Q: Québec City, Canada

Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral: Québec City, Canada (December 2016)

Focusing has been difficult the past few months, so I'm taking an alternative approach to A-Z this year: looking back at past travel, editing or re-editing images from travels before, and responding to travel-related questions. Hope you are able to join me on this journey to my past!

For Day Q, I decided to go with this shot of a stained glass window in Québec. I was trying to only post images I hadn't shared on my blog before … or images that I had shared before but that I was able to re-edit and make look better. I tend to focus most of my post images on location shots – like an exterior shot. I'm very particular about which interior shots I share, because there is only so much room for it on a blog post! And you all only have so much interest in seeing them.

Other places I considered for this post: I can't think of any other Q places I've been to!

On to today's questions –

49. What's the worst piece of travel advice you have ever received?

Every time we ask for advice about when we should arrive at the airport, it's usually wrong.

We once were told we could arrive at CDG one hour before departure and be fine. While we wouldn't typically follow that advice, we also had limited time for returning a rental car in "as good of condition or better" than we rented it in. So, we pushed our limits. BIG mistake. HUGE. Don't do that.😛

When we were visiting Sharm-El-Sheikh, we noticed the airport was tiny, so we asked hotel staff how early they thought we should arrive at the airport for our domestic flight to Cairo. They told us an hour. Once again, I got distracted – this time shooting the beauty of Sharm! We departed for the airport approximately an hour before we needed to board our plane. Then we saw the line. 😳 Trying not to freak, we jumped into line. We stood there for nearly 30 minutes with the line not moving. Then, we heard someone shouting "Anyone going to Cairo?" We rushed to the front of the line "Yes! Yes!" They asked for our tickets (the only flight tickets for our entire trip that we had been given in advance), which we temporarily struggled to find (another minor freak out) and then began going through security. Much to our surprise, we actually made it onto our flight to Cairo checked bags and all with only 30 minutes actually spent in the airport and a lot of time spent freaking out in line.

So, while we've generally gotten in trouble for listening to people regarding airport time tables, there was one time when we were wrong and the people we listened to were right. As it turns out, in Lana'i City, the airport opens as a specific time and not a minute before. Even if your goal is to arrive two hours before your domestic flight back to the mainland, you will not be able to get through security until the airport opens. And with two terminals, they don't let you go through security, even when the airport is open, until only about 30 minutes before your flight takes off. In this case, the cab driver we talked to was correct in saying we would be fine only allowing an hour at the airport. I guess it all depends on the city you are visiting, the time of year, and your comfort levels.

50. How much stuff have you lost while traveling?

I lost some of my favorite hair clips while traveling. That was a little devastating because I had had them since high school. I'm not really good at keeping track of my things, though, so it was inevitable that it would happen someday.

I've also lost (or left behind) $100 headphones, cell phone chargers, camera battery chargers, camera batteries, etc… When I unplug my phone from being charged or take a necklace off my neck, I have to put it in my luggage right away or it runs the risk of being left behind.

When you are packing it's a good idea to only bring things you are comfortable losing. And always double check your hotel room to see if you left anything behind! Check under the bed, in drawers, etc… In fact, ideally, just don't use the drawers. You are more likely to see any items you are leaving behind if they are out on surface areas rather than put away.

51. Which religious or spiritual site you've visited has been your favorite?

Justin and I went to the Mustafa Mosque in Sharm-El-Sheikh right after we visited The Heavenly Cathedral. While I do love seeing the insides of beautiful churches, I think my favorite spiritual site view was seeing this mosque as the sun was going down. We weren't actually allowed to enter because they were doing their five o'clock prayer but was nice seeing the gorgeous sunset, hearing the beautiful call to prayer, and taking in the architecture that made up the building. It was an experience unto itself.

Have you ever received really bad advice that you followed? What happened?