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.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
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.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Capisci l'Italiano?
One ongoing project is to try to tune my ear to l'italiano. I know I won't be able to listen nearly fast enough, but I'm hoping by the time I get there to be able to get a general drift. I'm kind of OK reading printed Italian from those HS Latin classes, but machine-gun fast italiano? Going to be a stretch.
So I have various Italian language CDs and tapes and I listen to them as I cruise up and down GA 400 on my way to and from work. I wish I could afford the Rosetta Stone set, but ye gods and little fishes, it's $300+ USED.
Then sometimes, before I got to sleep, I'll turn the wee Dell netbook on and tune in to one of the Italian radio stations on the Internet. http://www.listenlive.eu/italy.html has a nice list of Italian stations of various sorts from news and talk through opera, techno, etc.
So I have various Italian language CDs and tapes and I listen to them as I cruise up and down GA 400 on my way to and from work. I wish I could afford the Rosetta Stone set, but ye gods and little fishes, it's $300+ USED.
Then sometimes, before I got to sleep, I'll turn the wee Dell netbook on and tune in to one of the Italian radio stations on the Internet. http://www.listenlive.eu/italy.html has a nice list of Italian stations of various sorts from news and talk through opera, techno, etc.
Monday, October 24, 2011
A ticket, please
Now I have to find a good fare to Rome. Sadly, the lowest I've been able to find so far is the better part of $1K. About half of that is taxes and fees, which is just patently ridiculous. I'd really like to see what the taxes are exactly, who gets them and why!
However, I wasn't counting on a really cheap airfare, although I will delighted if I can come in around $800.
The Internet and Google are my friend in this search it appear.
More as things develop. This week I need to get the paperwork for the International Driver's License together.
However, I wasn't counting on a really cheap airfare, although I will delighted if I can come in around $800.
The Internet and Google are my friend in this search it appear.
More as things develop. This week I need to get the paperwork for the International Driver's License together.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Passport, please
The passport arrived in less time than the elapsed time from first trying to make an appointment to walking into the PO. Of course, not without some problems, but that's all been taken care of. Now, I start searching for airfare. $900 seems be be about the lowest price so far, which seems bad, but almost half of that is taxes and fees!
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