Traveling with Judy

Arrived in this very beautiful big city on Monday. Buenos Aires is billed as the Paris of South America, and I think it lives up to its reputation. I have certainly enjoyed this visit a great deal more than I did in January when I walked around on two broken ankles. I learned lots, saw many sights, & enjoyed some outstanding food. Tomorrow it’s back to the domestic airport to fly to Bariloche which is a lakeside City nestled in the foothills of the Andes & what I would consider the beginning of our Patagonian adventure.

Visited El Ateneo Splendid. It was once a theatre but now houses thousands of books, albums, CD’s, etc. Quite a sight to behold.

Each loge is a reading nook.

Calatrava Women’s Bridge. Calatrava: Famous Spanish architect. Evening stroll after dinner on the pier.

Hope to be able to share more experiences in the days ahead when we put the City behind us & get truly into nature.

November 3 to November 27, 2025

Began this 3 week trip with a stop in Santiago. Spent 2 full days in the largest city in Chile enjoying the sights, including a winery tour, before making our way to Easter Island which the native people prefer to call RAPA Nui. Getting to Easter Island requires a five hour plane ride as it is 2500 miles from Santiago. Latam Airlines is the only means of transportation from Chile to Easter Island unless one goes 2500 miles by boat. Going to be covering a good deal of ground on this trip which in total requires 9 flights and several long bus rides.

Now on to just a few pictures from Santiago, and then on to Easter Island,

Now back to Santiago for the night before leaving early for Buenos Aires on Monday morning. More to come if the internet allows.

Our last day and half were jammed packed with two great experiences. First, we visited the 700 year old Wieliczka Salt Mine; a must see. Yesterday, we traveled two hours out of Krakow to visit the resort town of Zakopane, a charming mountain village. Last night our farewell dinner which was bittersweet. As I have mentioned before, the 23 of us truly enjoyed one another’s company; a most compatible group. We had very little down time, so sleep was deep & restful, but now I need a vacation from my vacation.

Traveling has become for me the ultimate traveling experience. These past 13 days have just confirmed for me the parallels of what the Polish people endured under an autocratic regime & what we are seeing in our country today.

• Autocratic/dictatorial President.
• Yes Men in government.
• Suppression of the press.
• Propaganda in the form of lies.
• Prejudice of anyone who is different.
• The outcast of the so called Undesirables.
• Dictating what is taught/learned in our schools.
• The end of FREE SPEECH.

”Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana

Until my next adventure, I am signing off. Again, thank you for traveling with me.

Our learning trip to Poland is soon coming to an end. We reached my favorite city, Krakow, on Saturday night, and have been on the run ever since. Aside from visiting Auschwitz Birkenau, the trip has been a blast. Our weather cooperated, so our experiences have been comfortable, educational & authentic. Again, just a few pictures from each stop,

Enough of this horror. Now photos from Krakow.

Going to send this post on its way, & write of my last days in Poland at the airport tomorrow. I’m doing this on the bus, & we are just about back to the hotel from another fun excursion.

Going to work fast this morning before our departure for Auschwitz Birkenau Concentration camp. We’ve certainly been on the move, again seeing & learning. I’ll tell you about some of my experiences through pictures.

Today will be a difficult day!!!

Have traveled to a fair number of towns & villages since you last heard from me. We are in our 4th hotel, making our way by bus. The longest ride was five hours, but with stops, the time passes quickly. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, there are just 23 of us traveling together, so we have lots of room in a large passenger bus. Our bus driver, Robert, is a master of maneuvers. And, our tour leader Anna is a “feeder”. We are constantly being treated with shots of vodka, candy, cookies, gingerbread, etc. Never even a remote chance of being hungry.

Speaking of food, we are eating well. Traditional Polish dishes with lots of starch, fish & meat. The beer is quite delicious, & of course, the vodka can prove to be somewhat medicinal. We need that when traveling in a group, although, I don’t think that is Anna’s intention, to provide us with medicine.

Since leaving Warsaw, we spent three nights in Olsztyn, two nights in Sopot, & now one night in Torun. Then it’s on to Wroclaw for two nights, finishing in Krakow for three nights. Departing for home on 9/23.

I have attempted to give you just a glimpse of what we are doing & seeing. Hope you will travel along using the map in the first photograph above.

Arrived on Wednesday, basically on time, in spite of the Russian drone invasion and subsequent attack. The Warsaw airport was closed for a time, but I was able to avoid the worst of the delays.

Rain today in Warsaw, the first in many months, so I guess we brought it with us. Today was a city tour by bus with several stops along the way. Warsaw is a beautiful city with lots of history. So much of it was destroyed by the Germans during WW2, so the City is both old & modern.

Weather has not cooperated, so pictures are few. Travel companions are all lovely people, mostly of the same age. Our guide Anna is terrific; full of enthusiasm, knowledge & most entertaining. I am still having internet issues, so quite the delay in getting this post off. Thought the problem was corrected before I left home, but obviously NOT. I will attempt to post again, but don’t be surprised if you do not hear from me. All in all, having a great time and experiencing a different culture which is always so enlightening. Oh yes, carb loaded meals.

Just returned from a sister’s trip to Canada where we traveled on the Rocky Mountaineer, s special experience, but more on that to come. Unfortunately, Kathy was unable to join us because of a most serious back problem that is preventing her from walking comfortably. Surgery is in her future. As can be imagined, we missed her terribly; after all, she was in on the planning process, and we four were so looking forward to our long time coming adventure.

Patty, Bobbie & I spent a few days in Vancouver before boarding the train. We took a full day tour of the City with a small group. Day 2, we filled ourselves with delicious food on a walking food tour of China Town. The Asian population of Vancouver grows yearly, & is currently at 47%. We stayed at the lovely Fairmont Waterfront, and truly enjoyed our surroundings.

However, the highlight of the trip, & the main reason for going was to experience the Rocky Mountaineer, a two day train ride through the Canadian Rockies. This is a bucket list trip for many people, & I can say, it was quite a wonderful experience. Just a few pictures to summarize our two days.

Boarding the train on Day 1.

In addition to having two breakfasts & two lunches, drinks flowed freely each day. The staff was especially attentive, & got a kick out of the sisters, especially Bobbie.

It’s lunch; note the wine glasses.

Lake Louise with the glacier in the background.

A view of Banff from the Fairmont Hotel.

The Fairmont in Banff. Rocky Mountaineer uses the Fairmont Hotels to house their quests, so we stayed in four lovely hotels, three of which were built over 100 years ago to support railroad ridership.

All in all, a special vacation with my sisters.

I recovered well enough from my broken ankles to begin travel anew in June. Spent three weeks, have to stay that long when traveling that far, in Singapore & Indonesia. It was a wonderful trip full of adventure. I completely forgot how to construct the blog, so most negligent in keeping most of you up to date regarding my adventures. Just a few pictures to highlight our wonderful trip.

Usual cast of characters: Melinda, Joan, Judy & Ophelia. I met each of these ladies on previous trips, and we have a marvelous time adventuring around the world. Here we are posing in the beautiful gardens of Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

We stayed in beautiful hotels with beautiful settings and impeccable service. This was a spoil vacation from the get go.

What a way to greet the day after a good night’s sleep.

Visited a number of both Buddhist & Hindu temples in Indonesia.

I am practicing creating my blog before my next adventure which is Poland for two weeks with the same group of women as above. I leave on September 9, & am looking forward to learning about the history of these brave & resilient Poles; plus, I am told it is a most beautiful country. But first, indulge me in another blog. Up next the Rocky Mountaineer with my sisters.

Thanks to Claudio, I made it home safely. We left Buenos Aires on Friday night, well almost Saturday morning. All went seamlessly. I hobbled, was pushed and lifted. I felt like a queen, albeit, a damaged one. We were met by a driver at O’Hare, and the three of us made it to Wheaton by 1 pm on Saturday. Said goodbye to my Super Nurse and have basically been managing on my own with help from dear neighbors and friends.

Learned Monday that I am a bit more damaged than I anticipated. I am having emergency surgery on Wednesday to repair one seriously broken ankle and a minor break on the right. Perhaps, the right will only require a boot, but the doctor will make that decision during surgery; manipulation under sedation. Thank you very much!

Big negative: I will be non weight bearing for six weeks. Will require a hospital stay so a coordinator can determine where I will go. I have my preferences, but we will see how much sway I have.

Claudio insisted on food for me at the United lounge in BA with a taste of the local gin.

Got comfortable in my seat, and slept a good deal of the way to Houston. Thank goodness for business class which the insurance company provided.

My mode of transportation. I also had a walker, but we checked the “donkey” with baggage.

I insisted to the doctor in BA that I could handle the return trip on my own. WRONG!!!! Thank you Claudio for being with me every hobbled step of the way.

All in all, this is not how I wanted my January adventure to South America and Antarctica to come to a conclusion, but fluke happens. Good comes from bad, and I have learned that wonderful professionals, loving family and dear dear friends are the best gift in life. I am a most fortunate person.

Until you hear from me when I go to Singapore & Bali in June, a very realistic goal in my estimation, we are going to put this blog to bed.

Thank you all with all of my heart.

Judy