Thank you discount store

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.