Washington, DC :D. The winter should be very mild this year, the museums are all (well, almost all) free, and there is some truly fantastic architecture - drop by the National Cathedral on a Sunday, and stay for the weekly organ recital. Check out the Kogod Courtyard, and the Library of Congress - all of these things are free, of course. And there’s the Smithsonian (free). For new food - how does Ethiopian strike you? Russian? Creole? Cuban? We’ve got it all in Our Fair City. And as for music - opera, rock, string quartets - you can find anything here, and a surprisingly large amount of it is free or really cheap.
I’d say Argentina because it’s fabulous and because you have the Spanish speaking thing going on; otherwise, it’s definitely Australia and New Zealand because they’re equally awesome. Weather-wise it should all be good.
Sydney is incredible; Buenos Aires is fabulous. New Zealand is more provincial but, as with Canadians, Kiwis are the nicest people on the face of the earth and the terrain is spectacular. So we’ve got fabulous (BA), incredible (Sydney) and spectacular (New Zealand). You gotta’ see all at some time or other. Take your pick. Forget the whole Europe thing - sticker shock.
With the dollar at an all time low, I’d say that Argentina is your best bet if money is an issue.
Lots of good places have been named, but if you are only going to go for a week, Sydney and NZ are pretty much out of it. Which is too bad, because Sydney rocks. There is always New Orleans. I don’t think it gets cold at all, the food is fantastic, there are all kinds of historical and cultural things to do, and if you feel like partying, Bourbon Street is always open.
A little more exotic but still close is Maui. Not as varied in the food department, although an authentic luau is a fun experience, but there are all kinds of things to do and see there.
Moscow–that does sound very cold. My grandmother went and loved it, but I think I want to be warm this trip!
New Zealand–it does look awesome! That’s a loooong plane ride though.
Coral Atoll: but do you do anything besides look at it and feel sad?
Spain: definitely a contender. It won’t be really warm there though–but I love spanish food.
Italy: I was there two years ago, so probably someplace else. LOVED it though.
Kyoto: that sounds interesting. I wonder if mom would go for it. MY bro went there and had awesome pix.
Greece: Another strong contender. Anyone been there with advice and stories?
Turkey: never thought of it! What’s there to do there?
Argentina: ooh, it’ll be hot there when we’re shivering in January, and good steaks. Any beachy + cultural places there?
Australia: again long flight, but sounds cool!
French Polynesia: Wow, that is gorgeous. What did you do when you were there?
I don’t know if I want to do the 'states…I’d kind of like to do a more exotic trip, and I have been roaming all over here pretty well already. Mother has been to DC a ton of times (she used to approve grants there) and Maine’s too cold, I’ve been to Florida lots! Plus I should have a free domestic flight for my miles in a few more months, I can use that to travel here.
PS: Keep the ideas coming! You guys are way better than travel guides!
Yea, but since I’m Canadian, they’ve been in the fridge for quite a while now. The stuffing just developed gunpowder last week.
The Hagia Sophia, yea, absolutely stellar. When I saw it there was a section of scaffolding from the floor to the interior of the dome that had something like 17 or 20 stories. Amazing. Apparently, it was the tallest building in the world for approx. 1000 years…
New Zealand (of course!) – and I’d suggest Christchurch and the central South Island for cool scenery, history and lots and lots of warmth this summer. An alternative is Auckland and Northland, on the North Island. Good luck with your break!
I have been to both countries and they are both really fantastic.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved Greece, but if I had to pick between the two I would pick Turkey.
First, it is a much larger country and so it follows in some sense that it has more to offer, and offer it does. Also, Turkey is where it starts to get exotic when you are traveling from Europe into the Middle East, and that sense really adds to the experience. But it’s not so exotic that it’s a difficult place to travel or arrange plans, etc, like in, say, Syria where half the time you are wondering what the hell is going on… Turkey is in the sweet spot.
So, what’s so great about Turkey?
Let’s start with Istanbul, a city that ruled three empires over a period of about 1500 years. Istanbul is as important as Rome, Paris, or London, in my opinion. There’s so much to do and see there, it’s amazing.
Beyond Istanbul there are all kinds of things to see. Ephesus is awesome, as is Pamukkale, and here.
In the centre of Turkey is an extraordinary region known as Cappadocia. Where they built entire cities within the rock and underground.
Turkey also has fantastic beaches. The water is sublime.
If you are into monolithic government architecture, you’ll like Ankara
And of course, I can’t really link any pictures of how awesome the food was, how kind and friendly the people where, or how cheap everything was. I’d go back in a second.
So there you go. Hey, I should wirte travel guides!
If you’re at all interested in “Pilgrimage” (AKA “Christian Tourism”), you should consider Israel.
Actually, you should consider it even if you’re not interested in the Christian angle – lovely, mild winter (if you’re not too much of a warm-weather person you can hit the beach even in February), all the Western amenities, some terrific scenery, history and archeology out of your ears…
Believe me, the security concerns, while they exist, are blown way out of proportion!
My first response would have been Italy. Just because I’m totally biased towards it. But seeing as how you’ve already been, and are looking for a bit better weather I’m going to have to agree that you should pick someplace else.
That being said my second suggestion even before I saw it was Turkey. There is a lot to do there. I was in Turkey in Februrary a long time ago and while it was the middle of the rainy season, I don’t recall it being very cold. Windbreaker weather if I remember correctly.
Along with some of the excellent links provided above, let me add a few of my own from places I visited there.
The Maiden’s Castle, Cennet and Cehennem are all close together and very cool to see, read here for more information. Although I’m not sure how accessable to limited mobility people. There are some interesting sites in Alanya but I’m not sure how it’s going to be in January or February. Are your months flexible at all? A month or two slide to the right would make all the difference.
I haven’t been myself, but from what I’ve read, Kekova is interesting.
There’s a great book, Scotch and Holy Water that gives both an interesting peek into the culture, and some ideas for out of the way archeological sites to visit. The book was written in the 70’s I believe, so it’s probably a bit easier to get to some of the locations that he writes about.
I was just in Istanbul and I liked the city. The one concern I would have is that the city is very hilly and depending on how much walking Mom can do this may be an issue.
That being said if you are interested in architecture and history, Istanbul is the place to go. We spent about 7 days there and we just barely got a feel for the city and saw mostly only the major sites.
The people are generally pretty friendly and the food was good. The one thing I would caution you on is that a great deal of people smoke and there really aren’t no smoking sections in bars or restaurants. The weather is pretty mild as well.
If you are only going for a week, I’d try to stay in this hemisphere, i.e. the Americas. Jet lag is a real bitch for me, and it takes 4 days on both ends for me to recover. I’ve only been to Amazonian Brazil and not the coast, but I’d say coastal Brazil, Central America, Mexico, Fiji, French Polynesia, the Caribbean, or Argentina would all be great choices, and warm, too! For the record, I find Portuguese to be indecipherable and am much more comfortable in Spanish speaking countries.
I went to Greece on a high school trip. Did Athens/surrounding areas for a few days and a cruise around the islands. Don’t remember much in particular, it was a school trip so we went from like 6am-11pm everyday, nonstop. Athens was neat but huge and…huge. We spent a decent amount of time on buses so lord knows where we actually went - tons of temples and historic sites, a clothing-optional beach. The islands cruise was fantastic though. We did tons of walking, because we had a guide, and I remember lots of steps. But it was incredibly beautiful and amazing to see stuff that was so…old, ya know? I also rode a donkey on one island - don’t recommend it, that donkey beat me up, literally. Take the tram up instead. But I would definitely say look into Greece, I would go back, especially for a cruise, in a heartbeat.
Costa Rica is great. It is basically a whole country set up as an eco-toursim theme park. The people are great and very American friendly. You can explore both the Caribbean and Pacific sides with just a three hour ride and even personal cab rides are cheap if you don’t want a shuttle bus. One of my favorite places in the world is a resort at the base of the Arenal volcano. They have hot streams to swim through, trails to hike up the mountain, and monkeys and parrots in the rain-forest right beside it. Massages in beautiful open air huts are also great and cheap. Costa Rica has lots of climates ranging from the tropical to cloud forests. If you like nature, that is your place. Spanish is appreciated but not required. The Tikos aim to please and are almost completely of Spanish origin and a peaceful people.
Costa Rica’s nice, but Panama’s better. More rainforest, more coral reefs, much greater ethnic and cultural diversity in a smaller population, at this point fewer tourists, and in general more bang for your buck. Not much in the way of museums, but the old part of Panama City is interesting, and there is also the ruins of Old Panama, burned by Morgan the pirate in 1671. And of course the Panama Canal is one of the engineering wonders of the world. Also, Panama uses the US dollar as its national currency so there is no need to change money.
I don’t think anyone’s mentioned Prague. That’s where I’d go in your circumstance and just consider the Spanish a loss. But I love Art Nouveau and would love to see all those fabulous buildings and bridges…If you don’t like cold, you could plan to go when it’s warm.
