for fun: Do/Would you still put on all your makeup and decent clothes if you are quarantined

[Lois R]

7 minutes ago, slidergirl said:

Cynthia - give me a hint about where you stayed in Barcelona.  And is there a way to give a clue about where you look for cruises without angering the CC police???

 

I have to go to the State Liquor Store before Sunday and pick up a bottle of Cava!!!  I don't know how to cook any Spanish food so I guess I'll just drink that lovely Spanish sparkling beverage 😸

 

 

Hi Kat, you could always buy Jose's cookbook😀

[slidergirl]

Just now, Lois R said:

Hi Kat, you could always buy Jose's cookbook😀

I am currently reading his World Central Kitchen book 😸

I could probably cook one of those better than I could one the ones I've had at his restaurants!!  At least the food to cook before watching Stanley was pretty easy and already known to me.   I know Jose's next episode is Andalucia - I did some searching and see that gazpacho is the big thing.  I can definitely make gazpacho.  And, of course, they have meats & cheeses.  And a wonderful post-meal sherry of Pedro Ximinez (I was turned on to this back in the 90s at a cooking class).  Fried fish, sardines, shrimp.  I guess I can come up with something.  

[MrToblerone]

I forgot to reply to Cynthia that in Gythion we just wondered around, there wasn't much happening as it was a holiday apparently ,so we just had a drink on shore then tendered back to the ship.

Kat ,when we were in Barcelona we stayed at the Yurbban trafalgar ,my third visit but now I would choose the Yurbban Passage hotel next door ,its sister hotel.

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Cynthia - give me a hint about where you stayed in Barcelona.  And is there a way to give a clue about where you look for cruises without angering the CC police???

 

I've stayed in three different hotels in Barcelona. My favorite by far was the H10 Raco del Pie. Perfectly located for the Gothic quarter but away from the craziness on Las Ramblas (I know the hotel you mentioned earlier, it gets a lot of mentions here on CC but I'm not sure why... 😶)

 

Fair warning it is a small place (boutique hotel) and the rooms are SMALL also. I got a single room and I could honestly stretch out my arms and touch the walls on either side. They have larger rooms of course for more $$$.  They have a lovely lobby that has a sort of "happy hour" daily with free cava.  IIRC, there is a great bakery just across the street for breakfast. Unlike Italy, breakfasts aren't always included in Spain.

 

If you want to shoot me an email with other questions I'm at cruisemom42 AT gmail DOT com. 

[Lois R]

I have good news😀I received an email from the insurance company today and they have approved and processed the payment for the hotel room😀And that was only in 5 days!!!!  I am happy😀

[awhfy]

43 minutes ago, Lois R said:

I have good news😀I received an email from the insurance company today and they have approved and processed the payment for the hotel room😀And that was only in 5 days!!!!  I am happy😀

Good news, that’s a relief for you

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, awhfy said:

Good news, that’s a relief for you

Thanks so much!

[cruisemom42]

14 hours ago, Lois R said:

I have good news😀I received an email from the insurance company today and they have approved and processed the payment for the hotel room😀And that was only in 5 days!!!!  I am happy😀

 

A good result with a minimum of fuss -- wouldn't it be great if everything was like that? 😆

 

I'm doing my final errands and check of my "trip planning" today before I start packing tomorrow!

[Lois R]

Good morning,  I saw my Kidney Dr last week and thankfully my numbers are still ok with her🙂

I do have a cyst on my left kidney and this morning I had the ultra sound to make sure it is still "ok" too.

The Dr had told me it is called a "simple cyst".....which means it is benign. But I do have to get it checked every year.. 

 

Then this morning I turned my tv on and everything looked fine on it except I had no volume.......I had to call Xfinity and they reset my box........but still no volume. Finally reached a live person who told me the box I have is old and to change it out for a new one. But I decided to try one more thing....I just got back from the Imaging place and still no volume. So, I unplugged the tv from the main outlet in the wall and waited about 30 seconds and plugged it back in and now........taaadaaa.......I have volume🙂.

Now, if I lose the volume again, I will exchange my box for a new one. (lets just hope I can set up that new one without any issues😮).

[WELDON]

That is good news your insurance came through. 

 

I have learned to unplug the tv from the wall if there is a problem with cable. It seems to do the trick. 

[slidergirl]

19 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I've stayed in three different hotels in Barcelona. My favorite by far was the H10 Raco del Pie. Perfectly located for the Gothic quarter but away from the craziness on Las Ramblas (I know the hotel you mentioned earlier, it gets a lot of mentions here on CC but I'm not sure why... 😶)

 

Fair warning it is a small place (boutique hotel) and the rooms are SMALL also. I got a single room and I could honestly stretch out my arms and touch the walls on either side. They have larger rooms of course for more $$$.  They have a lovely lobby that has a sort of "happy hour" daily with free cava.  IIRC, there is a great bakery just across the street for breakfast. Unlike Italy, breakfasts aren't always included in Spain.

 

If you want to shoot me an email with other questions I'm at cruisemom42 AT gmail DOT com. 

I've had a couple of those type of rooms 😸  I had recomendations from some others for H10 properties.   Ah, the Continental.  Yep, lots of comments on CC.  If you want to be on Las Ramblas, it's perfect.  If you want to feed from a constant cafeteria, free bad beer and wine, it's your place.  Hopefully it's been extensively remodeled since I was there - the pinks and reds and the flocked wallpaper in the rooms reminded me of what you'd see in an old Western "bordello" on TV...

Toblerone - the Yurrban hotels look great, but unfortunately about 100EU a night over my budget ☹️

 

Speaking of TV:  if you can sit through all the drama, Below Deck Med is porting out of Genoa and traveling as far as Cinque Terre.  

 

 

[slidergirl]

3 hours ago, Lois R said:

Good morning,  I saw my Kidney Dr last week and thankfully my numbers are still ok with her🙂

I do have a cyst on my left kidney and this morning I had the ultra sound to make sure it is still "ok" too.

The Dr had told me it is called a "simple cyst".....which means it is benign. But I do have to get it checked every year.. 

 

Then this morning I turned my tv on and everything looked fine on it except I had no volume.......I had to call Xfinity and they reset my box........but still no volume. Finally reached a live person who told me the box I have is old and to change it out for a new one. But I decided to try one more thing....I just got back from the Imaging place and still no volume. So, I unplugged the tv from the main outlet in the wall and waited about 30 seconds and plugged it back in and now........taaadaaa.......I have volume🙂.

Now, if I lose the volume again, I will exchange my box for a new one. (lets just hope I can set up that new one without any issues😮).

Yay on the kidney checkup!

Hm.  the sound.  Exactly what has happened to me.  I've done the unplugging thing multiple times and nada.  Maybe I'll go to the Xfinity office and change it out.  

[MrToblerone]

Yay on kidney check up from me as well Lois.I had my three month check up last Friday and got clearance for another three months.

I look forward to hearing about any Spain or Italy research you do Kat ,we hope to go back to Europe next year but have to wait for my husband to confirm his annual leave for 2024.

We leave for Fiji on September 30 ,looking forward to some warm weather and swims in the ocean.

The islands in Fiji are great and the Fijians are such lovely people so we are all excited

 

[PurpleHays]

We just booked a December Caribbean cruise. I will be escaping work-Nov/Dec just sucks the life out of me. We are going to do a lot of nothing since we've been to all these ports before. We will be in our first-ever aft cabin.

 

DH is doing well. He drove to the mail box central station (about 1/4 mile away) and did OK. He is still learning what he can and cannot do.

[awhfy]

16 hours ago, PurpleHays said:

We just booked a December Caribbean cruise. I will be escaping work-Nov/Dec just sucks the life out of me. We are going to do a lot of nothing since we've been to all these ports before. We will be in our first-ever aft cabin.

 

DH is doing well. He drove to the mail box central station (about 1/4 mile away) and did OK. He is still learning what he can and cannot do.

Aft cabins are my favorite, it is a long walk to the elevators but so worth it 

[slidergirl]

Cynthia - I just saw a post on one of the FB pages I look at that mentioned a nationwide baggage handler strike at airports on Friday.  Hope it is just all day Friday and doesn't morph into your arrival.  I know they are pretty good about it, but just be aware.

[cruisemom42]

14 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Cynthia - I just saw a post on one of the FB pages I look at that mentioned a nationwide baggage handler strike at airports on Friday.  Hope it is just all day Friday and doesn't morph into your arrival.  I know they are pretty good about it, but just be aware.

 

I think I dodged a bullet on this one. I don't fly out until Saturday night (late-ish) and due to a long connection in CDG I don't arrive in Venice until around 5pm local time on Sunday evening. I imagine any snarls caused by the strike actions will be smoothed out by then.

 

[Lois R]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I think I dodged a bullet on this one. I don't fly out until Saturday night (late-ish) and due to a long connection in CDG I don't arrive in Venice until around 5pm local time on Sunday evening. I imagine any snarls caused by the strike actions will be smoothed out by then.

 

Hi Cynthia, wishing you a wonderful trip......I can't remember though......is this strictly a land trip? Or cruise and land? And be glad you don't need to fly out of NY. OMG.......Brooklyn got 4 inches of rain in 3 hours!!! They city is FLOODED and I think everything out of La Guardia was cancelled today. 

 

And it was a sad week for folks who have left us.......David Mccallum died, (he was 90!).....LOVED him on NCIS.......he played "Ducky"

If you are a baseball fan (me).....Brooks Robinson died.......he was 86. He was a Hall of Fame 3rd baseman for the Baltimore Orioles......he was soooo good at his craft.

And not sure if any of you heard but today, the longest female Senator EVER, Dianne Feinstein died today too.  She was THE stepping stone for all the female congresswomen to come. She was 90. I know she had been quite ill recently but it was still a surprise to see that news.

[sjb317]

Not sure what was going on but I have been having a lot of trouble getting on to CC.  I think I have caught up with everyone and it sounds like everyone is doing well and busy with travel plans, families, etc. 

 

We got the new covid boosters yesterday and I woke up this morning feeling feverish and achy so I have spent the day napping and just being generally lazy😂.   OOTD: Jammie’s!

 

We are leaving October 24 to fly to Rome for a TA cruise back to Ft Lauderdale.  Then in February, we are flying to LA to catch a cruise to Hawaii, then down to New Zealand and Australia.  We will disembark in Brisbane and catch a plane to Melbourne to spend a few weeks with our son and his family,  This works out great as we will only have to do the long, long flight once!  I am really excited about it!

 

Very sad to see the news of Diane Feinstein’s passing! 
 

Sherri🙂

 

 

[Lois R]

Hi Sherri, that trip to see your family sounds fantastic🙂

 

 

 

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Hi Cynthia, wishing you a wonderful trip......I can't remember though......is this strictly a land trip? Or cruise and land?

 

It's three days in Venice followed by back-to-back Med cruises on Azamara (both Eastern Med) including 2 days in Istanbul. ❤️

 

[Lois R]

1 minute ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

It's three days in Venice followed by back-to-back Med cruises on Azamara (both Eastern Med) including 2 days in Istanbul. ❤️

 

Ahhhhh........ok🙂

[slidergirl]

Cynthia - have a wonderful trip!  Have a Spritz for me (whatever kind you want)!!!

 

It was sad to see the passing of Sen, Feinstein.  I have memories of her as far back as when she was on the San Francisco County Council when the terrible murder of Harvey Milk and George Moscone happened in City Hall.  She became Mayor and moved up the political ladder to Senator.  I always admired her.  

 

Yesterday I made a trip over to Whole Foods to buy some things and especially my favorite local coffee beans.  I was totally out at home.  Came home, unpacked my groceries and then it dawned on me - I FORGOT THE COFFEE!!   Had a pack of my instant coffee from my camping kitchen this morning.  

[Lois R]

I am guessing Cynthia has left.....wishing her a BIG BON VOYAGE🙂

 

And of course, things always seem to happen around the house☹️.....there was water on the floor in my master bath yesterday. I called the plumber and they came out but could not find anything. (They checked everything.) It was dry overnight so I thought everything was ok.......that is what I get for thinking. Just went in there and the floor was wet AGAIN😠 now I see it......it is the sprinkler head from the ceiling and it is doing a drip, drip, drip. Well, plumbers don't fix those so I called our Security number since it is Saturday afternoon (the office is closed on the weekends). He came over and took a photo and sent it to the actual main office....First Residential is the name of the company. I know it could be worse (like a flood/leak) and I have a bucket on the floor now to catch the drip. I know there is a specialty company that handles all the sprinkler heads and they were here a few months ago for inspections. I have no idea why this one is leaking and not sure if anyone will come today or not. This will probably stay this way until Monday😧......sigghhhhhh.............if it is not one thing..........

[slidergirl]

Lois - it seems that when it rains it pours when it comes to our residences lately.  I can't do my stucco fix until next week because we're getting a nice big rain for a few days.  ugh.  On the upside, after you said Xfinity told you to get a new box, I went in and got a new one.   My sound is back!!  I won't have to watch TV on my MacBook now.  

Went to TJ's today and got my goodies.  Didn't go crazy.  I stayed away from the pumpkin Kringle (very bad for me but oh, so good) and some other things.  I did get some coffee (yay) and soups.  I went to another store that one of my owners drives down to shop and looked to see if they had a specific French butter that I've been searching for. Nope.  BUT, they had some different flavors of Sprindrift sparkling water - Mojito (really good) and Mango Black Tea (haven't tried yet).  A nice store but not worth driving down the mountain to shop at.   One funny thing - the street to get there was a construction mess so I tried to get around it,  Went past Namedroppers - it's a upscale consigment store that the Real Housewives go to.  Decided to play it upscale and went in.  If I wanted a used $1500 bag or a used $3500 coat, it's where I'd go.  They did have some actual decently priced things and I ended up buying,  A belt that I've seen in Sundance for around $150 for $20.  A nice cashmere Vneck cardigan for $69 that I can wear with jeans or leggings for work.  A button up sweater vest for $49 that I can wear with jeans or leggings,  I had been looking for those 3 things anyway so I'm happy.  The place will also take some of my old things that I can't wear anymore - the person said they are always looking for some larger sizes...  maybe I can make a little money.  If I ever need a chi chi dress to wear, that'll be where I go!

 

OOTD:  Ralph Lauren jeans (from my owner), gray Woolx short sleeve shirt, Madewell jean jacket, Olu kai pink high tops and my tan Gigi Pip hat.  At least I looked like I fit in at Namedroppers 😸