Wacky OT story about modifying hair for travel: I was heading for a Yorkshire walking tour, and to head off the inevitable flat hair the wind and rain would bring, I got a perm and carried no blow dryer or curling iron! Woo hoo! Freedom! Well, on the way home it got interesting. This was a year after the jet was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland. I was flying home through Glasgow. At Security, I tripped all the triggers for interrogation: ...I'd paid cash for my ticket, ...I traveled alone, ...I'd stayed in a village no one knew (and I didn't understand the village-town system enough to explain where I'd been), ...I was traveling through Glasgow instead of the closer Manchester (our newspaper had run a series on great train rides, and a Yorkshire line ending at the border was one, so of course I had to take advantage), ...I had no blow dryer or curling iron, apparently unlike most women, and ...with my perm I looked very little like my passport photo. The security guy couldn't wrap his head around any of my explanations, nor could his supervisor. They rifled through my suitcase that was going to be checked (remember, the Pan Am was exploded by a bomb in checked luggage), questioned, examined, and took the battery out of my $5 Target travel clock, even asked me about the other walkers on the trip! They finally let me through. To walk through an UNSECURED area of the airport to get to my gate. Crazy. And all for my vanity!

pickyshopper - My son and I spent 2 weeks in Ireland in October and I received conflicting information from everyone - even a native Irishman. We stayed at hotels in Killarney and Dublin, and Bed and Breakfasts in Galway and Kinsale. They all had their own hair dryers in the bathrooms and they were hard wired into the wall. Even if I had taken my own hairdryer I wouldn't have able to use it in the bathroom - It's against the electrical code. I bought a set of converters at The Container Store and I was able to use my curling iron with one of them, but I had to use it in the bedrooms, not the bath. My son took his Mac computer and it wouldn't work with any of the converters. He had to stop at a computer store and purchase a special adapter for a Mac. His computer worked but the download times were really slow. I didn't want to take my smart phone with me so for $20.00 I rented one from Verizon and it arrived with it's own convertor. I had heard horror stories of people who returned from overseas trips to discover a huge data bill on their smart phones. The one I rented was just a regular old fashioned flip phone, but it worked great. One travel agent told me to just pick up a converter at the airport. She even suggested that I just buy a curling iron at the airport and then I wouldn't need an adapter. For what it's worth - my trip was wonderful however it was one bad hair day after another. We spent a lot of time on the west coast which is quite blustery in the fall and we were near the ocean the entire time. Dublin was milder and not windy at all. have a fantastic trip - where will you be going?

Got in late on Thursday and spent the weekend recuperating from my vacation! Work is piled up to the ceiling but it was well worth the trip. First of all, that city was ridiculously packed with tourists. Mostly from Europe. Seems like a popular destination for French, Japanese and Scandinavian tourists. The weather was way warmer than I thought it would be. I took sweaters for the evenings but all I needed was a light poncho. I stupidly got a sunburn too! As for our itinerary, we did everything. We were out the door pretty early everyday and able to beat the crowds pretty much everywhere we went. Saturday -Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market: Beautiful food everywhere! We had breakfast at Boulettes Larder - really fantastic food. -Exploratorium Museum: Really neat place but we got there too late and the crowd was just too much. It was packed with unruly kids and rude parents and nephew isn't the pushy type so he didn't get to have very much "hands on" with all the cool exhibits. We did see a cow's eye dissection, so there's that! -FW/Pier 39: Aquarium - really one of the better aquariums I've been. We were early so lots of the animals were active, especially the very cute Otters; RocketBoat Cruise - super silly and touristy but oh so much fun and got to see the sea lions while on the boat; lunch of chowder in a bread bowl at Boudin which was lame but I guess an iconic thing to get at FW. -Chinatown - Didn't have dinner but walked through. Really dirty and don't need to go to another Chinatown ever. -We were so tired we order takeout sushi (can't remember from where) in our hotel room. They have a service in SF that's much like Uber but for delivers. Worked great and sushi was good but average. Sunday - Had breakfast at Waterfront Bakery around the corner from the bike rental place at FW. Very yummy French pastries at this cute little bakery. Maybe not the best choice for breakfast before a bike ride! - The GGB bike ride was awesome! Again, started off early and beat the crowds. Sister and I had to walk our bikes up two very steep hills but nephew powered through the whole thing. Really, one of the easiest parts was on the bridge. Wind wasn't bad and all the bikers were very courteous. Sausalito is a fantastic little town. We parked out bikes (valet bike parking!) and walked around town, had the best burger ever at Napa Valley Burger, laid in the grass for awhile at a park by all the sail boats while nephew flew a kite. Took the ferry back to SF in late afternoon. I clocked the bike ride at around 10 miles. Getting off the Ferry at FW and riding back to the bike rental place was a little stressful because of the crowds and cars. -Took a cable car from our hotel to Frascati on Hyde (Russian Hill) for dinner. Fantastic little neighborhood bistro. Monday -Rented a car at the hotel (free upgrade to a Mercedes was nice) and drove to Muir Woods. We arrived around 8:30am and got a parking spot in the second parking lot. Had a decent breakfast at the cafe there and walked about two miles into the forest before nephew wanted to head back. Really beautiful and peaceful. So glad we left when we did. As we were getting closer to the entrance, the woods turned into a shopping mall - people everywhere with a din of voices. There were cars parked along the road for two miles! - Drove to Point Bonita Lighthouse with the most spectacular views! Went to Rodeo Beach down the road where nephew got to fly his kite. Basically a very uncomfortable gravel beach. Wish we had thought to take a blanket. - Headed back to SF and drove around the Castro, Haight-Ashbury (found an organic hot dog place that was just okay), the Tenderloin (yikes!), drove down the iconic hairpin turns on Lombard Street. Went to Baker Beach just before sunset. Nephew was happy to jump into the bone-chilling water! Returned our car about five blocks from the hotel. We walked back to the hotel UP THE HILL. No wonder there aren't that many people walking those hills. Tuesday - Took a cable car to Union Square, had breakfast at Sears (very good hearty breakfast fare). - Went to Alcatraz, what a wonderful experience. The audio tour is awesome and there was a former prisoner in the bookstore signing his book. The island is a bird sanctuary as well so it was really cool to see all the nests and fledglings. - Got on a cable car at one of the manual turntables (nephew loved that!) near FW and went back to the hotel. - Had dinner in the Mission District at Pica Pica, a Venezuelan arepa restaurant. Not amazing, but good. Walked around a bit and headed back. Wednesday - Sister and nephew went to iFly in Union City. She said they were on the Oakland bridge in traffic for almost 45 minutes. I stayed at the hotel to take care of work. - Had dinner at Boulevard near the Ferry Building. Beautiful old building and the food was spectacular. Thursday - Travel day. Checked out the hotel a little more (rooftop garden with beehives was a joke) and had a late breakfast. Laid around a bit and headed for the airport. Really nice airport! My sister's flight was an hour before mine so I had time to get a pedicure in the salon at the airport. One of the best pedicures I've ever had. Notes: -Cable cars are hard to get with all the tourists but I found a trick. Hold up a hand with fingers showing how many people are in your party. They'll pick you to jump on every time. Showing your City Pass helped too because then the operator knows they don't have to mess around with taking money and giving change. - Our hotel sucked. Very expensive Fairmont Hotel wasn't even close to being worth it except the location was good - away from the crowds. The only good thing I can say is that the beds were very comfortable. Maid service was terrible, concierge service was non-existent, and our room was musty and smelled like smoke. They claimed they had no other rooms to switch us to and offered to bring a ionizer to the room which took them and hour to bring. Breakfast was mediocre at best. That was way more detailed than I had intended! All in all, great vacation. Loved San Francisco but wouldn't want to live there!

I go to Paris every year, though I now travel alone since my husband died (some of his ashes went with me and stayed). I think I know Paris better than the town I'm now living in here! We made so many friends over the years, and I'm returning again this fall. I now stay in an apartment in a residential building near my friends, with the closest famous sight being the Palais Royale. One of my friends who lives in Paris arrived in Brussels today. She didn't change her plans. It's a good idea to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program so that the US Embassy will know where you are, and when you're there. You'll get alerts, if anything is happening. I use the métro when it's raining, but Paris is very walkable. I easily walk over 8 miles a day when I'm there, just going about my business. If you're nervous about the métro, then walk. The terrorist attacks in Paris were in a neighborhood far from the sights most tourists see. My friends who live in Paris had been to that nightclub; a few were there the week before the attacks. The main-attractions in Paris are heavily guarded. SWAT team guarded. The National Police wear protective SWAT gear and carry automatic weapons. They tend to be in teams of three or four together. That's normal. BUT -- If you see buses of armed police parked along a street and/or congregating around an area, turn around and go the other way---they know something is going on! In July 2014, I was alone and staying on THE main street in the Jewish neighborhood in the Marais. Rue des Rosiers was blockaded and guarded while I was there due to demonstrations protesting Israeli attacks in the Gaza. The demonstrations grew into vandalism, and it forced many of the shops to close. Except for the bomb squad checking out a parked car at the entrance of my apartment building, I felt safe, coming and going, because of the heavily armed police. One night, I missed the last train from my friends' neighborhood and walked all the way from the Concorde to the Marais at two o'clock in the morning, I felt safer walking than getting in a taxi at that time of night! There are some good tips if you're staying in a hotel (which I don't) -- ask to stay on the middle floors (not the first or second) and your room is away from the hotel restaurant. Make sure your cell phone always charged, and it is enabled for traveling in France and that you know how to place calls. Turn DATA off, and use voice roaming only so that you don't incur enormous charges. Your phone carrier can explain this and enable your phone. I use Verizon, here and there. Don't make yourself stick out like an American. The French will know you're not one of them, but try to blend in. These tips apply more regarding pickpockets and scam artists, than terrorists: Leave those white sneakers at home, unless they're Converse. No baseball caps on men. Don't wear t-shirts with writing on the front or back. Don't wear shorts, and I discourage calf-length crop pants. Ankle pants/jeans are fine. Shift dresses in the summer are great if it's hot. Keep the color scheme subdued. Navy blue or grey are great for summer; black is good anytime. Don't take backpacks around the city. With high security, you'll be searched going into museums. When you wear a backpack on the métro or crowded places, it's the first place the pickpockets will reach to steal your stuff. Don't wear fanny packs, for the same reason as backpacks. Carry a cross-body purse and keep it zipped, with your hand over the top of it.Don't hang it on the back of a chair anywhere. Keep it on your lap while eating. Don't put a cell phone on a restaurant table top anywhere. BTW, some of the nice restaurants may not like it if you take photos of their food. Keep your voice down everywhere you go. You'll really attract attention--not the good kind,. Just go have fun, but be aware of your surroundings. Be polite...learn enough French to say hello, please, thank you and goodbye. I figure I have a greater chance of dying from being sedentary at home than getting out and traveling.