Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Doorways of Monti
I really liked the variety of the ironwork in the (usually) half circle transoms over doors. I may have a few more on the camera but this is a good sample.
Monday, March 19, 2012
You see these all over
Although dogs are permitted in restaurants and are often better behaved than most children.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
More pictures
Ms. Packratty missed this by two days ... that snow falling through the oculus of the Pantheon. The Pantheon and the Barberini Museum were Ms. Packratty's two favorite places in Rome proper and St. Cecelia in Trastevere the third.
In the exterior shot taken on February 17th, the temperature was close enough to 50 so gloves were not wanted, but notice the folks bundled up for arctic weather.
In the exterior shot taken on February 17th, the temperature was close enough to 50 so gloves were not wanted, but notice the folks bundled up for arctic weather.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
What's next?
Well, clearly, Ms. Packratty WILL be going back to Rome. She hopes very much to be able to spend a few days in Florence and visit a first cousin who has lived there for 40 years, but she is definitely going back to Rome.
And Ms. Packratty still has pictures to post and has not had enough time to sit down and think about it.
But her next trip, other than going to see family with her remaining annual leave, is probably going to be going down the Grand Canyon on a raft in 2013. She is hoping a dear friend will take the trip with her, but is perfectly prepared to solo it otherwise. She also plans to return to Italy in 2014. In fact, she thinks she would like to celebrate her birthday in Rome that year. This all depends on continued employment and her fibromyalgia staying in relative remission as it has for the last few years. But if that holds, Ms. Packratty believes she will be able to take some sort of serious trip every 18 months or thereabouts - not as much traveling as she would *like* but enough. She wants to go to Alaska, Hawaii and would really love to go back to Denmark, where one of the most delightful trips of her childhood took place.
And Ms. Packratty still has pictures to post and has not had enough time to sit down and think about it.
But her next trip, other than going to see family with her remaining annual leave, is probably going to be going down the Grand Canyon on a raft in 2013. She is hoping a dear friend will take the trip with her, but is perfectly prepared to solo it otherwise. She also plans to return to Italy in 2014. In fact, she thinks she would like to celebrate her birthday in Rome that year. This all depends on continued employment and her fibromyalgia staying in relative remission as it has for the last few years. But if that holds, Ms. Packratty believes she will be able to take some sort of serious trip every 18 months or thereabouts - not as much traveling as she would *like* but enough. She wants to go to Alaska, Hawaii and would really love to go back to Denmark, where one of the most delightful trips of her childhood took place.
Friday, March 9, 2012
A surprising turn of events
In the prior post, Ms. Packratty explained the several points of failure that she experienced with her American Express prepaid card and her great disappointment in those events. She knew she needed to call American Express and discuss those events, but was really dreading trying to work her way through the ladder of call center and supervisor, manager and blah, blah, blah.
A certain gentleman friend of hers who travels extensively for a living and uses the heck out of his AmEx was going to call on her behalf, but Ms. Packratty really believes in fighting her own battles. Then one of her clever friends pointed out that there are websites where sometimes the email addresses of high-ranking corporate executives are available.
A wee bit of Google-ing and Ms. Packratty had the address of 5 executives at AmEx. So she proofread her essay one more time and mailed it off via e-mail on the eveing of 3/6.
Was she ever amazed to receive this on the morning of 3/8:
Hello Ms. P(ackratty)
I work for Global Payment Options for Executive Consumer Relations and Mr. Chenault. I have been trying to reach you at 7**-***-****, but receive no answer.
I would like you to know that we take the issues you raised very seriously and I would like to speak with you concerning the issues. You can reach me at ***-***-**** or if you would prefer I can call you directly. Please let me know the best telephone number and time to reach you and I would be happy to call.
Sincerely,
T**** T****** | Executive Consumer Relations
American Express | Global Payment Options
Well, Ms. T and Ms. Packratty had quite a talk and discussed the various AmEx failures she experienced and Ms. T advised her that AmEx would be refunding the charges that Ms. P incurred for money changing. Color Ms. Packratty rather pleased with the effect of her essay. And the fact that if you can reach them, some people still do appear to care about their companies.
A certain gentleman friend of hers who travels extensively for a living and uses the heck out of his AmEx was going to call on her behalf, but Ms. Packratty really believes in fighting her own battles. Then one of her clever friends pointed out that there are websites where sometimes the email addresses of high-ranking corporate executives are available.
A wee bit of Google-ing and Ms. Packratty had the address of 5 executives at AmEx. So she proofread her essay one more time and mailed it off via e-mail on the eveing of 3/6.
Was she ever amazed to receive this on the morning of 3/8:
Hello Ms. P(ackratty)
I work for Global Payment Options for Executive Consumer Relations and Mr. Chenault. I have been trying to reach you at 7**-***-****, but receive no answer.
I would like you to know that we take the issues you raised very seriously and I would like to speak with you concerning the issues. You can reach me at ***-***-**** or if you would prefer I can call you directly. Please let me know the best telephone number and time to reach you and I would be happy to call.
Sincerely,
T**** T****** | Executive Consumer Relations
American Express | Global Payment Options
Well, Ms. T and Ms. Packratty had quite a talk and discussed the various AmEx failures she experienced and Ms. T advised her that AmEx would be refunding the charges that Ms. P incurred for money changing. Color Ms. Packratty rather pleased with the effect of her essay. And the fact that if you can reach them, some people still do appear to care about their companies.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
The American Express Rant
Ms. Packratty started writing this while still on vacation and now that she has calmed down and edited it, she is about ready to send it to American Express. And Clark Howard. And a few newspapers ...
American Express advertises its prepaid card as “feels like membership”. I’m thinking not so much. Or at least a very third rate sort of membership.
Let me explain. While in the final stages of planning a long dreamed about trip to Rome, I saw their advertisement. Having pretty much given up on credit cards after a long siege of underemployment, I was thrilled at the idea of having the security and support of American Express on my trip by getting a prepaid card. I read the materials carefully and while the literature did say one could only make one free withdrawal of $200 in a week from an ATM, it did appear to allow more withdrawals for a fee per withdrawal. That was OK with me, because I really did not want to have to depend solely on cash and my Wells Fargo debit card. (BTW, Wells Fargo? So very sorry for doubting you. Really.)
Thankfully, I’ve got a streak of pessimism in my nature, because here is what happened when I arrived in Rome on February 15. Since I had prepared carefully for this trip, I had gotten 60 € in a TipPack from AAA. The exchange rate wasn’t fabulous, but the security of having some local cash in hand when I stepped off the plane was worth it (see streak of pessimism above). First, my luggage arrived promptly, customs was uninterested in me and I successfully purchased a 14€ ticket on the Leonardo Express train into the city (for what it’s worth, the Leonardo is a rare treat – smooth, quiet, clean and very fast). While I was waiting for the train, I found an ATM or bancomat for the Banco di Roma and neither machine liked my cards or was interested in speaking English, even though there was an English language option. It was before 8 a.m. local time and I decided to just try an ATM on the other end, because I needed 350€ to pay the landlord of the apartment I had rented when I arrived. Besides, I had another backup – I had a little more than $500 in US money tucked in my moneybelt (see streak of pessimism again).
Lo and behold, when I arrived at Rome’s Termini station, there were ATMs outside a branch bank with a nice sharp uniformed guard standing by. He invited me to put my luggage in the little foyer while I worked the machine. To my surprise, the American Express card, which had about $1,200 US loaded onto it, declined to give me so much as 100€, but the Wells Fargo debit card came through like a champion and let me withdraw about half of what I needed right away. A second try gave me a message that I could not make another withdrawal immediately. Knowing that I could change part of my dollars to make up the difference, I headed for the apartment where I was to meet my Italian landlord. On the way, I stopped at another bancomat and my Wells Fargo card again allowed me to withdraw cash – enough to pay the landlord and a bit more. Once I had met the landlord and unloaded my luggage, I walked back to the Termini Station, bought a weekly pass and headed for the American Express office in Piazza di Spagna.
Once there, I discovered what membership feels like – that is, the sort of membership you get with a prepaid card. What I got was someone dialing the international 800 number for me and connecting me to a partially fluent young woman somewhere on the Indian subcontinent who did not appear to know that Rome was not in the United States. She could not even look up the number of the Piazza di Spagna branch – a location that arguably has to be the most famous American Express office in the world. After putting me on hold multiple times, she informed me that although the literature did say additional withdrawals could be made with an added fee, that was not true. She also had no explanation why the card would not let me have even 100€, which is less than $200 even with fees. After extended periods on hold with increasingly dreadful hold music, she advised me that American Express would – out of the goodness of its heart – wire me $500 of my PREPAID money through Western Union. No, the American Express office I was sitting in couldn’t give me my money, I had to somehow identify a Western Union office to have it wired to. (Meanwhile, I observed a number of *real* card holders going up to the windows, brandishing their green, gold or black cards and getting helped.) It was feeling less and less like membership and more and more like a mistake.
Finally, one of the very ornamental and not very bilingual Italian young ladies swanning around the office managed to find the postal code for the Monti area where my apartment was located and a Western Union office was located. By the time I reached that location on Via Urbana, the Indian call center had gone offline and my next call was answered by a chipper young American fellow who got the money released to the Western Union office. However, he had no explanation for why the literature was in error or why my card would not work in an ATM at all.
One would think that a prepaid card where American Express already has the money and not merely an assurance of repayment would get nice service. Sadly, not so – and the absurd limits placed on the ATM withdrawal render this card considerably less useful for international travel than I had hoped. Granted, it’s worked adequately at restaurants and stores, but not being able to access those funds as cash is more than slightly annoying.
I would sincerely suggest that American Express do one of two things – either stop advertising that the prepaid card “feels like membership” OR live up to their advertising. They might also want to think long and hard about their ATM limits as well, since the traveler’s check appears to be as dead as the dodo. Furthermore, they might also want to make sure that their call center employees know what countries their offices are located in AND have a phone directory for those offices. Sadly, I can guess what they will probably do – nothing - while they lose the good will that they built up with a century of good service. Because once I have exhausted the funds on this card, it’s a pretty sure thing that I won’t be loading any more money onto it until I have some assurances that it will “feel like membership”. And even were I inclined to get a “real” credit card, my experience with American Express makes me far from thrilled with them.
Whoops, let’s revise that “working adequately. Two days before my departure while trying to ship 2 boxes of gifts home, American Express declined a 98€ charge when my card had between two and three times that amount available. I had to leave my packages, run to a bancomat and use my Wells Fargo debit card again. (Thank you, Wells Fargo, you saved my vacation more than twice over.) And of course, several rather nice places I wanted to dine at didn’t accept Amex anymore. One place said the fees were just too high compared to other cards. So there you have it. Want to have a card that’s seriously semi-useless for travel, with non-existent and/or abysmally ignorant offshore support (I guess the American part is a little misleading too) and no really completely bilingual person in the main office on a weekday in a city where at least a couple of million Americans probably visit in a year? Then definitely get an American Express prepaid. You’ll feel like something, but it won’t be membership.
American Express advertises its prepaid card as “feels like membership”. I’m thinking not so much. Or at least a very third rate sort of membership.
Let me explain. While in the final stages of planning a long dreamed about trip to Rome, I saw their advertisement. Having pretty much given up on credit cards after a long siege of underemployment, I was thrilled at the idea of having the security and support of American Express on my trip by getting a prepaid card. I read the materials carefully and while the literature did say one could only make one free withdrawal of $200 in a week from an ATM, it did appear to allow more withdrawals for a fee per withdrawal. That was OK with me, because I really did not want to have to depend solely on cash and my Wells Fargo debit card. (BTW, Wells Fargo? So very sorry for doubting you. Really.)
Thankfully, I’ve got a streak of pessimism in my nature, because here is what happened when I arrived in Rome on February 15. Since I had prepared carefully for this trip, I had gotten 60 € in a TipPack from AAA. The exchange rate wasn’t fabulous, but the security of having some local cash in hand when I stepped off the plane was worth it (see streak of pessimism above). First, my luggage arrived promptly, customs was uninterested in me and I successfully purchased a 14€ ticket on the Leonardo Express train into the city (for what it’s worth, the Leonardo is a rare treat – smooth, quiet, clean and very fast). While I was waiting for the train, I found an ATM or bancomat for the Banco di Roma and neither machine liked my cards or was interested in speaking English, even though there was an English language option. It was before 8 a.m. local time and I decided to just try an ATM on the other end, because I needed 350€ to pay the landlord of the apartment I had rented when I arrived. Besides, I had another backup – I had a little more than $500 in US money tucked in my moneybelt (see streak of pessimism again).
Lo and behold, when I arrived at Rome’s Termini station, there were ATMs outside a branch bank with a nice sharp uniformed guard standing by. He invited me to put my luggage in the little foyer while I worked the machine. To my surprise, the American Express card, which had about $1,200 US loaded onto it, declined to give me so much as 100€, but the Wells Fargo debit card came through like a champion and let me withdraw about half of what I needed right away. A second try gave me a message that I could not make another withdrawal immediately. Knowing that I could change part of my dollars to make up the difference, I headed for the apartment where I was to meet my Italian landlord. On the way, I stopped at another bancomat and my Wells Fargo card again allowed me to withdraw cash – enough to pay the landlord and a bit more. Once I had met the landlord and unloaded my luggage, I walked back to the Termini Station, bought a weekly pass and headed for the American Express office in Piazza di Spagna.
Once there, I discovered what membership feels like – that is, the sort of membership you get with a prepaid card. What I got was someone dialing the international 800 number for me and connecting me to a partially fluent young woman somewhere on the Indian subcontinent who did not appear to know that Rome was not in the United States. She could not even look up the number of the Piazza di Spagna branch – a location that arguably has to be the most famous American Express office in the world. After putting me on hold multiple times, she informed me that although the literature did say additional withdrawals could be made with an added fee, that was not true. She also had no explanation why the card would not let me have even 100€, which is less than $200 even with fees. After extended periods on hold with increasingly dreadful hold music, she advised me that American Express would – out of the goodness of its heart – wire me $500 of my PREPAID money through Western Union. No, the American Express office I was sitting in couldn’t give me my money, I had to somehow identify a Western Union office to have it wired to. (Meanwhile, I observed a number of *real* card holders going up to the windows, brandishing their green, gold or black cards and getting helped.) It was feeling less and less like membership and more and more like a mistake.
Finally, one of the very ornamental and not very bilingual Italian young ladies swanning around the office managed to find the postal code for the Monti area where my apartment was located and a Western Union office was located. By the time I reached that location on Via Urbana, the Indian call center had gone offline and my next call was answered by a chipper young American fellow who got the money released to the Western Union office. However, he had no explanation for why the literature was in error or why my card would not work in an ATM at all.
One would think that a prepaid card where American Express already has the money and not merely an assurance of repayment would get nice service. Sadly, not so – and the absurd limits placed on the ATM withdrawal render this card considerably less useful for international travel than I had hoped. Granted, it’s worked adequately at restaurants and stores, but not being able to access those funds as cash is more than slightly annoying.
I would sincerely suggest that American Express do one of two things – either stop advertising that the prepaid card “feels like membership” OR live up to their advertising. They might also want to think long and hard about their ATM limits as well, since the traveler’s check appears to be as dead as the dodo. Furthermore, they might also want to make sure that their call center employees know what countries their offices are located in AND have a phone directory for those offices. Sadly, I can guess what they will probably do – nothing - while they lose the good will that they built up with a century of good service. Because once I have exhausted the funds on this card, it’s a pretty sure thing that I won’t be loading any more money onto it until I have some assurances that it will “feel like membership”. And even were I inclined to get a “real” credit card, my experience with American Express makes me far from thrilled with them.
Whoops, let’s revise that “working adequately. Two days before my departure while trying to ship 2 boxes of gifts home, American Express declined a 98€ charge when my card had between two and three times that amount available. I had to leave my packages, run to a bancomat and use my Wells Fargo debit card again. (Thank you, Wells Fargo, you saved my vacation more than twice over.) And of course, several rather nice places I wanted to dine at didn’t accept Amex anymore. One place said the fees were just too high compared to other cards. So there you have it. Want to have a card that’s seriously semi-useless for travel, with non-existent and/or abysmally ignorant offshore support (I guess the American part is a little misleading too) and no really completely bilingual person in the main office on a weekday in a city where at least a couple of million Americans probably visit in a year? Then definitely get an American Express prepaid. You’ll feel like something, but it won’t be membership.
Things that worked, things that didn't
Things that worked, things that didn’t
One of the best purchases I made for my trip was this:
Big enough to handle Euro notes and a bunch of coins, with “grabby” enough material to be secure in a front pocket.
Those who know Ms. Packratty and her tendency to carry large heavy purses will be astounded to hear that many days
she carried no purse at all and that when she did the little Pacsafe 100 she purchased held her camera, maps, guidebook and notebook perfectly.
Ms. Packratty took her Dell netbook with her , although she did not manage to download any library books before she left, which she regrets not doing since she did run out of reading material before the end of her stay. While the apartment did not have Internet service, Ms. Packratty did find it handy to have the netbook to sit at the little table and write. However, given how inexpensive the Internet point down the street was, it’s pretty much a tossup whether she would bother on another trip. The bulky voltage converter she bought on Amazon and left behind in favor of space and weight for gifts was handy and did its job.
Ms. Packratty did not buy her Nikon Coolpix for this trip, but it was the perfect size for the use she did put it to. While there were a couple of times she wished for a telephoto lens, she was more interested in being where she was than of concentrating on the next picture.
Ms. Packratty did not use her MP3 player at all, not for music, not for books on tape, nada. It’s small and light though, so it wasn’t a major waste of space or weight.
Ms. Packratty’s Lucas luggage did a great job, especially considering the bangety-clatter of travelling over Roman cobblestones
Things that did not work:
First and foremost was the American Express Prepaid, which was a giant FAIL in all aspects – functionality and customer service. I don’t know which was worse. After being home almost a week, Ms. Packratty is now almost calmed down enough to call American Express and convey her utter disappointment in their product and their service. Fortunately, Ms. Packratty had planned for something to go wrong.
The only thing that was less effective and useful than the American Express was Italian deodorant. There’s a reason that Italians reek and that’s because their deodorants don’t deodorize. Ms. Packratty had elected to buy toiletries in Italy vs. packing them and dealing with possible leaks and the TSA etc. Never again. She might buy her shampoo and toothpaste over there, but she is never ever leaving her trusty can of Sure behind. Even though it was chilly, with the mileage she was putting on her pumps, Ms. Packratty was nearing Roman levels of pong after 4 days, despite twice daily washing up, and vigorous use of two different Italian deodorants. She could not locate anything like a Dial analog, either.
Being a fussy sort who bathes very frequently and can’t stand to be pong-y, the fact that Italian deodorant neither inhibited sweat nor deodorized was distressing and Ms. Packratty was quite thankful that she did not end up wearing any of her cashmere sweaters as she is afraid the pong might have been hard to wash out.
The New Balance shoes were a disappointment. While her older pair never seems to cause foot cramps from pressure, this pair did even without socks. Maybe they needed more breaking in.
More to come, including pictures.
One of the best purchases I made for my trip was this:
Big enough to handle Euro notes and a bunch of coins, with “grabby” enough material to be secure in a front pocket.
Those who know Ms. Packratty and her tendency to carry large heavy purses will be astounded to hear that many days
she carried no purse at all and that when she did the little Pacsafe 100 she purchased held her camera, maps, guidebook and notebook perfectly.Ms. Packratty took her Dell netbook with her , although she did not manage to download any library books before she left, which she regrets not doing since she did run out of reading material before the end of her stay. While the apartment did not have Internet service, Ms. Packratty did find it handy to have the netbook to sit at the little table and write. However, given how inexpensive the Internet point down the street was, it’s pretty much a tossup whether she would bother on another trip. The bulky voltage converter she bought on Amazon and left behind in favor of space and weight for gifts was handy and did its job.
Ms. Packratty did not buy her Nikon Coolpix for this trip, but it was the perfect size for the use she did put it to. While there were a couple of times she wished for a telephoto lens, she was more interested in being where she was than of concentrating on the next picture.
Ms. Packratty did not use her MP3 player at all, not for music, not for books on tape, nada. It’s small and light though, so it wasn’t a major waste of space or weight.
Ms. Packratty’s Lucas luggage did a great job, especially considering the bangety-clatter of travelling over Roman cobblestones
Things that did not work:
First and foremost was the American Express Prepaid, which was a giant FAIL in all aspects – functionality and customer service. I don’t know which was worse. After being home almost a week, Ms. Packratty is now almost calmed down enough to call American Express and convey her utter disappointment in their product and their service. Fortunately, Ms. Packratty had planned for something to go wrong.
The only thing that was less effective and useful than the American Express was Italian deodorant. There’s a reason that Italians reek and that’s because their deodorants don’t deodorize. Ms. Packratty had elected to buy toiletries in Italy vs. packing them and dealing with possible leaks and the TSA etc. Never again. She might buy her shampoo and toothpaste over there, but she is never ever leaving her trusty can of Sure behind. Even though it was chilly, with the mileage she was putting on her pumps, Ms. Packratty was nearing Roman levels of pong after 4 days, despite twice daily washing up, and vigorous use of two different Italian deodorants. She could not locate anything like a Dial analog, either.
Being a fussy sort who bathes very frequently and can’t stand to be pong-y, the fact that Italian deodorant neither inhibited sweat nor deodorized was distressing and Ms. Packratty was quite thankful that she did not end up wearing any of her cashmere sweaters as she is afraid the pong might have been hard to wash out.
The New Balance shoes were a disappointment. While her older pair never seems to cause foot cramps from pressure, this pair did even without socks. Maybe they needed more breaking in.
More to come, including pictures.
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