FINALLY!!! My 6:30 flight from Boston was most uneventful; with not even two hours sleep, I slept easily on the plane and met Ivy at the busy Toronto airport.We boarde the fligh bound for NFLD, but were told maybe two hours into that we needed to stop inHalifax, as there was a computer problem tht needed to be fixed. Our interesting "seat mate" was a life-long citizen of Lima, Ohio, and a very nervous flyer, a serious "clutching the arms of the seat as we descended" type. We talked about this, as we landed, and the fact that her son was also on the plane added greatly to her stress. Clearly we landed with no problems; a special Air Cananda plane picked us up to take us to a gray and slightly overcast St. John's.
Ivy's nephew Keith met us, and we followed him to his lovely five year old home up on the hill to get an interesting view of all of the city.
His wife Carolyn had made a delicious dinner of cod and shrimp au gratin with mandarin orange salad and mixed rice. Dessert was a wonderful blueberry cobbler with biscuits that reminded me of shortcake. Carolyn has promised moose sausage for breakfast. (Shea sked how I felt about moose, and I first thought she meant mousse!) They caught up on the various folks that they know, as well as the things they had been doing, as Ivy had not seen them for three or four years.Keith hasw offered to give us a tour of the city, which will be very interesting, as I know zip about St.John's. I'm now going on next to no sleep, so I'm crashing. We're one and a half hours ahead of the east coast.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Now There Are Four Days.....
Bags are pretty much packed, but I still will need to throw in some things Monday night. The last minute details are being ticked off-mail held, the RIGHT shoes finally in hand or on foot, (for those of you who know what a return queen I am!), various medical issues addressed, etc. Actually the matter of the CORRECT shoes was really critical with all the walking I am planning on doing.
This morning my trainer suggested that Marathon Sports in Wellesley, as she found them to be very good. So this afternoon I did. The woman who fitted me, and I mean fitted me-like the "old" days-really paid attention; she looked at how I walked without shoes, she asked me questions about my health (re: knees, hips,etc.) So now I am wearing them at home and think they could very well be "keepers"! They have good support and are comfortable.
Several weeks ago Melissa said she wanted to get me a Kindle for my birthday and Mother's Day. Shortly thereafter we were at Target, and we saw that the price was reduced from $299 to $259. I really wasn't convinced that I wanted one, although I could understand how much space it would save. I really like "holding a book", as well as underlining it! So she bought it for me knowing that I might return it because I didn't like it. The clerk had told us they have very good return po,icy at that store. (I won't be returning things on my trip! Well, maybe not....) I started using it and really liked it. However, I learned that amazon.com had dropped the price to $189, and that was too big a drop for me NOT to return it. I went back to Target, and I told the woman at Customer Service, that I'd buy it for $189; there was nothing wrong with it. "Oh, no, we can't do that!" So I returned it(with my one downloaded book) and went to Electronics to see that Target was now selling Kindles for $189 also.
Ok...back to Customer Servce I went; "I want to buy that Kindle I just returned," I said. "Oh, no, we can't do that!" I asked to speak to the manager, who came out and said the same thing, "We can't sell it to you for that price; we have to sell it to you for $132!"
Thanks, Melissa!:))
Well, I had to digress to share that....
I'm not sure how much internet access I'll have in Newfoundland, so I don't know how often I'll be blogging. But you know that I'll fill you in on my trip "Down Home" when I had the next opportunity!!!
This morning my trainer suggested that Marathon Sports in Wellesley, as she found them to be very good. So this afternoon I did. The woman who fitted me, and I mean fitted me-like the "old" days-really paid attention; she looked at how I walked without shoes, she asked me questions about my health (re: knees, hips,etc.) So now I am wearing them at home and think they could very well be "keepers"! They have good support and are comfortable.
Several weeks ago Melissa said she wanted to get me a Kindle for my birthday and Mother's Day. Shortly thereafter we were at Target, and we saw that the price was reduced from $299 to $259. I really wasn't convinced that I wanted one, although I could understand how much space it would save. I really like "holding a book", as well as underlining it! So she bought it for me knowing that I might return it because I didn't like it. The clerk had told us they have very good return po,icy at that store. (I won't be returning things on my trip! Well, maybe not....) I started using it and really liked it. However, I learned that amazon.com had dropped the price to $189, and that was too big a drop for me NOT to return it. I went back to Target, and I told the woman at Customer Service, that I'd buy it for $189; there was nothing wrong with it. "Oh, no, we can't do that!" So I returned it(with my one downloaded book) and went to Electronics to see that Target was now selling Kindles for $189 also.
Ok...back to Customer Servce I went; "I want to buy that Kindle I just returned," I said. "Oh, no, we can't do that!" I asked to speak to the manager, who came out and said the same thing, "We can't sell it to you for that price; we have to sell it to you for $132!"
Thanks, Melissa!:))
Well, I had to digress to share that....
I'm not sure how much internet access I'll have in Newfoundland, so I don't know how often I'll be blogging. But you know that I'll fill you in on my trip "Down Home" when I had the next opportunity!!!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Still counting....
Wow! Three weeks from next Tuesday I will be off to Newfoundland with Ivy. Car rentals by now are IMPOSSIBLE to get, but I rented a car a long time ago, so we will be all set. Because there are so few cars there, it will cost us over $850 for two weeks. I forget how many miles or km we get, but at least we will have a way to see the spectacular countryside! We will be staying at Robin's (Ivy's daughter) house in Heart's Delight in the Avalon Region most of the time. Robin and her husband Jerry will arrive shortly before I leave,and then we'll head to a near-by B&B. From what I hear and read, there will be plenty to see and do!
The next part of my journey will start on August 4th, two days after I return from NFLD. I'm planning on having my suitcase for that trip all packed before I leave for NFLD to simplify things. We have signed up for two half day walking tours in Rome of the Vatican and the Ancient Rome sites like the Colisseum, etc. We will also take a 13 hour tour of Pompeii, Positano, and the Amalfi Coast in an eight person van to see these popular sites without the hassle of driving in the Italian countryside!
The next part of my journey will start on August 4th, two days after I return from NFLD. I'm planning on having my suitcase for that trip all packed before I leave for NFLD to simplify things. We have signed up for two half day walking tours in Rome of the Vatican and the Ancient Rome sites like the Colisseum, etc. We will also take a 13 hour tour of Pompeii, Positano, and the Amalfi Coast in an eight person van to see these popular sites without the hassle of driving in the Italian countryside!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Now it is 7 weeks to go........
A friend asked me, "What are you going to do when you get there?" And I know that lots of people wonder what I'll do because I will be travelling solo most of the time....
"I'll go to the grocery store and check out my new digs and who knows what else I might do to get oriented!" I replied. Or maybe I'll go to the beach or meet my new neighbors or_________! Well, I will let you know! I will be doing the kinds of things that you usually do when you first go on vacation-unpack, explore, etc. Once I am settled in, I will be reading guidebooks and planning my daily excursions. And now that I have learned about couch surfing, I will see if there are any folks I might meet up with!
About my "friends" at Ryanair....It turns out that while the confirmation codes are seven digits, I only needed to use the first six digits to access my flights on their websites. So while I was getting very frustrated, because I had paid for these flights and couldn't pull them up, I finally figured it out!
Perhaps I mentioned that I had signed up for Spanish and Italian at the Newton Adult Ed. I dropped out of "Italian for Travellers", because all the teacher did was go over Italian menus and tell the class of 4(then 3) about how to get from the Rome Airport into the city. Spanish has been more productive, and, in fact, I'm going to take soem private lessons from the teacher Soledad Phelan, since we don't get to the past or future tenses.
Seven weeks from today I'll be off to St. John's, or as Peter(and thousand of others) call it, "down home"! There are a few details still to be pulled together, but they will all come together! I've just finalized my reental cars. AutoEurope based in Portland, ME, seems to have the best prices and matches AAA, AARP, etc. prices.
Ciao!
"I'll go to the grocery store and check out my new digs and who knows what else I might do to get oriented!" I replied. Or maybe I'll go to the beach or meet my new neighbors or_________! Well, I will let you know! I will be doing the kinds of things that you usually do when you first go on vacation-unpack, explore, etc. Once I am settled in, I will be reading guidebooks and planning my daily excursions. And now that I have learned about couch surfing, I will see if there are any folks I might meet up with!
About my "friends" at Ryanair....It turns out that while the confirmation codes are seven digits, I only needed to use the first six digits to access my flights on their websites. So while I was getting very frustrated, because I had paid for these flights and couldn't pull them up, I finally figured it out!
Perhaps I mentioned that I had signed up for Spanish and Italian at the Newton Adult Ed. I dropped out of "Italian for Travellers", because all the teacher did was go over Italian menus and tell the class of 4(then 3) about how to get from the Rome Airport into the city. Spanish has been more productive, and, in fact, I'm going to take soem private lessons from the teacher Soledad Phelan, since we don't get to the past or future tenses.
Seven weeks from today I'll be off to St. John's, or as Peter(and thousand of others) call it, "down home"! There are a few details still to be pulled together, but they will all come together! I've just finalized my reental cars. AutoEurope based in Portland, ME, seems to have the best prices and matches AAA, AARP, etc. prices.
Ciao!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Update on Sardinia
Well, luckily my worries were for naught....I received an email shortly after my post earlier this morning from Luisella...."Don’t worry, we haven’t changed idea, we are coming to Boston in September. We were busy in the last days and we are getting ready going to London the next week. When you are in Rome, watch out for your wallet and your money, there are thieves and you are without money without realizing it!! It’s happened to my husband two months ago!! Pay attention especially where there are a lot of people."
Since I was robbed in Paris in 2005, I'm optimistic that the thieves will find other prey than me, but I'll be doubly careful after her reminder.
Since I was robbed in Paris in 2005, I'm optimistic that the thieves will find other prey than me, but I'll be doubly careful after her reminder.
Countdown to July 20th
Okay, two months from today I'll be leaving for Newfoundland! Things continue to fall into place and some not so much....
I realized yesterday that it has been sometime since I've heard from Luisella, who is my contact for Sardinia! She had emailed me in early April saying they'd be coming September 1-23, and I went ahead and booked flights, etc. (Remember how cheap I said they were?) Yesterday afternoon I emailed her to see if she is still coming....It is now approximately 2:20 in Italy with no word....So I have emailed some other people on Sardinia with a preliminary inquiry about swapping with them, in case plan #1 doesn't pan out....Meanwhile, I keep telling myself that swaps are all about mutual trust...maybe she forgot to tell me they have bought their tickets or she's had a personal crisis or whatever? So where I will be September 1-23 is up in the air right now....
Off to the pool to put this all aside!:))
I realized yesterday that it has been sometime since I've heard from Luisella, who is my contact for Sardinia! She had emailed me in early April saying they'd be coming September 1-23, and I went ahead and booked flights, etc. (Remember how cheap I said they were?) Yesterday afternoon I emailed her to see if she is still coming....It is now approximately 2:20 in Italy with no word....So I have emailed some other people on Sardinia with a preliminary inquiry about swapping with them, in case plan #1 doesn't pan out....Meanwhile, I keep telling myself that swaps are all about mutual trust...maybe she forgot to tell me they have bought their tickets or she's had a personal crisis or whatever? So where I will be September 1-23 is up in the air right now....
Off to the pool to put this all aside!:))
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Ten Weeks from Next Tuesday (May 18, 2010)
I will be leaving for Newfoundland!!! I will meet up with Ivy in Toronto, and then we will fly into St. John's, Newfoundland!
And the miscellaneous details are falling into place...a rental car here(just booked the one I'll need for Spain; the Hertz price was about $300 less than AutoEurope), the odd hotel there (for those interim nights between swaps), checking out train schedules, etc. Where to stay in Italy from August 28-September 1st, when I leave for Sardinia? What tough decisions!!! WHAT FUN!!!
[And this is not to mention that I do need to think about my next trip, only in terms of scheduling, since I will only be home three months before I head off so as not to miss the New Zealand summer! So I have sent off some emails and made some calls to the Round the World websites to explore that! It is a bit premature to book those flights, since they all have some sort of time limits before you can book, and I don't know when I'll be coming home next spring yet!]
I've booked some more flights with RyanAir for the fall, although their system IS NOT too user-friendly. For example, after I had booked a flight from Alicante, Spain, to Venice, I got an error message saying there had been a problem with my reservation. I rebooked a flight, and went on about my business....Several days later I realized that I had not gotten a confirmation email. (I will HAVE to print out my own boarding pass or have to pay something like 40euro!) And I could not find my reservation in their system, so I booked another flight....(Heaven forbid I not catch up with Jane and Joan in Venice!)Hopefully RyanAir will credit me for one of these flights!:))
RyanAir is based in Dublin, so I am not too keen to call them! However, I did fax them a letter and am awaiting their response. Today their website said that they are about 25 days behind due to the problems caused by the Icelandic volcano....
And the miscellaneous details are falling into place...a rental car here(just booked the one I'll need for Spain; the Hertz price was about $300 less than AutoEurope), the odd hotel there (for those interim nights between swaps), checking out train schedules, etc. Where to stay in Italy from August 28-September 1st, when I leave for Sardinia? What tough decisions!!! WHAT FUN!!!
[And this is not to mention that I do need to think about my next trip, only in terms of scheduling, since I will only be home three months before I head off so as not to miss the New Zealand summer! So I have sent off some emails and made some calls to the Round the World websites to explore that! It is a bit premature to book those flights, since they all have some sort of time limits before you can book, and I don't know when I'll be coming home next spring yet!]
I've booked some more flights with RyanAir for the fall, although their system IS NOT too user-friendly. For example, after I had booked a flight from Alicante, Spain, to Venice, I got an error message saying there had been a problem with my reservation. I rebooked a flight, and went on about my business....Several days later I realized that I had not gotten a confirmation email. (I will HAVE to print out my own boarding pass or have to pay something like 40euro!) And I could not find my reservation in their system, so I booked another flight....(Heaven forbid I not catch up with Jane and Joan in Venice!)Hopefully RyanAir will credit me for one of these flights!:))
RyanAir is based in Dublin, so I am not too keen to call them! However, I did fax them a letter and am awaiting their response. Today their website said that they are about 25 days behind due to the problems caused by the Icelandic volcano....
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