OAT – Page 11 – Destination NOW

Maximizing Your Travel Dollars

We LOVE to travel, so I’m always looking for ways to maximize our dollars without sacrificing our experiences. Now that we are rapidly approaching the three quarters of a century mark, some of the things we found satisfactory when we were much younger aren’t quite so appealing now. These days, we are not interested in hostels or camping, but fortunately there are many other ways to make travel more affordable. One of them is find a travel company that meets your needs and then stick with them. More and more are offering loyalty programs to encourage you to look no further than their offerings.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that Mike and I have used a variety of companies, but lately we have found that OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) has been providing maximum value for our travel dollars. We like the small group size, the itineraries, the guides, the activity level, and for us, the right balance of free time and structured activities.

It also doesn’t hurt that they have a great loyalty program. Here’s how theirs works. When you take a trip with OAT,(or with their sister company, Grand Circle) you earn a 5% credit toward a second trip, if taken within a 12 month period. If you take two trips within a calendar year, you get a $250 per person discount on the second trip.

Another way to save is to pay by check, 12 months in advance. That will earn you a 7.5% discount. Of course, if you do so, you don’t get the points on your credit card, and you may forgo some of the benefits you card offers. It isn’t hard to do a quick cost/benefit analysis. If you have one of the premium credit cards, it is worth checking out whether it offers generous trip insurance benefits. If yes, those benefits could outweigh the 7.5% savings for advance cash payments.

On your FIRST OAT trip, an easy way to save $100 per person is to be referred by another OAT traveler, so check with friends and family to discover if they have ever taken an OAT trip. When you make your reservation, you simply give their traveler number, and voila, you and your friend have both earned a $100 credit toward future trips. If you don’t have a friend who has traveled with OAT, I would be delighted to be your friend. Here’s my number: 001564068. After YOUR first trip, YOU can refer travelers, which will earn YOU a $100 credit toward your next trip. Easy, right?

More information about all of these programs is available on the OAT w ebsite. Once you get there, click on the “Why OAT” bar at the top of the page and this is what you will see:

In addition to “Ways to Save”, you should also check out “Last Minute Travel Deals” if your schedule is flexible.

Normally, I plan our international travel MANY months in advance, usually well over a year, so we can take advantage of that prepayment discount. But there’s another reason. Because OAT groups are limited to only 16 travelers, the popular times fill up quickly. It seems we all want to travel when the weather is most favorable for our destination, but when it is not over crowded with tourists.

This year, however, we decided to do something different. A trip we have been wanting to take popped up as a “Last Minute Travel Deal” and it just happened to be the ideal time of year for us to visit South America. Sometimes, the last minute deals are for less popular travel times.

This last minute deal saved us $1,000 per person. And because we are taking another OAT trip later this year, we saved an additional $250 per person, for a total of $2,500. These savings really DO add up.

I was a little concerned that the airfare would devour all of our savings because we were booking so late. Fortunately, OAT was able to get us great seats on a direct flight to Santiago with LATAM Airlines. Yeah, I never heard of them either, but a quick internet search allayed my fears. It is the result of a recent merger between LAN Argentina and LAN Chile. Let’s hope it is a HAPPY union.

We are arriving a day early, just in case we get uncooperative weather –not unheard of in the New York/New Jersey area in winter. If we luck out, and arrive as scheduled, we will have an extra day in Santiago to combat jet lag and see the sights.

So, what about you? Do you have a favorite travel company? Ideas for extracting the most value from you travel dollars?

Mantua and Trent

Well, we are getting ready to hit the road (the one that leads to the airport) soon, so I figured if I had anything further to say about last fall’s trip to Northern Italy, now is the time to say it.

My last post was about the city of Verona. Although it was a lovely city, it was a bit crowded, so when we had the choice of spending another day in Verona, or going on an optional trip to Mantua, we (and everyone else on our tour) opted for the optional, and we were glad we did.

Yes, Mantua had the requisite castle, with beautiful frescoes, but the castle also had something I’d never seen before — a moat with lovely sculptures plopped in it. Were they ballerina or fairy costumes? I have no idea; either one works for me.

Mantua also had the mandatory clock tower, but this one was so beautiful, I felt compelled to include two photos of it- the one below to give you a sense of its placement and scale, and the one atop this post to show the beautiful craftsmanship. Just think how amazing it must have been before the frescoes were damaged.

Can you tell this tower has been repaired more than once?

Like other cities, Mantua has an object, which, if rubbed, promises thAt the rub-ee will grant the rub-er good luck. In Verona, it is Juliet’s right breast. In Mantua, it is Rigoletto’s hump. We avoided the fake Juliet balcony and statue, but we ladies couldn’t resist Rigoletto.

What was MOST memorable to me, however, was the “relic” in the Basilica of Saint Andrew. According to the plaque, the soldier that stabbed Christ (Who later became a saint –Longino– but not all that popular, because I’d never heard of him before. Had you?) was prescient enough to know that the blood soaked earth was worth preserving, so he did. For thousands of years. Quite a story, and I’ll leave it at that.

The artist’s interpretation of the event

Our next stop was Trento, the site of the Council of Trent, where Catholic bishops got together and did something important that I learned about in high school but have since forgotten. Here too, we encountered a magnificent cathedral. Could this be The Stairway to Heaven that Led Zeppelin sang about? Take a look. It sure doesn’t seem to lead anywhere else. If you took a tumble from the top, Heaven may be where you’d land, but probably only if you went to confession first.

Right outside the church, beside Neptune’s fountain, it was quite festive. Lots of young people holding flowers and plaques, wearing laurel wreaths on their heads were milling about.

Our group is nothing, if not astute. We immediately figured this was some kind of commencement celebration. I’ll tell ya, if I had been given the choice, I definitely would have gone with the laurel wreath instead of the mortarboard monstrosity we had to put on our heads.

If this cold weather continues, I may get it together to do one final post: the last days of our trip in the Dolomites and Alpine villages. Ciao!

The Land of The Lombards

When you think Italy, what comes to mind? Art in Florence, Rome’s colosseum, the Amalfi Coast? Bet you didn’t immediately think of the Lombard region, and that’s too bad, because it is pretty special. This post will introduce you to three gems of Lombardy: one well known, the other two less so.

Lake Isola
Remember Christo, whose 2005 spectacular Gates in Central Park had New Yorkers smiling even during a frigid February? (If you don’t, that’s okay. It isn’t essential to the post. I just happen to have fond memories of the event, so why not throw it in?)
Well, in 2016, he created the Floating Piers in Lake Isola. So, ya gotta figure this area must be pretty terrific for Christo to travel all the way across the Atlantic to Italy to create one of his massive installations.

These posters give you an idea of the scope of Christo’s project.

Even though our visit was post-Christo art exhibition, it was still worth spending time in the Isola Lake area. Check out what the little island looks like “unwrapped”. It was once a monastery, but now it probably is privately owned, by someone who is fantastically wealthy, who wants to escape people like us ogling his/ her (probably his) property.

Franciacorta
Almost everyone has heard of Prosecco. But what about Franciacorta? This sparkling wine, made from the Franciacorta region’s grapes, is equally delightful. I suspect that, like the Lombardy region, it just hasn’t been successfully marketed.

We walked through the Berlucci Vineyards, to their winery, where we enjoyed a tour, wine tasting and a great lunch.

Our hotel, the Relais Franciacorta was absolutely beautiful. It was rather far out, in the countryside, which was fine with us. We loved the gardens and all the hotel’s little nooks and crannies, one of which was the perfect venue for sharing the bottle of Franciacorta purchased at the vineyard.

And, as a bonus, a huge motorcycle group was holding an event at the hotel, giving us an opportunity to view totally unique bikes, like this one. I’m guessing that’s the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) riding shotgun (or would that position be called “front gun”? They didn’t have motorcycles during those Wild West days, so who knows.)

Verona
One of the big attractions in Verona is “Juliet’s Balcony”. Yeah, Shakespeare’s Juliet. There was a long line at the entrance to the jam-packed courtyard where Roméo was supposed to have stood while gazing at Juliet, who was above, on that legendary balcony. But this “balcony” was actually a movie set, created several decades ago. We figured if we wanted to see movie sets, we could go to Universal studios, so we skipped that attraction. Instead, we visited the Juliet Society.

The Juliet Society is a group of volunteers who answer letters written to Juliet that come from all over the world, like the one below.

Still, even we couldn’t escape Hollywood’s reach. You see, the Juliet Society was used as inspiration for the movie, Letters to Juliet.
Okay, I’ll confess, when I got home I borrowed the movie from our library, and it was really, really sappy. It’s all about a letter that had been lost for several decades, was found by a volunteer, who then went on a mission to find and reunite both the writer and the intended recipient of the letter. I don’t have to tell you how it ends. I’m sure you just know.

The actual site, the one WE visited, bore no resemblance to the movie set. For the movie, the Juliet Society was housed in a gorgeous villa, complete with mamas in an adjoining kitchen, cooking great lunches for the volunteers. How surprising that Hollywood’s “take” is so very, very different from reality.

When in Italy, I usually find it difficult to decide which meal was THE BEST and which restaurant experience was THE BEST, but this time I had no problem proclaiming that Il Punto Rosa Hosteria deserves both titles. This little gem is on a side street, and it isn’t very big, but between Google and Trip Advisor, I’m sure you’d be able to find it. If we ever get back to Verona, you can bet we will be having dinner there!

Time for a couple of random photos of Verona, a heartfelt confession, and we’ll call this post done.

First the confession. I am a lazy blogger, who lives the Quaker philosophy of “when the spirit moves you“. (Okay so that’s one of the only two things I know about Quakers. The other being that they are pacifists. Oh wait. I just thought of one more. Richard Nixon was supposedly a Quaker. But I digress.) The point of that digression is I blog when the spirit moves me. And it didn’t move me last October, during the second half of our trip. It took a frigid January day in New Jersey to get me hankering to revisit those glorious Italian fall days. What could be better than reliving wonderful days in Italy when it is icy outside? Nothing, right?
We were in Verona on day 9 and 10 of a 15 day trip, so who knows? If it is cold again this week, we may just taking another trip down memory lane, to Brixen, Bassano del Grappa and the Dolomites.

Okay, so here are those random Verona photos I promised earlier.

We walked past the mob waiting to get in to see the fake Juliet balcony. What’s with the sticky notes, you ask? The sappy movie erroneously led viewers to believe that the Juliets pluck them from the wall, then answer them. They don’t.

As with most Italian cities, Verona has its share of beautiful buildings, and statues, but hey, just look at what else you can experience while there.

Verona has it all. Go shopping for cannabis “light” first, then wander down to the Colosseum. Yes, Verona has one too. If you get wasted enough, you might actually believe you are in Rome, doing battle with gladiators. One more thing to cross off your bucket list.

Speaking of bucket lists, I sure hope Lombardy is now on yours.

Torino and the Bernina Express

Why visit Torino, a charming little town close to the Swiss border? How about vineyards, apple farms, lakes, mountains, a beautiful cathedral, archaeological sites, cobbled streets and a train station from which you can board a single gauge train? Are those reasons enough?

Enroute from Milan, we stopped at Orrido di Bellano, to view the gorge and waterfall,then headed to Varenna for lunch alongside Lake Como. Dinner was in the wine cellar of a restored old Torino villa.

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The first two days were great and action packed, but the BEST day was the third, when we boarded the Bernina Express. Theoretically, we could have ridden it all the way to St. Mortitz, but instead we disembarked in Diavolezza to take a cable car part way up the mountain to a terrace and restaurant.

The view was spectacular from there, but some of us wanted an even better glimpse of the glacier, so off we went. I was very glad I had packed my hiking boots, because we had to get past a couple of icy patches to reach the summit.

245294A1-0624-4CF4-B5B5-ED6B0DCED501 — From left: me, Ellen, Julie and Elisa. Can you figure out which one is the guide?

What a great place for a photo op!

The Divine Duomo

See how happy she is, wearing her new dress?

We’ve all been told you have to dress appropriately if you want to tour the Duomo. That isn’t entirely true. If you happen to be wearing something a bit too revealing, no worries. The Duomo staff will give you a lovely, suitable outfit to wear. Best of all, you get to keep it when you leave. Take a look.

If you have been following this blog, you’ll recall that I toured the Duomo a few days ago, while in Milan on my own. I am now on the OAT trip, which started with a walking tour of Milan, including a guided tour of the Duomo. I’m glad I did both, because different tour guides emphasize different things, so YOU, dear reader, get the benefit of both, without having to endure an overnight flight.

Both guides cited identical facts and figures: when construction started (1386), how long it was under construction (centuries), and on and on. The main fact I retained was the Duomo has 52 columns. Bet you can figure out why.

As you can see, each column is topped with statues of saints, but I have no idea who is who, and neither guide (quite wisely) bothered to tell us.

Only one called our attention to the beautiful marble floor’s embedded sun dial, with figures of the zodiac appropriately placed. Check out Aries the Ram.

As usual, the Duomo showcases art representing saints that died horrific deaths. Catholics seem to have a deep appreciation for pain and suffering.

I missed the portrait of St Agatha on the first tour. We had seen many portraits of her in Sicily, in the process of having her breasts chopped off. In Milan, the painting isn’t quite so graphic. St Agatha is shown being healed by St. Peter, who visited her in prison. As you can see from her bloody garment, he is just starting to work his miracle.

BOTH guides made sure we saw the statue of St. Bartholomew. HE was skinned alive and HIS statue leaves little to the imagination.

In case you’re wondering, that’s his skin draped over his shoulder. Look to the right of his elbow. His face managed to stay intact, and every hair on his head and beard is still in place. Pretty terrifying for young Catholic children, wouldn’t you say. No wonder we grew up so twisted.

Those Romans certainly dreamed up creative ways to launch Christians into the afterlife!

While touring the Duomo terraces a few days ago, I noticed what looked like a rooftop restaurant. I figured it was probably super expensive and rather exclusive.

What a nice surprise when our OAT guide brought us over there for a drink and cookies. We enjoyed yet another view of the Duomo, while sipping our cappuccinos. Here’s Elisa, our guide, explaining where we are going next. Check out the chocolate shoes for sale at gourmet chocolate shop inside.

Time to stop blogging and start experiencing…so I leave you with some Milan highlights.

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The Roads to Stykkishólmur and Akureyri

Growing up, I remember watching an old Bob Hope/Bing Crosby movie entitled “The Road to Morocco”. It may have been the first “buddy” road trip movie ever made. It was a comedy that got its laughs from the strange costumes and mishaps that the two “buddies”encountered during their travel.

You’re probably thinking “yeah, so what’s the point? Well, unlike my usual digressions, there actually IS a point, that point being that at times I FEEL like I’m in a buddy movie. Perhaps that’s what happens when you travel with 14 of your friends.

We haven’t had as many mishaps as Bing and Bob, but we HAVE had our share of comedic moments.

Those of us who didn’t feast on fermented shark were greatly entertained by the facial expressions of Sam and Nancy. Believe me, they definitely weren’t acting.

SOME of us hiked to a nature reserve in a volcanic crater, on the coast. The hard part was SUPPOSED to be the climb down to the “flat”area, except the FLAT area was actually a bed of mud with rocks poking up haphazardly.

8569B9BA-76D7-42BE-A476-958DFAB97BE1 — At times, it felt like elves were hiding below the surface, trying to suck the boots off our feet.

We, however, were undaunted. A bit muddy, a bit wet, but definitely undaunted.

CEDF9846-B957-4082-B50A-04AF47687DF8 — Look, we are still smiling . Helen is using Sam as a wind shield. It is difficult to get a good group photo while standing in mud, being buffeted by wind.

Odd costumes? Yep, we had a few of those.

45D513C6-C8FC-4D4A-8831-374313FA8C3E — The Galapagos have blue footed Boobies; WE have blue footed buddies.

If YOU had been experiencing misty, windy weather, would you want to get on a boat to go chasing after whales? Neither did 10 of us. Instead, we elected to have a leisurely breakfast, a stroll through the botanical garden, and lunch in town. No mishaps and no funny costumes for us.

The whale watchers, on the other hand, had both. Sorry. No photos of them in their bright blue jump suits. All we got were very vivid descriptions of the experience from our participants. Sharmon reported sighting “two whales and nineteen puking passengers”. Fortunately none of our five were in her head count. Even more fortunate, the sea sick whale watchers had the foresight to come equipped with plastic bags. That presents another question. If you thought you were going to need them, would YOU get on the boat?

In the afternoon, eleven of us (including four from the morning adventure) decided to try our luck riding Icelandic horses. I’m happy to say that there was not a single incidence of motion sickness. We DID manage to model some pretty funky outfits.

D2886E63-FBFD-4AFF-9E21-0CC8ED617957 — Karen, Diane, Sam, Kathy, Carol, John, Helen, Sue, me. (Sharmon and Luis were still getting suited up).

Is it my imagination, or do some of us look like we are on our way to fight a fire?

Our ride took us through magnificent scenery. The air was clear and fresh smelling, unless you happened to be riding behind Diane. HER horse was desperately in need of the equine version of bean-o, emitting noises that would have had most third graders in hysterics. (Okay, so WE laughed too. )

F1FCCC78-6A54-4411-B6E1-D8C7FA8F1787 — But he looks so innocent!

Because we took so long getting fitted with helmets, choosing our trusty steeds, mounting and dismounting, we were running late for our dinner reservation. Modern technology came to the rescue. A google search for the restaurant phone number and a quick call via cell phone, and voila, problem solved.

We ended our “buddy movie” on a high note, having a great dinner at Strikiò Restaurant.

001896FC-8623-4DDD-B417-395304ED1EFE — Does this look like a rowdy group?

Three Wish Mountain

We were on a mission, leaving rainy Reykjavík in search of sunshine. Would we need to squander one of our three wishes on a request for some respite from the rain? Read on, if you want to find out.

First up on our way to Stykkishólmur was a stop at a wool studio.

When I had initially learned that the itinerary would exchange a visit to a waterfall for a wool demonstration, I was a bit distressed. Was I ever wrong! The presentation was quite wonderful. The explanation of the chemistry involved in dyeing wool was fascinating. In the OLD days, cow’s urine was a key ingredient; it has since been replaced with ammonia, and not just because of the smell, although that alone was a good enough reason for me. The problem is today it is too difficult to collect. The cows are allowed to roam free and don’t take too kindly to someone following them around with a bucket. The urine of old women also had characteristics that produced a particular color. I don’t remember the color or the age requirement, I DO remember several of us volunteered to donate.

Our next stop was at the Settlement Center in Borgarnes, where we were treated to a very interesting Norse history, including an opportunity to stand on the bow of a moving Viking ship.

Lunch in the second floor restaurant was delicious: a choice of tomato or lamb soup and a salad bar chock full of my favorite items. A nice surprise was that this lunch was now included, where at one time it wasn’t. Given the high price of food in Iceland, this was a welcome change.

Today’s drive was a long one, blessedly broken up by several stops. Here we are viewing vertical lava flows. Our guide explained the geology behind this particular effect. I promptly forgot it.

396BE91C-D9AF-4906-A865-58AB18F96F5A — Luis is posing for all of the photography enthusiasts. By now, I can identify everyone from the back. From left: Karen, Kathy and Nancy ( and the fuscia arm in the far left corner is either Helen or Debby)

Finally, we arrived at Mount Helgafell, where, if you climb to the top without speaking and don’t look back, you can face the east and make three wishes. They have to be of positive intent, and you can’t tell anyone what they are.

6A3880C0-A91C-4DEE-BD32-FFCC9CDB83F3 — I’m facing the east, have made my wishes, and am now allowed to look behind me.

Being a generous soul, I gave one of my wishes for the good of our entire planet, (excluding Russia), one for Mike and me and one for a family member in need of a wish. We’ll see if the Viking version of prayer works. (At least none of us got turned into a pillar of salt!)

Mt Helgafell deserves a few more photos, so here goes:

The ascent was rather easy, because the path was well maintained, and the view was worth every step. Although we hadn’t really found the sun, at least it wasn’t raining, and there were some patches of blue in the sky.

49E3DE40-C69F-42EC-98D5-68A69852CF44 — The two Canadians: My blogging buddy Nancy (in red) and my newest friend, Sue.

Our second day on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula was also quite full, starting with a visit to a waterfall. This short video, done by Mike, captures the beauty of the waterfall better than any of my photos, but if you don’t want to hop over to YouTube, this is for you.

F33D1211-FA1F-49D3-9611-448DE3BD1DA8 — There’s one in every crowd. OURS is called Luis.

Kathy expressed an interest in bird life, so Hlynur took her for a little walk in a nesting area. Wonder what happened? Mike managed to get this action shot of Kathy being dive bombed by an angry mama bird.

It looked like a scene from an Alfred Hitchcock movie. You know which one.

To be continued…

Reykjavik, Iceland

If your idea of the perfect vacation is warm days full of continuous sunshine, then Iceland should definitely NOT be on your bucket list. If, however, you are intrigued by quirky experiences, visually spectacular landscapes, geology, elves and trolls, go ahead and book your trip.

59A46220-4E2D-4D6D-BEF5-4A10E67F2C17 — I was amazed that the plants were thriving in this cold, gray weather!

Those of you that have been following me know that I am a lazy, somewhat random blogger, but my friend Nancy is not. If you want interesting, timely accounts of our trip, hop on over to her blog. She’s done such a fine job, There is no need for me to take you over the same ground. Instead, my post is a loose collection of whatever caught my eye.

Although Mike and I arrived in Reykjavik a day before the tour officially started, we took it slow, using our extra time TRYING (and failing ) to get over jet lag.

The one in the middle belonged to a giraffe

While in Reykjavik we DID manage to make it to the museum Nancy (intentionally and wisely) missed. Unless you are particularly intrigued by pickled whale penises, I recommend you do likewise. Save your $15,000 kroners admission fee ($10,000 for seniors) and buy a glass of wine instead. Good news: You can tour the gift shop for free.

My family will be pleased to know I did NOT do any Christmas shopping there.

I am particularly fond of outdoor art and Reykjavik had plenty of it, both traditional, like the statue of Leif Erikson ( a gift from the USA), and unconventional (on the sides of buildings).

Icelanders are hearty souls. Check out this sign above one of the restaurants. For those of us not familiar with the metric system, 5 degrees Celsius translates to a balmy 41 degrees Fahrenheit. While we were in town, the mercury skyrocketed all the way up to 52 degrees, still WE drank our coffee inside!

The Hilton Reykjavik is a lovely hotel some distance from the town center. No matter. During our stay, we were content to spend our evenings at the hotel. One night, Mike organized a surprise party to celebrate the start of the last year I’ll be in my sixties. Yes, that banner DOES light up and yes, it WILL be used again for the August birthday girl in my life.

The second night at the hotel, everyone was gathered either around the big screen TV in the lobby area, or by the smaller one in the bar, to watch Croatia win the soccer semifinals.

FD6764FA-8791-4A53-A5D1-A1DDC1CF9479 — No restaurant meal for THESE soccer enthusiasts!

Although ours is an organized tour, it is possible to go off on your own. Sam did just that, hiring a guide to take him salmon fishing on a “two rod river”. What is THAT, you ask? Well, for that one day, Sam and the guide (2 rods) “owned” the river. No one else was allowed to fish there. Was he successful? Well, OUR tour guide took home two of Sam’s three salmon. (Photos courtesy of Sam’s guide).

While Sam was fishing, the rest of us were touring the Ocean Cluster House, an absolutely fascinating place. With most of my family still living in or near New Bedford, Massachusetts, I am well aware of the impact changes in the fishing industry can make on an area’s economy. Icelanders dealt with fishing restrictions very creatively. They don’t (can’t) catch as many fish, so they have figured out how to extract maximum value from every pound of fish they are allowed to catch.
This jacket is made entirely of processed fish skin. It is incredibly soft. Yes, I touched it.

Fish skin is also being used as bandages. Apparently, the fibers in cod skin are more similar to human skin than the skin of pigs, so the bandage can be absorbed into the body.

Other products are used for cosmetics—fish intestines for hand cream, because (according to the Ocean Cluster House guide) someone noticed that Icelandic fishermen have very soft hands, and figured they got that way from handling fish intestines. (My Dad must have steered clear of fish intestines!)

Even fish heads are utilized. They are dried and exported to Nigeria for use in soup!? By using all parts of the fish, Icelanders have upped the value from $8 per pound to about $3000.

Better yet, because these products are manufactured in Iceland, they have created new industries and new jobs. That’s a good thing, because today’s Icelandic trawlers are able to catch 200 metric tons in one trip, with far fewer fishermen, doing very little actual fishing; they now just monitor computers that run the equipment.

Our last stop was at the National Museum, an incredibly beautiful building, where we learned Iceland’s history through artifacts, clothing and household items. Given that we will be riding Icelandic horses in a few days, I was particularly interested in the saddle exhibit.

Fortunately women are no longer required to ride sidesaddle or wear corseted riding habits.

Next stop, Stykkishólmur. Okay, so we have already been there for two days, and are now in Aqua-ree-ray (That’s how it is SAID, not how it is spelled). I’m just having too much fun to keep current!

Fire and Ice Fun for Fifteen Friends

Some people collect stamps or coins or shoes. Me, I collect people. Once I decide I like someone, it is hard to get me to let go. So what do you do when people you really like are scattered all over North America? Why, you plan a trip with that assortment of very interesting souls.

Are you curious about what happens when you put 15 friends together for 12 days on an island, coming within 40 miles south of the Arctic Circle? Me too. For all you inquiring minds out there, I have good news. One of my traveling buddies is also a blogging buddy, so for THIS trip, you will have two, yes TWO blogs to peruse–this one, and the Canadian version of our Iceland Adventure. Nancy is a fantastic photographer who always provides excellent information about the places she visits. Another plus: her blog keeps pace with the trip, while I usually lag far behind. (Translated: Nancy will likely be doing MOST of the blogging). If you sign up to follow her posts, they will be delivered automatically to your in-basket, just click on that blue link above to be transferred over.

Some demographics: Our group is composed of 5 men and 10 women: 4 from Boston, 4 from New Jersey, 2 from Ohio, 2 from California, 1 from Oregon and 2 from British Columbia. 6 have never been on a group trip before, and 8 have never been on an OAT trip before. 11 of us are retired. 2 of the husbands were foreign-born: (Argentina and Jordan). I’ve known some members of the group for decades (the longest friendship is 53 years,) but others are newer relationships, including 1 traveler who I’ll be meeting for the first time when we arrive in Iceland.

Where will we be going, you ask? After exploring Reykjavik, we will be traveling west and north to places with unpronounceable names. Akureyri, I am told, is located just 40 miles off the Arctic Circle, in case you were wondering. We then are flying back to Reykjavik, for a visit to the Golden Circle, before heading home.

For all you visual people out there, I have included a map, of sorts.

I’m excited about seeing the wonders of Iceland–the land of fire and ice. But I’m equally excited about spending time with this great group.

Several of us decided to fly in a day early, arriving at Keflavik airport around (groan) 6 AM. It takes about an hour to get luggage and emerge from customs, then roughly another hour to get to our hotel. I think it is a pretty safe bet that our rooms won’t be available at 8 AM, or for at LEAST several hours, so I have loaded up on suggestions from the OAT Forum of what to do in Reykjavik till we can crash in our hotel rooms.

Hope you join us for what we expect to be a very fun party!

Goodbye Beja, Hello Madrid

It was raining when I boarded the bus in Beja for the two and a half ride to Lisbon. The weather matched my mood–I was sad to leave all the new friends I’d made in Beja: the wonderful students I’d gotten to know during our two weeks together, the great “Team of Ten” Volunteers, our fantastic team leader. There were lots and lots of goodbye hugs.

Note to future visitors to Portugal–it costs only 14 Euros for a bus ride from Lisbon to Beja, on a super comfortable bus with free Wi-Fi. If you are visiting Lisbon, why not spend a night or two in Beja? Escape the traffic and crowds, enjoy the history, archaeology and cultural treasure of this intriguing Alentejo town.

Two cab rides and a flight later, I was in Madrid, reunited with my main man.

Here’s where we will be traveling over the next two weeks. First stop is Madrid. ( I lifted the map off the Grand Circle website. THEY are the ones that cut Madrid a little too closely.) The star is my feeble attempt to show the approximate location of Beja. You now have a rough idea of where this “don’t miss” town is located. Okay, so I would never be a successful map maker, but I give myself an A for effort.

The long, unusually dry period Portugal and Spain had been going through ended during our second week in Beja. The rain is expected to continue during most of our remaining trip. Oh well. They need the water, so the rain is a blessing. Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.

We spent the morning of our first full day in Madrid on a bus tour around the city. First stop, the Egyptian temple of Denbod. No, this was not stolen during a military campaign. Had it not been moved, stone by stone, when the Aswan Dam was created, it would have been under water, just like the Temple of Dendur, in New York’s Metropolitan Museum.

Next stop– the royal palace, where we arrived just in time for the changing of the guard.

Juanjo, our guide, had warned us to be on the lookout for pick pockets. He explained they usually look like tourists, holding maps or cameras with one hand and reaching into your backpack with the other. Well, Linda, a member of our group, saw one doing just that, to a Chinese tourist. She was close enough to slap the pick pocket’s hand away.

A lot of good those guards were! A sharp eyed American woman with quick reflexes foiled the thief. Did I witness any of the excitement? No, I was my usual oblivious self.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to wander through any of the 2,800 rooms in this Versailles inspired palace. Instead, we decided to spend the afternoon in the Prado Museum, ogling the artwork by Goya, el Greco, Rubens and others.

My only regret: I wish I had researched the Prado more thoroughly, so I could have focused on certain pieces, and figured out the most efficient way to get to them. Talk about sensory overload! No photos were allowed inside the museum. I just have to be content with the images inside my head.

Although we could have spent our second day exploring more of Madrid, we chose the optional guided tour to El Escorial. This palace/ monastery/ school/ church was constructed by King Francis II, son of Charles V, one of the Holy Roman Emperors. The Escorial is shaped like a grill (yes, as in George Forman) to honor Spain’s own St. Lawrence. Why a grill, you ask? Well, that is how he met his end, by being roasted to death. (Yes, humans are strange and savage creatures)

Philip II had the building designed so that he could lay in his bed and see the altar in the cathedral. All he had to do was open his bedroom door and he was in church. Because his bedroom was off to the side, the rest of the congregation couldn’t see HIM in his pajamas (or whatever Kings wore back then).

Philip’s chamber, including the bed he died in, and his chamber pot, were all part of the tour, in case you’re wondering, as is a huge painting of St. Lawrence on the griddle.

We also visited the Valley of the Fallen, a memorial to those who died during the Spanish Civil War. This was a truly impressive and very moving site.

The memorial consists of the largest cross in the world, under which a Basilica has been carved — out of the hillside. It is hard to gauge the size of the memorial from this photo, but to give you an idea, the cross alone is 500 feet high.

The bones of around 40,000 people are buried In the basilica. One more example of man’s inhumanity to man.

Time to move on, to Toledo and Granada, even though there was much more to see and do in the beautiful city of Madrid.

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