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An image of the old city of Rome
The old city of Rome.
Don't Do This

Trapped in a Bathroom

Don’t try this in Rome Going in was the easy part; getting out was a bit more difficult. I came to this realization when I suddenly found myself trapped in a bathroom not far from the Vatican in Rome after taking the advice of a well-meaning tour guide. Related: Read our post about How NOT to get on an Airplane.  Trying to be Italian This adventure happened when my husband and I were on a Trafalgar tour of Europe. As we had crossed the France-Italy border and were preparing for our first pit stop at an Autogrill just outside Venice, our tour guide had offered some valuable tips for getting along in Italy. “Italy is a feast of history, culture, …

Debbie Olsen
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An image of a bag labelled bomb to Brisbane
Don't Do This, Travel Better

Bomb to Brisbane

Venkata Lakshmi, a grandmother who speaks very little English, was excited and nervous at the same time. She was excited to travel to Brisbane to visit her daughter. They were planning a special celebration for her 65th birthday. But she was also nervous to take the long flight from Mumbai, India. With a connection in Singapore, she was particularly concerned that her bag might go missing. After giving it some thought, Lakshmi came up with a solution… She decided it would be a good idea to label the bag with both the departing and arriving airports. She began to spell out Bombay” (the old colonial name for Mumbai), but she ran out of room. The end result read: “Bomb to …

Debbie Olsen
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An image of a wallet with an old driver's license and expired cards
Don't Do This, Travel Better

How Not to Get on an Airplane

There’s something that bothers me about my husband – his wallet. It’s literally bursting at the seams, because he carries around pretty much every card he has ever received. There’s a Club Sobeys card in there even though there is no longer a club. (Sobeys discontinued that program 4 years ago.) His expired Club Sobeys card has travelled the world. He took it to Iceland – even though there are no Sobeys stores there. It’s also been to Greenland, Mexico, Cuba and Belize. And that card didn’t get any special treatment. There are other useless cards in there too including a driver’s license from 1979 with a picture of him with long flowing hair. Perhaps it annoys me because he …

Debbie Olsen
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Don't Do This, Travel Better

Late Night Run

Oh the glamorous life of a travel writer who isn’t me… Here’s a little rant from a trip I took to the Florida Keys. It involved an unplanned late night run. Getting to the Hotel -Arrived at Miami airport at 10:30 pm last night after two flight delays. Can’t find driver anywhere. Call PR guy (Jerry). After brief delay, am on my way to Florida Keys resort – driver says it will take a little over 2 hours. -Get text from husband. Informs me I am leading the family March Madness Pool. Know nothing about US college basketball – Yay me! -Fall asleep in back of vehicle – snoring may have occurred. Arriving at the Hotel -Arrive at destination. Driver …

Debbie Olsen
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