East Bay (SF area) Travel Group Meeting - Sat, Dec 7, 2019

I'm pretty sure I can make it. I'll update you if I can't.

Excellent, Barbara N, looking forward to seeing you!

Hope to finally make one with husband Dave

Terrific, Patty, I'm looking forward to meeting you and Dave!

If Carol and Tony join us, you can have great conversations with them about Portugal!

I'll be there or be square.

Jeff

Mais non ... to be more precise, aber nicht. We will be in Frankfurt which is where our December 5 trip to Paris ended up due to threats of strike activity.

We plan to be there for the February meeting though.

FYI, one of our "souvenir" items is a 12" tall Eiffel Tower -- which somebody else hauled back from Paris and ended up donating to the local cancer thrift shop.

Happy holidays to all -- we will drink some glühwein at the Christmas markets for you.

Excellent, Jeff, we shall see you squarely inside Geppetto's!

Laura, so glad you figured out a Paris workaround. There's so much to do in Frankfurt. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one to acquire "souvenirs" locally. I already have my "souvenir" of St Petersburg, acquired years ago in anticipation! If you pick up something new on this trip, we'd love to see it (and you!) in February!

Amusez-vous. Or should I say "vergnügt euch!"
(I have no idea what I just said, but I hope it was "have fun!")

Sehr gut!

I'll be there! Now, to decide which souvenir to bring...

I'll be there, too! Just back from my Paris, Alsace, London trip. I'll bring a souvenir I bought at the festive Xmas market in Strasbourg!

Hi Christa, feel free to bring two … or three! I'm having trouble deciding myself.

Christine, welcome back! Can't wait to hear about your trip and see what little treasure you bought at the markets!

We do plan to make it. Looking forward to another interesting meeting!

Excellent, glad you can make it Carol and Tony!

There will be one more coming. A friend of mine wants to join us. She (Patti) is especially interested in recommendations on places to stay in Paris.

Wonderful, we'll be happy to meet Patti!

Although, two of our Paris experts (SharYn and BG1) are likely to be at the Marin meeting this weekend. And Laura B will be traveling. Perhaps there are others among us who are more knowledgeable (than me) about Paris locations, and will chime in to let us know that they can share some good ideas at the meeting.

Hi, sorry to miss the December meeting, as I have a scheduling conflict, but hope to make more of your meetings in the new year. Glad to see Jeff is going to the meeting - you will like him!

Perhaps I can help Jeff’s friend, Patti, with places to stay in my favorite city, Paris.

We'll look forward to seeing you some time in the New Year, BG1!

Oh excellent, Christine, glad you'll be able to offer some Paris advice!

See everyone tomorrow morning …. indoors!

Great to see everyone again - another interesting meeting. Thanks, Catharine, for organizing it. Looking forward to the next get together. Happy Holidays to all - Carol & Tony

I enjoyed our group meeting very much today, too. Great meeting some new travelers! Thank you, Catherine, for bringing us all together on a rainy day to talk about travel! Happy holidays and looking forward to seeing everyone in the New Year! - Christine

Here are some links to places we liked in Lipari in the Aeolian Islands:

We stayed at Villa Diana. It's about a 15 minute walk or a 5 minute taxi ride up the hill from the ferry terminal. We had a cottage with a private patio overlooking the harbor and castle. It was the home of a Swiss artist whose artwork is still all over the property. The plumbing was fragile though in 2016.

We stopped by and got a tour of B&B Diana Brown which is closer to Lipari's main street. The rooms were perhaps a little smaller and closer together but the plumbing had been recently renovated.

Our favorite restaurant in Lipari was L'Officina del Cannolo. While they do make cannoli, it's really more of a modern-style seafood restaurant. The food is prepared with integrity and Carlotta and her staff give a warm welcome while maintaining a professional level of service. We know that locals like this place because we ran into our taxi tour driver and his family there one night.

We took a bus from Lipari town to Quattropani and then walked the mostly deserted road down to Acquacalda. There is a delightful little restaurant there across the road from the beach called Naghet perfect for a light lunch before taking the bus back around to Lipari.

Perhaps a bit more formal and definitely a much larger meal can be had at Le Macine in Pianoconte. You call them up for a reservation and they arrange to send a van to pick you up and take you back after your meal. Be prepared for a feast.

I underestimated the time commitment for taking boat trips to the other islands. They are really basically all-day excursions.

Hope this helps some of you.

Thanks, @jeffwilbur, for the recommendations! I've made notes of all of them and bookmarked this post! - Christine

Thanks to everyone who joined on Saturday! I enjoyed meeting our new members - so glad you could make it! I loved hearing the stories associated with everyone's travel souvenirs!! I am delighted with the depth of travel expertise of our members, and everyone's willingness to share and to hear from others.

I am inspired every time we meet, by such a wonderful group of travelers. Thanks to all!

Happy Holidays with all the best of cheer for the New Year! And see you in 2020!