slidergirl

That's why i keep waiting to get the shingles vax - i've heard lots of talk about after effects. i do have to get it before i go back to work because i would only have 1 day to recover and I want more. i wouldn't get it with any of my others - i just have to get them. Lois - it's a '2 shots and done' thing for shingles. Not an every year deal. Absolutely get it! I had shingles once on my lower back and it was awful - I wouldn't wish it on my enemy. And, my opthalmologist told me I had shingles in my right eye the other year, too. AND, having shingles once does not prevent you from having it again!!

I check both with the pre-mentioned brokers and the 'majors' own sites. Sometimes i can get a slightly better rate from the major. I got a rate in Bologna from hertz for my little econo box stick shift that was shown as 'not available' on autoeurope this past july. Rates are obscenely high this year, so I checked and checked and checked... Yep - get that IDP! Some will say it was never checked, but if you get stopped, you need it.

Woah. Down go 31 degrees overnight and forecast to go to 80 today. At least i remembered to close my bedroom window to a crack. left the living room window open - the thermostat at 8am read 58 degrees for the house. Ok. i'm migrating into 'getting ready to work for the winter' mode, fashion-wise. i want to be able to get a little use out of some of the things I bought for my vacation, like the shirts. i want to find an oversized cable knit vest (to wear with leggings) to wear over the button down shirts. looked on amazon and the one that I almost liked has slits at the side bottom - not sure I want that. Then, it seemed like every other one was the exact same one, just sold by resellers from China. Even went to walmart.com to look and they had that same one! If anyone sees one, let me know! i'm thinking traditional 'irish oatmeal' or maybe black. I think i'll get my booster tomorrow when I go in and pick up my med refills. I'm behind on vaxes - need booster, flu, and that pesky shingles duo.

Which one did you get? I'm more a fan of the lightweight shirts. But, to each her own.

Just been to France and Italy. Contactless use all over the place. Even the toll booths on the highway had contactless pay. Every restaurant I ate in had the terminals where the server did your CC at the table or you walked to the cashier and tapped. I think I had 300EU in cash for my whole month - used in markets and when I picked up a drink. I came home with 100EU (I always bring home for next time).

no alarm clock needed today - the road crew and their heavy machinery started work in the neighborhood at the stroke of 7am. Ugh. They are re-paving our neighborhood. AND, it was 33 degrees when I woke up! i wondered why i felt cold and added my fleece throw onto my bed in the middle of the night. i still had my windows open. I've had 2 kitchen renovations done over the years. I would love to do another one to my tiny kitchen, but there's not much to do, other then just changing out the cabinet doors (or painting the existing ones) and buying new appliances (all but the fridge are original and 20 years old). Unless something dies and needs replacement, it's not very high on my list of to-do things. Sharon - i mentioned the cow smell partly out of jest. There was always a scent of something, maybe fertilizer or cow, when i drove through the Valley. Plus, my SIL's house is across the road from a large dairy farm and has that special 'scent'. It took me 2 days to get used to it again when i was back for the wedding. But, it didn't stop me from going over and visiting the cows and calves. I grew up in town and we had a paper mill - talk about a smell!!! There were days when you couldn't put your laundry out to dry!! OOTD. Since it's only 60 inside the house right now, i've got on my new yellow Laguna Surf Co. hoodie and a pair of joggers. i'll switch over to shorts when it gets warmer. It's kind of nice being cool in the house!

I was a big user of Blinc for when I did use mascara. I just tried Thrive and it also tubes like Blinc. No issues with smearing or making my eyes water. I tried Better than Sex, but it made my eyes sting and it smeared.

Duffels with wheels - you have to be careful how you pack. They have a tendency to not stand upright when you let go. if you load it with your heavy things at the wheel-end, it has a better chance of standing. unwheeled duffels - i have 2 from Osprey that I've had since 2009 (a Porter 65 and a 42) that I have used when wheels won't work. i also have one from Cotopaxi that is a 32L and folds flat to use a my 'i bought extra stuff' bag when i travel. As long as you are comfortable carrying them, i'm ok with them. I can't answer the zipper question because I've only used this hardshell once. I had it pretty stuffed and zipped/unzipped it plenty of times over the 6 weeks I traveled in July/August. No issues for me.

i would also decide if this is just for "in the car/to the airport/to the ship" luggage or if this is going to be used for pre/post/non-cruise vacations. My anecdotal experiences: Working at various hotels and resorts, I've handled a lot of bags. Spinner bags were the worst - they were difficult to roll down all the carpeted hallways and I'd end up tilting them like 2-wheelers. 2-wheel duffels were easy to roll, but most of the time they would fall over if I tried to stand them up. Hard-shell 2 wheelers were the best for any terrain. I was looking for a new carry-on size roller for this summer's vacation. Listening to everyone sing the praises of spinners, I bought one. I HATED IT. First, I lost space in the bag because the wheels aren't built-into the bag like many 2-wheelers. There's about 1.5 inches of lost space. Second, it would "jump" and go sideways if it hit any cracks in sidewalks, raised metal in between spots in the floors/sidewalks and run over what had been my clean sneakers, bounced all over on the cobblestone and turning my arm. I ended up pulling it 2-wheel-style instead of being able to utilize the 4-wheel function. Not fun, especially in Aix-en-Provence where i had to park .6km away from my apartment and walk!! When I got back from that month in Europe, I turned around and did 2 more weeks in the US for a reunion and a wedding. There were the "car/airport/car" kind of trips and the spinner was tolerable, although it did jump a few times on the floor where the metal was dividing up floor slabs. I will be hunting for 2-wheelers from now on if I buy again.

I received my newsletter from Katie Parla this morning. She has a few articles published this month. She also has one on the eater.com website on her "38 essential restaurants in Rome". Some we know and recommend frequently, some may give others some ideas for someplace different to eat. Katie is the one who turned me onto Armandos and Roscioli and Cassaleto back in the day when chowhound was still around and she would personally answer questions there (before she became a big name in the foodie business). You can also browse her website and get ideas (her name.com). Thought i'd drop a note on this here. Anyway, eater is a good resource for ideas to eat just about anywhere in Europe.

What you need to do food-wise is just pick and don't look back!!! There's never enough time to do it all. Bologna Centrale is about a 15-20 walk to the Centro Storico. Pretty much an easy walk.

I always wanted to do a tour with her, too, but my timing was always bad. i forgot to post it on our food thread yesterday - will do today. Speaking of places to eat; what about the italian place run by the japanese chef that Stanley had on the Rome show? i remember you saying you'd like to try that place,

i don't live in a metropolitan area, so I am aware of dead spots on all the platforms.

i did use that with my travel group for the first week of my month-long trip this summer. it was nice in that we could text regardless of which provider we had. But, for data use, you need something else.

I would check out the train, also. less expensive to get transport to the Ravenna station than transport all the way to Bologna. Which hotel are you staying in by the Bologna Station? By nearby do you mean you can walk to it? just curious. Food note; if you want to taste Bologna's famous mortadella, look up Mo Mortadella Lab. A tiny spot with amazing sandwiches. no tables/seats, so everyone stands in the alleyway. It's open until late and there is always a line.

i've been with T-Mo since it was Voicestream back in the 90s. If you do any international travel, T-Mo is good: no fees for data and very little for phone calls. if you need/want more high-speed data than what is offered on the international, you can up it for about $20, I think. Unless you are doing intense things with your phone overseas, you don't need the extra. As far as US coverage, they have no more 'dead' spots than any other, I think. I have one where i work, but it is up in the mountains at 8100 ft. not really an issue because i just do wifi calling when I'm there. Found a few spots in Southern Colorado, but my AT&T that i have for my iPad didn't work, either. if you are thinking of switching, definitely check out T-Mo.

I did have to laugh at your description. When I was Chief of Finish for bobsled and skeleton at my track, i'd bring a big bowl of different US cheap chocolate bars to give to the athletes at the end. Gotta tell you, those European kids scarfed up that cheap chocolate like it was handmade luxury. They started bringing me chocolate bars from Europe. A nice way to make friends.

It ended up at 107 late afternoon down in SLC - glad that I was out of there by 1:30!!! We were 92 up here by my house, according to my car thermometer. The heat is supposed to break today - up to 83 and then stay upper 70s/low 80s through the weekend. And, maybe some next Tue/Wed some rain will appear. TJs - I do have to go down to the Valley to pick up something i bought but didn't have delivered, so i'll try the other TJs to see what they have that the other one did not have, like my coffee. no pumpkin bagels at the one i went to. God Bless Queen Elizabeth and Bernard Shaw. The Queen had a historic life, from taking over the throne as a very young woman to doing her best to maintain traditions while trying to become modern. Mr, Shaw - I remember his reporting of the first night of the first Gulf War. it was really the first "live as it happens' broadcast which set the stage for our modern reporting. I received my newsletter from Katie Parla this morning. She has a few articles published this month. She also has one on the eater.com website on her 38 essential restaurants in Rome. Some we know, some may give Cynthia and others some ideas for someplace different to eat. Katie is the one who turned me onto Armandos and Roscioli and Cassaleto back in the day when chowhound was still around and she would personally answer questions there (before she became a big name in the foodie business). Thought i'd drop a note on this here. OOTD: jean shorts and another Woolx tank top.

I just got back. Clean bill of dental health. Went to TJs and had a 'holy cr@p" moment at the register. What can i say? I hadn't been there in 2 months. Some salads, some cheese, some nuts & trail mix, some things for the freezer and some salsas. it was the first official day of 'pumpkin' season so they were putting out their goods. My favorite pumpkin spice oatmeal was on the shelves. The pumpkin cream cheese wasn't there yet. Another reason for a quick trip again 😸 It was 104 on the car temp down there. What is really strange is that I didn't notice it that much. All that time over in Europe must have helped. Plus, very low humidity helps. ootd; lavender Woolx tank and jeans shorts.

You live in the Valley, right? I remember driving up through there on the way to Yosemite, it was indeed hot in the Summer. Do you get that nice smell of the cow farms?? It has to be awful now with this heat!

On the water, on a ferry, not a cruise: when i was a kid, i rode with john wayne across the bay on the Balboa island ferry. Probably on the way to Snug Harbor - his favorite dive bar.

yes, it is! my hotel had a pretty darn good location. If anyone needs a hotel in Bordeaux, I definitely recommend the Hotel du Tourny. A small boutique hotel

No one on a cruise, but since i've worked the Front Desk at multiple hotels where celebs vacation and politicos hold fundraisers and Sundance holds their festival, I've met plenty. i'll drop a few names: Sen. Mark Kelly and his wife Gabby Giffords, Sen. Ted Cruz and Tom Carpenter, Justices Thomas and Scalia, "Bennifer", matthew mcconahey, Snoop Dogg, Ryan Reynolds & Blake lively, Lady Gaga, Lyle Lovett. It does get hard at times to remain calm and professional. These people get fawned over all time and I want to try my best to treat them like "normal" people.

Yay Lois!! Now, just sit back and relax for a little while! Sharon - my friends in So CA have been commenting on that scorching heat. I can totally understand after my month in Europe. We're supposed to get to 91F today, which feels 10 degrees hotter up here at altitude. I'm dreading driving down into the Valley tomorrow to see my dentist and visit TJs - it's supposed to be around 104 down there. It was 105 yesterday, the hottest sept day on record for salt lake.

you beat me to it! Yummy sandwiches and a good place to pick up a late evening treat. Near Campo dei Fiore look up Antico Forno Roscioli. part of excellent Roscioli family and their restaurants. Good pizza al taglio, suppli, and pastries. If you need a cafe and un corneto, right around the corner from the hotel is Tazza d' Oro. It's where I always get my morning boost. Some prefer Sant Eustacio, which is near Piazza Navona. It comes down to which cafe tastes best for you.