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 A 74-Year-Old Woman with a Yen to See the World, a Supportive Husband, and a Couple of Backpacks…

All my life, I’ve loved to travel. My dream has been to visit all the countries that interest me on every continent. Until July 2021, however, I’d never left North America.

In Spring of 2021, we could see the world beginning to reopen. Dempsey said, “This year is yours. It’s time to make your travel dream come true.” And so we did!

We’re spending fifteen weeks exploring the world, and you’re invited along.

My Blog

Our Brush with COVID

by | Nov 3, 2021 | | 0 Comments

It seems quite likely we were exposed to the virus at some point during our journey. Many of the countries we explored had high numbers of cases. However, we were double-vaccinated and wore masks. At the time we left Texas, the numbers were very high here, so we felt there was little additional risk. For the most part, we remained healthy.
Every country sets its own rules for entry. England is one of the countries that requires entrants to complete a Personal Locator Form, and book in advance a Covid test to be administered the 2nd day after arrival.
Our tests were at the front desk the morning after we checked into our hotel. We took the tests, uploaded photos of the results (next to our passports), and were informed by email that the results were negative. So far so good.
Then, on the 4th day, we started receiving multiple texts from Britain’s National Health Service, telling us we had been explosed to Covid and were to quarantine in our hotel for ten days. Apparently, someone on our flight from Lisbon to London had tested positive.
Ten days?! Oh, hell, no. There had to be a way around that.
I went to work researching possible solutions. I learned that if one is exposed to Covid in England, one can be tested at no cost by the National Health, then those results will be immediately reported.
Fortunately, we found an NHS testing clinic in Islington, about three miles away. That was good, because we were banned from buses, taxis, ride-shares, and the Tube. We walked over and were tested. The results, fortuntely, were negative.
Crisis averted, at least until Dempsey woke up on the last day unable to put weight on his foot. I left him playing his keyboard, took a last wander down to London Bridge, and brought him back dinner.
At present, the U.S. requires citizens returning to the country to test within 72 hours of departure. It so happens we’d taken our NHS tests within that window. We were pleased; two birds, as the saying goes.
Apparently not. As we stood at the British Airways check-in desk for our plane from Heathrow to Austin, the clerk ran her well-manicured finger up and down the U.S. government list of approved tests. Looking up, she said, “Sorry, but the NHS is not included among approved providers.” In other words, despite the so-called “Special Relationship,” the United States does not accept the exact same test administered by the health department of Her Majesty’s government.
Fortunately, we had arrived with plenty of time to go to the privately-operated testing clinic in Heathrow, where we paid for yet two more Covid tests. Negative, of course.
I haven’t added up how many tests we took on this trip, or how much we spent on tests. The amount wasn’t prohibitive (I’m estimating around $1,000), but it did get our attention. If you’re going traveling during this time of Covid, build in a budget line item for testing.

Touring Berlin

by | Aug 25, 2021 | | 0 Comments

On our way to spend a week in Vienna, we stopped a day in Berlin. Because it suffered intense bombing at the end of WWII, many of its ancient buildings were destroyed. Some remain, and like the other European capitols we have seen, it mixes the old with beautiful...

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Stockholm and the Archipelago

by | Aug 25, 2021 | | 0 Comments

There are 3,000 islands off the coast of Sweden in the Baltic Sea, collectively known as the archipelago. Fourteen of those islands, connected by dozens of bridges, comprise the city of Stockholm. We spent 3 hours on a harbor cruise by many islands that are suburbs or...

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