Europe by rail, Southeast Asia by air

Time to plan. There are only so many weeks before we're scheduled to leave town again, this time for the summer.

(By the way, know anyone who wants to housesit this summer?)

So, in poking around this morning (and, again, avoiding the gigs of photos to sort), I found some deals on The Washington Post's What's the Deal site:

Buy a Eurail Select Pass before March 31 and get a free day of rail travel. Deal is good on 6-, 8- and 10-day Eurail Select Passes. Prices vary based on number of countries and days. For example, a six-day pass to three countries is $445 and includes a free seventh day of travel. Travelers have up to six months from date of purchase to begin traveling, and a two-month period to use their rail pass. Purchase at http://www.eurail.com/ or through Rail Europe (877-257-2887, http://www.raileurope.com/) and Flight Centre (866-967-5351, http://www.flightcentre.us/).

And this, which is so tempting:

Singapore Airlines' Southeast Asia Air Pass, which includes round-trip air from New York to Singapore plus round-trip flights from Singapore to three cities, is now $1,699 plus taxes, which vary by travel itinerary. Travelers can choose from 26 destinations in Asia, including Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. All travel must be booked and completed by May 31; maximum stay is 45 days. Info: http://www.asianairpass.com/.

To do: Blink and Breathe

Last night, the parking lots of the local grocery stores were jammed with people buying milk and bread to hoard for the forecasted, pending Snow Storm of the Year (here and here -- which says snow is moving into the mountains. Really? Where?). In my particular western North Carolina neighborhood, that equals about two inches of snow. Still, Pat and I ran around until late last night doing last minute errands, like BUYING SHOELACES and A WINTER COAT for someone who shall remain nameless. But in this two-person family, all you have to know is that it wasn't me.

So, (you saw this coming, huh?) I woke up at the crack of dawn today to NO snow. Not even a wimpy flake. And while the sky is solid gray and looks like it's about to dump, looks are deceiving.

Now it's forecasted to come tonight, so we're crossing our fingers that we'll be able to jump on our plane in the early morning.

That's on the list, by the way: Catch plane.

In the preparation department, I am a manic list maker, or Maker of Lists Full of Obvious Tasks. Like: Drop the dog off! Bring passport! Make sure cat has food and water! Pack clothes! And underwear!

While I have no trouble remembering Life's Big Stuff, I frequently forget things and get frustrated and flustered when I go somewhere and realize I have left something small, but critical to me, behind. At Kathryn's wedding I remembered the gift and the dress and the shoes. But not the underwear. That was TOO obvious. (And I'm not a commando kind of girl, unlike some unfortunate celebrities whose privates were recently flashed to the world, so I had to drag Kathryn to the store so I could buy some wedding-worthy undies.)

This trip, what will be missing? A toothbrush? Three ounces (Really? THREE OUNCES IS ALL?) of contact solution? Who knows.

First step in the pet hand off: get rid of parasites

She doesn't know this, but I've dubbed my friend Karen the Queen of Pet Preparation. The last few times she’s left town and we’ve taken care of her dog, Shelby, she has bestowed upon us loving care packages.

Not for us. For Shelby.

Consider the one for over Christmas: dog treats/cookies, toys that you put dog treats/cookies into, blankets, dog brush, hard dog bowl, soft dog bowl for travel, dog food, pig ears (those were holiday presents), and another soft chew toy.

Wow! And that was just for four days.

So I’m trying to live up to the QPP’s example and am scheduling in time among the all the trip errands and packing to make sure Sammy (shown here, eating snow) is stocked with enough food to feed a pack of his fellow hunting dogs. Not that there are packs of hunting dogs in Asheville, because soon he will (literally) shed his country coat, replacing it with an oh-so-fine city dog attitude. I just hope it doesn’t include rolling in cat turds. Or patchouli.

But even before the dog treats and food and brushes and pig ears comes the first step in preparing your animal to be taken care of by unsuspecting friends and family.

For Sammy, it's getting rid of Giardia.

That’s right, just days before we leave town for more than a week, he comes down with Giardia. I could elaborate here on all the signs and symptoms he's been sharing with us, but in case you’re eating lunch and reading this, I won’t.

“I can’t guarantee Giardia is what’s causing his diarrhea,” Sammy’s vet said yesterday as he trembled in the corner of the examination room. “But 50 percent of the time, in dogs, it is.”

Take me to Vegas, because I like those odds. So we’re shoving medicine down his throat like there’s no tomorrow. And by yesterday afternoon, everything was back to normal.

I think. And I hope. So don’t worry, Stacy; don’t worry, Russ! Sammy is a prince of a dog! So good! And diarrhea free! (I write, fingers crossed.)

How do you find a good place to stay? Guess.

When I don't sleep well, I'm a horrible, grumpy person. Just ask the multitude of people who have worked with me in times of insomnia. So finding a good place to stay when traveling is at the top of my list. That, and dressing like a sexy European (see below).

So how do you find a good hotel when you’re traveling to another location for the first time? I’ve taken friends and relative’s advice – with mixed success. One’s “quiet and homey” and “convenient” is another’s dump and strip club.

Today I talked with a guy planning a two-day trip to Rome, tacked onto his trip to Sicily. He wanted to know where we were staying on our upcoming trip. We swapped notes, but, really, we don't have a magical formula on how or where we decide to stay. But I get great joy and hours of entertainment out of reading the online hotel reviews on sites like Expedia.

Like these, all reveiws of the same not-so-Roman-Holiday hotel:

The exterior, pool and entrance are all lovely. However, the rooms are an entirely different story as they clearly haven’t been renovated in 30 years. Worn, dirty looking carpet, dark musty curtains. Desk staff less than friendly. I travel a bunch in europe (weekly for my job) and this has been one of the worst.

And this one, written by someone too upset to use capitals:

not impressed
hotel beds have a very uncofortable matresses

Oh, and this one, clearly written by someone highly upset about his/her stay here and who obviously just wanted a tour bus to cart them around town:

If possible, skip this hotel
We stayed at this hotel while we were in Italy for our honeymoon. While the hotel is clean enough, the room was old and the hotel was very far away from the airport. It had cost us over 50 euros to take the taxi to the hotel. Although there are busses that goes to the hotel, one would need to be familiar with the Rome metro system in order to find this place. Even if one does know their way around with the bus system, it would still be hard to find the hotel as it is tucked away from the major bus route. My other complaint about this hotel is that the front desk offers absolutely no help with us getting around the city. When asked, they gave us a barely visible map that has been over copied and does not really show the location of bus routes or the hotel for that matter. We had to find our way out of the hotel and out to the bus stops. Then we had to ask numerous people to finally figure out how to get to the tourist sites. Our room was not particularly comfortable either. Our reservation specifically asked for a non-smoking room, but we were given a smoking room regardless. Our room stunk of cigarette. We did notice that there were rooms with the no smoking signs, but when asked, we were told that all they had for us was the smoking room. Needless to say, I would not want to stay at this hotel again.

OK. So so we're not staying at this hotel. We get it!

I also read the guidebooks. Then, accounting for the fact that most Americans I meet overseas are wearing velour or bejeweled track suits, I do the opposite.

That doesn’t mean I’ve had any real success, because, really, the maybe velour = great value and super accommodations. Take, for example, the place we stayed on the outskirts of Prague. It was really close to the subway, filled with Russians (How did I know they were Russian? Tall fur hats and long fur coats, of course.) and had the Prague-ean (is that a word) version of Westin’s Heavenly Bed. Awesome. Then we stayed at a place highly recommended in the center of Madrid where a street performer sang all day and all night. Under our window. I don’t think she slept. Neither did we.

Pat saw this picture and said, "That's the prison we stayed in at Bilbao." Yes, indeed.

So here’s what we prioritize our hotel choices on:

Price: We go for the moderate prices that include breakfast. Spending a little bit more on hotels is OK by me. I can scrimp on food, and if I have a good breakfast I can usually get by on coffee and something light until dinner.

Location: We are walkers. Boy, do we walk. We figure out the must-see sights and stay within a mile or two from those sights. Too close and you get nothing but tourists. Too far away and you spend all your time figuring out the transportation system and getting lost and, well, that can be fun, too. By in large, though, we stay away from the center of cities and opt, instead, for a neighborhood.

Size: The hotel in Prague was huge and was great. The hotel in Bilbao, Spain was huge and looked and felt like a warmed over Holiday Inn. There are no guarantees, but when we can, we try to go smaller. That way we the chances are higher that we’ll meet some cool people, too.

Mexico, with a passport

NPR had a good story about new passport requirements for people crossing our northern and southern borders. The change for air travelers started Tuesday. But what struck me about this was, and it's no new news, how much this change -- which doesn't take effect for those crossing by land or sea until next year -- is going to impact people going to either Mexico or Canada for cheaper drugs. And, let's me be honest, cheap cigs and booze. I know that's why I went to Tijuana when I was 16: to smoke and drink. That and to haggle for a chess set (CHESS SET???) for my parents who let me go on this cross-country camping trip and who didn't know their rook from their pawn (neither do I, really). They would have been happy just to know I didn't drink the water. Or the tequila. And, seriously, I didn't even want to. Now, at 34, bring me some cheap tequila and cheaper water any day of the week.

So, here are the new rules, from the State Department. The changes also apply to travel to the Caribbean, Bermuda and Panama. (Though when I went to the British Virgin Islands in 2005, we practically had to sing The Star-Spangled Banner to be let back into the U.S. at St. John's and then tattoo the Pledge of Allegiance on our thigh to be let into the mainland U.S. For not being a "foreign country," the security certainly made you feel differently -- hoarse and permanently marked.)

I quote, from the State Department's Web site:

1. Beginning January 23, 2007, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document, or an Alien Registration Card, Form I-551, if applicable.
2. As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. While recent legislative changes permit a later deadline, the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to meet all requirements as soon as possible. Ample advance notice will be provided to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land/sea entries.