Posts by Disneydiddl

Hi Sylvie, Thanks for your suggestions. Actually, I’m not short of ideas—it’s just the choices that are tough. I both want to go back and explore the places I loved more deeply, and I also want to discover new ones (like Iceland, for example, or Scotland).

Hi Peggy, What a pleasure to see you again (and to see the forum again). I see you’ve fallen under Norway’s spell. Me too. We spent a week in the Lofoten Islands in 2023 (we also stayed, in part, at Eliassen Rorbuer, and that place remains one of my most beautiful memories) and took the Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen "cruise" in September 2024. I’m looking for ideas for this year, and that’s how I came across your travel journal. What courage to have done all that road tripping—those waterfalls and stunning landscapes are giving me so many ideas. But... the prices are really steep, especially for renting a car.

I can’t wait to read the rest of your travel journal to revisit those gorgeous Lofoten landscapes. See you soon, Françoise

Hello everyone! What a pleasure to see you all again and to be back on this forum—I’ve missed it so much.

For me, the lockdown wasn’t too tough. We had to cancel several planned trips but were refunded for most of the expenses (not all, so since then, we’ve been booking everything as cancelable). Like many of you, we’ve explored a bit of Europe (though not much): London and Paris (where we love spending a few days), Rome (love at first sight), Tuscany in September 2021 (another love at first sight—I’d love to go back in the spring), and especially Norway (the Lofoten Islands in 2023—another huge favorite; I dream of returning—and last September, the Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen cruise). That said, I’m still a huge fan of the U.S. We’ve returned several times to our favorite spots in the East (Florida—Disney World, but not just that—Jekyll Island in Georgia, Charleston...) and in the West in spring 2023, which let us discover Bryce Canyon under snow—absolutely stunning.

On the other hand, everything has gotten so much more expensive. Budgets keep climbing (car rentals are insane). But what a joy it still is to plan a road trip and find beautiful routes...

I’ll stop here and wish you all amazing travels! Françoise

Hi Guillaume, What a pleasure to discover a new travel journal and to (re)visit these magnificent places by proxy (many are inaccessible to me). Maybe I’ll get around to writing another journal about our return to the West in 2023. Thanks for sharing!

But Gilles, it's not a contest... and you have some gorgeous photos too ;).

Thanks for the comment. You too, Laurent and Christine (too bad we can't reply to multiple people at once). Hoping, like many of us on this forum, to return and admire the many stunning spots in the West. Have a great afternoon! Françoise.

Hi Fabienne and everyone else. I haven't contributed to this journal yet, even though I'd obviously seen it before. Why? Simply because it's so hard for me to choose just one photo. So, why today? Because I just stumbled upon it again and realized it's been a while since we last updated it—yet it inspires dreams, and it's so nice to dream a little. So, I have to pick a photo... and it'll be the one from my avatar.



I could post dozens from that half-day spent with Steve Dodson at CBS, one of my many best memories of the West. We were lucky to have a pleasant morning with pretty white clouds and even a little water in some spots. For more details, check out my travel journal 😉.

I hope you're all doing well, despite this summer being so different from what many of us had planned. Best, Françoise.

Bonjour Laurent, Chouette début de carnet. Et je garde l'idée de faire SF-LA en train. J'avais déjà pensé à faire une partie d'un road trip dans l'ouest en train et tu me confortes dans cette idée, un peu originale. A bientôt pour la suite

Hi Martine, Yeah, the end of a travel journal is always the very end of the adventure—it’s always a little sad. But maybe you’ll enjoy rereading it from time to time. Thanks for taking the time to write it with humor and so many details, and especially for illustrating it with so many photos. Now you can dive into a new project, which, I hope, will lead you to discover even more beautiful places. Cheers, Françoise.

Bonjour Katia, AH Monument Valley, Arches, et le Red Cliffs Lodge ! Que de bons souvenirs. Tu me donnes envie d'y retourner. C'est trop beau. A bientôt pour la suite.

Good evening Martine, Oh, Paint Mine! It's so beautiful (in the sunshine, too—you were lucky). A little slice of paradise that's still relatively unknown, and that's just fine. 😊 Gorgeous photos. Thank you!

Bonjour Katia, J'ai failli louper ton carnet, mais me voici. Ton itinéraire me semble assez original, et passe déjà par des endroits que je ne connais pas (c'est toujours tentant de découvrir de nouveaux endroits). Quel départ mouvementé ! On regarde aussi les vols partant de CDG, souvent moins chers, et surtout plus directs qu'en partant de Bruxelles, mais Air France commence à avoir une moins bonne réputation, souvent en grève… donc dernièrement, nous regardons aussi les départs d'AMS. Partir de Bruxelles devient vraiment très cher. White Sands! Magnifique! J'ai tellement envie d'y aller aussi, mais c'est un parc un peu difficile à inclure dans un itinéraire (donc je vais vraiment regarder le tien de très près 😉 ) Le canyon de Chelly nous avait beaucoup plus aussi, et c'est vrai qu'il est très peu fréquenté par rapport à d'autres. A bientôt pour la suite...

Hello Martine, Wow, those are gorgeous photos of Colorado NM! We missed so many spots there (though to be fair, we didn’t have that great weather). What beautiful light! Great catch with Santa Claus and the mummies—it’s a place I’d love to go back to. I can confirm Black Canyon of Gunnison: be careful if you’re afraid of heights (like me). Even with the safety barriers, it’s scary, and the vertigo kept me from going too close to the edge most of the time. And if I remember correctly, not all viewpoints have barriers. It’s true that this place is very different from others, but I think it’s worth a detour if you’re in the area. Thanks, Martine. I’m waiting for the next day’s surprise and your friends’ reactions ;)

Bonsoir Didier Je découvre ton carnet que je viens de dévorer. Je ne vais pas être originale; tes photos sont magnifiques et tellement originales, surtout dans des lieux où je n'irai sans doute jamais. Comme Ducono, le GPS de randonnée m'est inconnu, il faudrait peut-être que je m'informe et que j'apprenne à en utiliser un. Merci pour ce partage

Hello Martine,

It’s done!!! We’ve booked our flight tickets (we struggled so much with the Lufthansa site 😕). In the end, the Frankfurt-Denver leg will be operated by United Airlines and the other segments by Lufthansa!! We paid 1131 € for both of us, including seats!!! If we’d booked everything with Lufthansa, it would’ve cost over 1600 €. We hesitated because some of the return options were meh, but the price difference is huge!!! We’ll see how it goes. Martine 🙂

Amazing! You didn’t waste any time. And that’s a great price! Do you already have an idea of your itinerary? Anyway, you’ve still got time. Happy preparations and keep up the good work on your travel journal.

Hello

Hello 🙂

We just made a fantastic decision!!!! We're heading back to the United States in September!!!!! Yes!!!! Yes!!!! Yes!!!! I reminded DD about our Esta’s validity as an excuse to go back (thanks Guillaume!!!) and IT WORKED!!!!

That’s amazing! I’m so curious to hear about your itinerary. I’ve been trying to plan one for summer 2021 or April (or both?) and it’s not easy to include the places I want to revisit while adding a few new ones that aren’t too hard to access.

This time, though, we’re leaving without Mimi and Maumau because the road trip will be more focused on hiking, and they don’t walk much!!!! Back in 2017, we hikers were left wanting more at Arches National Park, and we swore we’d go back.

Are you experienced hikers?

Good grief!!!! I haven’t even finished writing the travel journal from our last trip, and now I have to plan the next one!! I’d better get moving!!! But one thing at a time!! I’m off!! Martine 🙂

That’s what happens when you catch the travel bug...😉. You’ll be fine...one step at a time...

Hi Martine, Still some amazing photos—rainbows, pretty white clouds, great lighting, and beautiful landscapes. What more could you ask for? See you soon!

What a gorgeous blue sky in your Grand Teton photos. It's stunning. Thanks. Have a good evening

Bonsoir Martine, Merci pour ton gentil message. Comme je le disais à Régis, j'étais "ailleurs". Je reviens de temps en temps sur le forum, pour essayer de préparer un nouveau voyage (mais que c'est difficile de choisir où aller).

Je me suis régalée à suivre ton périple mais c’est difficile à rivaliser avec l’ouest je pense !! Même si il y a de très beaux endroits qu’on a envie de voir l’ouest reste l’ouest !!!

C'est exactement ça; difficile de rivaliser avec l'ouest. Même si j'ai aimé certains endroits (comme les Outer Banks, je suis assez fan, et prête à y retourner), ce n'est pas "amazing" comme dans l'ouest, et puis, les roches rouges me manquent, les jolies routes aussi.

En tout cas merci pour ce reportage !! Si on décide d’aller en Floride je te contacterai pour avoir des tuyaux.

Avec plaisir si je peux t'aider pour la Floride Je retourne continuer à lire ton magnifique carnet, qui lui, se passe dans cet ouest adoré 😉

A bientôt

Bonsoir Régis,

Merci Françoise pour ce partage et bonnes fêtes à vous aussi

Prise par d'autres occupations, j'ai oublié de te remercier pour ton gentil message. Je te souhaite une très belles années, riche en voyages 🙂