With the tours I have booked for my first full day in Rome, I realized that I needed really really good shoes for a day that will start out with a hike from the apartment to Termini and then from the metro station across the Tiber to the Vatican for the scavi tour, then a bit of roaming and so forth between scavi and the afternoon Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum tours and then back home again.
Not one of the pairs of leather shoes I have bought have enough padding for me to feel encouraged about a day on my feet in them and the scavi tour warns not to carry anything but a small purse, so I nipped up to one of the local shoe outlets at lunch and looked.
Nothing I was willing to buy - $75 is far more than I am willing to spend on "sneakers" and the ones on the markdown rack were hideous color combinations - purple and green anyone? So I whipped into the TJMaxx next door and found some black New Balances with only a bit of red flashing for $39.95 in my size and was able to try them on and determine that my right foot liked them just fine and had plenty of room for a sock. If the right foot is happy, the left foot will be, I've learned.
I have an older pair of New Balances that were too small for Dad and are fine on me with heavy socks, but they're mostly white and quite beat up so I'll leave those home and go with the black ones. I think I'll plan on wearing them on the plane too for maximum comfort. On other days, I anticipate that I will stuff the sneakers in a small tote bag and wear nicer shoes with the option of putting on the sneakers if my feet start to kill me. I do not plan to let my feet ruin this trip.
I have just a couple more small purchases - some new underwear and a change purse, plus making arrangements for the Italian cell phone, plus doing the final figuring out of money and exactly what forms I am going to carry it in and then it's a matter of making sure everything is clean, the house is ready and the packing comes in under weight limits.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Trip Specific Purchases
There have not been many. I already had a moneybelt and luggage. I've bought a couple of extra books although I plan to take only one with me, the most recently published. I also bought a new Streetwise Rome map - I love the laminated Streetwise maps - the one I have for Manhattan was terrific.
However, Saturday, Mar took me over to REI and I picked up one of the Pacsafe bags. I don't plan to carry money in it (see moneybelt) but I do want something to carry my wee Nikon and spare batteries, that aforementioned map, my little notebook full of addresses and notes and museum opening hours and so forth and the mobile phone I'm getting to use in Italy. I haven't been able to get any sort of clear answer from the T-Mobile folks about "roaming" charges in Europe and the more I think about it the more I like the idea getting a phone from Mobal that doesn't require prepaid minutes or reloading, but just charges a set amount per minute/text and debits one's account.
I'm normally a little notorious for large bags with enough junk in them to set off on a trek through the Andes, so I got the little Metrosafe 100 - it is all of 9" by 6" by a max of 3 inches deep and the map will just barely slide in. But it should curtail my impulse to carry 34 pounds of impedimentia with me. And a girl does need - even if she's old and lacking in vanity - something to carry lipstick and some tissues in - and it converts from a shoulder bag to one that can be worn at the waist, although I don't like that look and I think I'll just stick to the cross body strap.
I have bought clothing, but almost all of it is things I would likely have purchased anyway to fill out my work clothes. I did buy a plain skirt in wool and one dressy top so that if I go out to a nice restaurant in the evening I can dress up a bit. However, after reading and talking to some folks, I've kind of concluded that what I mostly want is lunch every day and then something small in the evening, what's particularly been recommended in stopping in at an enoteca for a glass or two of wine. Most of these enoteca have a variety of wines by the glass and offer a short menu of small plates and salume and cheeses for very reasonable amounts and that strikes me as a really nice immersion activity in the evenings.
It's almost time to make a countdown list of final tasks ...
However, Saturday, Mar took me over to REI and I picked up one of the Pacsafe bags. I don't plan to carry money in it (see moneybelt) but I do want something to carry my wee Nikon and spare batteries, that aforementioned map, my little notebook full of addresses and notes and museum opening hours and so forth and the mobile phone I'm getting to use in Italy. I haven't been able to get any sort of clear answer from the T-Mobile folks about "roaming" charges in Europe and the more I think about it the more I like the idea getting a phone from Mobal that doesn't require prepaid minutes or reloading, but just charges a set amount per minute/text and debits one's account.
I'm normally a little notorious for large bags with enough junk in them to set off on a trek through the Andes, so I got the little Metrosafe 100 - it is all of 9" by 6" by a max of 3 inches deep and the map will just barely slide in. But it should curtail my impulse to carry 34 pounds of impedimentia with me. And a girl does need - even if she's old and lacking in vanity - something to carry lipstick and some tissues in - and it converts from a shoulder bag to one that can be worn at the waist, although I don't like that look and I think I'll just stick to the cross body strap.
I have bought clothing, but almost all of it is things I would likely have purchased anyway to fill out my work clothes. I did buy a plain skirt in wool and one dressy top so that if I go out to a nice restaurant in the evening I can dress up a bit. However, after reading and talking to some folks, I've kind of concluded that what I mostly want is lunch every day and then something small in the evening, what's particularly been recommended in stopping in at an enoteca for a glass or two of wine. Most of these enoteca have a variety of wines by the glass and offer a short menu of small plates and salume and cheeses for very reasonable amounts and that strikes me as a really nice immersion activity in the evenings.
It's almost time to make a countdown list of final tasks ...
Saturday, January 21, 2012
In which a piece falls into place
We wrote off to scavi.org - the Vatican excavation offices - some time ago - to try to get tickets to the necropolis tour. It had registered the other day that there had been no reply, so we had started to conclude that we were not going to be a ticket when - bang - THIS - landed in the mailbox:
Vatican City, January 21, 2012
Reference N. 1XXXXXXX
Palmer Valeria,???
This message is in regards to your request to visit the necropolis under the Papal Basilica of St. Peter.
The visit which you requested has been authorized.
This tour takes place near the tomb of the Apostle St. Peter, below the basilica.
For this reason, more than a cultural tour, this is a pilgrimage to one of the most holy places in the christian world.
The following rules (NOTICES) must be respectedalthough different from other places in the Vatican.
If you find later that you are unable to attend, even after confirmation and payment, we ask kindly that you inform our office.
Information to be confirmed.
Before confirming the reservations according to the procedure below in the section CONFIRMATION PROCESS, please keep in mind the guidelines at the end of this message.
The visit is registered under the name Palmer Valeria
>tour. T8***** Feb **, 2012 time *****m participants 1 Language English
Cost of each ticket [including the presence our guide]: Euro 12,00 (about 16.3036USD)
Total cost for N. 1 tickets : Euro 12,00
Firing up AmEx.
Color me thrilled. This gives me a start to planning the rest of my week. I have been told that the lines for St. Peters and the Vatican museums are bad in the morning, less so in the afternoon, so I think I will use some of those reward points from MegaMegaBank's now defunct debit card program to book the Vatican that afternoon and spend the time in between on an excursion to the shop that sells bottle openers in the shape of a Pope and the Andrea Doria public market on the far side of the Vatican City walls. Wonder if there's a back gate?
Need to go to AAA and buy some € - very cleverly they make a packet in a small amount called a Tip Pack designed to tip a porter or catch a bus before one must deal with changing $ into €.
New skirt and new sweater came, just one or two bits more to procure and then figure out the packing - probably made easier by the fact that most of my wardrobe is black, black and black with the occasional bit of gray or white. The yellow lining on my good coat should look very snappy though.
Vatican City, January 21, 2012
Reference N. 1XXXXXXX
Palmer Valeria,???
This message is in regards to your request to visit the necropolis under the Papal Basilica of St. Peter.
The visit which you requested has been authorized.
This tour takes place near the tomb of the Apostle St. Peter, below the basilica.
For this reason, more than a cultural tour, this is a pilgrimage to one of the most holy places in the christian world.
The following rules (NOTICES) must be respectedalthough different from other places in the Vatican.
If you find later that you are unable to attend, even after confirmation and payment, we ask kindly that you inform our office.
Information to be confirmed.
Before confirming the reservations according to the procedure below in the section CONFIRMATION PROCESS, please keep in mind the guidelines at the end of this message.
The visit is registered under the name Palmer Valeria
>tour. T8***** Feb **, 2012 time *****m participants 1 Language English
Cost of each ticket [including the presence our guide]: Euro 12,00 (about 16.3036USD)
Total cost for N. 1 tickets : Euro 12,00
Firing up AmEx.
Color me thrilled. This gives me a start to planning the rest of my week. I have been told that the lines for St. Peters and the Vatican museums are bad in the morning, less so in the afternoon, so I think I will use some of those reward points from MegaMegaBank's now defunct debit card program to book the Vatican that afternoon and spend the time in between on an excursion to the shop that sells bottle openers in the shape of a Pope and the Andrea Doria public market on the far side of the Vatican City walls. Wonder if there's a back gate?
Need to go to AAA and buy some € - very cleverly they make a packet in a small amount called a Tip Pack designed to tip a porter or catch a bus before one must deal with changing $ into €.
New skirt and new sweater came, just one or two bits more to procure and then figure out the packing - probably made easier by the fact that most of my wardrobe is black, black and black with the occasional bit of gray or white. The yellow lining on my good coat should look very snappy though.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Croak, croak, croak
So of course, with much to be done, a heavy schedule at work and The Trip getting excitingly close, I came down with my sort of annual nasty cold and loss of voice. Off to the doc $$, followed by prescriptions $ and OTC stuff $$ and praying that my voice will respond before I leave. Traveling mute would be horrid, I think.
And I have phone calls I need to make, including finding out why my prepaid card was denied for ordering a temporary phone on the phone co.'s website, but the card is showing the charge placed. I doubt I could make myself understood. Ahh, lovely. Just gets better and better.
And I have phone calls I need to make, including finding out why my prepaid card was denied for ordering a temporary phone on the phone co.'s website, but the card is showing the charge placed. I doubt I could make myself understood. Ahh, lovely. Just gets better and better.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
A ticket and a hiccup
A ticket and a hiccup - as is usual in all things, purchasing a ticket once I had decided that the deal of a lifetime wasn't coming my way had a little complication and then other prospective complications reared their ugly heads ...
So I finally decided that Alitalia non-stop might not be the cheapest ticket, but it would be less crazy than the alternatives. I couldn't get the flight through Paris that left Rome in the early afternoon, but otherwise, OK. So I go transfer money from Big Mega Bank that bought out smaller Mega Bank which bought my original bank First Atlanta many years ago. Moved the money from savings into checking and tried to buy the ticket. Blam. Transaction refused. I had to call the bank (the same bank whose website I had just used to move EXACTLY the amount of the transaction I was trying to perform) to get them to release the money. (Then, of course, it took 5 days to actually post, but that's a different story).
So I ordered the ticket, printed the itinerary, emailed the landlord and then came home to get a jury summons for the Thursday before my Tuesday departure.
I freaked. I have been called for jury duty at least 5 times in the last 2 decades. I am never selected for a jury because a> I used to work in the news business and b> I have also been the victim of a violent crime. Prosecutors think I'm too liberal because of a> and defense attorneys fear b>. So there’s no chance I would be seated on a criminal case, but the week following the Thursday of my call happened to have (because I'm the sort who checks these things) only 2 courts hearing criminal cases and FIVE hearing civil cases. I could not risk getting put on a civil case jury. I was tempted to claim I never received the summons, but finally took a deep breath and asked for a deferral and since I'd never asked for one before, I'm free until March - when the court calendar is weighted the other way toward criminal court - and the county has a one day or one trial rule so the odds are that I will not waste more than one day on the farce.
One good thing to come out of my foray onto Big Mega Bank's website is that I was reminded that I have about 7K in reward points from their now-defunct debit card reward system and it looks as though there are a number of things in Rome that I can book with those points.
So now it's a matter of saving pennies and making my lists. I'm so glad Charlie will be staying with Mar and her bunch - he spent the afternoon there yesterday and was one very very tired pup last night - and a tired dog is a GOOD dog.
37 days from now I will be in an airplane about a third of the way across the Atlantic.
So I finally decided that Alitalia non-stop might not be the cheapest ticket, but it would be less crazy than the alternatives. I couldn't get the flight through Paris that left Rome in the early afternoon, but otherwise, OK. So I go transfer money from Big Mega Bank that bought out smaller Mega Bank which bought my original bank First Atlanta many years ago. Moved the money from savings into checking and tried to buy the ticket. Blam. Transaction refused. I had to call the bank (the same bank whose website I had just used to move EXACTLY the amount of the transaction I was trying to perform) to get them to release the money. (Then, of course, it took 5 days to actually post, but that's a different story).
So I ordered the ticket, printed the itinerary, emailed the landlord and then came home to get a jury summons for the Thursday before my Tuesday departure.
I freaked. I have been called for jury duty at least 5 times in the last 2 decades. I am never selected for a jury because a> I used to work in the news business and b> I have also been the victim of a violent crime. Prosecutors think I'm too liberal because of a> and defense attorneys fear b>. So there’s no chance I would be seated on a criminal case, but the week following the Thursday of my call happened to have (because I'm the sort who checks these things) only 2 courts hearing criminal cases and FIVE hearing civil cases. I could not risk getting put on a civil case jury. I was tempted to claim I never received the summons, but finally took a deep breath and asked for a deferral and since I'd never asked for one before, I'm free until March - when the court calendar is weighted the other way toward criminal court - and the county has a one day or one trial rule so the odds are that I will not waste more than one day on the farce.
One good thing to come out of my foray onto Big Mega Bank's website is that I was reminded that I have about 7K in reward points from their now-defunct debit card reward system and it looks as though there are a number of things in Rome that I can book with those points.
So now it's a matter of saving pennies and making my lists. I'm so glad Charlie will be staying with Mar and her bunch - he spent the afternoon there yesterday and was one very very tired pup last night - and a tired dog is a GOOD dog.
37 days from now I will be in an airplane about a third of the way across the Atlantic.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Grumble, grumble
I suppose one can't expect much movement on airfares when fully half the final fare is taxes. Where are we and how did we get in this handbasket? There's something distinctly wrong about taxes when they constitute more than a third of the final cost of something, In My Not So Humble Opinion.
So apparently we will have to break down and pay about $200 more than we wanted to. Sigh. On the other hand, having it settled will be good.
The flight we are looking at leaves Atlanta in late afternoon, leaving plenty of time for crazed racing around in the morning and still time to get to the airport and the possibility of sleeping on the flight. Returning, the flights all seemed to require arrival at the Rome airport at a hideously early hour - the kind that requires a cab ride because you can't take the train in a coma. Then we spotted one that leaves at 1 p.m. and flies to Paris with a 1 hour plane change time and gets back to Atlanta at 8:20 p.m., which gets me home by midnight at the latest, one hopes. And the Sunday to unpack, sleep a lot and gin myself up to return to work.
Still need to - pronto - attend to the international driver's license thing. And no response from my first cousin who lives in Florence. I might be the only relative ever who was coming to Italy and not expecting to stay with her.
So got to move the money and book the airfare this week.
So apparently we will have to break down and pay about $200 more than we wanted to. Sigh. On the other hand, having it settled will be good.
The flight we are looking at leaves Atlanta in late afternoon, leaving plenty of time for crazed racing around in the morning and still time to get to the airport and the possibility of sleeping on the flight. Returning, the flights all seemed to require arrival at the Rome airport at a hideously early hour - the kind that requires a cab ride because you can't take the train in a coma. Then we spotted one that leaves at 1 p.m. and flies to Paris with a 1 hour plane change time and gets back to Atlanta at 8:20 p.m., which gets me home by midnight at the latest, one hopes. And the Sunday to unpack, sleep a lot and gin myself up to return to work.
Still need to - pronto - attend to the international driver's license thing. And no response from my first cousin who lives in Florence. I might be the only relative ever who was coming to Italy and not expecting to stay with her.
So got to move the money and book the airfare this week.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Airfares haven't budged, not one bit
I was really hoping to keep the airfare down to $800 or so, but it's starting to look as though that isn't happening. I've been through eight zillion travel sites and there's not much variation. The hard part is that it appears that taxes amount to almost as much as the actual airfare, which seems crazy.
And another irony is that between the two best flights, one has two US legs, where I would be charged $25-35 per leg for a checked bag (and no one can do 10 days overseas in a carry-on) while a non-stop out of Atlanta which is $70 more starts looking better and better because you get one free checked bag on international flights.
Bah.
Speaking of bags, I have a short trip to make soon and I hauled out my bag and realized that my "big" suitcase is a 21-incher - actually legal as a carry-on, even though it's really far too large for that in my reality. So I went online and gulped at the cost of a garment bag or larger suitcase in the same line. And then started looking for for something similar and cheaper, matched set be damned. But then, on my way to get the watch battery replaced (of course, with all sorts of other things going on, my watch battery had to expire - Hello, Murphy!) I stopped at TJMaxx to look at their luggage and darned if I didn't find "my" suitcase in the size I wanted for about $20 less than eBay (that's a first). I'd LOVE to find the matching garment bag, but I'm not holding my breath - this is as much luck as I'm likely to get.
I've worked my way through about half of the Pimsleur lessons. I listen and repeat in the car driving back and forth to work. It takes 2-3 days to start getting through one module, but that's OK. I can follow the Italian parts of the lesson and that's the part I worry about, the hearing and understanding.
I hope to spend some of my time off over the holiday going over my books and trying to make myself out some sort of tentative schedule of museums - I don't want to be over-scheduled, but I also don't want to waste time and miss things by not having a plan.
Still haven't taken care of the International Driver's License stuff. Life has intervened.
And another irony is that between the two best flights, one has two US legs, where I would be charged $25-35 per leg for a checked bag (and no one can do 10 days overseas in a carry-on) while a non-stop out of Atlanta which is $70 more starts looking better and better because you get one free checked bag on international flights.
Bah.
Speaking of bags, I have a short trip to make soon and I hauled out my bag and realized that my "big" suitcase is a 21-incher - actually legal as a carry-on, even though it's really far too large for that in my reality. So I went online and gulped at the cost of a garment bag or larger suitcase in the same line. And then started looking for for something similar and cheaper, matched set be damned. But then, on my way to get the watch battery replaced (of course, with all sorts of other things going on, my watch battery had to expire - Hello, Murphy!) I stopped at TJMaxx to look at their luggage and darned if I didn't find "my" suitcase in the size I wanted for about $20 less than eBay (that's a first). I'd LOVE to find the matching garment bag, but I'm not holding my breath - this is as much luck as I'm likely to get.
I've worked my way through about half of the Pimsleur lessons. I listen and repeat in the car driving back and forth to work. It takes 2-3 days to start getting through one module, but that's OK. I can follow the Italian parts of the lesson and that's the part I worry about, the hearing and understanding.
I hope to spend some of my time off over the holiday going over my books and trying to make myself out some sort of tentative schedule of museums - I don't want to be over-scheduled, but I also don't want to waste time and miss things by not having a plan.
Still haven't taken care of the International Driver's License stuff. Life has intervened.
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