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<\/a>Best & Worst<\/p><\/div>\n
For most of us the past two years have been the worst years for travel. Not so much that we went to uninteresting places or ran into people who thought of us as ugly Americans; no, Covid kept us from going anywhere at all. When I can\u2019t travel, I think<\/em> about traveling, more specifically, I think about places I\u2019ve been, good and bad, and places I want to go.<\/p>\n So, in order to gather information, not just for me, but for all of our readers, you have a job:<\/p>\n Tell us where your best and worst travel destination have been and why they were best or worst.<\/em><\/span><\/strong> I\u2019ll start by giving mine.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Robben Island with Table Mt. in the background<\/p><\/div>\n Best travel destination<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I have to honestly say that I have two that are tied for best. South Africa<\/strong> in 2013<\/strong> \u2013 Great tour of Cape Town<\/strong>, a visit to Ernie Els winery<\/strong>, the top of Table Mountain<\/strong> and to Robben Island<\/strong>, where Nelson Mandela<\/strong> spent 27 years imprisoned, and a story about how one woman made a difference with \u2018tea bags<\/strong>\u2019. The South African people were amazing \u2013 so nice and so friendly! We left Cape Town and went to Notten\u2019s Bush Camp<\/strong> in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve<\/strong> in Kruger National Park<\/strong>, where we went on several safaris.\u00a0 We saw the \u2018Big 5\u2019 – elephant, lion, leopard, rhino <\/strong>and African buffalo<\/strong> on our first trip into the savanna. Then on to Zimbabwe<\/strong> to see one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World<\/strong> – Victoria Falls<\/strong> \u2013 Spectacular! If you are a new reader, or want to reread the blog that I wrote about that trip, you can access it by copying and pasting these links:<\/p>\n Part 1 https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=1702<\/p>\n Part 2 https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=1725<\/p>\n Part 3 https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=1751<\/p>\n Part 4 https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=1803<\/p>\n Funicular up to Montecatini Alto<\/p><\/div>\n My other \u2018best travel destination’ was to the Tuscany<\/strong> region of Italy<\/strong> \u2013 a trip we took in 2019<\/strong> with a group of our neighbors, along with thirty-some-odd people from around the country. Our base was the great little town of Montecatini Terme<\/strong>, which is located between Florence<\/strong> and Pisa<\/strong>. Aside from visiting those two cities, we hit Siena, San Gemignani<\/strong> and Montecatini Alto<\/strong> \u2013 all unique in their own way. Our guide, Sergio<\/strong>, made the trip \u2013 he was informative and hilarious! After leaving Montecatini Terme, we spent several days in Cinque Terre<\/strong> \u2013 the beautiful Italian town that hangs on the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean.\u00a0 Great people we went with, great people we met, great food, great wine and a great guide. If you want more information on that trip, access the links below:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Part 1 https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=8425<\/p>\n Part 2 https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=8438<\/p>\n Part 3 https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=8443<\/p>\n Part 4 https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=8461<\/p>\n Part 5 https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=8479<\/p>\n Worst travel destination<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “Enjoy shopping”<\/p><\/div>\n This one is easy. We were on a Mediterranean cruise in 2008<\/strong> and made a stop in northern Africa<\/strong> to the city of Tunis<\/strong> in Tunisia<\/strong>. Off the ship we went to an open market where there were guards holding machine guns<\/strong> at the entrance and the exit of the market \u2013 I guess that\u2019s in case you were planning of stealing something or a hostile takeover of the market!\u00a0 We then went to a rug maker<\/strong>, who tried to sell us an ugly ‘magic carpet’ that they promised to ship home for us. Yeah, right!! We decided to stop at a caf\u00e9 for a beer, which we ordered and paid for, but when our order came, it was a \u2018non-alcoholic beer\u2019<\/strong>! We told our server we wanted (and paid for) real beer and he said that because it was Sunday, they didn\u2019t serve alcohol – something he might have mentioned when we ordered. Couldn\u2019t wait to get back on the ship and on to our next destination.<\/p>\n Fortunately, we weren\u2019t blogging yet, so no links!<\/p>\n OK, it\u2019s your turn to share your travel adventures and misadventures in the \u2018comment box\u2019 below, let us know what your BEST <\/strong>and WORST<\/strong> travel destinations are – you don’t have to write a story about them if you don’t want to, you can just list them. Hopefully we can learn about places that should be on our \u2018bucket list\u2019<\/strong> and about places we should make sure to avoid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow For most of us the past two years have been the worst years for travel. Not so much that we went to uninteresting places or ran into people who thought of us as ugly Americans; no, Covid … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Robben-Island-300x143.jpg\")
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