(Virtual) East Bay (SF area) Travel Group Meeting - Sat, May 2, 2020

Grrreat! I will be there (maybe even finally getting my laptop working so I won't have to use my teeny-screen phone) and possibly Ed too.
Do people want to hear about places we know best (Munich, Paris,
Vienna ) or lesser-known places we have visited briefly (Gengenbach, Sarlat, Strasbourg, St Remy en Provence) ?

I will send the zoom link info to CWSocial and am happy to host using my pro zoom account :-)

avirosemail, received, with thanks!

Laura B, I would love to hear about a lesser known place! Not to say I wouldn't also like to hear about the others. That's just my personal opinion, not a directive, and I hope everyone will answer you with their choice.

And everyone feel free to choose to tell us about any favorite place, whether big or small, well known or lesser known. It can even be about somewhere you're planning to go, but haven't been yet. I call your attention to my presentation on Moscow metro stations, as an example!

We plan to be there. Will try to find something to report about. Will there be time for everyone?

Excellent, Carol!

It's a good question. We'll see how many people will be joining, how many want to share something, and how much time they'd like. If needed, we can set a time limit (perhaps 10 or 15 minutes?) and/or save some for June. I'll pass this month, after giving my Moscow metro tour last month.

I would like to attend the May meeting. My husband and I can share about Sandomierz, Poland and maybe Valletta, Malta. We can also share about cooking classes we have taken abroad...most recently in Fez, Morocco. Thank you!

Catrinatravels, we would love to have you!

There are 3 of us who have (waning, if not cancelled) September plans to visit Poland, including myself. I'd love to hear about Sandomierz! Malta and cooking classes in Morocco (wow!) sound like winners as well.

Please choose the one you prefer, or we'll see if anyone else weighs in.

Can visitors also join in? I would love to meet you guys even if it is just virtual!

diveloonie aka Tammy, yes we'd love to have you!

Everyone - I'll send out the meeting details (via PMs) in the next day or two. Just sorting things out with our new Zoom host!

Yes, count me in! Looking forward to sharing one of my favorite "gems" I discovered thanks to Rick Steves!

I appreciate the effort to keep us all connected but I will hold out for when we can all gather again, hoping for June :)

Christine, looking forward to hearing about your travel gem!

Christa, we miss you. I personally miss you. And we also understand. Zoom meetings aren't a replacement for coffee on the patio at at Geppetto's! I look forward to the time when we can be back there together!

Thanks for organizing this. I plan to join, although I sure will miss our usual venue!

Barbara N, so glad you'll join us online, until we can get back to our wonderful little café!

Hello, it's been a while since I've been able to attend an in-person meeting, but this suddenly makes it so much easier to join! Please sign me up.

Hi Lori, we'd love to have you!

I'll send a message to you with the Zoom meeting info.

Catherine, do you know whether Gepetto's is offering prepaid cards or some other method so we could support them during this time ??

Laura B, that is a wonderful question! I will try to call Jenny tomorrow and find out.

I spoke to Frank at Geppetto's. They are open - for carry-out only, as mandated. They do have gift cards that we can buy in any amount. We'd have to pick them up, which I know will preclude most people.

I could make a trip over there and buy cards for people and then either mail them to you or keep them until our next meeting, whenever that is. You can PayPal or Venmo me the amount you'd like to get a card for.

Let me know of any other suggestions on how to manage this. Or feel free to drop me a private message if you'd like a card and we can work out the details.

I'll join the meeting! Let me think about a favorite place. There are so many!

Terrific, jeffwilbur! I'll send you the meeting details.

Here's some preview/prep/homework for my discussion place, Vienne, just south of Lyon:

Two videos, one of historic architecture and one of modern market day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51CGPf2bV98
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jtDpXq5-1I

The second link shows how to get there and park if coming by car,
but of course my preference is to use TER and footpower.

Terrific videos! I quite enjoyed watching those and looking forward to hearing more about Vienne!

I have the feeling this meeting is going to be very inspiring for my travel dreams.

I count 6 people who have said they'll share a favorite place: avirosemail, Laura B, catrinatravels, Carol, Christine and jeffwilbur.

With 2 hours scheduled, time for a few introductions and a mid-way break, we can allocate 12-15 minutes for each person. If you'd like more time, please let me know and we can always save some for June.

If you're not sure how to share your screen in Zoom, drop me a line and we can coordinate a practice session before Saturday. It's not tricky.

I'm looking forward to hearing about some great places!

Oops, count me out on sharing a favorite place. Been thinking but just can't pick one. It's like picking a favorite child!

Carol, it IS like picking a favorite child. Or, like picking a destination for your next trip.

Looking forward to tomorrow and getting lots more ideas for future destinations!

Picking a future destination is also hard - so many to choose from. When we were planning a trip for 2011, after watching Rick's programs we decided to go to Turkey and Greece. After researching, we (me) decided we needed at least 6 weeks to see both countries so we decided to go only to Turkey in September 2011. We spent 3.5 weeks there traveling to many different areas and we loved it! We went to Greece the following September spending 4 weeks visiting some islands, the Pelopennsian, Delphi, and Athens. When we got home I told my D-i-L that we loved Greece but I hated to say it because it felt like we were cheating on Turkey :) Now I've accepted the fact that loving one country doesn't exclude the others. But I still can't pick a favorite!

I understand what you're saying about feeling like you're "cheating" one country by liking another. After many, many trips to Italy, when I planned my first trip to central Europe, I felt a bit like I was being unfaithful. Now (as you know) I can't get enough of the new countries I've visited.

Perhaps one of these times you can share something about your trip to Turkey. It's somewhere I'd like to go (probably on an RS tour) and some imaginative sparks might light the fire!

I look forward to joining the meeting tomorrow.

Hi Barbara - I just sent you the meeting invite. Sorry I didn't get it to you sooner!

Am I too late to participate? Just saw this thread. If OK, someone please send the Zoom link. If 5here is time,I do be happy to share a few minutes about Bulgaria. Thanks folks!

Hi Larry, you're not too late, we'd love to have you! And if there's time, I know I would love to hear about Bulgaria. Another country on my wish list! If we run out of time, can we pre-book you for June?

I'll send you a private message with the zoom link and we'll "see" you online tomorrow at 11am.

Just saw this.
Catherine, can you send me the link if you see this!
SharYn

Oh drat, SharYn, I didn't check my messages or this thread during the meeting. I'm sorry we missed you!

Our next meeting will be June 13th. I'll post the next meeting announcement early in June.

Thank you to our virtual tour guides today, Christine, Avi and Larry. It was a great little escape from our lockdown to travel with you to Couloire, Vienne and Bulgaria.

It was wonderful to have travelers join us from here in the Bay Area, from Carmel, and ut-of-state from Colorado and Alaska!

Thanks everyone and I hope you will join us again in June, when we'll have more great armchair travels to Poland (catrinatravels,) Turkey (Carol,) and wherever JeffWilbur and Laura B take us.

Interesting meeting today: new travelers, great presentations! We took some virtual tours and added to our list of places we want to visit. Have been to Bulgaria but not Collioure, Vienne. Some fun research to do and hopefully another future trip to look forward to. Thanks to our hosts and presenters!

Fun meeting today! Thank you for letting me share one of my favorite travel "gems."

Looking forward to our next virtual get together next month!

If you're thinking of making Vienne into a getaway instead of a daytrip, the B&B that I mentioned up by the battlements is called La Batie; the direct website is here:
https://www.labatie.fr/photos-videos

Thanks, Avi. Like most of us, we have a few trips planned. This one may push others down the list, though. I'll check out the website and bookmark it for further reference. Thanks again.