Travel – Destination NOW

Three Nights in Jakarta

One of the many reasons that I enjoy traveling with OAT is they know how long we should allocate to a particular area, and they know how to appropriately fill that time.

Jakarta is a very large, crowded city, with lots of traffic. During our stay, thanks to OAT, we got a real sense of the history and culture of the area.

Although most of the OAT hotels include breakfast, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that Hotel Santika also offers a free buffet every evening, which was most welcome when we arrived from Borneo, tired and hungry.

Our first full day began with a visit to Santi, who created an organic food business which operates out of her home.

Santi taught us to make delicious vegetarian spring rolls, which we devoured.

Her home was a mix of modern and ancient. The beautiful, hand carved wooden screen in the central courtyard is hundreds of years old.

Santi had an export business until US tariffs made it impossible to continue operating, so we can no longer buy her organic products from the Internet.

While Santi readied the room for our lunch, Era, our local guide, took us for a walk through the park across the street, where rainbow eucalyptus trees are growing. I MIGHT appear in an Indonesian TikTok video, because when I joined the local women dancing in the park, several of them filmed us.

Although our itinerary had described the afternoon as “free time”, Widi gave us a choice. We could return to the hotel, or we could join him and Era for a visit to the Jakarta museum, transported by our bus. Because it was not part of the tour, we would have to buy our own ticket for 150,000 rupiahs ( or about $8.50). I’m bringing back Indonesian money for sweet Adam (my friend Levia’s son), so I jumped at the chance to get a bill smaller than 100,000 rupiahs.

Is it just me, or does this ancient batik look like Picasso’s inspiration for his paintings?

On dat two, we visited the Muslim area of Jakarta. I wish more Americans would travel outside of North America. If they did, they would see how beautiful and welcoming the children are and perhaps be less inclined to support wars against other nations.

All of the children wanted to high five us!

We were given the opportunity to ask questions during our meeting with the female village chief and a male teacher, which deepen our understanding of the Indonesian Muslims’ beliefs and way of life. When we left our meeting, we joined in a musical celebration with the villagers.

Sadly, my hands were occupied with my tambourine, so I was unable to video our stirring rendition of “ you are my sunshine”, but we ALL sang it with gusto in ENGLISH! Unfortunately, none of the Americans could join in for the Indonesian version of the song.

Our tuk tuk ride from the Muslim neighborhood to the historic square was, shall we say, “thrilling”.

Laurie and I, the two big American women, stuffed into this little tuk tuk.

The square wasn’t all that interesting till I spotted this beautiful Indonesian girl dressing up as a Dutch woman. Widi explained that Indonesians had to find creative ways to earn money, so although I would never pose with Grover or Spider-Man in Times Square, I was highly motivated to support the local economy.

Next stop was a visit to Era’s friend, a puppet maker, who explained about his craft and entertained us with a brief show about the legend of Shinto, Rama and the monkey king ( Hamman?). It reminded me of US movies, but instead of car chases, there was a lot of fighting and punching. Our show lasted about 10 minutes, instead of the NINE HOURS that the local version lasts !

After lunch we were given the choice of how to spend our “free” afternoon: return to the hotel, visit the mosque, then visit Chinatown. I chose to visit the mosque, then return to the hotel to take advantage of the pool.

Widi and Era accompanied us to the mosque, which was great, because we traveled by public transportation (the train) and our bus picked us up after the visit. Indonesians are so polite, friendly and helpful, that I probably could have gotten there on my own (relying on the kindness of strangers), but I’m so very glad I didn’t have to.

The mosque was built across the street from the cathedral, to symbolize the tolerance and acceptance of Indonesians toward those who think differently. If only we could imitate them, the world would be a better place— and happier— place.

As usual, the locals wanted to have their photo taken with us.

It was definitely not the most beautiful mosque I’ve ever visited, but I’m glad I went.

Jeff and Ruth. Jeff’s shorts were deemed too “ short” , so he was given this Jedi robe.

The pollution in Jakarta is severe. I took this photo shortly before 6 PM while waiting for the elevator, from the 15th floor.

It seems every city must have its phallic symbol, and Jakarta is no exception, but they added a twist. Some see a flame, others see the shape of a woman. Era, our guide said the latter is appropriate for Soekarno, Indonesia’s first president and a notorious womanizer. Widi, our guide, pointed out Soekarno’s persuasive powers not only enabled him to unite all the various islands to form the nation of Indonesia, but also enabled him to convince NINE women to marry him!

The evening ended just like the previous one, on the 22nd floor in the skybar.

We are at the airport now, awaiting our flight to Yogyakarta, where we will spend the next four nights. I hope you’ll come along.

Forgive any typos. We are boarding now so I’m pressing publish without proofreading.

Borneo

We all have heard about the work of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, but how many of us know that Louis Leakey had a THIRD woman researching the big apes? I sure didn’t. Jane Goodall focused on chimpanzees, while Dian Fossey researched gorillas. Biruté Galdikas was the third member of Leakey’s “Trimates”, studying the orangutans in Borneo.

Maybe we don’t know about her because her name is more difficult to spell, pronounce and remember? Anyway, OAT listed her book “Reflections of Eden” as a suggested reading. Because it was published in 1995, my local library didn’t have a copy, so I ordered it from Thrift Books for $12.49. (If you are interested in seeing what Thrift Books provides, just click on the link— the underlined words).

It is a wonderful book! If you are interested in what on site researchers go through, she tells all: the fevers, the mud, the rashes, the disappointments and triumphs, in an engaging and entertaining way.

Although Eros, our local guide, explained a lot about orangutan behavior, I was glad to have read about it earlier in Biruté’s well written book.

We started the pretrip to Borneo, leaving the hotel at 4:15 AM for our 6 AM flight to Pangkalan Bun. From there, we drove to the river, then boarded a Klotok ( which is a traditional Indonesian riverboat) that took us to our very rustic ecolodge.

Widi is a master at managing expectations. He prepared us for flight delays ( which didn’t happen) then told us our ecolodge is simultaneously the best and the worst lodging in the area, simply because it is the ONLY lodging in the area! We spent two nights there, but all our meals were served on the river boat.

Our first orangutan encounter was at Tanjung Puting National Park. When we arrived at this popular spot, we learned that we would have to climb through FIVE other riverboats to get to the park.

My sister Sue will recall our jumping from fishing boat to fishing boat in our younger days. Let me tell ya, it was a whole lot easier when I was 12 years old! Still, we all did great. I was completely impressed by 90 year old Arthur, who navigated the boats like a champ.

Next, we walked a little less than a mile to the feeding station, over a well maintained, flat path through the jungle. The only hazard were the many tree roots that could trip you up if you weren’t paying attention. I had my eyes on the road ahead and for once, made it back and forth without falling.

Was it worth getting up at 3AM? Hell yeah.

This lovely lady high in a nearby tree watched us watching the other orangutans on the feeding platform.

And what a show they put on! Here are a couple of them behaving like boys of all species.

It reminded me of my Rwanda trip where we watched as twin brother gorillas wrestled on the ground. However, in Rwanda, we were able to get MUCH closer to the primates. BUT, we had to hike two hours through the jungle to get there, and it was NOT on a well maintained trail. Plus we were only able to visit ONCE for an hour, whereas in Borneo, we made THREE visits to feeding stations on three different days.

Our second visit was to the preserve that Biruté and her husband established in the early ‘70s. It was named in honor of her mentor, Louis Leakey.

Once again, we had to climb through multiple boats to get to land. THIS time we walked on a “boardwalk” part of the way. Good thing we didn’t get too complacent. It was even more hazardous than the tree roots because some of the boards were loose, others had rotted areas, with holes and huge gaps between them. This was the BEST stretch. It got progressively worse.

Once we arrived at the feeding station, we were able to watch our first adult male (Nova) as he leisurely devoured bananas.

No one else approached while he was there, EXCEPT his girlfriend with her baby. Could he have been the dad? Who knows?

It just so happened that our final orangutan visit, to Pondok Tangui, was the very best of the trip. On the way to the feeding station, I was glad I’d brought my binoculars with me, because to be able to watch orangutans swinging from the treetops was pretty spectacular. No photos, only the visuals imprinted on my brain.

When we arrived at the feeding station, we realized that Atlas, the alpha male, decided to mingle with the peons (us) before consuming his brunch. He was so near, I was able to get this close up. Although initially I thought it would be challenging to tell the orangutans apart, after viewing photos of Nova and Atlas, I realized there are significant differences between these alpha males. Can YOU tell who’s who?

We were able to get pretty close to the big guy before he ambled over to the feeding platform.

Although Atlas dominated the feeding platform, keeping other males away, he was willing to share bananas with these monkeys.

We met with one of the rangers who explained that before he became the alpha male, Atlas hung out with these Macaque monkeys in the jungle, so they all became friends.

I have enough videos and photos of these fascinating primates to make your eyes roll back into your head, so I’ll stop with this photo of a mother and child, sharing a tender moment in a nearby tree. Using my binoculars I was able to watch them kissing, but wasn’t fast enough to capture it with my iPhone, so this will have to do.

Tomorrow we return to Jakarta to meet 8 more travelers that will be joining us on the main trip.

Indonesia

Remember that line of bull that they give new mothers about how you forget the pain of giving birth once you hold your baby in your arms? Yeah. That didn’t happen. I still can vividly remember that pain. But it sure works for travel. Once I arrive at my destination, I forget all about the long plane rides, the jet lag, and any difficulties I’ve encountered along the way. I’m just so thrilled to reach my destination!

Okay , so business class on Singapore Airlines was definitely NOT a hardship, but it STILL took nineteen LONG hours. After that I had to change planes for a two hour flight from Singapore to Jakarta on Scoot Airlines. When I booked the flight, I was concerned about having only 1 1/2 hours to change planes, but the airport was super efficient, so I even had time to brush my teeth before I boarded.

As usual, I initially purchased airfare from OAT, knowing that as long as I notified them at least 90 days before departure, I could cancel the airfare portion and get a full refund. The routing they offered had me departing on Saturday, arriving on Monday and involved multiple plane changes, so I decided to see if I could do better. Fortunately, my travel buddy, Jeanne, has a nephew who works in Singapore. He suggested I try Singapore Airlines, which I did. I got affordable business class, and was able to shave hours off my travel time, leaving a day later (Sunday) and arriving Monday night.

Normally, for a trip like this, I would do only carry-on. Unlike trips involving more than one climate, this time I only need to pack hot weather clothes, which are lightweight and much smaller than winter clothes. However, the Friends of Overseas Adventure Facebook group recommended bringing along a hiking stick, and mentioned that it might not be allowed as a carry-on. (It is left to the discretion of the TSA agent whether or not to confiscate the hiking stick). I decided not to take the chance.

Well, since I’m checking luggage anyway, I’m packing significantly more than I ordinarily would. For example, I’m bringing along a travel hairdryer, just in case some hotels have those horrible ones that are attached to the wall.

The allowance for checked luggage with Singapore Airlines is quite generous—88 pounds for checked. For carry-on I’m allowed two bags weighing 15 pounds each. Even with overpacking, I’m coming in WAY below ( 32 pounds checked and 12 for my ONE carry on). We shall see if I forgot something essential, although according to my check list, I’ve packed everything and then some.

So, how was business class with Singapore Air? It was worth every penny! As my friend Beth one told me, “ if you don’t fly business class, your kid will.” So I’m happily spending my son’s inheritance, with his complete support and encouragement.

The service on Singapore Airlines was excellent, the food was great, and the seats were super comfortable. The best part—like United’s Polaris flights, every seat had aisle access, so no need to climb over a fellow passenger to get to the bathroom.

The “lay flat” seats were not as easy to operate as United’s. You have to get up, pull the seat back forward and do other things to get your bed made. A flight attendant made up my bed, so I have no idea what “other things” she did! I chose a window seat on the left, which had me sleeping with my head facing the aisle, and my feet by the window, on an angle.

I had to move the orange bags and water bottle to make room for my feet. Fortunately, there was plenty of storage space for my “stuff”.

Although Singapore Airlines provides noise canceling headsets, they are NOT as effective as my Bose, so I’m definitely using my own on the return flight.

I was glad that I packed an adapter, because without it, I would have been unable to charge my electronics. The plugs required a European style C adapter.

Everything I read told me to avoid alcohol because doing so would help me fall asleep. Although I took an Ambien, and didn’t partake in the departure champagne, I wasn’t able to fall asleep so I figured what the hell, I’m having wine with dinner.

Before I left home, I had done an E-visa and gotten my arrival card on line, so I was able to go directly to passport control, but being me, I went the wrong way. ( my sister Sue will be thinking , “ at least she consistent” when she reads this ) I had walked a considerable distance before an airport worker stopped me and pointed in the opposite direction. Somehow she could tell I am not Indonesian and I needed to go through immigration.

The Jakarta airport is HUGE! Although because I purchased my own airfare, technically my trip leader didn’t have to meet me at the airport. Therefore, I was surprised and pleased to get this WhatsApp message from Widi when I arrived.

Okay, so I’ll admit to being a bit spacey even when I’m NOT jet lagged, but try as I might, I couldn’t find him —Not even with that visual aid. Turns out, HE was in terminal 2 and I was in terminal 3. The airline had changed terminals but never updated the information.

Eventually we found each other, got on the shuttle and made our way to the gorgeous Sheraton.

Tonight we will have a group dinner, where I will meet the 3 couples who will be traveling to Borneo with Laurie and me tomorrow.

Today is going to be a pool day, where I will ( I hope) completely shake off any remnants of jet lag.

Trip Insurance – When Things Go Wrong

Fecal matter happens. With alarming regularity. And travel provides boundless opportunities for it to hit the fan.

Those of you who read my last blog post know that I never made it to Alaska. When United offered to cancel my flight because of bad weather, promising a full refund, I jumped at the chance. I had hoped that my credit card trip cancellation insurance would refund the ground portion of the trip, but at that point, I was ready to take the loss. That’s how hot, tired and hungry I was.

Fortunately, my Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa came through! This travel cancellation/Interruption coverage is included when you pay for the trip using the Chase Preferred credit card. The maximum covered amount is $10,000 per trip, per person, which is certainly adequate for most of the trips I take. There is also evacuation insurance of up to $100,000. To me, the card is well worth the $90 annual fee.

Because OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel, my favorite travel company) now requires a minimum of $200,000 in evacuation insurance and $50,000 in medical coverage when traveling to remote areas, I bought an annual policy for my 2026 trips via Squaremouth (on line) from Trawick. When I filed the claim, I told Chase about the other coverage, including that it was secondary, and said that the two insurance companies can figure out what liability each have, without my involvement. (It’s called subrogation).

The filing process was easy. The best part– the check was deposited into my checking account on August 27. Considering that I filed the claim on August 11, I thought that was pretty darn fast.

I didn’t have as much luck with United. Although United attempted to reimburse me (over 20 times, I learned when I finally got connected to a human), there was a computer glitch.

Using the text feature offered by United didn’t really help. I’ve discovered that AI sometimes isn’t all that intelligent, but it certainly is frustrating, although unfailingly polite. It was only when I called and insisted on speaking to a HUMAN (Yes, I HAD to shout at the Interactive Voice Response system) that the problem was identified and resolved. Greg, the customer service representative was EXCELLENT. Not surprisingly, he shared my view on the effectiveness of AI.

So, what have I learned? Both United and Chase Visa were great about refunding the full cost of my trip, but it took a little extra effort on my part to get the needed human intervention.

I was grateful that I kept good records, which helped when I filed the claim with Chase. To figure out what happened with United, I needed both the ticket number and the confirmation code. Fortunately I had retained both.

So what about 2027? I have 4 trips planned, three of which require evacuation insurance coverage of more than what Chase offers. This time, I decided to use an agent, Dan Drennan, who in the past has been very helpful. He suggested that I deal with Allianz directly and gave me their phone number (866-884-3556), because the annual policies he could offer were more expensive than what I could buy directly from Allianz. That’s what I like about Dan—he’s very honest, helpful and treats his customers well. Here’s his phone number, for anyone needing help with travel insurance : 402-343-3621.

I learned that annual policies offer only secondary coverage. Because Chase only covers the first $100,000 toward evacuation, if the need arose and the cost was over $100,000, I would have to file claims with both Allianz and Chase. I sure hope that never happens, for MANY reasons!

I also learned that I would have to wait till at least 60 days before I wanted the annual coverage to go into effect to purchase a policy. In the interim, however, I was able to get a quote and was pleased to see that Allianz offers exactly what I need at a reasonable price. It was a little over $800 for the full year, for the most comprehensive plan. There are cheaper alternatives available.

My next trip starts in 5 more days. Remember my earlier statement about fecal matter happening? Well, last weekend, a volcano erupted in Indonesia, grounding over 3,000 flights. The airports were all closed for a couple of days. How lucky am I to be flying to Indonesia a week AFTER the excitement!

I hope you’ll join me on my OAT trip to Borneo, Java, Bali and Komodo Island. Although I have been forewarned that the internet is somewhat slow and frequently sporadic, I plan on posting whenever the opportunity arises.

Alaska – Land Tour with Grand Circle

This is the map of the trip I’m supposed to be on right now. It is also the map of the trip I canceled last night.

Why?

Well, here’s the “Readers Digest Version:
After spending the day at Newark airport, with close to an hour on the phone rescheduling flights, followed by a little over two hours sitting on a hot plane on a Newark airport runway, I’d had enough.

The flight crew had “timed out” on this second rescheduled flight, so when we returned to the gate, I didn’t wait around to see whether they were successful in finding a crew to fly to Anchorage. I knew that leaving Newark after 6 PM would guarantee that I’d miss my connecting flight, resulting in my having to stay overnight in Anchorage, then find a flight to Fairbanks the next morning. I was hot, tired, and hungry. That is not a good way to start an eight hour flight, so I returned home.

As soon as I entered the taxi, I called United to cancel my flight. Although I was on hold long enough to travel 35 minute drive home from the airport, cook my dinner and eat it, it was worth the wait because United is completely refunding my plane fare.

I hope I’m as lucky with the Travel Insurance Company attached to my Visa Sapphire Preferred card. That’s today’s adventure- submitting a claim for the cost of the OAT trip. I also have an annual policy with Trawick that is secondary, so I figured I’d start with Chase and let the two insurance companies figure it out. (I know about subrogation from my insurance days). I bought Trawick’s annual policy because some countries are now requiring a minimum of $200,000 in expatriation benefits, and Chase only covers up to $100,000. This is my first time having duplicate coverage, so I hope it isn’t a hassle, having the additional coverage through a different company.

Actually, if truth be told, I’m not THAT disappointed that I had to cancel the trip. It was only for 11 days, and I would have missed at least 2 of them. I’d been to Alaska in 2024, with my friend Jean, and I know it would not be as much fun traveling without her.

So, no photos of Denali or cute animals on this post. Next trip will be to Borneo, Java, Bali and Komodo Island, leaving on Sunday, September 13. I hope you’ll join me on THAT trip, which will be almost a month long.

Homeward Bound?

Ya gotta have a little drama on every trip to make it memorable, but today was a bit much, even for me! Here’s how it started.

Originally, I thought I was FLYING from Innsbruck to Munich on Lufthansa, because that is what my United booking SAID.

I figured I’d have a leisurely breakfast, pack, then depart around 11 AM. To my surprise, my trip leader, Luca and fellow traveler, George informed me that there are no flights for the two hour and 45 minute trip. Furthermore, you only need to leave the hotel about 45 minutes to 1 hour before the bus departs.

Luckily, I was able to contact United to switch to the 10 AM bus. It only took about a half an hour on the phone and cost an additional $26, but it was worth it, because I had pretty much done everything worth doing in Innsbruck. Besides, the probability of rain that day was really high.

Four fellow travelers were on the 10 AM bus with me, so the hotel arranged for a van to transport us for the 12 minute drive to the airport. Yeah, even though we weren’t flying, we still had to go to the airport to catch the bus.

When I went to pay my share of the cost, I discovered my fanny pack, containing my passport, credit card, ATM card and cash was NOT around my waist. Pure panic!! I considered having a major meltdown, but decided to put that energy into devising plans B, C and D.

Luckily George was with me, so when I couldn’t figure out how to dial internationally, he called the hotel to ask them to check with the taxi company to ask whether it fell off in the taxi. Nope. Finally, I figured out the only other place it could be, was in my room, so the wonderful desk clerk at Stage 12 ran up and checked. Bingo.

I was so bloody lucky that she recognized that Jodie and Dan were in my travel group. She had called to reserve their taxi and knew they were traveling to Munich, so she gave them my fanny pack. When I met them at their hotel, Jodie told me that had I called five minutes later, they would have already left the hotel in their taxi. How lucky was I? How great were they?

Remember that movie “ Trains, Planes and Automobiles”? I felt like I had created my very own version, with me in a starring role —but I also added “Buses” to the mix. Why not?

Speaking of buses, this is something you don’t see every day— a bus driver smoking a pipe while driving!

When I arrived at the Munich Airport Hilton, the desk clerk allowed me to check in, using an image of my passport, stored on my phone. She wouldn’t accept the image of my credit card, but luckily I had stashed enough cash in my carry on. (George had very thoughtfully offered me Euros to tide me over, but my stash was adequate. )

By now, I am very aware of my many weaknesses, so I hide cash in multiple locations, specifically for times like this. I wish I could claim it was a rare occurrence, but it isn’t.

My next step was to figure out how to get to Jodie’s and Dan’s hotel in downtown Munich, which is approximately an hour away from the airport.

Rome2Rio app to the rescue! This free app listed all the different options for travel between the airport and the hotel, with the cost and the estimated time for each. For those who prefer a visual image, the app supplies a map that showed the distance between the two points.

Clearly The one way cost of $110 to $140 for a taxi was a non-starter, so instead I engaged in what OAT calls “Learning and Discovery”. I learned how to take the bus to the center and the train on the way back. ( The train is a much better option! No traffic. ). After giving me my fanny pack, Dan and Jodie walked me to the train station. This whole incident reminded me of the Beatle song “I get by with a little help from my friends”.

But wait! There’s more. I tried to use Apple pay at the airport ticket machine, and got rejected twice. Fortunately, I still had my last 20 Euros, so I paid cash.

On the train ride to the hotel, I got this text from Chase:

Alls well that ends well. The airport Hilton is beautiful,

the buffet dinner was delicious,

and I spent the rest of my evening thinking about how lucky I am to have had such an amazing trip with such wonderful new friends.

Photo by Jodie of Susan and I sharing umbrellas and Jodie’s husband.

Photo by Kay of Susan, Gail and I enjoying our farewell toast.

I’ll end this post with a line from the song Kay sent us all: “ Happy trails to you, until we meet again”. And I sure hope we do!

Last Stop- Innsbruck, Austria

This is the second time I visited Innsbruck. The first time was with Mike, on our honeymoon, 50 years ago, during the summer of 1976. I recall driving around in circles, seeing our hotel, but we were unable to figure out a way to get to it. Finally Mike said “The hell with it, I’m going the wrong way on that one way street.” And he did, which was very unusual for such a rule follower. The only other memory I have of Innsbruck was the two of us walking one night after dinner to see the “Golden Roof”, commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I around 1500 to celebrate his wedding. These days, it isn’t the only “gold” landmark.

What a difference 50 years makes!

Mike only took slides with his film camera (Yes, we watched slide shows way back then— but not frequently), so I don’t have any then photos to compare to now— only very vague memories. Let me assure you, I’m positive there were NO McDonald’s Golden Arches back then!

So let’s return to the present, shall we?

Because of the rain, we were unable to visit the scheduled waterfall, on our drive to Innsbruck. Instead, Luca arranged for us to tour a copper mine. Once again, the substitute activity turned out to be phenomenal. Much better, in my opinion, than a waterfall. Besides, our route took us alongside this raging mountain stream, so we saw plenty of water!

The copper mine, no longer operational, is now an attraction, led by another guide that my sister Sandy would have fallen madly in love with before the tour had ended. Can you tell how much I miss her?

Luckily, we were given hard hats and rain jackets. The ceilings in the mine were so low that I would have cracked open my head at least one of the many times I bumped it. Man, people were short back in the day! Mike and Greg would have been very uncomfortable on this tour.

The mine was extremely cold, so I was grateful for that 4th layer. ( yes, I was already wearing THREE layers and I was STILL cold!)

The little train whisked us to the start of the tour, where we were greeted by one of the seven dwarfs ( or was he the Travelocity gnome?)

If it has to rain on vacation, what better time than when we are riding on our bus? Luca always chose music appropriate for the day, and this day was no exception. As you can hear, some of us chose to sing along.

The weather has been absolutely crazy. That old New England saying “you don’t like the weather? Don’t worry. It will change” certainly applied to this trip. We had sunshine, torrential downpours, then sunshine…heat, then cold all in the same day.

Once again, Susan and I were safely tucked under an awning, having lunch, when the rain hit. Our delightful and engaging waitress demonstrated a novel use of a menu!

What did we care? We had great company, our favorite beverages, food on its way, and a free show!

By the time we had finished lunch, the sun had come out, so Susan and I decided to go on a reconnaissance mission to check out the 360 view at a bar Luca recommended.

As usual, our one full day in Innsbruck started with a tour by our excellent local guide, Tina.

We weren’t allowed to take photos inside the palace, but that’s okay. It was like all the other palaces I’ve seen, except it was filled with portraits of Maria Theresa’s 16 kids (including her daughter, Marie Antoinette). The church across the street was far more interesting.

Although Maximilian 1’s body is located in Wiener Neustadt, near Vienna, his grandson, Emperor Ferdinand 1, decided that Grandpa deserved a tomb in Innsbruck. And what a tomb it is!

Surrounding the cenotaph are 28 larger than life bronze statues.

I was particularly taken with the figures of women, especially the one with the long braids.

According to the brochure, she was Elizabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol, mother of 21 children, wife of King Albert, and “first ancestress” of the Hapsburgs. And I thought Maria Theresa was prolific!

Before our farewell dinner, I had time to visit the Swarovski store. I DID make a purchase, but that outfit wasn’t it.

One final photo of our schnapps toast in the square between the police car on the left and the marijuana dispensary on the right.

I head to Munich tomorrow morning, then I fly home the next day.

Biella, Italy

What?! You never heard of Biella? Before this trip, neither had I. That’s one of the many reasons I choose to travel with OAT. Their itineraries include places I didn’t know I wanted to visit until I got there.

Our hotel, the Agora Palace, is across the street from a beautiful park. Unlike the USA, Biella has public sources of pure mountain water, like this one, from which you can fill your water bottle.

Also near our hotel is a small mall with a grocery store and an inexpensive clothing shop. Because the weather has been unseasonably warm, and we were ALL expecting cold temperatures, most of us went shopping for lightweight clothes. For 30 Euros, I got a tee shirt, shorts and a long skirt. I wasn’t crazy about the slit in the long skirt, but that’s all Piazza Italia had in stock. (That’s the name of the store).

Before we arrived, Luca explained Biella is a quiet town, without much going on, so we were a little surprised when we encountered this:

Turns out, an “old car” race with over 100 cars was taking place that night. We were a little puzzled by the cars departing one at a time, but we learned it was a TIMED race, and unlike most “races” , the speed was not the point. It was actually an opportunity to show off your old car. Supposedly, the race went on all night!

Babes, band & cars — in a “sleepy” town??

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we were unable to visit the ice cave in Chamonix, so Luca negotiated with the OAT office to replace THAT activity with vermouth tasting at a historic bar.

We were all quite delighted with the change in activities!

Our second day in Biella started with a guided tour of the city’s highlights, namely churches, including this baptistry.

We’ve all seen churches, and the remainder looked like every other church I’ve visited, so I took no photos.

We then hopped onto a bus, which whisked us up to the old section of Biella, where we toured La Palazzo La Marmora. Here’s another reason I love OAT. The palace is normally closed on Sunday, but it was opened just for us.

Our guide, the marquis, was a member of the illustrious family, whose tree adorned the dining room wall.

To say the artwork and antiques were interesting would be an understatement.

The matriarch who commissioned the following family portrait gave birth to 16 children. The girls all moved away after marriage, so the artist had to visit the homes of the daughters to create “sketches” that he later incorporated into the portrait. Of course, the gathering of all surviving children portrayed in the painting never occurred. (Was this the forerunner of Photoshop or AI?)

I thought I could figure out who was who by matching the clothing, but apparently the artist preferred different outfits.

The 4 sons on the upper right were all generals in the Crimean war. So what do you do when a cannonball almost kills you? Why, if you are a member of nobility, you bring it home, melt it down and recycle it into a chair.

One final example of the artwork, before we move on.

For some unknown reason, the marquis didn’t point out this mural on the dining room wall. Perhaps he didn’t want to have to explain what his ancestors were thinking about while they were munching on their Cheerios?

After the tour, most of the group chose to take an optional cooking class, but Susan and I decided to skip it. Instead, we had lunch in upper Biella at the “Hasta La Polenta” restaurant. How could we resist a restaurant sporting a plaque that said ( in Italian) “Ernest Hemingway never was here”?

I absolutely LOVE the Italian sense of humor. Take a look at the English translations on their menu.

Of course, after our entree, we HAD to have dessert. Here’s Susan, showing off her selection.

After our wonderfully filling lunch, Susan and I worked off some of our dessert by walking back to the hotel.

By then it was time to get ready for a “home hosted” dinner with Marcelo and Claudia in their historical home, built in the 1800’s.

Our group of 14 split up to have dinner with 3 different families.

For final day we visited a cheese farm, to partake in what OAT calls “A day in the life”. As the name suggests, OAT travelers are given an opportunity to experience the area’s daily life. The best part? We walked part of the way there — and the weather was perfect!

We all got a chance to “make” cheese, while we learned more about Elisa, our host. Although she has a degree in economics, Elisa decided she preferred to take over her grandparents’ cheese making business.

OAT group at a Day in the Life, with our hosts

We ended the day with a visit to (what else) the church complex at Oropa.

This “new” church was built for a papal visit

The original church incorporated this rock into its wall, presenting the perfect backdrop for yet another group photo.

Dinner was on our own, so four of us went for pizza at Doppio Zero. It was very good, but very different.

Next stop Lugano, Switzerland.

Goodbye France, Hello Italy

OAT made the right decision to start this adventure in Chamonix! Our hotel, the Lykke, was ideally located. We could walk to the many restaurants, bars, trails and attractions. And we DID.

Not only that, but if you needed down time, the hotel’s pool/ whirlpool /sauna complex was the ideal spot to relax and recharge. I visited there twice during my four day stay.

The MAIN attraction of Chamonix, however is the mountains in general, and Mont Blanc in particular. During our stay, we rode the classic cog train to view the glacier which either starts or ends at Mont Blanc. I forget. But really, who cares?

Unfortunately, the gondola was not accepting passengers, but we saw its practice run.

We were SUPPOSED to ride the gondola to an ice cave, but because of climate change, the cave was closed. A new ice cave had to be built nearer to the glacier. Because the pace of warming is escalating, our guide told us over the last few years, a new ice cave had to be constructed every year.

I find it hard to understand how someone cannot “believe” in global warming and climate change. Yes, I know, our planet has been through ice ages and warming trends, but those changes took centuries to occur, not years. But enough on that topic. For those of you who will never visit Chamonix, here’s what you would have seen.

The vertical arrow shows the current position of the glacier. The horizontal arrow near the bottom of the photo marks where the glacier ended four years ago.

And if you were lucky enough to get Luca as your guide and Francois as the local guide, this is who you would have seen it with.

It wasn’t a problem that we missed out on the gondola ride, because the next day, we rode two huge gondolas to get to the Mont Blanc viewing platform.

60 of us were jammed into the gondola. It felt like a NYC subway, minus the hanging straps.

The photos can’t possibly capture the grandeur of the mountains. But those of you who have been following this blog know I’m going to try!

Yes, those ARE clouds in the photo below. That’s how high we were.

Although WE rode the gondolas, others chose a different method for getting to the top.

None of us had a death wish, so that’s why we chose the safer, more boring option. We DID manage to walk through an ice cave, AND we made it to BOTH viewing platforms shown in the header of this post, which required us to mount several flights of stairs.

Luca, our guide, emerging from the ice cave

If we wanted, we could stand in line for about an hour to step into “the void”, which was a transparent cube that allowed you to see to the bottom of the mountain. I imagine that on one’s instagram feed, it would look like the poster was suspended in mid air. The photo taking was undoubtedly why the wait to enter the cube was so long!

One of the MANY photos this couple took!

Since none of us have an instagram feed, we skipped that experience.

Instead, we used our eyes to take in the spectacular views.

The views from the gondola , on the way up and down

Before we leave Chamonix, one last photo of almost all of the single ladies at dinner at the Rose du Pont

Me, AB, Stephanie, Susan and Kay. We are missing Gail, the photographer

Although we ended up in Brielle, like most OAT trips, our bus ride was broken up by a stop in Aosta, a charming town along the way. Mike would have LOVED Aosta, because it was chock full of ancient Roman ruins. Back then, it was called Augusta Praetoria, shorten over the ages to Aosta.

He heard there was gold in them thar hills, so he decided to “ veni, vidi, vici”.

The original arches are 32 steps below the surface of the modern city. I don’t recall why or how they were preserved, but I’ll bet you don’t care either.

After sharing a half a bottle of this

with my new friend Sarah, I decided to press send without proof reading.

Biella deserves its own post, and once I sober up, I’ll get to it. But until then, happy reading and thanks for coming along.

Hawaii – with Family

I have been WAY behind in my blogging, so as I cool my heels at the airport, I decided to use the time productively by writing about last April’s trip with Sandy’s daughter and granddaughters. San would have LOVED this trip and I would have loved to have her sharing my room with me!

I had been to Hawaii twice before. My initial Hawaiian experience was when I was 26, on my first ever business trip, with Harper & Row publishers. We spent early December 2025 on the “Big Island” at the Mona Kea Resort. Fortunately, we didn’t have cell phone back then to immortalize the scandalous goings on.

My second trip was to Maui, another business trip, this time with Prudential in 1986. That’s when I discovered I really, REALLY liked red wine.

My third trip will be my first pure vacation, with Kristen, Katherine (13 years old) and Bonnie (12 years old). Because we will be going during their April 2026 spring break, and time was limited, we decided to stay in Oahu on Waikiki Beach.

I was surprised to find that Costco had some really great packages. I decided against using them for airfare. Although the pricing was attractive, the flights were decidedly not. Given that Kristen and the girls already had to endure long flights from and back to Boston, I wanted to make it as painless as I possibly could.

We met at the Denver airport, then flew together to Honolulu

Costco came through with a great price for the Outrigger Reef Hotel, right on Waikiki Beach. The package came with lots of perks, like entrance to the gorgeous lounge, which offered complete breakfasts and late afternoon snacks that were substantial enough to serve as our dinners, accompanied by as much wine or soft drinks as desired.

Also in the package was a $250 credit for the poolside restaurant (which paid for 2 lunches for the 4 of us) and a Costco gift card to use upon return.

Because I had heard so much about Pearl Harbor, I decided to book a tour there, right after the lei lesson. What I hadn’t counted on was Mark, our instructor, seemed intent on talking about everything except how to make leis. I finally told him I had to leave for my Pearl Harbor tour in 30 minutes, which prompted him to dub me, “Miss Arizona”.

The three girls weren’t interested in visiting Pearl Harbor, so they instead took a trolley tour around the island. I think they made the wiser choice. I’m not sure why people go on and on about Pearl Harbor. I was decidedly unimpressed.

Because we had so many activities planned, we didn’t take advantage of as many of the resort programs as I initially expected. As usual the girls wanted to do different things.

Katherine had wanted to go surfing and Bonnie chose snorkeling, so I signed them both up for both activities. Thanks to my son, Greg, I used ChatGPT to help me narrow down the choices for activity vendors.

We were able to walk to the surf lesson at a nearby beach. Initially, I was annoyed because I had wanted the two of them to take a private lesson for two. My thinking was that they would be scheduled at the same time and it would be easier for us to watch them both. Because Bonnie was under 13, the company insisted that she have her own instructor, so they each got a private lesson. That turned out to be best, given how many other people were in the water. They BOTH were able to stand on their boards, but they were too far out for me to capture them riding the waves. Although a photographer was in the water with them, you could only buy a package for $80 each ($160 total). Sadly, they didn’t sell individual videos or photos. It was all or nothing.

I don’t remember which surf company we used, but I recall that we used the Honolulu Snorkel Company for our snorkeling adventure.

We were unable to drive there, so we took a taxi. The driver didn’t put on his meter and attempted to overcharge me. Because I knew the cost per mile and (thanks to Google Maps) the distance, I did the math and told him what the fare should have been. He agreed to pick us up and bring us back to the hotel for no additional charge — which was a fair price for round trip.

Upon arrival, we learned that the private guide I booked had been in an accident that morning, so I decided to just stay on the boat rather than join the snorkelers. It was a good decision, because both Bonnie and Katherine got stung by jellyfish. Fortunately, they were BABY jellyfish, so the damage was minimal, but still. The company KNEW that when the wind shifted direction, baby jellyfish were blown into the area, but no one warned us. Despite the stings, the girls had a good time, and didn’t complain about the stings at all.

Another fun activity was riding an outrigger canoe at the beach. We rowed out, then rode the waves back to shore.

We were able to walk to the luau that I had booked but I was disappointed to see that it was in the center of a nearby MALL. The food wasn’t great, but the audience participation was lots of fun. We all got tattoos:

Bonnie was invited onto the stage to join the drummers, and the dancers were excellent!

The following image was taken at the mall, but ChatGPT changed the background to make it look like the girls were on a beach with the “fire eater”. Where is Katherine, you ask? Well, she’s 13, so she doesn’t always want to have her photo taken.

All in all, it was a memorable, wonderful way to spend time with my three favorite girls! I got to sit with Bonnie on the flight to Oahu and Katherine on the way back. It doesn’t get much better than that!

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