Other Places to Go

If I ever go to London again, as previously mentioned, I'll take the East End walking tour by Alternative London again, and will dine along Brick Lane on the early days of my trip. I will take a day trip to Kew Gardens, which we weren't able to squeeze into the schedule this past trip. I will spend some time in the beautifully decorated Well & Bucket pub on Brick Lane. A photo of Well & Bucket's copper-wrapped bar appears on the web page for the Alternative London pub tour. Only after arriving back in Austin was I able to google/sleuth the name of the place in that lovely, inviting photo.

Next up on my travel wish list:

Costa Rica - just to relax where rain forest meets (hopefully!) dormant volcanoes and beaches. No tour guide or activities needed. Zip lines terrify me. No thanks.

Edinburgh, Scotland - there's a giant castle there with guided tours.

Guided tour around Ireland - I want a chauffeured van with someone who knows where to go, what to do and can tell me all the pertinent history. Sometimes researching and planning a trip is dizzy-making. Sometimes I don't want to work that hard to prepare for vacation.

Road trip around Big Sur area in California - In case you didn't know, I'm a bit of a nerd. I really want to see the Winchester Mystery House and William Randolph Hearst's estate, plus the California coastline.

Previously I thought I wanted to go to Machu Picchu, Peru. Recent googling makes me think that tourists are tearing up the place just by walking around it, and I don't want to hasten the deterioration. Earthquakes and floods sometimes hinder access to the site. I get altitude sickness, and don't want to spend a vacation feeling dizzy, vaguely sick to my stomach and exhausted from lack of oxygen. Breathe a sigh of relief, Ancient Wonder, you are off the list. I'll enjoy photos and videos from afar.