A Life of Travel: Casablanca to Bologna to Timisoara and Another Surprise Destination!
Derek Baron
October 29, 2024
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It's Tuesday and it's time for a travel newsletter...
update
Hello from the very busy airport in Bologna, Italy!
I flew in from Casablanca and will be connecting to a second flight that will take me to Romania.
Pleasant surprise
It started off as a lucky day as I was unexpectedly upgraded to business class for my first flight. I flew with Royal Air Maroc so it wasn’t anything too special but it was still a pleasant and welcome surprise.
Two tickets
For this trip, I bought two separate tickets as I could not find a decent ticket with one single airline. So I had to go through immigration and collect my luggage here in Bologna and then re-check my bag for my next flight. I’m not a fan of buying separate tickets on different airlines because if you miss the second one, it’s not the first airline’s responsibility and you can be left stranded. But I had limited options and I was hoping that 4 hours in between flights would be plenty of time, which it has proven to be.
I think this is only the second time in the past 5 years that I’ve used this method of self-transfer with two different airlines. It often works out cheaper though and if you don’t mind a little extra stress, it can be a good option. Kiwi.com is well-known for their inexpensive ‘hacker fares’ that involve self-transfers, but read the fine print carefully!
Final entry stamp
At first, I thought that the Bologna entry stamp I received in my passport today will be the last stamp I’ll ever receive from the EU. As of November 1st (in 3 days from now), the EU was supposed to be using a new immigration system where most visitors will no longer get a stamp in their passport. However, I just read that the rollout of this system has been delayed once again (for the tenth time) and a new date has not been set.
Surprise Tour #2
After spending the next week in Romania, I’ll then head to the next Wandering Earl Surprise Tour destination. The destination naturally must remain a surprise at the moment as most of the guests still don’t know where they’re going, so there’s not much else I can say about that :)
Small airports are insane right now
To really understand how many people are traveling these days, you simply need to visit a small airport, especially one in Europe. Airports such as Lisbon and Bologna are so crowded that I’m shocked it’s even legal. Every space is filled with waiting passengers, with a lack of seating, huge lines at immigration, long boarding delays and so on. I’ve spent the past 1.5 hours standing against a wall here at the Bologna airport and I’m still being bumped into every 10 seconds. An Old Delhi market is less chaotic.
sahara desert lakes
During my time in Morocco over the past two weeks, I was fortunate to see something very rare - lakes in the Sahara Desert!
Due to extremely heavy rains a few weeks ago, parts of the Sahara Desert were flooded for the first time in over 50 years. It was absolutely surreal to see the sand dunes transformed into a completely different environment!
travel news
Notre-Dame Cathedral entrance fee: The French culture minister has proposed a small entrance fee for cultural visitors to Notre-Dame Cathedral, which will open once again in December after its post-fire renovations.
3 minute goodbyes in New Zealand: The airport in Dunedin, New Zealand has set a maximum time limit of 3 minutes for goodbye hugs in an effort to prevent traffic congestion.
$400 Delta gift cards: If you’re flying Delta in the near future, you can play a simple video game on board your flight for a chance to win a $400 Delta gift card.
Bali’s new rules: The possible prison sentence for overstaying your visa in Bali has now increased from 1 year to a maximum of 20 years and checkpoints have been set up to ensure visitors are complying with immigration laws.
around the globe
A Polar Night
Up in the Arctic Circle, the island of Svalbard allows anyone to move there without a visa. Here’s one person’s experience after staying for 8 years, including what it’s like to experience a polar night, where darkness lasts more than 24 hours in a row.
The Best Bars
The latest list of the world’s best bars has been released, with Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City taking the top spot. The interior design alone at most of these bars makes them worth visiting!
Google Docs for Travel?
Highly curated Google docs that are full of unbeatable travel recommendations and advice seem to be gaining in popularity. If you can gain access to one, it’s an ideal way to ensure your trips are full of genuinely rewarding experiences that are not simply popular due to social media.
Panoramic Photography
The Pano Awards for global panoramic photography has announced the winners of their 2024 competition with the overall winner, Kelvin Yuen, taking first place.
High Speed Train Travel
Europe has been adding a bunch of new high-speed rail routes and here are 7 excellent trains to take advantage of during your travels. Also, one enthusiast created a map of all current and future high-speed routes in Europe.
Sumerian God
A massive Sumerian statue was unearthed in Iraq recently. It dates back 2700 years and was found mostly intact.
Nintendo Museum
That’s right - if you love Nintendo and you find yourself in Kyoto (Nintendo’s home city), well, you’re in luck. The Nintendo Museum has now opened up.
Tiny, Cool Rooms
Check out some of the world’s most appealing, but tiny, hotel rooms…including capsule rooms in Colombia that are located inside of colorful sewage pipes.
where in the world?
A big congratulations to Danny and Mike for correctly guessing the location of the photo in the last newsletter! This was a difficult one for sure.
The photo is of Bridgetown, Barabados. I went to Barbados many times when I worked on cruise ships and was there again a couple of years ago. It’s certainly an island with a lot to offer, super kind people and beautiful beaches.
This week’s photo:
It’s time to guess…where was the below photo taken?
If you have a guess (the more specific the better), click reply and let me know. Anyone who guesses correctly will be mentioned in next week's newsletter 😄
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Thank you so much for reading!
Derek
(my middle name is Earl)
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