AirBnB – The Chicken Scratches

Costa Rica (July 2018)

by Pat & Ray WhydeJuly 31, 2018September 10, 2022

We have had Costa Rica on our list of places to visit for quite some time – now we made it with my son, David, and daughter, Michelle. David brought our grandson, Justin; Michelle brought our granddaughter, Claire. It’s been ages since we have all been together. So glad David and Michelle both wanted to go Costa Rica when we did. The biggest problem was logistics, as flights to San Jose, Costa Rica, from Cleveland and Columbus are limited. Although, Pat and I had a direct flight from Charlotte, everyone else had two flights each way. The drive to our …

Barcelona, Spain (13-18 April 2018)

by Pat & Ray WhydeApril 18, 2018June 6, 20220

Time to move on to our next adventure! Step One: drop rental car off at the Valencia-Estacio Del Nord train station (the easiest rental car drop off ever! Hardest thing was finding out how to get into the parking lot). Step Two: board the 13:50 train to Barcelona-Sants. The train trip was comfortable and the views of the coast as we approached Barcelona were beautiful in a back yard kind of way – always interesting to see the parts of a city that is relegated to the train lines. At some points, looking strait down from the window, all you …

Yerevan, Armenia (November 14, 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeNovember 16, 2017June 8, 20220

We arrived, by train from Tbilisi, in Yerevan at about 6:30 AM and took a cab to our AirBnB. The primary reason I picked this particular AirBnB was the owner was willing to let us check in at 7 AM. The cab driver was unaware of the location and had to ask several times, even though we had the location mapped on our phones (not me, of course, since I left mine in Charlotte). Our AirBnB was not particularly in a convenient location and the bathrooms left a lot to be desired, however, since we were only going to be …

Qatar and Georgia (November 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeNovember 15, 2017June 9, 20220

We left Jordan on November 6th, heading to Tbilisi, Georgia. But first a 5-hour layover in Doha, Qatar, where we got to visit with Allison/Alessia. She is our exchange student from the Ukraine who spent almost a year with us in Charlotte. She is now a flight crew member for Qatar Airlines. She just finished her last day of training. She met up with us as we left Customs. We all crowded into a cab and went to find a place to eat – Allison suggested a crepe restaurant, so off we went. How good to get to spend a …

Paris (7-25 July 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeJuly 24, 2017October 9, 2022

Continuing our adventure that started in Singapore, moved to Copenhagen, on to Hamburg and now, on to Paris… Our AirBnB was located about halfway between Sacre-Coeur and the Louvre. Great location. Observations on Paris: Rue Cadet was a good place to stay, as it was about equidistant from many of the sites we want to see. Pastries are wonderful A large cup of coffee isn’t (see photo below). If you want a large coffee, order an Americano or better still go to Starbucks or McDonalds Good city for walking Crowded with tourists Most French beer is bland People speak English …

Copenhagen (30 June – 5 July 2017)

by Pat & Ray WhydeJuly 3, 2017October 11, 20220

After a 4 hour layover in Bangkok, our flight from Singapore arrived in Copenhagen at about 7:30 PM. Pat and I took a cab to our AirBnB. The driver was not one of the better ones we’ve had: seemed to have trouble using his GPS and had to reload it several times – each time I had to look up the address again. He had to pull over three times to reset his GPS, promising that he was not charging for these delays. When we finally got to our AirBnB we met the owner who showed us her apartment and …

London with David, Justin and Meredeth (25 June – 4 July 2016)

by Pat & Ray WhydeJune 27, 2016October 18, 20220

25 June – Saturday Pat and I left Singapore arriving very early into Heathrow at 5:10 AM. After landing we spent nearly 45 minutes getting through Immigration and Customs because of the crowds. We topped up our Oyster Cards and took the Underground to the Canada Water station (the closest one to our AirBnB – click to see the listing). Because we weren’t scheduled to meet our AirBnB host until 11:00 AM, we stopped at the Canada Water Cafe, just outside the station, for breakfast. Then we headed for the BnB, just to see if we could find it – we …

Just Arrived In London

by Pat & Ray WhydeJuly 1, 2014November 19, 2023

Just arrived in our flat in London. Dumped our gear and headed out for lunch at the Town of Ramsgate Pub. Fish ‘n chips ‘n a pint. The weather is beautiful right now. Life is good! We rented a nearby flat for the month of July, using AirBnb. The listing for the flat is at http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2015390. The flat is located a 10-15 minute walk from the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. Probably the two worst things about the flat: (1) it was a walk up 3 flights which at the end of the day seemed like 10 floors; …