Wow! Welcome to my first travel blog! Traveling is my passion and hobby, and I often get calls from friends and family asking for advice. Even in our ever-changing CRAZY COVID world, you can indeed leave the United States!
So, for this introductory blog post, I’m beginning with our first family trip to Europe. Like most people, we started planning this trip with some challenges. We had promised our then 16-year-old daughter we would take a trip to Europe before she graduated from high school, and we were running out of time! Add to the game–my husband had no desire to remove his big toe from United States soil and travel to a foreign-speaking country. Additionally, my father-in-law had Alzheimer’s, so our stress-level for being on another continent was multiplied. My husband’s sister also planned to join us and bring a life-long friend, making our number five. And, we had pets to consider… and our jobs… and the expense. We were asking ourselves if we REALLY wanted to go abroad?
If you’re reading this, I’m guessing YOU might be the one who plans the trips in your family, and some of you are exactly where I was: pondering “where in the world do I begin?” Seek professional help when you “don’t know what you don’t know.” As a member of AAA since 2000, I stopped by our local AAA office and talked to a trip planner with my list of questions. Unless you are 100% comfortable with planning travel independently, find a travel agent/trip planner, plus talk to seasoned travelers and ASK questions. Make a “trip wish list” if you don’t know exactly where you want to go.
OUR MUST-HAVE TRIP CRITERIA looked a little something like this:
1. An itinerary all five people would agree upon.
2. Major logistical planning responsibility done by a professional (not me).
3. Potentially travel with a group, but not a bus full of senior citizens, since we had a teenager traveling with us. (I’m not trying to offend anyone. At the time, my husband and I were in our late-forties, and our teenager already thought we were OLD).
4. Flexibility to do some things independently and not be on a motor coach with 40-50 people all day, for 10 days.
5. Visit a friendly and safe country where some locals speak English.
6. English-speaking personnel at hand or at home to “hold our hand” should there be a problem.
7. Do fun things and make it memorable!
So, this is the part where YOU get to decide. You always have choices:
- Take a trip where every detail is planned for you.
- Half and half: trip is planned but you have time, or even days, to do anything independently.
- You completely plan each and every day and book your own flights, tours, hotels, etc.
The Roman Colosseum
For our first trip out of the country, we chose “half and half.” Our travel planner listened, made some notes, and suggested we use Monograms Independent Travel, and it ended up being a perfect fit for our first trip abroad. There are several independent travel groups out there, so do your research to meet your requirements. Monograms is an Independent travel arm, or branch, of Globus Tours. They plan the important details, and you get to tailor your vacation to your specific likes, interests, and travel style. This option reassured everyone’s fears of “leaving the United States.” Our AAA travel agent added another layer of support as we planned.
Monograms’ motto is “We Plan, You Play”
Monograms makes globetrotting fun without having to do all the hard work on your own. It is a concierge service with expert planning of the important things: flights, hotels, train tickets, planned tours in every major city with skip-the-line-service (they call it VIP, no waiting), a host on-site at your hotel to answer questions and make suggestions, breakfast included every morning (now a choice), plus they pick you up at the airport, transfer you and your luggage to hotels, literally walk your group “onto” the CORRECT platform and train to go to further destinations, and it is repeated in each city you visit. They take care of the hassles and worries, and Monograms Apps have multiple features.
We also wanted to be in control of our flights, airports, choose seats, and use accrued mileage. Monograms and AAA accommodated our requests. Not every company will give you the freedom to do so!
Monograms thinks three days in each city is enough for travelers to experience city “highlights.” However, you can personalize your vacation by adding on, or removing days to/from your itinerary to fit your needs. In most cities, you also have a choice of hotels. You can spend your entire trip in one city, like Paris, for example. . . or you can tailor your plans to hop from London to Paris to Rome. Based on what they offer, you create the itinerary.
The VIP sightseeing tour in each city is typically 4-5 hours out of one day, giving you time that day, plus more days, to plan whatever you’d like to do on your own.
We chose to go to Italy. Our three main cities were Rome, Florence, and Venice.
The Trevi Fountain, Rome
We secured our passports, got flights booked, chose hotels, and added deadlines to calendars. I picked up an Italian travel guidebook with information and maps and started researching our itinerary. Plus, foreseeing an abundance of pasta and gelato in my life, I went on a diet! Monograms sent us a Trip Planner to guide us–complete with a checklist about guidelines, passports, foreign currency, packing tips, luggage, adapters and insurance, etc.
You see, it’s the planning (before taking the trip) I enjoy! For each major trip, I create a hand-written booklet I can carry IN MY TRAVEL BAG/PURSE containing country and city history, the art I refuse to miss, where the locals eat, travel-writers’ suggestions, time saving tips, photo opportunities, foods to try, available cooking classes, directions, subway information, opening hours, and well, everything I want at my fingertips without having to use my cell phone. You do not want to tote around a 3-pound travel guide all day!
I realized, after our visit to Venice, a painting I had studied in a college art class was on loan from Japan at a museum we never visited. Will I ever get to Japan to see the painting? Now, I plan to know “what’s what” and “what’s where” before I arrive. I was in Bruge, Belgium this past May but already knew a painting I wanted to see was on loan to Budapest. We were in London in 2018, and the Big Ben clock at the Palace of Westminster was covered in scaffolding. This past April in Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral was still closed because of the 2019 fire. It happens! Be prepared to be flexible, but don’t miss something because you didn’t know any better!
My upcoming Italy blogs will focus on Rome, Florence and Venice. But, I’ll also blog about our independent days. Here’s a sneak peek of things we did on our free days in Italy:
From Rome (pre-booked by me before leaving on the trip), I arranged an all-day private tour (a tour guide and a van) for the five of us to tour Pompeii, see Sorrento and Naples, and then we traveled up and down the beautiful Amalfi Coast, specifically Positano. Our guide was superb! It was an amazing day!
From Florence, our daughter wanted to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa. With suggestions from our Monograms’ hotel assistant, we hopped on a train in Florence, traveled to Pisa, took a city bus to the “Field of Miracles” complex, got tickets to climb the tower, and while waiting to do so, we found so much more in this quaint town on the Arno River.
From Venice, we boarded a water taxi and traveled to the island of Murano, where the famous glassmakers of Venice were required to move (in 1291 AD) to prevent burning down the city. We watched glassmakers at work and bought jewelry and gifts.
We took full advantage of these independent days to explore, especially in other cities. And, no one died! We did it on our own!
Gondola ride in Venice
Remember: Everyone in your party is on vacation, so you might have to step out of your comfort zone and try something new, or unselfishly give up a plan, to maintain happiness for all.
I love art and visiting historical churches, but not everyone in our group of five was a fan of spending hours in museums and cathedrals. My husband is an engineer, so he was especially interested in architecture. Our daughter wanted to be active and climb to the top of buildings like the Duomo in Florence and the Leaning Tower in Pisa. Pack Advil when trying to keep up with teenagers! The girls all wanted to shop for Italian leather goods, shoes, and jewelry. . . but no so much my husband. Luckily, everyone was on board for Italian food. We ate pasta and pizza for lunch and dinner every day, and some days, we had gelato twice a day! I highly suggest lemon gelato! And shoe shopping in Italy. Buy. Some. Shoes.
Now for the reality! Was the overnight flight to Rome pleasant and dreamy? That’s a no, for me. Our daughter did not sleep a wink, but she did successfully watch four movies. On the other hand, my husband can fall asleep on a plane with strangers loading luggage over his head before departure. Did we occasionally get on each other’s nerves and need some separation? Yes. Collectively come up with one “code word” which means “we must have some separation OR ELSE.” Choose your own word; I won’t tell you mine.
Did we have some upset stomachs on the trip? Yes. Did our wake-up call NOT come one morning, and we almost missed a tour in Rome? Yes. Did my husband have to endure four females for almost two weeks? Yes; he shepherded us with love and constantly did head-counts. Was it hard to find our beloved Diet Coke (aka Coca Light) and was it outrageously expensive? Absolutely! Did our feet hurt? Yes. Did my husband realize we could travel to another country and survive without knowing the language? Yes. I learned some basic Italian phrases. Did we laugh and make amazing memories and have the trip of a lifetime? Definitely!
Our group and the view of Florence from the top of the Duomo
All this to say, if you’ve been afraid of taking a trip anywhere out of the country, not just Europe, go for it! Our first Monograms family trip was to Italy in 2011. Then in 2013, my husband and I planned a Monograms 25th anniversary trip to Paris and the south of France. Then, two years later, we took another Monograms trip to London and York, England; then up to Scotland and the Highlands. With each trip, we gained confidence to do things independently on our own, but we loved Monograms taking care of the major details. And our AAA travel agent supported us through all of these trips. If traveling out of the US overwhelms you, remember, don’t be afraid–you have choices.
A few examples:
Completely independent choice: In 2018, our daughter was doing a clinical medical rotation outside of London for a month. We crossed the Pond with her the week before to have some fun in London and Bath and to get her settled. I booked VRBO apartments in both London and Bath, and she secured a HomeAway apartment for a month. I made all the travel arrangements, booked flights, and planned each day. We even rented a car (my husband did the driving) and ventured to Oxford, Avebury, Stonehenge, and all over the Cotswolds . . . driving on what I call “the wrong side of the road.” There were a couple of hitches, but we successfully did all this on our own. It was fun! (Tip: AAA informed us we would need an IDP: International Driving Permit – for Great Britain. For less than $20, it is valid for one year and can be translated into 10 languages. Check your destination requirements; apply and get BEFORE you travel).
Planned by a travel group choice: In 2019, our church offered a Holy Lands trip to Israel, with an option to cross into Jordan (and Petra). For this small group journey (20 people in Israel, and 11 stayed on for Jordan), the logistics were planned by a tour company, and each day was organized to great degree. We were on motor coach buses, and both our pastor (who had lived in Israel) and our amazing tour guide combined excursion duties to lead us on an unforgettable trip. We traveled all over two countries, stayed in five hotels, and the only thing we had to do was show up in the hotel lobby ON TIME to begin the day. It was refreshing to let someone else do all the work! If this is the type of travel you prefer, go that direction!
A mix of planned/independent choice: Four years ago we took a Viking River Cruise on the Rhine with my sister-in-law and her husband. We arrived, unpacked for the journey, and 90% of our meals, tours, activities, excursions, etc. were planned and smoothly executed by the Viking staff. We followed a lovely itinerary, with no waiting in line, had small groups and expert tour guides at every stop, and we didn’t need to do a thing but “enjoy.” I still researched every destination and excursion and created my handy travel book, but they did all the work. When given free time, we hit the highlights of my “to do list.” We did add on a few days in Amsterdam after disembarking the river cruise. We pre-bought Amsterdam city passes, Anne Frank House tickets, and independently we did everything we had planned, plus more. Easy peasy!
100% independent choice: In May, 2022, I returned from Paris and a trip a dear friend and I had originally planned for 2020 just as COVID arrived. (We canceled three days before our trip date fearing not being able to return home). We postponed it twice but made it happen this year. (I learned a great deal of my independent travel training from this dear friend). She loves France! Having traveled all over France many, many years with her husband before his passing, she was comfortably familiar with arranging all aspects of trips and living like a local: renting apartments, B&Bs, cars, making dinner reservations, and navigating subways and trains. She and I first traveled to Paris and Rouen, France in 2017 and realized we made great travel buddies! While in Paris this past April and May, we added two separate day trips by train to Bruges, Belgium and Chartres, France. We rented an Airbnb apartment in the 7th arrondissement, her favorite neighborhood. Luckily, she speaks enough French for everything we needed, she planned the trip itinerary, and I just tagged along like a puppy. Even better, we celebrated her 81st birthday in Paris. I could barely keep up with her! Don’t ever think you are too old to travel. Her planning, positive travel viewpoint, courage and spunk have encouraged me to completely plan and travel independently.
If I can now do this, you can too! The cute coffee mugs below (our original 2020 boarding passes) were our constant pandemic reminders we WOULD one day take our postponed trip!
So, this travel first blog is about cheering you on to get out there and travel, whatever your comfort level. You can have the benefit of worry-free travel in which every detail is planned for you, you can independently fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, or you can discover a happy medium of both. Embrace the hurdles; there will be some. Find a travel buddy, if you don’t have one, and get going!
Upcoming blog topics: Rome, the Amalfi Coast (and many more Italy cities), essentials for an overnight flight, creating a photo travel memory book, and “what can I do with all these trip photos on my phone?”
I’ll give credit to the companies I’ve mentioned:
Monograms Travel, monograms.com, Travel Specialist: 1-866-270-9841
Viking River Cruises, vikingrivercruises.com, 1-877-783-0345
Faith Journeys (Holy Lands trip), myfaithjourneys.com, 1-877-732-4845 or 1-877-7FAITHJ
AAA, aaa.com, 1-866-903-4222 or your local AAA office. (Note: as of 2021, AAA is no longer a travel partner with Monograms)
Coffee mugs (airport boarding pass): Airportag.com
Don’t hesitate to comment or contact me if you have questions, need additional information, or have some travel suggestions for blogging. I’m not a certified travel agent, but I am happy to give advice and tips. Keep exploring!
Tami Kooch – [email protected]
https://traveltipsbytami.com
Great blog Tami!!!
Thank you Valerie!
This is wonderful!! Thanks for sharing. I’ve been out of the county several times but without Kent. He says he’ll do it soon! Maybe using your tips will help get him moving!
Thanks Joyce! As I stated at the beginning, Ronald DID NOT want to go abroad. Italy is a great place to start, because it’s beautiful and friendly, rich with history, and the food is amazing. That’s all it took to get him “hooked.” Keep pushing!
This was great!!! Look forward to future post. Mine is the Holy Land but my husband is like Ronald, he is not going anywhere without having control. He is the Deputy Chief of the Knoxville Fire Department and use to being very familiar with his surroundings. He can’t do that outside of his comfort zone. Plus I can’t say it is all him because I don’t like flying but I love hearing others stories!!! Can’t wait until the next post!!!
I completely understand Dolly! Ronald was more focused on the “what ifs” than anything else. It’s normal for our “guys” to be protective and want to be in control of every situation. For our Italy trip, he felt like he had to protect not just me, but our daughter, his sister and her friend. In hindsight, it was a lot of responsibility! However, just like us “gals” want Christmas Day to be PERFECT like a story book with gifts, kids, in-laws, etc., is it ever? NO! Begin with asking if he’ll go on an adventure with you. Then find something you can both agree upon. Message me if you have questions!
I really enjoyed this and look forward to more blogs. My husband and I love to travel and visiting other counties gives such a broadened perspective of life, history and of course people.
Thank you Sandra!