Podcast episode 122 is available by clicking below.  It is also available on iTunes, Pocket Cast, and Spotify under the travel architect.

As the husband finishes up his last official day of quarantine after testing positive (again) for COVID, I lord my natural immunity (so far) over him. My joke gets a minimal reaction; not so for the national day, proving once again that, the more low-tech and outdated the TV program, the more he loves it. The Travel Quiz starts out very promising before going inexorably downhill. Both the bucket list destination and the discussion of our current travel planning revolve around Australia, and we learn what not to bring on our future Sydney bridge climb. Then it’s onto our thoughts about Andorra, which, you’ll hear, can be described as comme ci, comme ça, or perhaps closer to the official language of Andorra, así así. We counter that with my wholly positive view of Caldea Spa and our mutually loved via ferrata experience.

Episode 122: Thunderbirds Are (Not) Go
The Thunderbirds cast of characters – some very serious dollies
Source: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/thunderbirds-tv-show-menswear-style

Previous blog posts referenced or hinted at in this episode:

13 thoughts

  1. The joke was a groaner; but I still laughed. Very interesting pod, I didn’t know anything about Andorra before listening. We’re currently on a road trip through the south of France and considered visiting, but we opted not to go. The scenery sounds lovely, but I’m not a shopper or a rock climber (I’d probably have a heart attack on that 14 – 15 foot fall), so we probably made the right decision. That said, there are very few countries I don’t want to visit, so maybe on we’ll visit on our next trip south. I’m looking forward to seeing your post on the Pyrenees.

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  3. Pat appreciated your joke this week!

    For some reason I do know the words to Waltzing Matilda, though I didn’t know it was Australian. Either way, it’s now stuck in my head.

    Also I think I’ve now decided what to do for my bday next year: via ferrata! Though maybe we’ll forgo the guide, given the price. Yikes!

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    1. Oh, good. I hope he uses it at work to impress everyone. 🙂
      My post on our via ferrata will come out in about four weeks, but I’m sure you’ll do some research long before then. It’s a great idea for a birthday. The via ferrata whose video I link to in my post is in Ouray, but I know there are ones closer to you.

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  4. Loved the comment that the husband would only return to Andorra if he was kidnapped! I do agree that the news in the US is very US-centric, but I must say that the UK and Canada, where I have spent some time, for that matter, follow countries from the former British empire more than others, so not surprised about Australia. I do like to search news from BBC and other international sources now and then to get a feel for what else is happening in the world.

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  5. I did the downstream via ferrata in Ouray a few weeks ago (no guide). Definitely scary in spots but so much fun! It was longer than I expected (compared to ones I’ve done in Europe) but there are 2 early bail out points if you’ve had enough. And my partner and I had the same question you did while we were out there…if we fall, how do we get back up? Let me know if you find an answer. There are about a half dozen you can do just in Colorado.

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    1. My post about our via ferrata is coming out in about 3 weeks and, coincidentally, I linked to Ouray’s promotional video. In fact, I put it in there as an example of something way harder than what we did, so well done! I’m sure we’ll do one in Colorado at some point. I do hope you’ve got a post coming about your via ferratas like you do with your summit ascents. I’d love to read and see pictures.

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      2. Ok, something weird has happened. I used to be subscribed to Virtually in America, but now I see there are tons of posts I haven’t gotten. It must have kicked me off somehow (WordPress does that occasionally, too). But what’s worse is I can’t figure out how to resubscribe. I can see where it says to subscribe, but there doesn’t appear to be a button to push. Am I missing something obvious? I do suck at tech, after all.

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      3. So, apparently Blogger got rid of subscribe-by-email almost two and half years ago and I had no idea! What a weird decision. I’m probably not going to go through the hassle of setting up a third-party subscription option at this point. But yep…I’ve been blogging quite steadily through all these years!

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