I can sign up for a free e-mail address that I can access about any where that I can get internet access.  Think about that for a moment – you can access your e-mail account almost any where.  If you are traveling to a country with an embassy and need to replace your passport I would think that they will be able to help you access that information.

I travel with a computer, I know that many people do, but even if you don’t travel with a computer chances are in the case of an emergency you would be able to find a computer that you could use to access your e-mail account. I wouldn’t keep this information on the computer that you are traveling with because it is vulnerable to being stolen or broken.

The computer that I travel with is used specifically for travel. I don’t have personal information on it like we might on one of our home computers.  We use it to store our travel photos, check e-mails, surf the internet, read e-books, charge the iPod, simple things.  It also has the language software that I use to learn languages so I can study wherever I am.  It’s just a small 10-inch, 3 lb netbook so we aren’t gaming with it or anything like that.

If you travel with a computer that you regularly use at home or work you might want to think about looking at the files that are on it and removing any sensitive information.  I would say be a bit paranoid here, a lot of people who steal computers are usually good at getting information off of them.

If you are not comfortable with having copies of your personal information on-line in your e-mail account, you can save it to a disk/memory card/flash drive and give it to someone that you trust who would be able to send you if you ever need it.  Or I guess if you are really paranoid you can put it on a memory card/flash drive and keep it on a cord around your neck.

Depending on your situation (health, reason for travel, destination etc) you could need copies any number of things, but here are just a few things that might come in handy:

Passport

Driver’s license

Insurance cards

Marriage cert

Birth cert

Divorce cert

Credit card info

Emergency contacts

Itinerary

List of prescriptions

List of doctors

Medical information

Eyeglass/contact prescription

Proof of vaccination  

How do you know what you might need?  My mantra is always – prepare, prepare, prepare.  You need to think about where you are going, why you are going, what you are taking with you. 

My husband and I have different last names (which he grumbles about once in a while, but his mother and I have both told him that he is welcome to change his name any time.)  I can imagine that there are one or two countries where our marriage certificate might come in handy.  If you are going to another country to be married and are divorced, you should have a copy of the divorce decree with you. Again it all comes down to why, where, when, who and only you can answer that.

When researching your destination (even if you are not a US citizen/resident the information can be useful) don’t forget to check out the US State Department's travel information website found at:

http:// travel.state.gov

These are the people who help US citizens outside of the US with whatever problems they run into. The US has the 3^rd largest population in the world, so the State department works with a lot of people. 

They have information about potential security concerns and post information to the web site specific to each country. They can be quite specific, for example for France it lists the Gare du Nord train station as a high-risk area for pocket-picking and theft. One of the things for Turkey it talks about are the different kinds of street crime. It says that the Bahamas has a high crime rate and women have reported incidents of verbal harassment and unwanted attention and that water sports and scooter rental industries are not regulated. (I picked the Bahamas as an example because I thought that I wouldn’t find a lot of information on crime, and it looks like it’s the worst place to go to out of the 3!)  Of course there are more things for each country but this gives you an idea of the kind of specific information that they have.

I like this quote from their website – “There is nobody better at protecting you than yourself.  Take some time before travel to improve your personal security – things are not the same everywhere as they are in the United States.”

You can also check out http://www.usa.gov/

Don’t forget some research before you leave can make your trip more relaxing.

Happy Travels!

Travel Tuesday - Making an impression

Let’s face it people like to put things in categories; it makes us more comfortable to think that we understand/know where everything is in relation to everything else.  Forget the old saying – you can’t judge a book by its cover – if someone doesn’t know you they are going to judge you by ‘your cover.’  American’s are brash and crude, French are rude, English are stuffy, Italians are the best lovers and the Swiss make great clocks. . . .

Think about it, Americans are different. I bet most of us could spot a non-American before they even opened their mouth to say something.  And American’s are certainly easy to spot outside of our own country (except for maybe Canada . . .)  We are separated from most of the world by vast oceans and until very recent history it took weeks or months to get here. Coming to America was a big undertaking and you had to be willing to take risks, to go outside of your comfort zone, and to leave everything that you knew behind for a better life.  And while a good majority of us are from families that have been here a long time, there are many who are not. 

My daughter and my younger brother’s kids are first generation Americans.  My daughter’s paternal grandmother didn’t speak any English when she arrived here about 5 weeks after my daughter was born.  Imagine leaving everything behind, your friends, your grandchildren and coming someplace literally on the other side of the world where you don’t speak the language. 

Is it surprising that the rest of the world thinks that we are a little too outgoing and uninhibited?  They got to keep their long standing traditions, we had to leave ours behind and create new ones.

As travelers we are representatives of our country, and I think that it is important to leave a good impression.  Here are some of my travel rules -

Travel rule #1- Be polite and courteous. 

Try to research the customs and practices of the country that you are visiting.  Learn some key phrases if you don’t speak the language, you don’t have to be perfect, remember the old saying – A is for effort.  If you are visiting a place of worship (church, mosque, synagogue, etc) dress conservatively and be respectful.

Travel rule #2 Go Local

It’s ok to check out the local McDonald’s or Starbucks to see how they are different (when I was in high school we were amazed at the beer on tap.)  But don’t make a habit of eating at American chain restaurants.  Really if you want to spend your time eating at the same places that you eat at when you are home why did you leave?

Travel Rule #3 Ask advice

Studying up in advance and reading guides books are great before you travel (or maybe for quick reference while you are there) but a real person who lives or works in the area can probably give you some good advice on where to go, and can give you more information then can fit in a book.  Really guide books are general and cover a lot of ground and as such can only give a very short description about places.

If you see something on a menu that you have never had and have no idea how to eat it or what it is – ask!  You will learn something new and maybe acquire a new favorite food. Or if you have no idea what to order, admit that you have no idea and ask for suggestions. And isn’t learning new things one of the reasons why you traveled to a different country?

Travel Rule #4 Be Flexible

Make sure that you plan for flexibility.  If you don’t speak the language, don’t know the customs and are unfamiliar with the geography you have to be flexible because unexpected things are bound to happen.  You missed your stop on the Metro, your taxi driver misunderstood you and now you are on the wrong side of town, you forgot to set your watch for the different time zone and the store is closed, you wanted decaf with soy and got a regular with cream.  Whatever happens, relax, take a deep breath and go with the flow.  Many times it is the unexpected that makes for a memorable experience.

Travel Rule #5 Be a little reserved

Remember that American’s are thought to be ‘brash’. Treat everyone as if you were in an important business meeting.  Personal questions rarely come up in business meetings.  Most people won’t want to hear your life story, and they don’t want to tell you theirs.

Travel Rule #6 Relax

Relax and enjoy yourself, that’s the whole point of a vacation.  Even the President has to work at starting an international incident.  The worst that will probably happen is that someone will have a new ‘crazy American’ story. 

Travel Tuesday - public transportation

America is a car culture and we do love our cars, once you get out of a major city center you will probably be very hard pressed to find pedestrian friendly places or even public transportation.  I live about 10 blocks from the Minneapolis city limits, according to the bus company I would have to walk over a mile to catch a bus. 

As Americans most of us don’t really think about public transportation, especially if you don’t live close to a large city. We just jump in our car and go. Until I went to college I had no idea how to go about riding the city bus, I had never been on one before.  I am not sure that my mother has ever been on a city bus.

We had a friend from Europe visit for our wedding. One day as we were all getting in the car for the very short trip of maybe 4 blocks to the restaurant and she asked why don’t we walk?  We thought about it and realized that although the distance itself was short, there was no safe way to get there on foot!  Which really made us think about how different our cultures are.

Most European cities have very good public transportation systems.  If you are visiting a major city think about using public transportation instead of renting a car.  Plan your trip around places that you can walk to from your hotel, your trip will seem more intimate and relaxed.  I know that one of the reasons that I remember Heidelberg & Lucerne so much is because they were so pedestrian friendly and we walked places from our hotel instead of taking a tour bus (I was with a big group.)

When you are looking into hotels investigate where the closest bus or underground stops are, try to find a hotel is close to several lines.  This will give you lots of options and you will be less likely to need to transfer to get to where you want to go.  Don’t forget the public transportation is great for people watching too.

Check out the Eurostar (especially if you are traveling in the UK or France) and the other train systems.  When I was in high school and went to Europe on band tour we took trains to several places (we even took a sleeper train from Paris to Switzerland.)  We were all able to get around Germany & Austria using their train system – did I mention that I had no experience with public transport prior to this?  We spoke no language other then English (ok, one of us spoke Turkish – but really not much help there) and we still managed to get around very easily.  I can tell you that we saw some amazing scenery while riding the train from one town to another.

And don’t forget that you will be able to casually mention “oh I saw the funniest thing when I was on the Metro/Underground/subway . . . “

Travel Tuesday - Ziploc’s

Ziploc’s are great travel tools.  Not only are they good for organizing smaller items, like Q-tips and keeping items that might leak from getting all over but you can also utilize them when you go through security and to organize and keep your suitcase clean.

Do you carry a lot of small items in your pockets? Wear items with lots of metal? Keys, cell phone, jewelry, belts, money clips can all easily fit into a large Ziploc (remember to keep the cell phone away from things with magnetic strips like card keys.)  While you are standing in line take these items and put them in a large Ziploc. Then when it is time to put your items in those TSA bins it is all in a bag that you can place in the bin.  And for a bonus you won’t be wasting time scooping each item out of the bin individually on the other side while everyone is waiting behind you.

Do you travel with a lot of electronics?  Computers, iPods, cameras, cell phones all seem to have different cords for various functions (though the trend these days is that more items can share cords.) You can put each cord in a small Ziploc to prevent them from getting tangled up with something else.

Panty hose are also an item that should be put in a Ziploc, to help prevent them from getting snags from zippers or other items. If you are packing shoes put them in a large Ziploc this will keep them from rubbing any dirt that maybe on them on to the inside of your suitcase.

Use a Ziploc to make a small emergency kit that you keep in your suitcase, some bandages, triple-antibiotic ointment, tweezers, alcohol, acetaminophen and/or Ibuprofen and other small items that you might find useful like moleskin and a small scissors if you are planning on doing a lot of walking on your trip.

If you don’t have anything that could be put in a Ziploc stick some empty ones in your suitcase anyway, you won’t miss the space that they take up.  They can be used for making an ice pack, or you can inflate some and use them as a substitute for bubble wrap.  You never know you could get caught in the rain and have some wet clothes to pack!

Travel Tuesday - How to Do Paris (or any city) in a Short Visit

See Paris not just its sites.

There is no way that you can see all of Paris or any city in one trip, let alone a short one.  But if you follow the below you will have a relaxing trip with lots of memories of Paris and not just the sites of Paris.

Pick a neighborhood.

Do some research and pick a neighborhood that fits you.  If you pick a neighborhood to spend most of your time in you will get a real feel for a part of Paris and won’t spend most of your time trying to get from one place to another.

Pick a neighborhood like St. Germain de Pres, Ile Saint Louis, Le Marais or perhaps one of the lesser known ones like Canal Saint-Martin or Butte aux Cailles.

Match the neighborhood to the attractions you want to see most.

You don’t want to spend all of your time trying to get to the places that you want to see, but then again you don’t want to spend your time in a neighborhood that holds no attraction for you.  The neighborhood where the Eiffel Tower is isn’t the most interesting of neighborhoods but Montparnasse is close to many places to see.  If you've already visited Paris, choose a neighborhood you've never seen or rarely visited.

Get an overview on your first day.

Try a bus or boat tour.   A boat or bus tour is a great way to get an overview of the city and maybe see things that you wouldn’t normally see.

Wander aimlessly!

Get a map and wander.  Paris is quite flat and very walkable unlike a lot of places in the US. After you see something on your list try walking to your next destination or hotel and see what you find. If you get tired you can always jump on the Metro, a bus or grab a taxi.  

You might want to double check with someone at the hotel to see what areas you should avoid so you don’t inadvertently end up an a not so safe neighborhood.

Limit your plans.

If you want to experience the city and not just check off the famous sites that you have seen then limit your plans to two items a day.  This way you can relax and experience your trip instead of hurrying to the next attraction.  Remember no matter how fast you go, or how many things you see there will always be things that you missed.

Visit the less-popular attractions.

The Louvre is popular and very big.  If you really want to see the Louvre go on a slower weekday and arrive early and plan to spend the time with a lot of other tourists.  To have a slower paced trip check out some of the less popular or well-known attractions. 

You will always leave a city having missed something, no one can see everything.  But you will have a sense of really experiencing the city and tasting a bit of everyday life, perhaps even have some unforgettable meals in places that are never mentioned by the guidebooks.

Travel Tuesday - Hope Town photographs

We took lots of pictures on our recent trip to Hope Town on Elbow Cay in the Bahamas.  We were planning on actually sight seeing this trip, but instead fate made it a very low key vacation and the furthest we got from the house was Mr. Vernon's Grocery. Of course the question then comes up – how many times can you take a picture of the same palm tree, the same view?  Quite a few actually!

The view is spectacular, and it is hard to decide whether we should tell everyone how wonderful a place it is, or keep our mouths shut and keep it ‘our secret’.

The trip has inspired me to order some photography books and to start learning how to use the camera instead of just randomly taking pictures and hoping for the best.  I now have an EOS SLR I should learn how to use it!  

I have also been playing with Photoshop.  Mainly because when I take pictures with the SLR they all seem to be at an angle!  I have to fix that at least.  I also converted some to black and white.  Below is one of the pictures that I took in the early morning one day converted to black and white.

I need to take more pictures, review them to see what I like about them, what I don't like and practice, practice, pratice!  
  
Don't hate me because my mother-in-law has this view. . . .

The above picture is at low tide around the full moon.  Elbow Cay is in the Sea of Abaco so it is pretty shallow, only 8 to 10 feet deep from what I understand. (Sorry maybe once I figure out this blogging thing I can post better pics)

DS
the tttgoddess