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Post by tallgirl on Jun 29, 2022 12:49:50 GMT
I really think you'd be remiss to go to Iceland and not get out of Reykjakvic to see the beautiful landscapes that make Iceland so famous. You can do a half-day Golden Circle Tour that will take you to 3 of the most iconic spots close to the city. I would spend half a day on that, and a few hours walking around town, focusing on the harbour/waterfront and Hallgrímskirkja church. You might even have time to squeeze in a dip at the Blue Lagoon on your way to or from the airport - to maximize your time, don't make a separate trip out of town for it.
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Post by tallgirl on Jun 24, 2022 19:55:45 GMT
We're heading to Italy in August ourselves. If your tour of St. Peter's Basilica doesn't include climbing the dome, I would stick around long enough to do that. You have to purchase tickets on-site; they can't be bought in advance. 10 euros if you take the elevator partway up, or 8 euros if you walk the whole way.
I think Rome has a lot of attractions that are 'walk-bys' and don't necessarily need a long time to visit - that's where I would focus the rest of my time there. The Trevi fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon (OK you do need to go in here, but there's no entrance fee - just jump in line if it's not too long)... we're also making a point of going to see the Torre Argentina cat sanctuary. And dinner in Travestere.
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Post by tallgirl on Jun 23, 2022 20:52:36 GMT
A family member of mine has recently had some unexplained fainting experiences and I had no idea it was possible to faint while swimming. This has opened up a whole new world of worry for me. (Yes, family member is being checked out - we have a 72 hour holter booked for next week.)
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Post by tallgirl on Jun 20, 2022 20:09:35 GMT
We've done several locations around the Caribbean and Central America and I find that I prefer mainland Central America. For me, it's the Latin American culture that I love, and the Spanish/Mayan architecture and historical sites, and they're accessible via a relatively short (direct if you're lucky) flight. In Panama, Belize and Costa Rica we stayed in small, independent boutique-type hotels from which we could arrange excursions or simply sit back and enjoy doing nothing in beautiful surroundings.
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Post by tallgirl on Jun 17, 2022 15:42:44 GMT
Where are you headed? Some countries e.g. South Africa do require a long form birth certificate indicating your children are traveling with their parents. It's meant to help clamp down on human trafficking. But that's more of an exception than the norm.
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Post by tallgirl on Jun 14, 2022 16:58:15 GMT
I'm so sorry. I can understand how you would feel that way.
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Post by tallgirl on Jun 11, 2022 0:30:00 GMT
We are discussing a cruise to Alaska..so keeping my fingers crossed for an Alaska video!!! Absolutely - I’ve had part of the opening sequence put together since we started planning the cruise in early 2019 (the part that mentions the cruise is to celebrate my parents’ 50th anniversary; obviously I don’t have any Alaska footage yet). Looking forward to finally finishing it!
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Post by tallgirl on Jun 9, 2022 1:55:40 GMT
Thanks for sharing! I spent a week in Sosua almost 40 years ago and for most of it we had the beach to ourselves. Then one day a cruise ship excursion bussed in 100s of people from Puerto Plata and flooded our paradise. It sounds like things have definitely changed then - Sosua Beach was definitely the busiest place we encountered. Very pretty spot though!
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Post by tallgirl on Jun 8, 2022 13:15:52 GMT
Thank you. I do have a small drone - literally the size of my hand, so it's easy enough to pack for a trip. There are so many places you canNOT fly a drone these days, but the Dominican Republic is not one of them - so it was nice to be able to get a few overhead shots.
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Post by tallgirl on Jun 7, 2022 18:17:25 GMT
Oh goodness. Now I have to go look up "mellifluous"! ETA: I looked it up and that's a compliment. Honestly, I always feel like I have quite a monotone voice, and when I do these voiceovers I have to remind myself to exaggerate my speech in order to add some interest. So thank you, maybe it's coming across better than I think.
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Post by tallgirl on Jun 7, 2022 17:14:23 GMT
Ahh, thanks. Yes, the kids aren't so little any more - and my daughter is more camera-shy, which changes things a bit in terms of what I film and share. Still working to find the groove of recording the experience while respecting her wishes. I did jump in the water with a camera, but it was a GoPro, so it survived just fine! Next up on our list is an extended family cruise to Alaska (deferred from 2020), a trip to Italy in August, and we're hoping to visit Egypt around Christmas. I feel good about Alaska and Italy happening, but I suspect fall and winter will bring on more Covid waves, so we're taking a wait and see approach with Egypt.
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Post by tallgirl on Jun 7, 2022 12:31:18 GMT
The Peas have indulged me before in sharing a few trip videos, and I have another one hot off the presses. After 2 years of domestic travel, we finally got away on an international trip. Back in March, we visited the Dominican Republic. It ticked the right boxes for us: a short, direct flight; not a lot of people around (at least not where we stayed); exclusively outdoor activities; and we were able to travel with proof of recovery from having had Covid in January. It was a more chill trip than what we normally do, since we stayed in one spot for the entire week rather than moving around to see different places, but we had a great time.
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Post by tallgirl on Jun 4, 2022 1:48:00 GMT
I double checked this morning because we will have to get tested at a tiny airport (Charlottetown) and I want to make appointments but eegads, it's expensive! So I am going to hold off on the appointments and hope that the US lifts the requirement before July. I'm not hopeful though. I'm sorry about your disappointment artbabe but agree that you can probably still travel by next Friday if you are feeling up to it. In Canada? You can get $10-$15 antigen tests and do the test via FaceTime. You get the proper documentation. We just did it before our flight to New York, and we did it before our trip to Europe back when the UK still requires testing. Just curious - who did you use?
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Post by tallgirl on May 31, 2022 22:37:49 GMT
I loved episode 4 with Max’s near-death experience and am not at all surprised that Kate Bush’s “Running up That Hill” is trending on iTunes and Spotify.
The police shootout in the Byers’ house was amazing and totally took me by surprise!
Eddie is an awesome new character.
I loved the return to Barb’s untimely death!
And… am I the only one who didn’t see the storyline hinting that Will might be gay and have a crush on Mike coming? DD says that’s been obvious for a while, and now I can’t un-see it, but I feel like I was late catching on.
Oh yeah - one more - the demagorgon attack on the Russians was amazing. Top notch special effects.
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Post by tallgirl on May 31, 2022 14:24:33 GMT
DD and I binged this whole season in one sitting and now I'm going back to rewatch and pick up the bits I missed the first time around. My first impression was that I was a bit disappointed. To me, Season 3 was utterly perfect, and this season felt like more of a throwback to Seasons 1 and 2. Having said that, I'm finding more to like in Season 4 as I rewatch it. These thoughts led me down an internet rabbit hole. I had no idea that most of the fandom didn't really like Season 3 - they're in it more for the monsters and supernatural and less for the comedy, character development and 80s nostalgia that I thought made Season 3 so perfect (has there *ever* been a better scene than that Neverending Story sequence? ) I have many more thoughts but I, too, don't want to spoil...
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Post by tallgirl on May 30, 2022 13:51:57 GMT
Cold - you probably know the missing persons case it’s about (Susan Powell), but the podcast is just gripping. Also The Dropout and Truth and Lies, about Elizabeth Holmes and Jeffrey Epstein, respectively. I guess I like famous true crime cases.
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Post by tallgirl on May 18, 2022 13:20:49 GMT
We're doing an Alaska cruise this summer, too. Roundtrip from Vancouver, ports are Juneau, Sitka and Haines. Praying for a gorgeous day in Sitka, but also know that is unlikely to be the case!
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Post by tallgirl on May 10, 2022 2:04:28 GMT
Wow! Beautiful properties, but definitely out of my league.
We rented a beautiful waterfront cottage in Tobermory for a week in 2020 and paid about $2500 - I see it’s now renting for $4700, and I thought that was steep. I guess it’s still a steal compared to these places!
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Post by tallgirl on May 6, 2022 12:55:27 GMT
I've heard it and it's offensive. When I hear people say it these days, I suggest there might be a better way to phrase what they're trying to say. In most cases, people just don't know the origin of the term.
Similarly... I wouldn't use the following:
Circle the wagons Hold down the fort Too many chiefs, not enough Indians On the warpath Low man on the totem pole
The origins of all of these terms come from early settler/indigenous relations and symbolize a power struggle that favours settlers. I think there's better language to use in today's world.
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Post by tallgirl on Apr 20, 2022 17:01:07 GMT
Magic Erasers work great.
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Post by tallgirl on Apr 16, 2022 12:57:42 GMT
I’m so sorry for your loss.
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Post by tallgirl on Mar 28, 2022 3:17:55 GMT
But not to Chris Rock.
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Post by tallgirl on Mar 28, 2022 2:49:40 GMT
After watching the feed with audio, I can't believe that was planned in any way. Wow. So the question now is, if Will wins the award tonight... will they give him the mic? You'd think behaviour like that should have him thrown out.
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Post by tallgirl on Mar 21, 2022 16:18:30 GMT
We did several Disney trips with our kids when they were younger, mostly WDW and once to DL. We always enjoyed them and even enjoyed the planning - getting a Fastpass in advance, restaurant reservations 6 months out, etc.
We went to WDW again in December as a last hurrah kind of trip to finally see Disney during the Christmas season (since we've always visited in summer), knowing that would likely be our last Disney trip for a while. I'm glad we did it, but we all agreed that we are done with Disney. We didn't like Genie/ILL, and not just because of the cost - it's also because you now have to be up early securing reservations while actually on your trip, and the new touring style really does have you crisscrossing the park a lot, which is more tiring than it needs to be. We still had a fun trip, but it had lost a lot of the magic. I know it's partly because my kids are older now, and partly because of the operations issues they are dealing with due to the pandemic, but part of it is just a shift in how Disney treats their guests.
We're hoping to go to Japan next year and will spend some time at Tokyo DL if we do, since we've made a point to visit the other international parks on our travels and it's fun to identify the cultural differences between them. But we won't plan another dedicated WDW/DL trip for the foreseeable future, if ever.
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Post by tallgirl on Mar 11, 2022 3:44:07 GMT
tallgirl I'd love to see your videos of your trips when you get back - they're always amazing! Aw, thanks! Hoping we’ll have the opportunity to make several videos this year. In the meantime, here is the latest, from last summer. We made the best of being stuck in Canada by going north to see the polar bears, belugas and northern lights.
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Post by tallgirl on Mar 10, 2022 21:30:07 GMT
We are leaving for Dominican Republic tomorrow, have Alaska and Italy booked for the summer, and hope to fit in Egypt right before Christmas. I don't think I would go to Poland/Belarus/etc. but the rest of Europe would not faze me. Our hotels in Italy have no cancellation penalty and as long as the airline would give us credit for an itinerary change, I would book that, too. We're just waiting for Canada to drop the test-to-return policy, but the Ukraine invasion would not deter me from other travel plans.
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Post by tallgirl on Feb 8, 2022 1:15:46 GMT
The Alt Hotel is great - links to the airport via the train and more cost effective than the Sheraton. Cool decor, too.
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Post by tallgirl on Feb 1, 2022 14:04:07 GMT
In our office we use the '5 minute rule' and typically start meetings at either 5 past the hour or when everyone is present, whichever comes first. Most people are scheduled in back to back meetings all day, and we work in a big building. It takes some time to get around and we give each other grace for that.
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Post by tallgirl on Jan 28, 2022 1:10:17 GMT
For me, I maybe got a bit of a whiff of smell back around 8-9 days, and full smell/taste was back 2 or 3 days later. ETA:also omicron.
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Post by tallgirl on Jan 18, 2022 2:42:34 GMT
Don’t forget that if you have recovered from Covid and have PCR proof, then you can use that positive test (after 11 days) to travel between Canada and the US, with no new negative test needed. It’s valid for 3 months after the date of the test to enter the US and 6 months after the date of the test to enter Canada.
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