Scrummy

Zealous sports fans and where:  Peel Pub, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

On one of my visits to Montréal, we stopped for dinner at the Peel Pub.  It was still early evening, so the pub-cum-sports bar had not filled just yet.  We were escorted to a table just in front of the big screen, but didn't really think anything about that location.  It was obvious we were not locals, if only because we did not speak French as easily as everyone else.  (Aside:  despite what I have heard from other people, I find Montréal to be less English-friendly than Ville Québec.)  I am not sure if the hostess put us there because she knew we would not be interested in what she knew was going to happen, or just because she decided to torture the foreigners in a bit of good-natured inside-joke hostess-fun.

Not long after we ordered our meals, the big screen came on.  Two things about sitting directly in front of one of those huge sports-bar tv screens:  (1) the noise is not nearly as loud as I thought it would be because the speakers are not on the screen as they are on tv's; and (2) those things generate an immense amount of heat!  It was a chilly autumn evening, so we had light jackets on, but very quickly after the big screen came on we all had to take our jackets off, and I was really wishing I had another layer I could take off and still be decent.

But anyway, the bar filled up and the big screen came on.  I was sitting with my back to the screen, so I could not see without turning completely around.  And when I did, I found a France vs. New Zealand rugby game on. I knew very little about the game then (and still know very little about it), and while I understand French, it's not really the best idea to try and figure out what's happening during an unfamiliar game while trying to hear announcers speaking a foreign language in a crowded sports bar.  I could tell when something good happened for France because the crowd would cheer.  I could tell when something bad happened to France because the crowd would boo, with more than a few curse words mixed in -- which for some reason were predominately in languages other than French!

I'm not sure I would have truly described them as zealous, and never felt unsafe in the crowd, but it was certainly the largest bunch of sports fans I ever encountered on vacation.  Well, until I saw Simon & Garfunkel in Melbourne on the same night an Australian Rules Football game was being contested next door, but that's a story for another time.

Just in case you were wondering, yes, we politely waited until a commercial break to leave so we would not block the view of the game for any of the, increasingly inebriated fans by getting up and waking in front of the screen.

Forty-Seven and One-Half Percent of My Life

Years spent traveling:  Nineteen

Well, in some form or another, we are all traveling from birth.  And I routinely went to my grandmother's house in the summer.  Some of those summers, we took either day-trips or slightly longer trips -- one was to Mansfield, Missouri to see the Little House museum there.  I still have my Charlotte doll and the copies of The Long Winter and These Happy Golden Years I got on that trip.  I am so sorry I lost the sunbonnet along the way, because it would really be perfect (if a bit quirky) for my walks to the grocery.

But as far as leisure travel, with the destinations chosen by me and paid for with my own money, it's been since 1995 when I went with my best friend to Washington, DC to celebrate graduating from college.  It was a great trip and one day I'm going to go back.  And when I do, I WILL see the White House.  Yes, I know it's touristy, but as I've said before, I'm a tourist.  Besides, when I went to DC on CloseUp in high school, we were supposed to tour the White House but the First Gulf War broke out and between that and a snowstorm, everything closed.  Then on the trip after college, my friend had already seen the White House, so we decided to skip it.  It's the one thing in DC I have not done and I still want to!

Anyway, leisure travel has really only been in the past 19 years.  I think I've packed a lot of seeing in those years -- 3 continents, 12 cruises, 4 big land tours, and I've lost count of the long-weekend-type trips around the US.  I admit I've missed a good number of popular destinations, but I've been to unusual ones.  I've been to France, but not that France, and I love being able to say that!  (We went to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon on a cruise, and it is France, though in all honesty it's more Canada than France.  I understand from locals that France tends to forget it's there and part of the country.)

Leisure travel is only worthwhile if the traveller enjoys it.  Life is not a competition.  There are no prizes for racking up the most entry stamps in your passport.  Each trip, no matter where or how long, should provide memories for a lifetime.  Each trip is special.  And each trip is memorable, even if it includes nothing but touristy attractions.  See what you want to see of the world, not what guidebooks or other people tell you you need to see.  Stand on the Jordan Staircase because you want to, not simply to tick off an experience box.  Collect the experiences you want.  That's what I do.  And why the next time I'm in DC I am going to the White House, with or without my traveling companions!

Sail Away, Sail Away, Sail Away

eXcellent view and from where:  open deck on a ship

I've mentioned enough in these that my favorite views while traveling are from the open decks of whatever cruise ship I happen to be on at the time.  My preference is for a ship sailing in the Saguenay Fjord, but I'll take just about anything short of the five days at sea from San Diego to Hawaii.  There was a surprising lack of scenery on the majority of that 16 day cruise!

I love to be on deck looking at whatever I can see, even if what I can see is a working, commercial port.  Something about being on vacation makes even the dullness of a commercial port pretty.  Besides the comings and goings are interesting.  My first few cruises were from commercial docks, not purpose-built cruise ship terminals.  In many ways, I kind of prefer those to the cruise ship terminals, but I can see the advantages to the terminals, if only for the readily available and reasonably clean facilities.

I particularly like to be on deck during sail-away, so I can watch as the ship pushes away from the dock.  I like to be out well before sail-away too, so I can watch the ship and dock workers prepping the ship to leave.  I always like to see the guy whose job it is to collect the rat baffles.  (Aside:  do they really baffle the rats?  I would think most rats are smart enough to figure out how to circumvent the trash can lids with a V-notch cut in them, but who am I to speak for most rats?)  I like to watch as the last straggling passengers running down the pier, and there are always stragglers, no matter how many times the cruise director reminds us of the all-aboard time.  I like to watch the gang-way pulled up and stowed.  I like to watch the dock workers unhooking the lines from the bollards and the ship reeling them in again.  When the ship starts the thrusters and the water is churned up and the birds come, that's one of my favorite times of any cruise.

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but sail-away is always an interesting show, and one of the best views on the cruise.  And if it happens at sunset at a particularly scenic port, all the better.  It really is one excellent view.

Zin Vin

Wine, best glass while traveling and where:  Beringer White Zinfandel, 1997, ms Veendam, somewhere in the St. Lawrence River

I've mentioned it before, but I'm not a big drinker.  I'm far more likely to cook with alcohol than to drink it.  Even so, I did take a couple of wine tasting tours in the Barossa Valley, as well as a couple of wine tours in Québec.  I knew before the tours that I prefer sweet wines to dry ones, and I prefer sweet whites at that.  I really do not like very many red wines, I think it may be the tannins, but I honestly do not know enough to say even that much for sure.

In the Barossa, I surprised myself by really, really like Bethany Vineyards Cabernet Franc Rose, which is not only a red wine (okay, blush), but also much drier than anything I would have thought I would enjoy.  Also during the tastings, I discovered I really, really like select late harvest wines, which are, according to the people in the tasting rooms, wines made from grapes left on the vine until they are practically raisins.  They intense, sweet wines, very much like the ice wine I loved in Québec.

But all of those were tasting wines, none were really full glasses.  If we are talking full glasses of wine, that would have to go to either a glass of Beringer White Zinfandel, 1997 from the bottle that was a gift from my travel agent on my very first cruise.  Apparently 1997 was a particularly good year for the White Zinfandel, and I think I drank eight or nine bottles of that particular vintage before I could no longer find it, which is a lot for a non-drinker like me.

For Your Pleasure Viewing

Visas:  multiple, but only to two countries

Honestly I misread this as "Vistas," so my initial answer was very different, and I think I'd rather go with that, especially considering I have only ever travelled to two places that require visas, and only one of those was a paper-issue visa instead of an electronic visa waiver.

So, Vistas:  view from Monplaisir, Peterhof

I love the view from the open decks on the cruise ship, I love it most when we are entering or leaving a port, but there are some beautiful sunsets on sea days as well.  And the view from the deck when the ship is docked in Saguenay, Québec looking out over the Saguenay Fjord is spectacular, quiet and serene.  It is one of my favorite spots on one of my favorite cruises.  Sunrise through Habitat '67 in Montréal, Québec is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, as the sky peeking through the boxes changes from the deep inky blue of pre-dawn to purple to pink and then back to the cool clear blue of a new day.  The view from Agamont Park looking out over the Porcupine Islands, and whatever cruise ships may be anchored that day is one of the best I have seem from public parks, and certainly one of the most easily identifiable in my (not-all-that-many) vacation photos.

But one of the most special, yet ordinary vistas, has to be the view out over the Gulf of Finland from Monplaisir, Peterhof has to be one of the best.  Truth be told, it's not anything special, but the journey there was the trip of a lifetime, and to be standing where Tsar Nicholas II would have stood, looking out over much the same view, was a dream come true.  Definitely one of the best vistas I have ever experienced.

Postcard on the Edge

Unforgettable travel memory:  arguing with a shop clerk over a sixth postcard

This is hard to answer.  So many things that have happened during my travels have been unforgettable. Sometimes memorable things happen before you even leave the airport!  From the hopscotch zone in Stockholm's Arlanda Airport, to the trip tunnel in Detroit's, or the best sign ever in the ladies' room in Adelaide's, there have been many exciting and unusual memories along the journeys.

Actual tourist attractions have brought more unforgettable experiences.  From declaring there was no way I was going to come down the tiny, tight, twisty stairs at Blarney Castle (the main reason I never bothered kissing the stone), to flipping to the end of my the real person's story to find out what happened before we even began the tour at the Holocaust Museum, to learning that azaleas are actually rhododendrons at the Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden in St. John's, it's been a lifetime (or half a lifetime) of great experiences.

Wildlife provided unforgettable moments as well.  From a whale breaching tail first on a whale-watching tour in Hawaii, to juvenile kangaroos "attacking" me in a sanctuary on Kangaroo Island while I was feeding them, I seem to attract unusual nature events.

And even with all that, I think the most memorable thing that happened to me on all my travels was an argument buying postcards in the giftshop at The State Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia.  Postcards were five for $1, but I wanted six.  I can still hear the clerk clearly saying, "five for one dollar."  And I can still hear my insistence that I wanted six.  It was a silly discussion, and my traveling companion's suggestion that I pick four more and pay $2 was not the point.  In the end, I got the six cards for $1, simply because neither of us knew enough of the other's language to settle it any other way.  I still have that contentious sixth postcard.  I have always thought it would be a good idea to frame it.  Maybe someday I will.

Tourists Are Touristy

Touristy thing you’ve done:  almost everything on vacation, but most recently, visiting the sea lions in at Pier 39 San Francisco

When I'm in places that are not my hometown, I am a tourist, so I do touristy things.  I want to see the attractions, even if they may not be worth it in other's opinions.

In Québec, I wanted to see the Château Frontenac, and ride the Funicular.  In Newport, I wanted to walk along Cliff Walk.  In Blarney, I didn't want to kiss the Blarney Stone, but I did want to see Blarney Castle.  In Australia, I wanted to see kangaroos.  In Washington, D.C., I wanted to go to the Smithsonian, particularly the American History Museum.  These are all touristy things, and that's okay.  I am a tourist.  It's ridiculous to go to famous places and not see one thing for which the area is famous.

The most recent touristy thing I have ticked off my list, and an experience I would recommend, was seeing the sea lions at Pier 39 in San Francisco.  I didn't really plan to see the sea lions, but I had time and was in the area so I went and hung out with them for about half an hour.  It's definitely worth the time and definitely something I can do again.  Yes, it's touristy, but that doesn't mean it's not worth doing.  If you find yourself in San Francisco and have the time, go visit the sea lions for a while.

Coming Home, Over and Over

Splurge, something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling:  hotels

Honestly, I'm not really budget conscious when I travel, and often my trips are indulgences in and of themselves.  Most of my travel has been by cruise, but when I'm not cruising, I think my biggest no-questions asked splurge is my hotel.  But that does not mean that the hotels are the most luxurious available.  It is true that I will always choose convenience and location over price for hotels, but at the same time, I have yet to find a hotel worth $400/night.

So while I'll splurge on hotels, there is a limit to my splurges.  Even there I'm fairly brand-loyal to hotel chains, particularly in the US.  I'll almost always choose a Hilton Family hotel over anything else, and even then my splurges tend to be in the form of Hampton Inns.  I'm pretty low maintenance as far as hotels go.  But the locations are more important to me than price, and more often than not, my splurges are guided by what I need.  Often I do not need a hotel to have a restaurant, so the no-frills Hampton Inns are perfectly suited to my travel needs.  Other times I do need the convenience of an on-property restaurant, and in that case, I'll usually choose a Hilton.

I am very loyal to hotels I have previously used in a particular location.  I'm loathe to change once I've stayed somewhere that fits all my needs.  As silly as it sounds I feel staying at the same place over and over makes for consistency, and it makes it easier for me to remember where things are in each area.  And I like that feeling of coming home to someplace familiar when I return to the cities.

Required Revelry

Recommended site, event or experience:  traditional Mardi Gras in New Orleans

I know it's cheating, because for the vast majority of my life, New Orleans was not technically a travel destination for me, but I really do think that everyone should experience Mardi Gras at least once.  And not the Hollywood version, but real Mardi Gras, especially the Old Line Krewe parades with flambeaux, mounted officers, and stingy throws from the masked riders.

Mardi Gras not only a festival, but it is woven into the New Orleans Social Season.  The Old Line Krewes keep up the old traditions, using the parades as a moving tableaux for the year's theme.  They hold tight to their hard-won parade time slots (a valued commodity because the parade season is only 10 nights long and there is a limit to how many parades can be scheduled on any one night).

Mardi Gras is so much more than the drunken debauchery on Bourbon Street as portrayed by the media and Hollywood.  It's really a rich tradition of taking the pre-Lent festivities from behind the closed doors of private clubs and bringing it out to the people.

Many things calls themselves "the greatest free show on Earth," but Mardi Gras really is, free and open to the public.  As long as you can find a spot along the parade route, you can participate in a tradition 158 years old.  But there is more than that.  If you wake early enough on Mardi Gras Day, you can find the Mardi Gras Indians with their elaborate, hand-made suits and headdresses as they parade through the streets.  And at the same early hour, along the traditional Uptown Route, you can find any of the walking clubs and get paper carnations in exchange for kisses.

There is so much more than the bits the media and Hollywood felt were worth exporting, there is a rich tradition and a living history in the parades and parading organizations.  Everyone should experience that kind of celebration at least once in their lives.  It really is an amazing show, right there in the street for all and sundry to share.

I really can't wait to share it with my dearest -- and we will get there one year.

Normal Quirkiness

Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where:  polydactyl cats at Hemingway House

This is difficult to answer.  I really haven't been to any quirky attractions, at least not in terms of what I think of as quirky.  I've never been to see the world's largest ball of twine or to the mummy museum in Guanajuato.  Most of the places I've been have been run of the mill attractions.  Which is not say that they were not worth visiting, they definitely were.

The most unusual have been the World's Largest Shell Valley in Baie-Comeau, Québec and the copper-roofed Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki.  But even those are fairly standard as far as attractions go.

I'm not really one to seek out unusual attractions, mostly I stick to what's in guidebooks or on organized tours.  I did want to see Lombard Street in San Francisco, but that's not really quirky, just very crooked.

I know I have wanted to see things my friends and family think are unusual.  I wanted to see The Winter Place in St. Petersburg (now part of The State Hermitage Museum), because I wanted to see where Tsar Nicholas II and his family lived, and I wanted to see The Jordan Staircase.  It's not necessarily a quirky attraction, but it is a specific and unusual reason for seeing an otherwise normal attraction.

I really have no idea what would be considered the quirkiest attraction.  But giving to serious thought, and knowing that it's not the attractions I see that are quirky, more my reasons for going to them, I would say my trips to Hemingway house specifically to see the polydactyl cats.  I have no interest whatsoever in Ernest Hemingway's life or works, with the exception of the cats that make his Key West house their home.  I watched a documentary on the social world of housecats, and much of the research was done at the Hemingway House, using the polydactyl cats that live there.  I wanted to see the cats.  I went and I saw the cats.  Yep, I think taking a cruise that stopped in Key West solely to see the cats at Hemingway House may qualify as the quirkiest thing I have done on vacation.  And I'd do it again too!

Stamps of Approval

Passport stamps, how many and from where:  more than one, less than one on every page

I have only ever had two passports, and only then because the first one expired.  I am envious of people who have to get new passports or have pages added for additional visas/stamps.  I am not one of those people.  But I am very proud of my passport stamps.  I didn't dig out my passports to count, but I know these are the stamps that are in them:

• Canada (multiple entry & exit stamps)
• Sweden (entry & exit stamp)
• Russia (entry stamp)
• United Kingdom/England (entry & exit stamp)
• Ireland (entry)
• Australia (multiple entry & exit stamps)

I have been to more countries, but because most of my visits have been port stops on cruises, I do not have entry and/or exit stamps for those.  Also, some countries did not stamp upon leaving them, even though I had to show my passport at the airport.  I am sorry about that, but at the same time, I know I have been there, and I'm here now so I must have left.  Sometimes reality is just as good as having actual proof in my passport (but never use that argument with any government official).

When I renewed my passport I was very afraid that I would not get the expired one back, and I really wanted it as it head my Russia stamp in it.  I was so thrilled when I got my Russia stamp.  I really wanted to keep the entry card I got while in Russia, but did not want to risk the penalties for not turning it in upon re-boarding the ship.  But there again, I know I have been to Russia so that's enough for me.

I've been told that life changes after you have a stamp in your passport, and it's true.  The world became both bigger and smaller in that one action.  And for a while I had a quest to get a stamp on each page, but then my quest became more about have meaningful stamps on my passport pages.  I wanted each one to be special, not just routine.  And so far each one is.  I do not know what I will do when passport stamps become routine and everyday for me.  But it's a lovely dream to think about sometimes.

Staying In Camera

Obsession – what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling:  nothing really

It was a joke with my co-workers that I would go fantastic places on vacation and never take pictures.  I am not really a picture taker.  I am trying to be better about it, but I really prefer to experience the world through my own eyes rather than through a view-finder or digital camera screen.

My family has never been big picture takers, and maybe it's because we never really took vacations, but  my parents never forced friends or family to experience the comic-torture of sitting through a presentation of vacation slides.

For a while, no matter where I went on vacation, there was a grain elevator.  That became a family joke, especially considering when I was growing up, my dad was a recognized expert on the engineering aspects of grain elevators.  But even then, pictures were few and far between.

My last few cruises, I have been trying to take pictures of the vistas from the open decks or scenic overlooks.  I like to have them as wallpaper for my laptop background.  The view from the deck is relaxing and calming.

I've really been better about trying to get pictures, but I'm still not really obsessed with taking pictures on vacation.  I'd still rather experience the location through my eyes and not the view-finder.

La Maison La Plus Gentille

Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in:  Hôtel Champlain, Ville Québec, Québec, Canada

It's certainly not the swankiest, nor the most expensive, but Hôtel Champlain in Vieux Québec certainly has the nicest staff I've ever experienced in a hotel.

Unless you are staying in a room overlooking Rue Sainte-Anne, the view is largely nonexistent, but the rooms more than make up for that.  They are large, comfortable and well-appointed.  The elevator is slow, but there is a staircase that serves most non-luggage handling needs.  The front lobby is small, but functional, as is the breakfast room, though breakfast is included in the room rate each night.  It's a good breakfast buffet too, I'd say Continental breakfast treats predominate, but there are warm, more traditional North American breakfast offerings as well.  And there is plenty of hot coffee, tea, and juice to drink in the bright sunny area.

The location of the hotel is perfect as a base for exploring Québec.  It's perfectly placed in the middle of most tourist areas, so it's easy to go one way in the morning and then stop off at the hotel before heading out again in the afternoon for more exploring.  It's just as easy to pop back in the hotel before checking out any of the myriad restaurants in the area for dinner.

The staff are friendly and helpful, and they easily switch between French and English depending on which language the guests are most comfortable speaking.  I would not hesitate to recommend the hotel to anyone in the area.  In fact, I cannot wait to go back to Québec and stay again.  It really is a comfortable home-away-from-home in Québec.

Thank Georges

Moment when you fell in love with travel:  Stepping off the plane in Montrèal

As I said before, I came to travel pretty late in life, well these days anyway.  I was an adult, had graduated from college and had a good, steady job before I took up traveling for any kind of pleasure.  I had always heard that life was never the same after you had a stamp in your passport.  But I really did have to get that stamp to be sure the old saying was right.

Landing in what was then Montrèal-Dorval International Airport (it has since changed its name to Montrèal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport), I was sure I was in the most exotic place I had ever been.  Heck, they didn't even really speak English!  But it was an adventure, and a largely unplanned one at that.

We had planned to go on a cruise, arriving the morning the cruise left, so really just seeing the city from the airport to the pier -- or actually hotel, because at that time the cruise lines were still holding incoming passengers in hotel conference rooms until the ship was ready for boarding.  This was before most cities, including Montrèal, upgraded the cruise facilities and the cruises left from working commercial docks.  But Hurricane Georges threatened New Orleans and my father's office generously flew us all up to Montrèal three days early.  We spend most of the time in the hotel watching the Weather Channel in French, or catching the snippets of Gulf Coast weather broadcast on Vermont and New York stations -- this was back before weather was news outside of where the weather systems were occurring.  (Aside:  How the world has changed in 16 years!!!)

But we did head out one day and, at the suggestion of one of the nicest concierges I have ever had, took a GreyLine tour of Montrèal, seeing the sights:  Notre Dame Basillica, Olympic Park, the outside stairs, a really cool bank vault built in a cantilevered wing of the building so as to prevent robberies, St. Joseph's Oratory, the overlook on Mount Royal, and other things of note.  We found a great pub, and I experienced rugby for the very first time -- France vs. New Zealand; I still can;t tell you who won, but I can say that it is near impossible to figure out what's going on in a game you have never seen before when all the commentary is in a foreign language.  I have the best French skills of anyone in my family and still couldn't figure out the game.  All I know is when something good happened for France, the bad erupted in cheers (which sound the same in all languages).

Considering all the places I've been since, I didn't really go very far from home, but that first trip really did cement the fact there is a world outside my home and I really am able to go and see and experience it first hand.  I really did fall in love with exploring on that trip.

No Oases in This Desert

Let-down site – why and where:  Las Vegas, Nevada

Okay, I'll admit I never thought I would enjoy Las Vegas as a destination; I'm not a gambler, I don't like crowds, and can live perfectly happily without ever seeing stage productions with pyrotechnics or live animals.

That said, I thought I would enjoy parts of being in Vegas.  I was wrong.  Maybe it was my mistake in sticking to the touristy areas of The Strip and Fremont Street.  But I honestly thought maybe it would be possible to be somewhere where it was quiet and peaceful.  It wasn't even really all that quiet and peaceful in my hotel room!  And I kid you not, there are slot machines between the gates at the airport and baggage claim -- the assault on your senses begins before you even leave the airport.

On top of that, I'd like to say, and for the record, the "Penny Slots" are if not an outright lie, at the very least false advertising.  I fully expected to be able to play the "Penny Slots" for a penny.  Not so.  I needed to put at the very least $1 in the machine and pay at the very least 100 spins.  While technically that is a penny ($0.01) per spin, it doesn't mean I can play just one spin for just one penny.  I didn't even see an option for 5 spins for a nickel ($0.05) or 10 for a dime ($0.10).

Overall, I was fairly sure Las Vegas would end up being a been there, done that kind of destination for me, but I really was not expecting it to be as bad as it turned out.

Souvenir Savon

Keepsake from your travels:  Soap

It took me a long time to figure out my favorite souvenir from my travels.  But finally I hit upon the perfect thing for me -- soap.  I prefer locally, handmade soaps, but I'll be content with any soaps unique to the area.  I've never liked shower gel, always preferring to use bar soap for my bathing needs.  And handmade, or at the very least, small batch, all-natural soaps are less likely to produce an allergic reaction, so the souvenir soaps are perfect for me.  The bonus of having a usable souvenir is that when I shower using my soaps, I get to remember when and where I got it.  It's the perfect thing for me.

3 Days and 10,501 Miles

Journey that took the longest:  Melbourne to Québec City

Traveling from my home southeast of Melbourne to Québec City had definitely been the longest journey I have ever taken.  I left my house about 6:00 pm on October 8 and finally got off the last plane about 2:30 on October 9, which was a total travel time of 35½ hours, including about 11 hours in the hotel during a layer in Montréal.

I drove the 2+ hours from my house to Melbourne.  Then I flew from Melbourne to Auckland; Auckland to Vancouver; Vancouver to Montréal; spent 11 hours in a hotel in Montréal; and finally flew Montréal to Québec City.

It was only four flights, and I've taken trips with more, but those trips took far less time.  This was the longest journey I have ever undertaken for a trip.  The trip was definitely worth it, but it was a long 3 days of travel -- well, okay 2½ days, but due to the 15 hour time difference between my starting location and my destination, it felt like 3 days.

Special As a Matter of Course

Incredible service you’ve experienced and where:  REX, Stranraer Homestead Bed & Breakfast, Holland America Line, Commander's Palace, and Restaurant Pain Béni

This is hard to quantify, if only because it's such a general question.  Service is different in different places.  I've had great service on flights, in hotels, on the cruise ship, and in restaurants, but it's all different service.  And it's hard to pick just one because the expectations are so very different.  But then again, I did this as blog posts rather than a quick message board post so I could be more specific and have more time and space.

So, the best service I have ever had on a flight was the puddle jumper flight from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island on REX.  It was a quick flight, probably no more than 30 minutes door to door, but even so, the seat had soft lambswool covers, which was very much appreciated in the middle of winter, and the stewardess came around three times offering cookies, water, and mints.  It was so unexpected and completely unnecessary, but very much appreciated.  I haven't flown REX since then, and I'm sure the policies have changed, but that short flight has become the measure of airline service for me.

Similarly, the service I had at the Stranraer Homestead Bed & Breakfast on Kangaroo Island went above and beyond my expectations.  Maybe it's just something about Kangaroo Island.  My friend and I were the only guests in the B&B and even so a full dinner was served, as well as a full breakfast the following morning.  It was so much more than I expected.  There was even a lovely fire was laid for us in the bedroom!  Perhaps I had low expectations, but it was just an amazing experience.

On one particular cruise, the service in the Lido Buffet was outstanding.  The servers got to know me, by name, and knew what I liked and didn't.  I'm a creature of habit on the ships, and soon the servers had my routine down and plates of my favorites ready for me as I came through the line.  It may not have been out of the ordinary for the servers, but felt very special to me.

I have to give credit for the best restaurant service to Commander's Palace, for just being spectacular every time I have been.  But a special award goes to the waiter at Restaurant Pain Béni in Quebec for taking time with people not as conversant in French as they could be and patiently explaining everything on the menu, and for being such a great, fun server.

Service is one of those things where if it's done well, you should never notice it.  It is only when it's exceptional (either good or bad) that you remember and take notice.  It should not be that way, but it is.

Hot, Hot, Hot

Hottest place you’ve traveled to:  Half Moon Cay

I have never liked summer.  Well, that's not true.  I loved having the time off from school and I loved being able to go swimming, and I even loved spending summers at my grandmother's house as a kid.  But I have never loved being hot.  I have always hated being sweaty.  That's the worst part of being hot to me, that sticky, sweaty, salty, icky, grainy, dirty feeling that comes from not being able to get cool.  And it's only worse when there is no relief from the unrelenting tropical sun.

The hottest place I have ever traveled was hands down the Holland America Private Island in the Bahamas.  Holland America calls it Half Moon Cay, but is actually Little San Salvador Island.  In truth I know neither the actual air temperature nor the feels-like temperature for the day I spent roughly an hour on the island desperately seeking shade or relief from the sun.  I was unlucky enough to be on the island about a month after it had re-opened to visitors following a hurricane passing over it.  The hurricane caused major damage due to wind, but the far worse damage was due to salt water intrusion.  The parts of the island Holland America uses as a base for its passengers were flooded with sea water.  As a result of that salty sea water nearly 95% of the vegetation in the built-up areas died.  With the exception of three large umbrellas over tables, and the awnings on the buildings there was no shade on the island.  I managed to have just enough shade to take off my sunglasses to get a good look at the post card I was buying.  But there was no way anyone at the tables was going to give up their place so after mailing the postcard and less than 60 minutes ashore, I was in line on the tender dock to head back to the air conditioned comfort of my cabin.

It may not have been literally the hottest place I've ever visited, but it certainly felt like it.  And it may be unfair to judge it as such, due to the hurricane damage.  And I know I'll be on another cruise that will call at the private island, and maybe in the intervening years the vegetation has come back or improvements have been made to provide more shade and relief from the Caribbean heat, but the truth is I am no hurry to find out.  I can live perfectly happy staying on the ship.

Relief in a Tube

Greatest feeling while traveling:  the bumps of a landing airplane

I'm not really a great flyer.  I worry at every little bump or bit of turbulence.  Takeoff terrifies me and landing is not much better.  I try to hide my nervousness, but the truth is I am panicking almost every moment I'm on the plane.  I accept that flying is the best way to get from here to there, and certain from Australia to the US, but it still terrifies me each time the doors close and the plane pulls away from the terminal.  I am always relived when the wheels touchdown and we start taxiing to the terminal.  That is the best feeling ever while traveling.