Hello Reader,

🧭 Where in the World?

We’re busy making travel arrangements and tweaking travel arrangements. Do you allow yourself flexibility when you travel?

Fortunately, many airlines offer changes at no charge. In fact, our friend Eric at Travel Babbo reported earlier in the spring that he reviewed his summer flights and found fares had dropped since he booked. His rebooking resulted in mileage points refunded, dollars saved, and future flight credits applied. TravelBabbo is great fun to follow, btw, especially for those interested in family travel around the world.

🛫 Get Going: Tours We Recommend For You

There is still time to take advantage of this unique study abroad opportunity in Southern France. Join us! We jumped on this…and have shifted our Fall Europe flights to accommodate this additional week.

We’ll study Art & Art de Vivre in Montpellier, France, September 28 – October 5, 2025. (If you are already busy, please pass this on to your Francophile or art-loving friends!)

With Elective Study Abroad, we’ll stay the week on the estate of Chateau de la Piscine, study the art and history of the area, and have plenty of free time to explore the French art de vivre.

Only two rooms remain! Save $300 per person when you use the code TP50. Look for more information and reserve your spot TODAY.

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🧳 Our Latest Posts

You can bet we will be doing some reading related to our upcoming destinations in France, United Kingdom, and Ireland! For our Travel Past 50 Tours, we recommend both non-fiction and fiction titles in advance. Wherever we are, we go out of our way to visit local bookstores. (TP50 travel tip: Look for affordable and interesting restaurants in university and bookstore neighborhoods. You’ll be sure to encounter some locals and local buzz.)

Thrillist just published this story on the literary tourism trend. (Thanks for the tip R.A.P.)

For our part, we’ve pictured some of our favorite bookshops here and here, and feature an eclectic mix of recommended titles in our Travel Past 50 store.

🗞️ Travel News From Around the Web

• Have you noticed that airport lounges are getting more crowded? And that many of them are really nothing special? Does it make you think that paying all that annual fee for a card that gets you into the lounges is worth less all the time? You're not alone. (BTW, the Amex Centurion lounge at Las Vegas is my favorite, and the Delta lounges at MSP aren't bad.)
• We're both big readers (see below.) And both of us belong to book clubs. But (as usual) Tom is the outlier in that he belongs to a male-only club, and men who read fiction are a dying breed. Perhaps if they knew how sexy it is to read fiction...?
• Wow, for those who are better at planning ahead than we are, check out these announcements for 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons! Earlier this summer Viking showcased 14 new ocean itineraries for the 2026-27 season, with new 15 to 36-day itineraries exploring the Mediterranean, United Kingdom, Ireland and Scandinavia.  On August 1, they announced their 2027-2028 season, too. The message? Look beyond Europe. Viking offers journeys all around the world, so consider Australia/New Zealand, South America and Chilean Fjords, or the Far East.
• Our friends at Polar Latitudes have updated their Ultimate New Year's Falklands, South Georgia, and Antarctic Circle sailing, and also reduced the price of their Ocean Albatros voyages in 26-27. OK, NOW we’re inspired to look further in advance and book early for savings.

💸 This Week's Best Deals in Travel

• Kris has put her new Vim&Vigr compression socks to the test and wants to give another shout out to Sherry Ott and the Vim&Vigr team for creating the most soft, comfortable version I’ve ever sampled. They’ve used merino wool in the “Go Explore” style, decorated with airplanes so that you don’t forget why you own them. Purchase your pair here.
• We both carry a version of this electronics organizer when we travel. In fact, Tom made the decision a while back to just leave it packed and in his bag so it's one less thing to think about when packing. And, it's on sale now at Amazon for 23 percent off. Here are the things we have in it btw: a fast plug adapter-charger, fast 100-watt cables, a Bluetooth transmitter for the plane's entertainment system, and data blockers for plugging into public chargers.
• And, the portable charger we carry is also on sale (if you want the blue, rather than black version.)
• Speaking of chargers, the high speed charger we use at home is on sale, too.

✈️ Points and Miles News

• ​Thrifty Traveler, our favorite source of news on cheap flights, is offering $20 off their Premium and Premium Plus annual plans if you subscribe via our link here. Some recent deals we discovered through Thrifty Traveler: First Class to Washington, DC for under $400, Maui this winter for under $400; and Japan for under $800. Check it out. If you make one deal they recommend, your membership will pay for itself many times over.

📖 What We're Reading

Kris is finishing the intriguing Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk and catching up on summer short stories in The New Yorker, digital. She also notes, for the grandparents out there, that The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown is a particular favorite of our 3-year-old granddaughter.

Tom has finished the marvelous Horse, by Geraldine Brooks, and after a couple of previous false starts, is enjoying The Tales of 1001 Arabian Nights.

For our previous book recommendations, check out this list.

❝Travel Quote of the Week❞

If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. – Henry David Thoreau

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Happy travels,

Kris and Tom

P.S. What more can we do for you? Reply to this newsletter and ask us anything.

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

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