South Louisiana--March 3, Saturday, 10:30 am, Panera Bread, 4848 Veterans, Metairie

Richard,

I am very interested in starting a travel group. I know a few other guys that probably like to participate also.

Jason

I would be interested in such a club.... we r planning a trip in Italy in 2018.... I currently reside in the New Orleans area.

I'm a bit late adding to this thread, but I would be very interested in meeting with a group in the New Orleans area. I'm planning a trip to Croatia, Bosnia and Italy for 2018 and have traveled a number of times in the last few years to Italy (especially!!), France, England, and the Netherlands.

It has been some time since I last checked this thread to see whether there were any responses. It appears that there is some interest.

I would think that a Saturday morning would be the best time. I suspect that based on the responses, New Orleans or Metairie would be the best place, and that we need at least 3 weeks notice. Any suggestions? This being a south Louisiana gathering, we may end at the Napoleon House (a joke).

Hi. I started traveling this year. Went to Ireland in May and just got back from a week in London. I've already set up a my next trip....the Best of Germany in 13 Days, beginning May 19, 2018.

Thanks for getting a South Louisiana group rolling, Richard! I agree that a Saturday morning might work best, and see that you and some others might be coming from points west (Lafayette, Baton Rouge?). Various RS travel groups have chosen to meet at their local Panera Bread locations, although of course they may not have so many delicious options as the ones that we revel in, down here! Nevertheless, perhaps we might want to start out at the Panera Bread in Metairie, at 4848 Veterans, a couple of blocks off Clearview, and an easy off/on the I-10 for folks coming especially from the west, but also from the east. Thoughts? Meeting time and date? Further suggestions? Looking forward to making this work! Jane in Uptown New Orleans (with a trip to Italy scheduled very soon!)

A Metairie location is fine. A tad easier for anyone coming in from Baton Rouge or Lafayette. And the shop Jane suggested is fine with me.

If we assume a Saturday morning, say 10:30 because of the distance some might be traveling, the next question is when. We certainly need some time to let those interested know about the gathering.

May I suggest a day like Saturday, Jan. 13? After the holidays, and before Mardi Gras. If the Saints are not playing that day in an early afternoon home playoff game, that date should work, unless someone has a real problem with that date and wants to suggest another one.

Hey guys,

January 13th is good for me.

Most of my travel to Europe has been targeted to Fieberbrunn, Austria(15 minutes east of Kitzbuhel) and the surrounding areas. I have been to Rome(twice), Venice(3 times) and Vienna(twice).

Hope to see you guys soon.

Jason

Jan. 13 is good for me, too. 10:30 am at the Metairie Panera Bread, then. I'll be still time warping from a very recent trip to Italy, and will be planning a Croatia/Bosnia/Slovenia trip for mid-2018. It will be great to hear other folks' adventures and plans.

Richard,

If you don't want to drive all the way in to Metairie, we could meet at Cabela's in Gonzales and you can ride in with me. Let me know.

Jason

Jason, thanks for the offer, but I may spend much of the day in town before heading back.

Just home last night (Tues night) from Italy. Just checking in with y'all to make sure that we are still on for this Sat, 10:30 am at the Metairie Panera Bread. See you there?

Jane, I intend to be there, and it appears that Jason will be there as well. If you have any friends who might be interested, please invite them. I have sent PMs to the others above who expressed an interest.

Also, regarding my travel experience, decades ago I visited Munich, Paris and London. In recent years, I have visited London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and Salzburg. In addition, I have taken a Med cruise when I was able to spend some extra time in Venice and Rome, and a Baltic cruise with extra time in Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Richard: I had a great time at our first South Louisiana Travel Group meeting and really am looking forward to our next gathering in March. Too bad that pesky Mardi Gras is causing us to postpone our second gathering by a couple of weeks! :) I loved hearing your reflections on St. Petersburg, and hearing of Jason's adventures in Austria and Italy. We all agreed that we love Venice! (What could be the attraction for South Louisianans to a beautiful aging-but-sinking-city, I wonder??) It was quite a lively and fun gathering! I do hope that others are able to join us.... I am seeking insight as I plan a Croatia-Bosnia-Slovenia trip for later this year. See you in March, and in the meantime, Laissez les bon temps roulez, y'all!

Richard,

Jim expressed that he would very much like to join us at our next meeting but March 3 is not good for him as he will be out of town. I did invite him to join here on the forum.

I also have a friend that will join us that has traveled with me to Europe but has also been to Croatia. Which he absolutely loved and has some good info on travel there.

Hello All

Jason and I have talked about a local travel group for several years and I'm so glad you have started one. I'm sorry I will miss the meeting on March 3, but my granddaughter in Daytona Beach is playing Dorothy in their community theater production of The Wizard of Oz that week and we can't miss that.

Here is a brief background on my travel experiences. In the past nine years I have taken my wife and her now 93 year-old mother on three two-week trips to Europe, 1) Italy and Paris, 2) Scotland and England, (highlight was playing golf twice on St. Andrews Old course) and, 3) France (one week each in Normandy and Provence). We also did for two-week trip to three islands in Hawaii. All were planned using the Rick Steves DVDs, guide books and the travel forum, even Hawaii when I used the "Beyond Europe" tab on the forum. One thing I learned when traveling with my family is that there was a lot of compromise involved, and I usually lost on most. As such, I have a lengthy list of things I didn't get to do that I want to go back for. Having heard many times that when you're traveling alone "all decisions are unanimous", I am planning on a two-week solo trip back to Italy in May. My itinerary is flying into Milan and out of Rome, with Venice and Florence in between. I have not been to either of the first two cities and Milan is primarily for The Last Supper and the Duomo, while Venice is, well, just for exploring.

I love listening to other peoples travel experiences and sharing mine, so I look forward to meeting all of you at the next meeting after March. In the interim, if you are planning a trip and I can be of assistance please let me know. Jason, thanks again for including me.

Jim

Jim, welcome aboard.

If everyone else is in agreement, I don't have a problem pushing back the meeting one week to March 10, if all can do it then. At the moment, I can't do it Feb. 24, but my conflict, which is work-related, could go away this week. Jim and Jason, if one of you wants to take the lead, please do so. My only request is that, if there is an interest in another date, someone please send a PM to Jane (who has several posts on this thread) to make sure she is available. Thanks.

Richard

Please don't change the meeting because of me. We leave for Florida on Saturday morning 3/3 and I won't be back until at least 3/13. Since she is still working my wife is flying back on the 11th and I'm driving home alone. I'll look at our plans for April and get back to all of you with dates that I am free that also work with yours. Thanks.

Jim

Thanks, Jim, for the response.