I’m Back

I have been traveling quite a bit in the last few years. Mostly, Spring til early Fall.

I have a long list of places I’ve been to.

I am an older solo traveler and try to maximize my time in other cities.

I rely on Travel guide books to give me a sense of the city layout. The central “downtown” area and other areas surrounding it. I typically don’t have a car and rely on Public Transportation, which I find is great with some isolated failures. Being older, I no longer have the need to visit children’s sites or museum, although they were fun in the past. So, my travel advice is geared towards adults.

After the guide books, I tend to use web sites set up by the city’s tourism bureau, not the official city site.

Usually, they will have the latest maps, public trans info, airport info and airport transfer info, restaurants, hotels and attractions. Plus, an online or PDF guide book. These web sites don’t push tours the way most travel sites like Expedia and Travelocity or TripAdvisor do. Those sites can help you refine your choices with their reviews which you need to take with a grain of salt, being very subjective.

I usually make lists of places to visit and how to reach them. Where to book a hotel or AirBnB or VRBO for convenient walking and public trans options. Restaurants nearby after reading reviews and viewing menus.

At this point, I will determine how many nights are needed to stay. Remember, that four nights equals three full days. I find that arriving early afternoon or mid afternoon only allows for minimal sightseeing before dinner. You can plan a live event for that night; but the real sightseeing begins the next day. Usually, your last day is concerned with packing and getting to the airport or other transport mode.

I find myself going back to cities a second time. The familiarity helps orient you faster and you can revisit favorites and explore sights missed on the first visit. Most cities have a wealth of things to see and do. Again, determine what you like. Different areas and cities offer different experiences. Outside of cities, a car would be necessary. I use rental cars for areas I need to fly to. They can get expensive with all the junk fees.

Once I have my list of sights and restaurants or events, then I can prioritize them into which days to see what. Remember to use the web links on the sites to go directly to the venue for days and hours and cost. Is a place worth the admission cost for the time spent there? Your call, obviously. In Paris, I arrived on Monday and the Louvre was closed Tuesdays; but, during my visit, Wednesday was May 1st, a National Holiday, therefore had to visit the Louvre on Thursday before leaving on Friday. This was part of a multi-city trip of Amsterdam, London and Paris in 2024.

All in all, planning is key to not wasting your time which is most valuable on trips. You may never return to some places or spend years before returning. I first visited Rome in 1977. Next visit was 1984. After that, next visit was 2007 and 2008, then again in 2018 and 2023. My first visit almost nobody spole English. My second visit everybody was learning English and wanted to practice it. Nowadays, Spoken everywhere. My first visit to Amsterdam was in 1983. They spoke English better than people in London. They still do.

Hope this helps. Plan your visit and live your plan.

Future articles will talk about travels logistics and tactics, as well as specific sights to see.

See Ya

Sizing up Chicago

Every large city has a center city or downtown or old town section where most sight-seeing goes on. A visitor’s area that may be concentrated enough for walking around. Some cities are more compact than others; for instance, Madrid is very compact measuring about one mile across. On the other hand, Barcelona has areas of interest spread  out through the city. Public Transportation becomes important in these cities.

Chicago has a very concentrated central visitor’s area. Roughly, 2.3 miles from Oak street in the North to Roosevelt Ave South. The width of Chicago’s visitor area varies from about 1.25 miles from Navy Pier to the West to around less than a mile from Lake Michigan to the Chicago River’s west arm. Very walkable; but, Chicago has an excellent public transit network. Buses run very frequently, so they are not jammed packed. Wait 2 minutes for the next one (most of the time). Also, The “L” or Elevated subway is easy to use.

Within this visitor’s area, you will find the North Michigan Avenue shopping area “Magnificent Mile” and the Museum of Contemporary Art. In the Central Loop area you have Millennium Park, the Art Institute of Chicago, famous works of architecture, theaters, restaurants, department stores, public parks and spaces, a River walk, a bicycle trail along the lake, beaches and hotels.

In October of 2017, I spent five nights there, staying at the InterContinental hotel on N. Michigan Ave, next to the Tribune Building, close to the Wrigley Building and the Chicago River. A great location. I walked most  of the time, taking buses and L’s when needed.

There are several areas of interest outside of this central visitor’s area. All accessible by public transit or taxi or Lyft or Uber.

Lincoln Park is a great public park above the Oak Street Beach area. A short bus ride or bike ride (rental bikes all over the city)

I typically like to ride North to Lincoln Park, dock the bike and walk around, then get another bike. A daily rate is cheap.

Wrigley Field is accessible by an El line (Red), with the Addison stop, less than a block from the field. You’ll see it from the platform.

Below Wrigley is the Belmont stop for a hip shopping area with nice stores and restaurants.

The Museum “campus” is just  east of S. Michigan Ave.. You can walk or take a bus right to it or a Red Line subway.

Further south area historic Frank LLoyd Wright houses and the University of Chicago campus, just west of the Museum of Science and Industry, on the grounds of the old 1893 Columbia Exposition, with a great lake and garden and beach. A bus will take you right to the MSI.

Families with children have lots of choices. Parks and museums and Navy Pier.

I will be writing more posts, detailing different sights and areas that I visited.

I just spent another five days in Chicago. Some new sites visited and old sites revisited. Plus Plenty of pictures. Coming Soon!

 

Introduction

This is my introduction. I am looking to talk about traveling to interesting locations and spending some time there.

I try to take a common sense approach to planning and sightseeing. I do quite a bit of research. I find that planning is the key to maximizing your travel experience. Most locations have a wealth of places to visit and eat and sleep. Deciding what is best for you and your interests is what I will try to help you with. So, I will offering blogs on different places I’ve visited and things I’ve done; along with some tips on itineraries.

I rarely use the word “tourist” unless someone is on a packaged tour. I prefer the word “visitor”, someone who does their own planning and sets their own itinerary, according to what they want to see and do within their travel timeframe.

I will start with my most recent travel experience in Chicago, this past October.

Update 2023: Yes, I’ve been away. Literally.

I have been to Chicago 4 times since the first article. Traveled to Berlin, Germany and Wroclaw and Krakow, Poland and Amsterdam, Netherlands (again) in 2021. A pain traveling during Covid.

Many sites in the US: Cincinnati (twice), St. Louis, Kansas City, Buffalo NY, Rochester NY, Corning NY, Boston MA.

Plus, my normal DC, Baltimore, NYC trips each year.

A month in Italy recently this April / May.  Bologna, Venice, Milano, Firenze, Roma, Sorrento, Lacco Ameno on the Island of Ishcia and Naples.

More blogs coming, I promise.

Stay Tuned.