Any World Travelers Here.

[John_]

Thx for the input @AustinBR, you def get around. I have thought about a trip to Italy several times in the past. I'd like to see the Louvre in Paris too. The paintings.

Yes England would be easier, no language barrier. One and done...London, Paris, Rome, and perhaps Florence too.

If you had to pick one fav, one city or town to visit and enjoy for a few days, what would it be?

 

[AustinBR]

Thx for the input @AustinBR, you def get around. I have thought about a trip to Italy several times in the past. I'd like to see the Louvre in Paris too. The paintings.

Yes England would be easier, no language barrier. One and done...London, Paris, Rome, and perhaps Florence too.

If you had to pick one fav, one city or town to visit and enjoy for a few days, what would it be?

That's really hard to say as it's really just dependent on what you're interested in.

I'm big into history and I'm a huge foodie, so what interests me might not interest you.

I also really like to find out where the locals go and try those places out...off the beaten path a bit.

The Louvre is really cool. If you do it, I'd recommend a guided tour to give you little tidbits of knowledge that you wouldn't get normally. After the tour ends, you can then walk around on your own and see the things you want to see. The Louvre is HUGE. We spent probably 5 hours there.

I also thought the Vatican was really cool, too. We splurged (a lot) and did this really unique tour called the "Waking Up the Vatican" tour. In short, you get there at 5am way before it's open to the general public and you and 15 or so others get to walk with the members of the Swiss Guard throughout the Vatican and unlock doors and turn lights on. It was absolutely incredible getting to open 500 year old locks and see parts of it that you wouldn't normally see. The tour ends with you going to Sistine Chapel with just you and your small group. Normally there are 500+ people in there and they have a very, very strict no phone/no picture policy. With the tour, you get to go in there and have the whole room to yourself and they let you take pictures all throughout it to remember the trip.

One last final recommendation: Walking food tours. Everywhere we go we do a walking food tour which lets you see the off the beaten path places that the locals go.

 

[John_]

You sound like an Anthony Bourdain fan. I am. Was sad to hear/read he took his own life, in France. No Reservations. Damn, Tony!

 

[JBP55]

I prefer countries in the far East like Thailand and Viet Nam that are very different from the USA.

 

[AustinBR]

I prefer countries in the far East like Thailand and Viet Nam that are very different from the USA.

Thailand is on my shortlist. I have two close friends who went earlier this year and it sounded like an awesome trip.

I thought Hong Kong was really cool back in 2018 when I went, but I'd really struggle to t recommend anyone travel to China right now under the current political environment.

Next on my list in the next two to three years are: Greece, Germany, Australia, and possibly Spain.

 

[my-rifle]

Starting in 89 I've visited southern France and Paris about 7 times. I have been to Cuba, the Czech Republic (Prague and environs), Spain, a little bit of Italy, as well as the usual - Canada, Mexico, and three weeks in Antigua and Barbuda. My favorite place so far is southern France. Marseilles, Nice, Carcassonne, and Arles are magnificent. I walked the streets of an Etruscan city (Glanum) and stood in front of a 1000 year old olive tree in Frejus. Normandy is a pilgrimage every American should make. Bring tissue paper when you go. You can stay in Cherbourg. Paris has a ton of culture and the best subway system I have ever seen anywhere.

I loved Prague (my wife attended college there back before the Soviet Union collapsed), but there were too many Russians. Spain was as hot as Texas, and I never got down to Al Andalus. I stayed in Barcelona (yuck) and drove across the Meseta to Toledo and Madrid where a cop told me how much he longed for the days when Franco ran the country. Good food, nice people, great culture - specially Toledo.

If English is all you speak I'd limit my travels to either those places where English is spoken or else travel with a guide. Not being able to communicate with the locals is really limiting. Having said that, I started with Duolingo 144 days ago studying German - and I mean from cold steel - and I'm pretty fluent now, speaking in full sentences about certain subjects. It's a LOT easier than French and Spanish were.

Get a passport and get across the ocean. It's a big world, and Americans don't know much about it - and they should.