EUROPE ON MY MIND. THANK YOU, GLOBUS JOURNEYS!

If having past lives is true, then I MAY have been a European! I have this utter fascination with Europe! I would love to see the rest of the world but I have an affinity with this ancient continent, most of all.

My love for:

• history
• old architecture & arts
• lovely sceneries
• quaint towns
• rich cultures apart from mine (traditions, food, religion, music, costumes)
• ancient myths or mysteries
• and yes, even cobblestones

….best describe my penchant for Europe or any place for that matter.

I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to travel to four (4) European countries many years back, thanks to my Mom! I was between jobs then & no one in the family could accompany her due to work schedules. Talk about “silver linings in a dark cloud,” yay! We booked an escorted tour with our travel agent, Globus Journeys. The escorted tour included Italy/Rome, Britain, Switzerland & Paris! Excellent, excellent tour!

Globus and its sister companies that do river cruises, budget trips, group tours and vacation packages. Globus can also arrange your flights for you and can include those in your tour package quotes. And here’s an added Bonus! You must join Globus Journeys’ Club for extra savings from more discounts! Call a Trip Advisor at (866) 755-8581.

Check out this amazing sample Globus tour package called “Greek Island Hopper.” Jump right into the Itinerary and Meals, Accommodations and more. Do you know that daily buffet breakfasts and a few dinners/lunches are included in every single Globus’ tour package?! Yeah!! Here is Globus’ link for 2023. Access it here.

My daughter argued with me about going on escorted tours v. planning trips on one’s own:

She: I can spend as much time as I want in a certain place, no time limits, no pressure. I can take all the photos I want. I can take in the atmosphere and relax.

Me: True that… but for a first timer to multiple countries, a guided tour was the best way to go at that time because the travel agent took care of ALL the details. All we had to do was to show up, point our cameras to our hearts’ delight and enjoy the trip.

The downside for me though was waking up very early – to get dressed (took me forever), eat breakfast and be on the tour bus by 7AM. Whew! Another downside was the limited time to enjoy some of the sites (yeah, she’s right), although the trip was interspersed with some time to go on our own. Everything was on a schedule. It was all worth it though!!

Talking about some blocks of free time during escorted tours, Globus offers side trips. They cost additional but they’re actually inexpensive. So yeah, go to those side trips. You’ll never know if you’ll ever pass that way again.

Crazy woman on the bus, moi. During the bus rides to destinations, I made it a point to sit at the back of the bus (usually, no one sits there). I would go from one side of the bus to the other, WHILE THE BUS WAS MOVING, to take photos! Why? ‘Coz sitting trapped on just one side prevented me from capturing sceneries at the window across! Crazy? Dangerous, maybe…(warning: do so at your own risk). But hey, I have some great photos that no one else on the bus has!