When you can use your passport again.

[alphafemale]

Where will you go?

I am looking for suggestions.

[elleng]

1. Hoping can go to Scotland and Ireland with daughter, sil, and young grandkids.

MAYBE the right time to renew passport.

[alphafemale]

4. I need to do mine this year.

Part of the reason for this question.

[elleng]

6. Thanks for the reminder, now gotta FIND mine!

[Kali]

2. been trying to get to Australia for 10 years

but Mexico will be first I am sure, possibly Germany next.

[alphafemale]

3. You can go to Mexico without the Passport.

You just need it to stroll back in.

[Kali]

7. oh I know, but the border is closed for unessential travel right now so haven't been since 2019.

normally go a couple times per year if for nothing else, shopping/eating in Agua Prieta. But have a number of friends in Chihuahua and Sonora.

[LeftInTX]

13. Funny story about my great grandfather..

He was Armenian living in the US. He was used to bribing everyone. When he went to Mexico, he was shocked that he didn't need to bribe a guard to get in. He had the money, but didn't need it. (1925)

[alphafemale]

34. I've only been to Tijauna

Just the tourist part of the town, but I loved it.

I tipped the waiter $5 and he practically did back flips for joy.

One street over and you could buy a decidedly different entertainment for $5.

I'd like to see a part of Mexico that is not so touristy, but also where I was not likely to be kidnapped by a cartel.

[LeftInTX]

38. We had major immigration issues in 1925.

My great grandmother was living in Mexico City because she had been deported from the US. My grandmother was also living in MX City. My grandmother had a marriage certificate from Syria (1922), so the US Consulate said she could actually move here (Even though she had been deported in 1923.)

However, my great grandmother had no certificate.

My great grandfather went over there and "remarried" my great grandmother. But remarriage was also not legal in Mexico. So, they both faked their deaths, saying they were widowed in order to get married over there. My great grandmother was finally able to enter the US with a marriage certificate.

However, the story of him wanting to bribe the guard going into Mexico is hilarious. He was afraid he would not be admitted without a bribe.

[pdxflyboy]

5. Scotland in August, but

Things probably won’t open by then.

[alphafemale]

35. Maybe next August. NT

[captain queeg]

8. I just renewed a couple years ago, hoping to travel when I retired

The pandemic threw a monkey wrench in things. But I just had oral surgery and will need an implant in about six months. I’ve heard a lot about medical tourism and dental implants is one thing I’ve heard is much cheaper elsewhere. You can get the work done and basically save enough money to pay for the vacation so that might be the first thing I do. I’ve heard of Costa Rica and Thailand as good candidates. Anyone have experience or advice about where to go?

[flor-de-jasmim]

10. Implants require follow-up visits...

I had an implant this past year. I think I had two follow-up visits over the following 6 weeks. If I were you, I would make sure that you will be available for at least one follow-up and check with your regular dentist to make sure your insurance will cover you once you are back home, if the original work was done abroad.

As for travel plans, Thailand, Brazil, and Portugal are first on the list.

[Turin_C3PO]

20. Mexico has excellent dental care (basically up to US standards)

and it’s pretty cheap. Plus there’s a lot to see in Mexico, especially the central part. Just avoid northern Mexico due to cartel violence.

[captain queeg]

25. Thanks. I'd heard that but many years ago I went to see a doctor in Mexico and that memory scares me

But it was in a border town, the one south of Tucson, can’t think of the name right now. But I’ve heard a lot of people saying dental work in Mexico is cheap and good.

[yellowdogintexas]

29. Nogales, I think.

That may be the one which is basically a dental complex. Our daughter told us we should plan our visits to her around any big dental care and get it done across the border.

Prescription drugs are very cheap also

[LovingA2andMI]

9. New Zealand...

This time might get lost over there and never come back.

[SergeStorms]

11. Great Britain...

Amsterdam, and rural France. I was making my final plans last year when the TRUMP-45 virus overran the country.

Let me add, these are the places I want to go IF they're allowing Americans into their countries. I wouldn't blame them if we were all persona non grata.

[Thyla]

12. Home

Australia that is, for good this time. It's a better place to raise my family.

Spain is nuts at the best of times but the pandemic has sealed the deal. We've come to realize that there is a better way to live life even if it means a sacrifice of the material.

[dhol82]

14. I had a trip booked to Ethiopia and Kenya for next month. It will now be in 2022

Also booked a trip to Egypt and (hopefully) Lebanon for November of 2022.
Hope the world will be open by then.

[Phoenix61]

15. I was all set to spend 5 weeks overseas when covid hit.

One week in Singapore and a month in Bali. I’ve been to Singapore once and loved it but would like to go back and see more. Bali was for the BaliSpirit Fest, a week long yoga, art, and music festival. They wouldn’t refund that so I pushed it to 2022.

[PJMcK]

16. The Netherlands

Last year, we had reservations to spend the last week of March and the first week of April in the Netherlands. When the coronavirus reared its ugly head, we retreated to our mountain house in the Catskills. We were able to get vouchers for our plane tickets and the hotel in Amsterdam has miraculously said they will hold our account until we can get there!

We're getting our second doses of the Moderna vaccine next week and we hope to be able to travel again by the Fall.

[DFW]

52. If you go, go to the small towns.

A’dam has its things to see, but it’s very crowded, and attracts the unsavory types. Utrecht, on the other hand, is great, but go see the small places to get a feel for the country. Haarlem or IJsselstein.

I run over there once a week in normal times, and feel right at home there. The language may seem like total gibberish at first, but it’s actually not hard to learn, just to pronounce. Oh, and the food sucks (surprised me, too). Stick with Asian places, especially the Indonesian or Turkish locales.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

17. I got my first passport in 1970.

Ever since, I have always had a valid passport. Which I carry with me at all times.

I don't have any specific plans for when the pandemic finally ends, but I will be travelling somewhere.

[murielm99]

18. I want to go to Toronto to see my daughter.

We have not been able to visit since this started.

[spinbaby]

19. I'm going on safari

I booked a safari to Kenya and Tanzania this July before the pandemic. Maybe I’ll make it

[sinkingfeeling]

24. You'll love it. I was there, in 6 countries, in Nov.-Dec. 2019.

[NNadir]

21. Although I'd rather go to France, I suspect my next trip will be to India. n/t.

[CTyankee]

22. A triip all planned but cancelled: Barcelona

There is art there that I must see. Had the trip all laid out, going with my daughter, heavy on the art but also the food and wine (for her, not me). I got my passport renewed, happy day!

Then...it all crashed in a million little pieces...

[DFW]

51. A word for when you get there

YOU WILL LOVE IT!!

I used to live there way back when, long enough to speak Catalan well enough to be taken for a native speaker. Even today, I still run down there for the day on occasion, probably next week again. It is one of the most scenic, enchanting, just overall wonderful cities in the world. However long you are planning on staying, it’s not long enough.

[CTyankee]

55. Thank you. May I email you as my trip draws closer for a bit more info?

[DFW]

56. Sure!

If it coincides with one of my trips and the virus situation has loosened any, I'll treat you to lunch at one of my favorite "unknown" places near the Sagrada Familia.

[CTyankee]

58. Lovely! I'll give you a copy of my new book, The Gladdened Heart: the ART of music.

Thanks!

[DFW]

61. I ask nothing in return

But as an avid musician, I'll be sure to read it!

[CTyankee]

62. I think you will enjoy it. Artists going WAY back in time have sought to paint that which is

Last edited Tue Feb 2, 2021, 05:06 PM - Edit history (1)

invisible: sound/music. Which is why we see so much of St. Cecilia in music, even Paul Simon! She goes back to the Roman gods. In a lot of art you can find her playing a portable harp....

[DFW]

63. Comparing our respective books

On a scale of 1 to 100, yours is on a level of sophistication of 99, where mine is down around 0.73

[CTyankee]

64. If yours is fiction, like a novel, I am jealous. I'd love to be able to write a good novel.

A lot of what I write is "the story behind the art." It is fascinating. Sometimes it is maddening (how can I love Degas petites danseuses knowing he was a vile anti-semite?)

[DFW]

65. Oh, it's fiction, alright !

After an unexpected oversight, a 21st century wine nerd and frustrated physics major falls in love with a French woman born in 1832, has chats about vintage wine and history with Thomas Jefferson, and asks him for advice on his love life, whereupon Jefferson confesses that his own was rather unconventional for his time. The wine nerd does well at a job he didn't want, and gets to hire an assistant. He settles on Juanita Chang, from Guatemala. "I suppose you are fluent in Mandarin?" the wine nerd asks, meaning to make a joke. Not getting that it's a joke, Juanita Chang says, "oh no, Señor Roberto. My ex-hosban is from Hong Kong, so I only speak Cantonese." Mouth, meet foot. Oh, and her brother, Miguel, knows the secrets of Maa Shalats, which comes in handy later on in the book.

Jefferson said, "I went up to New York's Long Island with Madison. James Madison, you know?"
"Madison. JAMES Madison." President 004. Yes, I knew.

Needless to say, I had some fun with this.

[CTyankee]

66. Um, tell me if I am getting warm: Maa Shalats, Martial Arts???

[DFW]

69. Warmer than most, even!

Most people, both real and otherwise, never figure that out

[sinkingfeeling]

23. Well, since Australia and New Zealand have had $25K of my money since

February 2020, I'd better go there. Also want to go to the semi-authoritarian countries of Turkey, Hungary, and Bulgaria. I want to visit places that may become off-limits on the future. I'll never forgive myself for not going to Syria when I had the chance.

[alphafemale]

32. I remember Anthony Bourdain doing a program from Damascus, Syria

The kids and their American Muscle cars.

I want to cry thinking about what must have happened to them.

[captain queeg]

26. I think passports are good for 10 yrs now, just renewed mine a couple years ago. Nt

[mnhtnbb]

27. Back to my favorite tropical island retreat on Bonaire

where I was last March celebrating my birthday when COVID hit. My son and his partner literally cancelled joining me from the airport on March 7th. No refund on their tickets or week I'd booked for them. The resort did reimburse me when I left a week early, for fear I'd get stuck with flights being cancelled.



And France. I want to go back to visit friends in France.

[alphafemale]

28. Places I recommend where I have traveled in the US

First of all, my favorite city not even any contenders is El Paso.
People there are so friendly it almost feels like there must be a hidden camera somewhere.
That's just how they are. It broke my heart when the mass shooting happened there. And now they are being engulfed in COVID.
There really is a Rosa's Cantina. And Marty Robbins sang there.

There are waterfalls in the Grand Canyon.
Not in the NP. But on the Havasupai land there are five impressive waterfalls.
It is a 8 mile hike to get there from any recognized road. The tribe does have horses (people) and mules (gear) you can hire.
Also a sketchy looking helicopter. Not me.
The NP is also good if you go in the window of few tourists before it stats snowing.

The Florida Keys especially Bahia Honda State Park
Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Gulf feet away.
And any one of the minor keys like Deer Key with tiny little deer the size of Greyhounds (the dog not the bus) where you can find little bars and talk to locals.

[yellowdogintexas]

30. I have passed through El Paso many times and even stayed overnight

but we have not taken time to do anything else.

Those water falls in the GCNP are amazing. I am too decrepit to take that adventure but if I were younger I would. NIX the helicopter for me too. A family from our church lost two family members in one of those things.

South Florida in a heartbeat. In fact if not for hurricanes I would go there to live. Love the Keys and you are so right about Bahia Honda. It has the most perfect beach for little ones - a very long shallow bed with water so clear you can see all sorts of teensy little fish. I think it took me 10 minutes to get out to knee depth and there is virtually no wave action; wonderful family beach. We did our first snorkling trip on that vacation from Bahia Honda.

If I were going to go out of country, probably United Kingdom. I have wanted to go there forever. I can't afford anything unless I win a lottery ticket so it is just a fantasy. Phoenix or Kentucky is going to have to do for me, I think

[alphafemale]

31. My boyfriend at the time on the Keys highway.

What's wrong with the water?

What's that stuff in it?

OH MY GAWD!

Is the water that clear??

He had to pull over and take a picture of his feet waist deep in the water.

[alphafemale]

33. And the Mutter museum.

So help me I want to see that place.

[Laffy Kat]

37. Me too! I've read "Dr. Mutter's Marvels"

That's in the U.S., though. Plus, I've never been to Philadelphia.

[alphafemale]

40. That may be one of the first places on my check list.

I live minutes from I-95 so scooting up there would be an overnight trip.

And then I have family in East PA and Ohio. A 96 year old uncle I would like to see again.

He's the one who first took me on a roller coaster.

[Laffy Kat]

36. Take my sons to Canada because they've never been.

Visit Iceland with my sister. We've been talking about it forever. I'd also like to visit Cuba before I die.

[alphafemale]

41. You have to experience Niagara Falls from the Canadian Side to really see it.

The Casino bit is horrifying though.

Every natural park like Grand Canyon would be a dump if moneyed people had their way.

[wnylib]

43. Stay after dark to see the Falls and

the mist lit up in colored floodlights.

It's been a few years since I was last there, so some things might be different now. Enjoyed the tour of Madam Toussad's in the city of Niagara Falls (Ontario, not NY).

[Laffy Kat]

45. Oh, I did when I was around eleven.

We saw it from both sides. My parents had friends in Toronto, so we would visit. I'll never forget the wonderful smell of Niagara Falls.

[alphafemale]

46. The town smells like Bourban Street NOLA

Stale whiskey vomit and piss.

[Laffy Kat]

48. The Falls smells wonderful, though. nt

[Generic Brad]

39. I'm using mine right now

It is under a chair leg and has eliminated the wobble.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

42. Norway, probably.

I was considering going there this past summer before the bug hit - some shirttail relatives there, beautiful scenery.

[DFW]

53. However great you think the scenery might be

It’s ten times better.

Bring a LOT of money, though. That whole country is some serious sticker shock.

[wnylib]

44. England first. Have never been there.

Would like to see several historic sights, as well as the countryside villages, but Brits can be so snobbish about Americans that I wonder how much I'd enjoy it. Guess I could pretend to be Canadian while there. Had planned to go this year with my cousin, but covid shot that down.

[alphafemale]

47. William might be a King.

Liz is clearly trying to outlive Charles.

[wnylib]

49. Must be something in the genes.

Victoria lasted a long time, too.

[alphafemale]

50. Charles is a putz

sorry

[wnylib]

54. Why apologize to me? I'm not a Brit.

The only things I know about the royals in the UK are what makes big news here, and what I've learned about their ancestors in history books.

I've read that Charles is genuinely concerned about the environment and climate change, and that he tends to be charitable, which I suppose is trained into them from childhood. I thought he treated Diana badly, but that could have been avoided by letting him choose his own preferred wife instead of Liz being so stuffy about it. Looks like his descendents have fortunately not inherited his ears.

But who takes the throne next is their business. Being a Yank, I have no vested interest in the monarchy as a tradition. But, language, law, and many cultural customs in the US derive from Britain, so its history interests me, which is why I'd like to see England, and maybe Scotland and Wales.

[alphafemale]

59. Watching The Crown made love choices seem to have a jagged edge for them.

And one with zest and one more resigned.

Edward and George.

Elizabeth and Margaret

Charles and Anne

William and Harry

I do wonder if Charles really did fling at Diana

"How dare you hug those wretches. How can we possibly compete against that?" (AID's babies)

[wnylib]

60. Never watched it.

[DFW]

57. My biggest worry wasn't using my passport, but getting it renewed

I already live in Germany, but I still need a valid US passport as a complement to my German/EU ID card. The EU card isn't valid without the passport, and mine was going to expire on Jan. 5th. I was in the USA for 6 weeks last summer, and couldn't get mine renewed at all. The State department said my best bet was to beg the US consulate in Frankfurt for a one year temporary passport so I could at least move around. I said OK, if that was the best they could offer.

Silly me, this was the Trump State Department. I should have known that one hand didn't know what the other was doing. I contacted the Frankfurt Consulate about the temporary passport, and they said, well, why don't you just get a normal renewal, good for ten years? Uhh, because Washington said I couldn't. Oh. Well, we can. OK, fine. Their website even said I could keep my old passport while waiting for the new one so I could travel for work. Cool!! They NEVER let you keep your old passport when applying for a new one. YOu always had to submit it.

So, I checked all the things I needed to bring, got an appointment, and headed down to the US consulate in Frankfurt. After the usual ID and security checks outside, I got up to the case officer, who said, oh, no you can't keep your old passport. I said their website said I could. He said the rules had changed again (nice of them to let the public know!). I said I needed it to move around. He said hold on. He soon returned with a photocopy of my passport with a stamped letter from the consul general saying I had turned it for renewal, but that I was still a citizen in good standing. OK, so how long till my new passport comes? Four weeks. Ugh! But I had no choice. So I accepted their document, and gave them my passport. My new passport, made up IN WASHINGTON, arrived at my house in Germany all of twelve days later (!!!). All I had to do then was go to the German authorities and tell them, since the number on your US passport has to match the one listed on your EU ID. They got me the new ID in a month, and I was good to go again.

Because of quarantine restrictions and a drastic curtailment of public transportation around Europe, my usual different-country-every-day schedule has been upset seriously, but I still get around to Belgium, NL, France, Switzerland and Spain usually at least once a month.

Where do we WANT to go? Well, Australia and New Zealand are on the list when we can find the time. A few nearer places as well: Scotland, maybe Ireland, they are only a hour and a half by plane. But the biggest project is repeating what our parents did for their 40th wedding anniversary. They invited their children and grandchildren for a week on St. John in the USVI. It's a good thing they didn't wait until their 50th, because my dad was in his last days of fighting off pancreatic cancer, which took him a month later.

We want to do something similar, but don't know where. We could do St. John again, but would prefer something different. My wife and I visited the Seychelles a little over 40 years ago, and loved it. It would be kind of a long haul for the American side of the family, though, so we haven't decided yet. Friends who have been there within the last five years tell us it's still unbelievable, so we're still tempted to try for it. We could put the U.S. contingent up here in Germany for a few days, and then maybe all head on down to Mahé together?

Other than that? We're mostly interested in places relatively close by. Morocco, maybe Sicily, Kraków in Poland, Granada (I was there when I lived in Spain, but that was as a teenager, 50 years ago), and Scotland and Ireland, as I said before. My wife has never been to Iceland, so maybe there, too.

So much world, so little time.

[Harker]

67. I'd go back to Ireland's west coast.

Next trip for a first visit... either Sweden, Norway, Denmark or Shetland, Orkney, Faroe Islands, Iceland.

[sarcasmo]

68. New Zealand

[alphafemale]

70. At my COVID job I worked with a cook in a deli

Who was only in our town while his boat was being repaired during his world sails.