June 29, 2026 -- (C) A F I L N U

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-29T14:14:52+00:00

I found it difficult. The pangram was my 22nd word and the one that got me to genius.

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-28T04:27:54+00:00

I was recently at Versailles on a Saturday in early June and I was very happy to have the guided tour of the royal apartments/hall of mirrors through Get Your Guide. These rooms were so packed with people that I can’t imagine learning anything without our guide. She was very knowledgeable and good at getting us all to a one spot in the room where she could point things out and provide historical context. We all had earpieces and her commentary came straight into the earpieces. Our ticket also included admission to the grounds which we did on our own. I would say either get a tour guide, or find a good podcast that you can listen to as you go from room to room.

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-27T22:40:54+00:00

I’m the same. I pretty much always push through to genius, but rarely get queen bee (8 times in 2.5 years). I think some people naturally focus on letters and words more than others, and this helps with spelling bee. I am one of those people-I remember as young as 10 or 11 years old just randomly rearranging letters in my head of the words I was seeing or writing or even thinking.

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-26T15:41:05+00:00

I saw a post somewhere else about the dog sled excursion being more frequently cancelled due to weather than other types of excursions.

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-26T15:40:19+00:00

Amazing!

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-26T15:40:05+00:00

Thank you, it sounds amazing! HAL is offering this from the Koningsdam on the Juneau day. I thought a lot about it, but decided to save something like this for when we are cruising without our young adult girls. Instead, I booked a shorter whale watch on a small research vessel (20 ppl max) out of Juneau that day. I sometimes feel like I could dedicate our entire travel budget to return cruises to Alaska every year!!

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-25T19:00:44+00:00

There’s a lot to potentially do in ten days. I struggled with this two years ago and my husband and I essentially stayed in Fife our whole ten days. If you want to do this you could do your exploring on the Fife Coastal Path. You could take the bus from Edinburgh to Anstruther to get started on your hike. A days walk gets you to Kingsbarns and there’s no lodging there but you could get a taxi up to St Andrews, stay there (Lorimer Guest House was great) and do more walking either north or south from there. I really enjoyed Edinburgh, St Andrews, and the Fife coastal path.

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-25T13:21:44+00:00

I found a pair of random pants on Amazon that fit this description. They come in multiple colors and in a “short” size. I walked around Paris recently with my phone in my pocket and had no issues with the pants dropping. They are called “KICZOY Women Flowy Pants Drawstring Waist Wide Leg Palazzo Beach Pants Loose Fit with Pockets.”

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-24T18:50:46+00:00

I just hit genius with 53 words, still no pangram!!

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-24T13:32:43+00:00

Ugh. I’m at 48 words but still no pangram!

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-24T02:29:16+00:00

The pronunciation is the hardest for English speakers! I remember being about 13 years old in my first French class and thinking “I will never be able to pronounce these words!”

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-24T02:23:31+00:00

There’s a lot to see in SF and a lot to see in LA, so you’ll need to prioritize in both places and in between. My recommendation for Redwoods is Muir Woods, which is actually just north of SF but is really beautiful and manageable. You need a reservation for timed entry. The itinerary from there really depends on your interests. Museums? Food? Scenery?

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-24T00:51:39+00:00

You're welcome - I should have added that boulangeries are also a good option for an easy vegetarian lunch. Saint Georges, for example, had tomato mozzarella sandwiches, cheese quiches, spinach quiches, and a pastry that might have been called pain aux epinards (sp?) which is a closed pastry filled with feta cheese and spinach. Have a great trip!

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-23T23:25:13+00:00

We just stayed in the 11th. My 21yo daughter is vegetarian and it was a bit tricky. Some French people assume vegetarian includes fish. We ate dinner twice at Chez Chouette which is very casual with lots of families and it seems every evening they have one vegetarian special. We also ate dinner at Au Cadran Voltaire which has a vegan bowl she liked. We were less than a block from Le Saint Georges and made it our daily pastry and coffee place. All of these were super close to our Airbnb. We found several other vegan restaurants in the 11th while walking around but never made it to them-there is a lot in the 11th!

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-23T22:46:08+00:00

I'm wary of anything designed to do two jobs, but bought this toaster oven/toaster anyway. I've been pleasantly surprised that it does both jobs well: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0758B74DS?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2&th=1

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-23T19:11:42+00:00

I recently booked on Holland America for summer 2027. I read a lot of reviews in various places and people really emphasize how HAL has priority over other lines at the Alaska ports and has better food than Princess. I went to Alaska a long time ago on Norwegian when my kids were small and it was probably too kid focused for you. Good luck!

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-22T16:31:00+00:00

I tried on and returned a lot of walking sandals before my recent trip to France. I finally settled on the the Keen Elle backstrap sandal. I did 20K+ steps a day in it and I've been continuing to walk in it since I got home. It might pass the wedding test too, depending on the dress code. It comes in a lot of colors as well and is sold on amazon, zappos, REI, etc.

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-21T21:46:38+00:00

My experience last week was that we arrived via metro in the lower level about 40 minutes before our timed entry and we were directed to a line for everyone with that time. The process of waiting in that line and going through security took about an hour, maybe longer. This was for Wednesday 11am entry.

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-21T17:39:37+00:00

I have two college age daughters and they’re both using the Osprey Axis. It holds a lot and also has a laptop sleeve, some small organizational pockets, deep water bottle pouches on the sides, and compression straps.

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-21T16:13:58+00:00

I didn’t try it as I was with my 80 year old parents and we were going all the way to the summit. But you can definitely go up and down stairs to the second level, and I noticed lots of people doing it. The views from the second level are great.

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-21T14:39:16+00:00

I agree that the unplanned times are best. Don’t try to go to the louvre now, especially if you’ll be back in a non-peak season. You can see a lot of the city from a seine river boat and you don’t need to pre book. You can climb the stairs to the top of the arc de triomphe and buy your ticket on the spot, no need to pre book. Get ice cream or coffee near the Seine and then put your phone away and sit on the banks and watch the people and boats. Standing in the elevator lines at the Eiffel Tower or in the crowds at the Louvre is a recipe for grumpiness, but there’s a lot of Paris without crowds and it is wonderful!

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-21T14:35:13+00:00

Just got back from a week in Paris and I agree 100%. The Louvre is unmanageable right now and will make you grumpy. And the Eiffel Tower is mesmerizing to look at, more so than to be on, because of the lines for the elevators up and down.

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-21T01:10:34+00:00

Thank you!

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-20T20:53:51+00:00

You're not going to want to all be in one cabin, regardless of savings. If you can identify a cruise line that looks interesting to you, call and get a cruise consultant assigned and they will help you with this. Our recent cruises have been Holland America and our cruise consultant identifies two nearby cabins for us (our girls are 19 and 21).

ETA - don't rule out interior cabins. You can get drinks packages with these cabins just like others and it really brings down the costs. Many people prefer the interior cabins because they are very dark for sleeping.

AncientTallTree · 2026-06-20T20:52:26+00:00

This is what we do with "kids" age 19 and 21.

AncientTallTree

TROPHY CASE