For traveling seniors who want to recall childhood days of enjoying their miniature railroads, this is the place to go.

The San Diego Model Railroad Museum is located in Balboa Park, on the lower floors of the Casa de Balboa. Celebrating its 100th birthday, the building was featured in the 1915 Pan Pacific celebration. That year, San Diego joined other cities marking the opening of the Panama Canal. The Model Railroad Museum was created in 1982.

Familiarity with the city can give visiting joggers, bikers and hikers many choices of routes to follow. Check with your hotel front desk for the best on the day you  plan to go. The safest times are from sun-up to 8 am, and from 6 pm to sundown.

For instance, start at the National Mall, where you can cover the two miles around the perimeter from the Capitol steps to the Lincoln Memorial. Or venture into the Reflecting Pool area. If you want to mix your exercise with some activities, where there are often interesting events there, such as lectures, concerts and group exercise classes. If you happen to be there during Cherry Blossom time, you'll really be in the pink.

You can jog past Dupont Circle and up Embassy Row from Massachusetts Avenue. It gives you the opportunity to observe the stately lines of elegant buildings, and imagine all the political intrigue and posh social events going on behind the fences.

We last visited springtime Paris several years ago and stayed in a little hotel just across a narrow street from Le Sorbonne. From our room we could look into classroom windows and hallways as the students came and went. There was a flower and tree-lined square on the other side of the hotel where students and others gathered day and night to gab, drink, eat and otherwise act like students anywhere. We happily joined in.

We hit all the tourist sites, including the Napoleon’s Tomb, Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Siene River cruise, as well as other historical sites. Of course, we dined at the great restaurants, from little sidewalk eateries to the grand dining rooms of the Ritz Hotel.

We're not smokers, and that bothered us when eating inside and al fresco at Paris sidewalk cafés. Accustomed to the no smoking rules now in effect in most U.S. cities, it seems every Parisian, from teen to dotage, smokes endlessly.

Hotels, restaurants and shopping in city of the Golden Gate can cost tourists lots of gold. However, with smart planning, seniors can actually enjoy visits there without spending too much of it. Next time you’re in San Francisco, here are suggestions to help in your quest for free things to do.

Haight-Ashbury Memories: If you were part of the foggy, smoky 50s and 60s hippie generation, wander back to where it all started. Along with funky stores, you'll see poetry readers, musicians and ragged wanderers, making for great people-watching and video/photos.

Golden Gate Park: A thousand square acres of beauty and tranquility typifies the city's laid-back character. Make up a picnic basket and enjoy morning mists by Stow Lake. Visit the free-admission Conservatory of Flowers, de Young Museum, Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. Check the schedule for free events, music and fairs.