Question of the day

If I haven't reiterated lately... I love getting travel-related questions, so if you have any, please ask!

Today I was asked to recommend a good place to shop in New York City.

Wow!  Where to begin right???  The question was posed by a trendy, relatively well-to-do lady in her 40's who just wanted a little direction, not an entire guide book.  Still, I couldn't resist consulting another NYC expert (my best friend Carrie) and her answer was basically the same as mine.  So I replied:

"West Broadway boutiques in SoHo.  More independent boutiques with unique styles, the major chains are nearby on Broadway, and even more mid-to-upscale stores are on the intersecting streets so lots of options within walking distance."

  Where do you like to shop in New York City?...

The very early stages of planning

So rare for me to blog twice within a 2 week period right?  Hell, it's rare for me to blog twice within a month...

Since I booked my flights I've discovered one thing of note:  ABBA The Museum is opening on May 7th in Stocklhom and advanced tickets are now available.  I'd made that quip about ABBA in my last blog and I guess it turns out I wasn't so far off after all ;)

Had some spare time last week (not so much this week) so I started my online reading, discovering the wonders of Tallinn, the frequency that the ferries from Helsinki ran, some tourist highlights and the bus schedule to Riga.  There appears to be a €6 ticket available (€3 if you're cool with arriving at 3am... which I'm not) that I'd like to take advantage of.  Hopefully still available by the time I book (if you should find yourself in a similar situation, you may choose to book the ticket now and simply eat the cost if it turns out you can't use it later... Riga is near the start of my trip so I think I'll be able to firm up plans soon, therefore I will wait another week or so)

It could be a fluke, or maybe my dates aren't exact (always plan for the worst, or worse at least...) but I saw some recommended hotels on TripAdvisor for about $80-$90/night in Riga.  Pretty affordable for a hotel in my books, and they're described as central.  I will consult a map before I book.  Again, hopefully that's soon before prices go up (May is the start of high season).

Though I don't believe everything I read, I like to get a feel for how many days people like to spend in each city.  TripAdvisor has a great search tool, typing in something like "how many days in Tallinn?" will get you what you're looking for.  Read people's comments carefully, everyone sight-sees at a different pace so just because they suggest 5 or 6 days doesn't mean you need that much time if you're willing to get up early, walk 12 hours, and pack a lunch to eat in a park.  Side tip:  If you're in a city on Monday/Tuesday with plans to go to museums, check their hours as some are closed at the beginning of the week, which may require you to stay an extra day or alter your itinerary.

Take this preliminary approach for every city, you'll inevitably discover more about some cities than others.  That's ok, a little reading will quickly give you a feel for how much time you want to spend in one place.  After reading about Tallinn, I was ready to spend 3 days there, but when I took all the cities into consideration and how much time in total I had, I quickly realized that was unrealistic and that I could easily see the city in a much shorter period of time.

Also when time (or in some cases, money) runs a little short, you can start to make the decision whether you want to do some overnight travel to save time/cash.  For some routes, overnight is the only viable option.  For example, ferries from Tallinn/Riga to Stockholm only sail at night as it's a 15 hour trip.  Even if they were to sail in the mornings it would be a waste to be stuck on a boat all day losing precious sightseeing time.  (The ferry sails around 5:30pm so there's many hours of daylight where you can enjoy the view before it gets dark, and you can get up again at dawn to watch the sunrise over the water if you wish).

I find midday travel a bit of a pain, it cuts your day in half, you can't do too much in the morning because you need to catch your train/plane/bus, and when you arrive it'll take time to get oriented, settled in your hotel etc. and by then it's getting dark so not much is accomplished in your day.  If I have to travel in the day, I try to do it in the early morning (I'm not a morning person so I'm cool with dozing until we arrive).  Evening is also an option, but as a single woman I don't like arriving in new places in the dark trying to find my way to my hotel.  It's ok if I'm already familiar with my destination.

After a while you start to feel ready to draft an itinerary, it's not carved in stone but gives you a feel of how your trip may go....  Here's my preliminary draft:

(A little small but click on it for full sized image)

I've included what I consider to be my essential details in a way that's easy for me to read.  You may choose to organize differently.  I like to look at the date, see my start city and end city (aka do I have to travel on that particular date?), how I'm traveling, and where I'm sleeping that night (if it's on a train, I'll dress in wrinkle-free clothes and make sure I have an extra layer to stay warm.  Secondly if there's something special I've got planned (a show, a concert...), so I can plan that day accordingly.  Then there's the stuff that's good to know, ie. any major costs and other info.

That's about it for now.  Next steps would probably be to keep reading and start booking something.  For those of who do a lot of traveling, this is likely pretty dry for you, but others have expressed an interest in how I plan my vacations.  So I thought I'd detail a little bit of my process.

Cheers.

On the road again...

Ok, not quite on the road again, but on the planning again...

Happy New Year travelers!  I wish you all good health, prosperity, and lots of opportunities to travel in 2013!

My travel year is off to a promising start after finding a $800 deal on Iceland Air for Toronto to Helsinki in May.  I'm very excited to plan another rat race-type trip through Northern Europe this time.  It's not the type of trip that would appeal to everyone, it's hardly relaxing for starters ;) but after taking a leisurely trip to the great cities of Russia last year and looking back on my wacky trip through parts of Italy and Central Europe in 2011, I would have to say that I enjoyed my treks in 2011 much more (even if it did mean stumbling off a train in Salzburg at 4am and showering with no hot water for 2 nights in Prague in October).  It's not the type of trip that's for the faint of heart, nor faint of knee/foot (both of which are slowly degenerating for me) so I gotta do more of this kind of traveling while I still can!

Destinations I've got my eye on are all the capital cities (I don't really know why I favour capital cities, I do understand that they're not always the finest the country has to offer... I mean, I do hail from Canada after all and I do my best to avoid Ottawa), which include: Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga (I guess Latvia isn't Northern Europe but I'm going anyway), Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen.  So if anyone's been and has suggestions, please send them my way.  I'm really not that well-knowledged in any of these countries (though I am expecting lots of Ikea furniture and people singing ABBA and Ace of Base in Sweden ;)), other than the caviar is well-priced and plentiful.

There's always much to consider when traveling, and even more so when you're moving around a lot.  The obvious stuff like "how many days should I stay in each city?" to the ridiculous-sounding-until-you've-made-the-wrong-choice... ie. do I bring my smallest 2 wheel wheelie bag or slightly larger (won't fit in cabin) 4 wheel hardcase?  Smaller bag is harder to pack but will save me $$ on checked luggage if I wind up taking a flight on RyanAir or Easy Jet.  Hardcase holds more and 4 wheels are much easier to fly through train stations and other smooth-paved streets but if I have to walk uphill on cobblestone I will be screwed!  I think many of my fellow travelers (and even I) have said before, people "backpack" through Europe for a reason, because so much of it is not luggage friendly.  Sadly my back and knee doesn't let me do that, so I weigh out suitcase options.

First to get acquainted with the cities though.  That's usually the first thing I do.  Gives me a feel for how many days I want to spend in each.  Also once I've seen a few maps, I can determine location of airport/central train station/bus terminal to decide my mode of travel between each.  Cost and timing also play a part, but it gets things rolling.  Travel guides are in my near future, but for some of the stops (ie. Riga) where I only plan to be there for a day or two, I'm going to Tripadvisor for all the basics and as a launchpad for all my online research.  I really do enjoy that site.

With that I'll leave you to your own travel bookings.  Maybe other deals can be had on Iceland Air, for nearby travel Porter's had some good deals for New York City, I'll be dropping in for a few days in March myself.  I got return flights for $200, it was hard to resist.  Plus a reservation at the Seafarer's International House offering lower rates for $140/night for a double private room (as in 2 twin beds, perfect for my needs), I'll let you guys know how the place is.  The location is definitely right though, minutes from Union Square (my home away from home) on the border of Gramercy and the East Village.

Happy trails ;)