As vacation time approaches, I start to dream of trips to faraway places, so the next few blogs will be about low-cost travel. Some people think of travel as a luxury; I say it’s a necessity. There are actually dreamless people who happily choose to live every day of their lives in the place they were born.

When we had a country house, I asked our elderly neighbor when he had last visited New York. “Never been out of the county,” he said proudly. Now we’re talking about a two hour drive to the greatest city in the world and this bozo didn’t have the teensiest iota of curiosity about it. Am I being too much of a big-city snob when I call that a limited world view?

Travel costs money, but I’ve always found ways to budgetize my trips. For starters, I never take tours. Too expensive, plus I don’t like being told where to eat, which museum to visit, and what time to get up in the morning. I’m a control freak who needs to be in charge of my own plans – just ask Benni. Also, I’m horrified at the thought of being thrown together with a busload of random yahoos. I like to choose my own yahoos, thank you very much.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

Planning a trip is half the fun, but it has its challenges: when you come to a foreign/language website and hit “Translate This Page,” the results can be bewildering.

“The atmosphere to Heaven is a comfortable and refined farm with suggestive apartments furnished and equipped with all comfort. Immersed in panoramic swimming pool with salt water can regenerate prejudice to admire one of the territories most characteristic and beautiful in the world.”

I’m intrigued by the idea of a “suggestive apartment” - not sure I want to “regenerate prejudice,” though.

I also consult guide books – written in real English – I pick up on the cheap at library sales and I might order something essential from Amazon, like Frommer’s Tuscany & Umbria‘s Best-Loved Driving Tours. I found a used copy for eighty-four cents, plus shipping.

On a family visit to the ancient port village of Rome, Ostia Antica, we decided to splurge and hire a guide, but there were none available. So our son, who’s a history buff, whipped out his map and guide book, and gave us an instructional tour for the excellent price of zero.