Passports and plans

[fbhjr]

This week my wife and I sent in our paperwork to get our passports renewed. Hopefully we’ll have them in about a month.

We are both the kind of folks who say "if you’ve got something, you should use it".
Last year for my wife’s birthday we went to the Grand Canyon. ( http://fbhjr.livejournal.com/tag/las%20vegas )

In the last couple of years I’ve made two trips to Europe without my wife.
One to the Netherlands for work. ( http://fbhjr.livejournal.com/tag/netherlands )
One to Wales for that sword making class. ( http://fbhjr.livejournal.com/tag/wales )
Both places had things I’d love to show my wife. (I’ve taken a bunch of trips to places my wife has been to or isn’t as interested as well…)

But, there are places that neither of us have ever seen, so that’s an option too.

Sadly, neither one of us are overflowing with vacation time. So, it couldn’t be any place too far away or we’d spend all the time traveling and not being there.
And, it would probably be late November or December.

Any suggestions?

[Poll #2018500]

Comments

[meathiel]

I voted for Iceland because I loved it there and you could see the Northern Lights!

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

In December that would be all the light we'd see!

[touchofgr3y.livejournal.com]

I voted for Iceland for the same reason - plus I've seen from VERY reasonable packages for this winter ($1000 and under for round trip airfare + 5 nights hotel (the under part comes from the hotel quality), Northern Lights cruise). My family has been trying to plan something and vetoed it because they want warmth, but I probably would've done it myself if we weren't coordinating.

[meathiel]

Nah ... it's still light for a few hours ...

[frozendoll.livejournal.com]

I chose Wales as I loved it when I visited.
I also chose another place in Europe b/c you have so many options. I'd go Prague or back to Edinburgh b/c it's a lovely city, walkable and lots to do. :)

[pink-halen.livejournal.com]

You can combine Iceland with a trip to the Netherlands.
IcelandAir flys direct from Boston and on to Amsterdam or Brussells.
They allow a free stopover on one of the legs. You can spend two nights and get to see everything Iceland has to offer then on to Europe.
IcelandAir offers a comfort seating which is that you basically buy the middle seat and avoid being crowded.

We just got our passports back Friday. It took just under 1 month.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Not sure we'd have the time to do both. But, it is certainly something to consider.

[cissa.livejournal.com]

Ooo! That sounds interesting!

[belleweather.livejournal.com]

You should come to Romania! You should do this because it is:
Gorgeous
Cheap
Easy to get around
Has many castles
Is amazingly awesome.

However, it will be fall-y and cold during your timeframe. Acceptable alternatives include Croatia and greece. Greek Islands > Caribbean Islands, no lie.

Also, YAY for renewing passports!! I am reasonably sure that we've mostly worked through our summer rush/backlog from the broken systems, so turnaround time should be 4-6 weeks again! Remember to register with travel.state.gov when you go places so that if the world should end we can help you! (/work speech)

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Mine was about to expire and work does make me take trips from time to time. So, I needed mine. My wife's had expired quite some time ago, so had to apply from the start again.

Romania does sound good. But, to me, it seems like it would take longer than we probably have.
We will probably have less than a week. And, it seems like a place I could and would like to, spend a lot of time...

[evrgreen.livejournal.com]

I would vote for someplace like Costa Rica, or Hawaii - though if you don't have much time, Hawaii could be more difficult to coordinate

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Hawaii is past the range I'm thinking of.

We're thinking of something like the Thanksgiving weekend or part of the last week of the year. Either way, not a full week of time...

[endlessblush.livejournal.com]

I see now Australia on this list :D so I said Iceland because it looks like a fascinating country.

I see no Denmark on this list - Billund in particular - the origianl LegoLand is there .. just sayin'

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I would love to visit Australia. But, I'm afraid that is one of the places on the "too far away for a 4 day weekend" list. We'd get there in time to turn around and fly home.

I've never been to Denmark...

[endlessblush.livejournal.com]

yeah that 15 hour flight LAX - SYD alone is a killer, let alone coming from your side of the US

me either :D

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

They do have flights there now with only one stop. Boston to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Melbourne.
29 hours there. 49 coming home.
That's a bit much for a 4 day weekend...

[endlessblush.livejournal.com]

Even for a two week trip that's an awful lot of travelling time.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I don't know. Some of those plane flights look really interesting.
But, as you say, I think I would need 2 weeks to make it happen.
And, I haven't had 2 weeks of vacation in a row since 1996...

[endlessblush.livejournal.com]

You're overdue on that nice long holiday for sure

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

That would be nice.
But, this is us saying "we get 4 days off at Thanksgiving, maybe we could go somewhere". Not really a long holiday.

Much as it would be fun to hang out at that beach of yours one Sunday morning and say "Nice little dog" when you and Peaches walk by, then fly home, that is about all the time I'd have on the ground over a 4 day weekend.

[endlessblush.livejournal.com]

Yeah - definitely not enough time

[chaquir.livejournal.com]

they all sound awesome but it's hard to say from over here in Belgium how long of a travel they all are and what you're in for.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking of something 6 hours or less for a flight.
That would get me west across the US or east as far as Amsterdam or so...

[chaquir.livejournal.com]

hmm that sure opens up some nice possibilities.

[ravena-kade.livejournal.com]

How about London?

I hear Vancouver is nice.

I don't think you guys would be happy if it were hot where you went and not sure if you are baking sand/ suntan type people

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to avoid London...
It hasn't spoken to me in years. Why should I make the first move?

[cissa.livejournal.com]

Vancouver was great! but we were there in the summer.

[anwyn-elfmaiden.livejournal.com]

I voted for Iceland and Canada, as I'd love to go there myself. :)