I can't seem to focus lately; in fact, if Focus appeared on my doorstep in the personage of Don Draper, winking at me as he offered to whisk me away for an intimate dinner, I'd likely shut the door on him and think to myself, "Huh, well, at least the Jehova*h's Wi*tnesses are upping their game. What was I doing again?"
***
In any event, I've received a number of questions from you clever readers about the mechanics of my recent trip - namely, cruise vacationing vs. . . . um, vacationing vacationing. I'm going to delve into that today & name The One Travel Item I'll Never Leave Home Without Again ("TOTIINLHWA", anyone?), as well as open up the floor to any travel questions you might have. I'll pick up again with a couple of travel photo / fashion posts next week. Not that I'm an expert on travel, but - as you've surely realized - I so enjoy pretending to know everything.
I've now been on two cruises - one of larger, stuff-yourself-at-the-buffet variety as you've probably seen on commercials, and my recent one on an excellent, smaller, higher-end line - and based on those experiences, I'd particularly recommend this manner of travel in two cases: for those of you just starting out as travelers, and for travel to areas of more geographic interest than cultural.
For new travelers, or travelers new to the destinations cities (as I was on the Baltic cruise), cruises can be a terrific way to sample cities. You can have the security of a tour guide leading you around town, less the logistics of dealing with transportation and accommodations. These are simultaneously the big positives and negatives of cruises, actually; while the structured format of tours can be helpful especially for a new traveler nervous about finding his or her way around, it also means you're more likely to see only the tourist-y parts of a town. While that is part of the point - for example, you wouldn't go to Paris for the first time and not visit the Eiffel Tower - some of my best travel memories are the bits I stumbled upon in wandering around on my own.
On a cruise, you also don't have the opportunity to interact much, if at all, with the locals. Granted, in some places the language barrier might prevent some of that anyways; however, armed with a decent guidebook, a smile, and a working knowledge of "Please", "Thank you", and "Where is the bathroom?" in the native language (yes, even where nearly everyone speaks English; never assume they do) will get you by nearly everywhere. If some of the point of travel is challenging your perspective - and, believe it or not, I'll argue that it is for most vacations - you're more likely to do so if traveling on your own.
A cruise is also a fabulous way to go if you're visiting a spot arguably more compelling for its natural beauty - Alaska or the Caribbean come to mind - than its can't miss museums or history. Since you're there for the scenery, cruising can be a fantastic way to see those areas up close.
Most importantly, any cruise ship worth its anchor has an open bar, which of course makes it ideal for family vacationing. Love you & thanks, Anonymous In-Laws!
***
The One Travel Item I'll Never Leave Home Without Again ("TOTIINLHWA") will come as no surprise to the travel veterans amongst you. This served at various times as my handbag and my umbrella, and held damn near everything aside from the boat itself. It is deceptively large, lightweight, easy to clean, and looks appropriate in nearly every situation:
(Credit: Nordstrom)
Go LePliage or go home, darlings.
***
For my next party trick just as soon as I get motivated to edit photos again, I'll bring you St. Petersburg photos, including an in-depth analysis of the mullet epidemic that may or may not be sweeping that fine city.
Also, if you have any other travel questions, this is one of my favorite subjects to natter on about - please ask away in the comments!
23 comments:
I enjoyed this. You wrote,"armed with a decent guidebook, a smile, and a working knowledge of "Please", "Thank you", and "Where is the bathroom?" in the native language (yes, even where nearly everyone speaks English; never assume they do) will get you by nearly everywhere."
One further thing you can do to make your travels more interesting is learn Esperanto. There is a network of Esperanto speakers ready to meet and help fellow-speakers. If you don't need any help, they can help you to understand they way of life in their country,and you can explain misconceptions about your own.
I've never been anywhere other than Mexico, where I arrogantly tried to ply them with my thick-Texan drawled Spanish.
Not my best moment.
Have you ever taken a Lindblad cruise? They absolutely fit your second category. We went to Panama and Costa Rica one year with my mother. And then through the Panama Canal. As in, so cool.
I live for my Long Champ. Live for it. Jet-setting away for the weekend and my LePliage is ready to go.
I personally cannot get into cruises. Granted I have only been on two and they were to Mexico so my opinion may be slightly skewed, but I agree completely with the Longchamp advice.
Anthony Bourdain once said that being on a cruise was like being stuck with everyone that you encounter on a typical airline flight, only your stuck with them for a week....
that was enough to scare me away from cruises for life, but dearest pretty... you have piqued my interest.
Oooh mullets. Can't wait.
I have gone on exactly 1 cruise and I assure you it was awful. I must get to your type of cruising soon so as to not be hindered with the ghosts of awful cruises past.
The only cruise I have been on is one of those Windstar cruises. They are small ships that can take into the little ports. I went with my mother in law and had a fabulous time. We did Greece and Turkey several years ago. I loved it and would do it again.
the le pliage is amazing!!
OMG I am obsessed with Mad Men right now too! Am thinking of dying my hair Christina Hendricks red!!
xoxox,
CC
Love the Don Draper reference.
We are anti-cruise people...I need absolute freedom on vacation. :) But, that being said, this does sound quite interesting.
I never leave home on vacay without my Longchamp!
Love, love, love the Longchamp advice!!! (well, actually the cruise advice too)
Just to add about the Esperanto comment. No doubt that Bill is right.
If you have a mo see http://www.lernu.net
I feel like I'm the ONLY person left on the planet who has not been on a cruise.
And I'm making a note of Nordstrom's LePliage. Thanks for the tips!
That would make one heckuva diaper bag too. I'm just sayin'....
Funny how people have such strong feelings toward cruises - they either hate or love them.
I'm on the hate side, being that my only cruise experience was one big blur of electric sliding old people!
Is it just me or are the Longchamps just like Mary Poppins' bag? I swear I can fit a week's worth of clothes, the pug, and a bottle of wine in there with room to spare...
Anyway, I love the smaller cruises too. My family did one eons ago, and I have fond memories.
I cannot wait to hear about this unfortunate mullet epidemic...
Can't wait to hear about the mullets! I think you hit the nail on the head with cruises - there are some positives and some negatives. In order to avoid a crazy party atmosphere, I think it's important to use higher end cruise lines during times that school is in session. When we went on our honeymoon cruise for example, there were about 60 kids on board. A bartender told us the week before there were over 500 kids - so check the calendar!
Enjoying the photos. Can't wait to hear about the mullet epidemic. How can that happen AGAIN??
I love cruises, and I agree with what you said about seeing great cities. And I love that travel bag!
I loved my cruise and can't wait to cruise again. It was nice to cover so many places while having a "home base" so to speak.
BEST bags ever...you really shouldn't travel without them ;-)
Post a Comment