San Potito Sannitico, Italy
I’m on my way to Italy and traveling ultra light this trip so I’m leaving my beloved laptop behind. I figured I’d be working every day and in this small town, the chances of having wi-fi hotspots are probably slim. So keep your fingers crossed that there will be an internet cafe and I’ll get a chance to update you while I’m away. If not, look forward to piles of photos upon my return. Happy Thanksgiving!
I sent this information to a few friends and then realized everyone should hear about it. I realize you might not need another credit card, but this deal is almost too good to pass up. If I was working – and therefore had income – I would be all over this!
From my friends at Airfare Watchdog:
British Airways’ Chase Visa: They’re offering 100,000 bonus miles (that’s not a typo), 50,000 upon your first purchase with the card, and another 50,000 if you spend $2,000 or more in the first three months. You also get 1.25 miles rather than the usual one for each dollar charged to the card, and if you spend $30,000 in a single calendar year you get a companion voucher good for any class of service. [This means you and a friend - like ME - could fly business class for the price of one! The companion pass is good for 2 years and I believe you can get this as many times as you qualify] The annual fee is $75. Plus, should you usually only travel domestically, you can spend those miles on BA’s partner American Airlines or other partner airlines. Those 100,000 miles are good for two flights to Europe, assuming seats are available when you wish to travel, or for upgrades. You can apply for the card by visiting THIS LINK
St. Augustine:
The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
We sat behind two of the 5 men in the room
Not since Team Jennifer vs. Team Angelina has there been such a heated debate . . . alright, neither question is that pivotal, but yesterday afternoon the Team Edward and Team Jacob fans both got an eyeful!
I got an invite from my friend Joanna to attend a slightly clandestine not-necessarily-authorized early screening of the new Twilight movie, New Moon. The showing was made available to a certain local high school as part of a fundraiser and we figured what an adventure to watch the movie with 200+ screaming high school girls. We should have guessed it would be a vocal crowd when a group got up to sing happy birthday before the movie started.
The room darkens -screams! The title screen comes up – screams! Edward appears on screen – screams! Jacob appears – more screams! And on and on and on. It was hilarious and frankly I’ve got friends who still scream that way for Def Leppard these many years later. The only people to annoy us during the movie? The row of middle-aged Moms sitting behind us who had comments at every turn and slightly hyena-like laughs. There was also a moment or two where they ogled young Jacob’s physique that had me grossed out (he’s 17!! ladies).
What did I think of the actual movie? It’s clear that between the first and second movies they found some more money; the production values were much higher although the music was strange. The movie stayed true to the book so it’s entertaining enough for anyone who has read it. But the real winner in the debate? I’m nearly positive that all those young girls are going to go and see it again and again so the studio can count on big $$.
Trust me, I get no commission for this, but thought it was such a great deal you might want it too. A pre-paid two-year membership at 24 Hr. Fitness is just $300 at Costco ($12.50 / month). If you buy on-line you can use your Visa or MC (at the warehouse it’s Amex or cash only). I especially like that since it’s pre-paid there’s no hassle to get them to stop charging your card when you “cancel” or come to the end of your contract. You can use most of the clubs in the Portland metro area, but make sure you check the types of clubs in your area first.
From Costco.com:
TWO YEAR All-Club Sport Membership Certificate:
- With access to more than 370 locations, most open up to 24 hours, your workouts will always be close and convenient. Visit www.24hourfitness.com for complete list of amenities
- We have more than 3,000 certified Personal Trainers on staff to give you support, motivation and a personalized fitness program to reach your goals
- Group exercise classes allow you to mix up your fitness routine. They include everything from Yoga to Cycling to Step. And best of all, they’re FREE with your membership
- Our Kids’ club is a place for children 6 months to 12 years. It’s a safe and supervised environment where your young ones can play while you exercise.
All Sport Club Membership Certificate:
- Limit 4 per person
- Membership available for adults ages 18+ (19 in NE):
- Membership available for ages 12+
- Note: Membership purchases for person(s) under the age of 18 requires a parent or legal guardian signature.
- Work out at any Express (Fitlite), Active or Sport Club without restriction.
- Excludes Ultra & Super Sport Clubs
Terms and Conditions:
- No credit or refund on any lost or destroyed certificates
- All-Club Sport Membership does not include access to Super-Sport and Ultra-Sport locations
- Offer not valid for current 24 Hour Fitness members
- Must be at least 18 years old (19 in NE), or 12 with parent/legal guardian
- Offer good for a 2 year All-Club Sport limited term non-renewable membership
- Limit four per person
- No other discounts with this offer
- Membership may not be upgraded
- State/local sales tax is included in the purchase price where applicable
- At the time of redemption, any other products or agreements being purchased must be paid for separately to 24 Hour Fitness
- Facilities and amenities vary per location
- Not all clubs open 24 hours
- Personal Training and Kid’s Club available for an additional fee paid to 24 Hour Fitness
- Available at participating locations only
- Membership must be activated in club
- Non-redeemed certificate can be returned for a full refund
- Two year contract begins when certificate is redeemed at local participating club
- Offer not valid in NY, NJ, HI and all international clubs and other selected locations
- Not for re-sale
- No expiration date to redeem certificate
Machu Picchu is calling
Alright folks, read this, ponder briefly and then let me know if you’re in! Round-trip flights in May and June of 2010 from NYC to Lima, Peru . . . $249 RT taxes included on LAN. There are tons of dates available and plenty o’ seats on the non-stop!! It’s about $300 RT to get back and forth to NYC from the Northwest so a steal at $550. Or use some of those miles you’ve been sitting on. This fare can go away anytime and I’d love to go!
This is what I am NOT looking for
I live in the Pacific Northwest. My friends all own something from REI and words like Columbia are as synonymous with rivers as they are with outdoor clothing. So among you fine folks there must be someone with a compact / packable sleeping bag that I can borrow for my trip to Italy? It doesn’t have to be rated for the extreme cold since I’ll be staying in an apartment, but they do require we bring one and I want to travel light. Please let me know as soon as you can. The generous individual gets a souvenir from Italy.
This time it’s Lee’s prowess that landed a big prize. Okay, maybe not that big, but it’s something! He was the first to answer [okay, technically the second, but the first guy got disqualified] the trivia question, “Which state, after Texas, produces the most natural gas?” on a live video feed during some stock trading. The big prize??? A stuffed monkey. Not just any stuffed monkey either – this one has velcro hands for easy hanging! He was very anxious to see if it had arrived while we were away and was thrilled to see it on the doorstep.
The answer? Wyoming.
We’re home from our first ever cruise experience and I’m not sure what to write. I took basically no photos and I guess the best (or worse) I can say is that I’m ambivalent. Disappointing, I know. I had many friends anxiously awaiting my thoughts because they too had yet to venture to the world of cruising.
The cabin? Small, but certainly serviceable and they provide turn down service each evening with mints and towels shaped into different animals. It’s also nice to have unlimited free room service available!
The boat? Ours was a bit dated (although a fellow passenger mentioned it had been recently updated) and smaller than some I’ve seen on TV. If we ever go again I’ll spend a lot more time looking at the boat, it’s size, and offerings.
The not-that-grand atrium did take me back to Vegas a bit
The food? Plentiful. Some good, some not so good, lots of in between. Lee was pleased to find a 24-hour ice cream machine.
The ceiling of the peacock themed casual restaurant (did I mention I took no photos?)
The weather? Not hot enough to lay out on deck chairs and while not a product of cruising, a real bummer for me. The hallways inside were really cool so pack some longer sleeves for indoors.
The shows? Community-theater level performances with cheesy sets. Most of the live musicians playing in bars and around the boat were okay though.
The activities? The pool is much smaller than it looks in the photos, the mini-golf had no windmill, the workout facilities were nice enough, and we never did gamble at the casino (can you believe it??).
The excursions? We didn’t plan on doing any, but Lee did end up going golfing in Catalina. He found out it would be just him and one other guy with the golf pro the entire round so in essence it was a 5-hour playing lesson at a bargain price. Most of the excursions sounded a bit too formulaic and I heard people talking about ’surprise’ costs or add-on fees / gratuities.
In general it’s clear that the cruiseline is not making any money on the cost you pay for the cruise itself. They’re constantly selling . . . a photographer taking everyone’s photos and displaying them the next day for sale. A fine jewelery sale. An ‘art’ auction. A golf seminar that really is a sales pitch for rounds of golf excursions and a clearance sale on merchandise. Bingo cards. Shore excursions. Booze specials. ‘Tours’ of the spa, shopping seminars for the places you must go to buy when you head ashore (I’m guessing the cruise line gets a commission), and so much more. It’s a shame really since the activities not designed to sell anything don’t get nearly as much enthusiasm from the staff.
We did win a free foot massage at the ’spa tour.’ Technically Lee won, but since he wasn’t present to win and they weren’t checking ID, I raised my hand when they called his name 
.
We also spent some quality time watching really bad karaoke. I know this is a horrible stereotype, but each time an African-American person got up to sing I had a small flutter of hope for a show stopping performance. Unfortunately, all of the non-musical, non-rhythmic, tone-deaf African-Americans in the US were on our cruise. They were joined by many of the same Hispanic, Caucasian and Asians as well. Wow. Train wrecking singing is hard to walk away from.
I will say that in general the service was really great and it was nice not to have to plan things to do – if only the weather had been hotter! It also helped our experience that I read in advance about things like how to get off and on quickly, being able to bring on a bottle of wine, only one outlet in the room, etc… I also loved not having to walk around with a purse or bag of any kind although it could be dangerous to just “sign here” for everything. So would we do it again? Maybe. I can see how great it would be if you’re going with kids or with a group – reunion, client event, big birthday type of thing – and didn’t want to have to try to coordinate all the small stuff and try to make everyone happy. You’ll probably only find me back on for one of those reason or if it comes up super cheap and super sunny!
There’s limited internet access aboard the ship and what they do have costs a fortune to access. So this blog is going to be on hiatus for the week, but I’ll post photos of our gluttony upon my return.
