Hello Reader,

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🧭 Where in the World?

In January, Kris had a few days in Puerto Rico, and Tom took a quick trip to Vegas.

Now we’re back in wintry Minnesota, doing our best to stay on top of travel news, world news, and, of course, the Minnesota Olympic athletes competing in curling, alpine and cross-country skiing, hockey, speedskating, snowboarding, and more! But mostly curling.

In Minneapolis, we’re lucky to see – on one short winter walk – snow sculptures, fat tire cyclists, ice fishermen, dog-walkers, ice skaters, kids on sleds, and x-country skiers. Just in our neighborhood.

However, much as we love winter, we're also looking forward to leaving next week for summer in South America. We'll be visiting Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay and will be concentrating on the urban pleasures of Santiago and Buenos Aires as well as the well-regarded wine districts of the Colchagua Valley in Chile and Mendoza in Argentina.

And we’re ready for travel planning to more distant locales in the fall. Please read on!

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🛫 Get Going: Tours We Recommend For You

We are so ready to go about our travels, and we have new options for you, in case you’d like to join us.

IRELAND INFO SESSION, February 25

Join a free webinar conversation with Ciarán McHugh to learn about his unique custom experience in Sligo, Ireland. The free online travel talk will cover slow travel, hidden heritage, and what makes Ireland truly special beyond the usual tourist trail. If you’re curious about a more personal, more meaningful way to see Ireland, sign up now for the free webinar.

Free online Zoom conversation, Wednesday, February 25, 2 p.m EST. Register here.

p.s. the Ireland in Focus October 2026 tour is on sale now. Save when you mention TP50.

ON SALE NOW: ANDALUCIA (SPAIN) AND PALERMO (SICILY, ITALY)

We’re excited to add these Elective Study Abroad experiences to our Fall calendar. Join us for a wonderful combination of discovering places and ideas with expert instructors.

Join us: October 4 – 11, 2026, Palermo and the Evolution of the City​

Join us: November 8 - 15, 2026, The Architecture and Cuisine of Andalucia​

Travel Past 50 readers get $250 off per person for any Elective course enrollments. Just use the exclusive code, TP50. Chat with us if you have questions. Note: space is limited for these small groups. Guarantee your spot with a $750 deposit today.

(Note: Elective’s November course in Istanbul has just a couple spots remaining.)

🧳 Our Latest Posts

We understand that your beloved pet may mean the difference between your traveling or not. So, we’ve revived our post offering suggestions for pet care while you are away.

We’ve also seen interest lately in tips for responsible travel, our recommendations for visiting Rome, and our packing lists for all seasons. Search our site and share tips with your friends. You’ll become very popular.

🗞️ Travel News From Around the Web

• The CIA has terminated access to their very useful World Factbook about every country on the planet. It was a resource we used religiously before we went anywhere that was the least bit unfamiliar to us. No reason was given for taking the Factbook offline. We'll miss it.

💸 This Week's Best Deals in Travel

• ​Thrifty Traveler Premium membership just paid for itself again as we were able to book round trip flights to Spain in May for both of us for less than 90,000 Delta miles – a fare sale notice we got via text from Thrifty Traveler. That 90,000 points is the equivalent of $900 for both of us, which is about $1300 less than a typical fare for two to Spain. If you use this link to subscribe, you'll get $20 off the annual membership. That's a year of almost daily deals for $80. And, like we just proved again, that's a great investment in travel.

📖 What We're Reading

Kris just finished Tales from the Sharp End: A Portrait of Chile by Natascha Scott-Stokes and has been remarking on the many scenes which remind her of present-day USA. Highly recommended for its writing and combination of styles: travelogue, history, memoir, journalism, and topical essay. After that, Kris raced through the slim novella, The English Understand Wool, by Helen DeWitt, and started it over again.

Tom is just finishing a book that he picked up based on some random recommendation he ran across in the million or so book sellers he follows: Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter. A raw tale of an orphan who struggles with his own sense of bitterness and ennui through crime, punishment, and hoped for redemption. Astonishingly good story and wonderful writing.

You can see most of the books we recommend in one place at our Amazon book shop. If you'd prefer an alternative to Amazon, there is Alibris.com, where we frequently buy used books, and Bookshop.org, which supports independent booksellers. And, if you're into art books, like we are, check out the catalog at Taschen, the world's foremost publisher of art books.

If you buy a book through our links, we make a small commission at no additional cost to you.

❝Travel Quote of the Week❞

Those French! They have a different word for everything. – Steve Martin

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Read past editions of our newsletter here.

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Have any feedback? Ideas for future posts or email topics? We'd love to hear from you. Email us at feedback@travelpast50.com.

Happy travels,

Kris and Tom

​ Tom Bartel and Kristin Henning ​Travel Past 50​ ​ Connect with us: Facebook, Threads, Instagram, ​ Join our Facebook community.

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