The 4 C’s of Travel… And an F

16 Replies

We all know about the 4 C’s for diamonds, but what about your vacation– possibly a diamond in the rough; hopefully, not a lump of coal!

Some factors we should consider are Cost, Climate, Compatibility (not just you and your companion; also you and your itinerary) and Comfortable Shoes.

Add to these, the F factor: flexibility.

As I wrote last week, DH and I found ourselves in a bit of a bind. We’d committed (and pre-paid, thank-you-very-much) to 3 weeks in a small cottage in North Devon. Which might have been lovely, except:

  1.  Cottage was too remote, with no phone service or Internet
  2. Cottage was eternally damp, due to being in a microclimate
  3. Cottage was not near ANYthing, necessitating lengthy drives along perilously narrow roads with locals who knew where they were going careening towards us at breakneck speed. DH was not amused.

We came back to the cottage one day last week (when once again the TV was on the blink) and had a heart-to-heart. The upshot: “We’re miserable, let’s get the hell out of here.”

First idea, since we’re due in London on the 31st: Pick somewhere else, e.g., Somerset or Salisbury, and go there. But then, a brainstorm: Why limit ourselves, if we’re leaving early anyway?? Where haven’t we been that would be a short flight away? And voila (sorry; can’t find accent marks in my iPad!), a new plan: tomorrow we’ll head to Copenhagen for 3.5 days, somewhere neither of us has been before and it’s been on our bucket list.

So. We’ve booked the hotel, gotten opera tickets (a shared passion), and done next to no research. BUT! It can’t be worse than sitting in that dreary cottage!  Right?!?

Flexibilty! Never feel you have to stick with a hotel, destination etc. if there’s any way you can afford to make  a change.

We may still want to kill each other after a month of togetherness, but at least it will be in a new setting.

Have  lovely week! Xx, Alisa

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 thoughts on “The 4 C’s of Travel… And an F”

    1. adguru101 Post author

      Thanks, T! Hope you had a good flight back. Can’t wait to hear all about it, and plz send any restaurant/pastry recco’s for Paris… We’ll be there 11/3-6. Xoxox

      Like

      Reply ↓
      1. adguru101 Post author

        Will do a proper post once we return. So far: very pretty, smaller than I expected, quite cold and damp at the moment, very expensive vs GBP, euro and USD. Highlight today was the opera, if anyone’s a fan. Not Covent Garden or the Met in size but excellent.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Pamela Yu

    Hi Alisa,

    Great post from you – sorry that your trip has taken this turn for the worse, but it sounds like you and R are figuring it out and making it more than worth your while, trip-wise….Copenhagen (and the best of Scandinavia) have been on our bucket list too……

    I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but wonder if you know that Heather & Mark’s son Tyler was murdered in Portland yesterday……much is unknown at the point….they are dealing with their shock & grief…I am the “point person” in terms of dispensing information about he situation.

    Love to you – hope Copenhagen is great!

    Love, P

    >

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
  8. adguru101 Post author

    Thanks P, we had a good time in Devon but we’re ready to move on😊
    Yes, Mark emailed me about Tyler yesterday — very sad for them. A tragic ending to a troubled life; if there is an afterlife I hope he is finally at peace. Love, A

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. adguru101 Post author

      Hi, we will be in town 10/31 (dinner with friends already set up but I don’t know where), 11/1 (theatre tix, always appreciate restaurant recco), 11/2 (theatre again/likewise) and then again on 11/6 after a few days in Paris. Will be staying at the hotel Montague on the Gardens in Bloomsbury — we’ve been before but haven’t explored restaurant options nearby. Any must-see exhibits, dear Lady S?

      Like

      Reply ↓
      1. lady sarah in london

        The montage is lovely 😊 full of period charm. I’ve never stayed but is close to my flat and visited for tea. There are lots of restaurants close by – though not much I’d recommend. Mostly tourist traps. Try the Noble Rot in lambs conduit street for a pricey option and let me think about an inexpensive one as well. Sometimes you just want something quick and healthy….

        Like

  10. adguru101 Post author

    I’m particularly partial to the Montague’s leopard-patterned bar, and how lucky you are to live in that part of town! Their tea is nice and we’ll probably make that one of our pre-theatre options. Will investigate Noble Rot — the name alone is intriguing. Thanks in advance for any cheap&cheerful suggestions if they occur to you. 🍽🍷❤️

    Like

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s