The Problem with Travel and a Small Suitcase

I have two great suitcases. 

One is HUGE, weighs-thirty-pounds by itself and never can be fully packed because it will weigh too much on the airport scales. 

The other is a matching suitcase that is smallish but very handy.

Unless you have Colorado clothes and you’re going to Alabama.  What do you do with that?  Besides bring extra deodorant?  It’s a problem that I believe can only be solved by finding the mid-sized suitcase that I am missing.  That way I can bring enough clothes to span all types of weather and situations.

 

The Un-Lottery

Yesterday I talked about work travel.  How timely of me!  I am traveling to DC today! 

The good news is that the two people I am traveling with have unanimously agreed that I should no longer be invited on work trips.  Apparently every time I travel, something goes wrong. 

Of course it’s not hard to have something go wrong in these days of American air travel.  Take today for example. 

We had a flight from Denver to Dulles leaving at 10-ish. 

This morning on my way to the rally point (the three of us planned on meeting and driving up to Denver together) I received a phone call.  The phone call was a recorded message from United, who wished to inform me that my flight had been canceled.  Press 1 if you’d like to talk to a representative.

The United rep did not have good news to share.   He said all the flights to DC were pretty much booked today, and that I could get on a plane if I didn’t mind getting in past midnight.  That isn’t an option because we have some prep work to do that has to be done before tomorrow’s meetings begin bright and early.  Things like grocery shopping (don’t ask).  Anyway, the three of us met at the rally point and started making phone calls.

Nothing!  Apparently there was not a single flight from ANYWHERE to Dulles or Reagan that had an open seat.  Not even one! 

After many phone calls and time spent on hold, we got a flight into BWI.  We’ll have to drive all the way to the Dulles area from there.  Oh well, it’s better than nothing.

So we are all at the Denver airport 4 1/2 hours early.  Checking in was a mess because our flights were still messed up in the system.  The wi-fi isn’t free.  Come on, people!  Wasn’t it Wayne who imparted the wisdom, Get with the now?

Anyway, we had to stand in a REALLY long line to check in (what’s new).  As we looked up at the Departures screen, it was shocking to see that out of 200+ flights, our original flight was the ONLY one that had been canceled.  Kind of weird.  Oh well.  If it’s because the plane is broken, I am fine with canceling.  I don’t want to get on a broken plane.  No way!

Have a good day and I’ll tell you how the DC Metro area is holding up later this evening…

 

To Hop A Plane…

…I hate flying.  Even if I just sit in a plane that is completely stationary, engines off, etc my heart rate soars and I get that sweaty palm, itchy feeling.  I guess it’s a panic attack of sorts.  Definitely a phobia.  I have a prescription for Ativan that says “Take for Flying” on the label.  The pharmacists laughed at it the first time I had it filled.  I guess they didn’t see me standing there waiting for the bottle. 

Yet, the logical part of my brain reminds me of something that my dad told me a long time ago, before I ever set foot on an airplane.  I told him that I would never, ever get on a plane; he replied “Well, then I guess you’ll never go anywhere.”  I guess he had a point. 

I’ve been on plenty of planes by now, but I still don’t like it.  I get on them because you need to get from point A to B in a timely manner.  As much as I wish that trains were as popular and accessible here as they are in Europe, I have to face the fact that my freaked out rear end is going to ride coach in the back of a cramped aluminum coffin at least a couple of times a year; usually in a seat really close to the bathroom…you know, the ones that don’t fold back all the way? 

I still remember listening to Paul Harvey in the third grade (Mr. Williams used to make the whole class listen to Paul Harvey after lunch) .  One of the bits on the radio show was about a woman who sat down on an airplane toilet and flushed while still sitting there.  Apparently the butt/seat combo was aligned with the stars just so, because according to smooth-voiced Mr. Harvey, her innards were sucked out her butt upon flushing.  I am hoping that this story is fictional; yet I think about it every freaking time I use a plane bathroom.  Thankfully I am quite skilled at the “hover” method; you may know it as the “quad flex.”  No way am I creating any kind of weird suction situation, no thank you.

Anyway what is the point of all this?  I want to go on a trip somewhere soon to either:

Russia

Argentina

India

I can’t drive to any of those places.  So I have to get on a plane.  I hate flying.  If you feel my pain, then you should try this.  It’s actually a really good online course about basic facts on airplanes and whatnot; it helped me for a while.  Now I just use drugs.

 

Time

If you are a nerd like me then you know all kinds of time theories. But the most applicable one is “time flies when you are having fun.” Okay, so that is not exactly Carl Sagan. However, I am facing the reverse. Time does not fly when you are not having fun.

It’s not that I am having a horrible time, I would just rather be in Colorado.

 

HOT

It is supposed to be 110 degrees for the next three days.  It was almost 90 when I woke up this morning.  NOT cool.  Ha ha, literally.

I ate at my favorite, favorite, favorite Thai restaurant tonight.  It was so hot that my face was red and burning and tears were involutarily coming out of my eyes.  I love it.  Had “bean thread” salad and “drunken noodle” and “thai tea”.  I  used to live right by this place and it is one of the things I miss. 

What I do NOT miss are toll roads.  Why should I have to pay 50 cents to get on a road, then another 50 to get off a few miles later?  It used to be 25 cents not long ago.  And the road has been paid for.  So why?  Oh, because otherwise I will have to drive twenty miles out of my way in the nation’s third worst traffic?  Ok, here is my money

This evening I enjoyed the exercise room, hot tub, pool, and I even did my laundry (not in the hot tub).  I feel like I accomplished something.

And I worked too, but that isn’t the part I want to talk about tonight.

I hear Jesse’s photo finally is on the cover of the RMNP map they give you when they go into the park.  Yay Jesse!  About time they published it.  Long time coming! 

I also miss AJ.  He said “I wud woo” on the phone.  I about died of loneliness.  Four more days!

 

But I wouldn’t want to live here…

I am in Washington D.C. this weekend.  Tonight I met up with my friend Melissa who I was in the Marines with.  We met at the Afghan Restaurant (that is the name of it) in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria and ordered just about one of everything.  It was so good.  The fried eggplant and spicy pumpkin was amazing. 

Then we drove through D.C. and hit Georgetown, wandered in and out of shops and found a great dessert and coffee bar.  The chocolate, tiny creation cost nearly ten dollars and two cappucinos were no freebie either.  Everything on the menu was in German so we had to study the desserts behind the counter and match the names to the names on the menu to figure out what we had to tell the waiter.  The coffee was out of this world.

Walking back on the cobbled streets we passed lots of street performers and protesters and a group of nice but high looking folks who were trying to raise money to start a colony, well, a new society in West Virginia “that doesn’t suck.”  They were selling T-shirts that said “Stop Bitching and Join the Revolution.”  I was tempted, but not sure where I would wear a T-shirt that had the word “bitching” on it.  Although my husband is constantly telling me I have a potty mouth, I don’t want to advertise it in big letters across my chest. 

I really miss D.C. for the culture, the diversity of the people, and the fantabulous restaurants.  I kind of wished Jesse was in the car as Melissa veered to and fro down 395 north.  All the cars are two inches apart going about 70 mph, and when you want to change lanes, you just change lanes.  It’s up to the other guy to get the hell out of the way.  It would be fun to see my nature loving husband plastered against the back window from the G-forces generated by the driving necessary to get anywhere in this city.  Ahh, it was fun to live here.  But check in with me again by the end of next week to see if I still think so…

 

D.C. Trip

I am in Washington D.C. this weekend. Tonight I met up with my friend Melissa who I was in the Marines with. We met at the Afghan Restaurant (that is the name of it) in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria and ordered just about one of everything. It was so good. The fried eggplant and spicy pumpkin was amazing.

Then we drove through D.C. and hit Georgetown, wandered in and out of shops and found a great dessert and coffee bar. The chocolate, tiny creation cost nearly ten dollars and two cappucinos were no freebie either. Everything on the menu was in German so we had to study the desserts behind the counter and match the names to the names on the menu to figure out what we had to tell the waiter. The coffee was out of this world.

Walking back on the cobbled streets we passed lots of street performers and protesters and a group of nice but high looking folks who were trying to raise money to start a colony, well, a new society in West Virginia “that doesn’t suck.” They were selling T-shirts that said “Stop Bitching and Join the Revolution.” I was tempted, but not sure where I would wear a T-shirt that had the word “bitching” on it. Although my husband is constantly telling me I have a potty mouth, I don’t want to advertise it in big letters across my chest.

I really miss D.C. for the culture, the diversity of the people, and the fantabulous restaurants. I kind of wished Jesse was in the car as Melissa veered to and fro down 395 north. All the cars are two inches apart going about 70 mph, and when you want to change lanes, you just change lanes. It’s up to the other guy to get the hell out of the way. It would be fun to see my nature loving husband plastered against the back window from the G-forces generated by the driving necessary to get anywhere in this city. Ahh, it was fun to live here. But check in with me again by the end of next week to see if I still think so…

 

On The Way

I am on the way to my 10 year high school reunion. Not sure what to expect. Anyway, it’s a hell of a long drive, especially since I just saw the same scenery last week on the way back from vacation. My big question is, what happened to the days of the $29 hotel room? I’m only going to be in this stupid hotel room for 8 hours, but they are charging me $100. It’s the only one available in town though. Sheesh.

 

Vacation Extravaganza

 am almost recovered from our vacation, known to those in the know as Vacation Extravaganza (VE).

VE was a two-week journey through the Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks with a three-day layover in sunny Butte, Montana. If you have never been to Butte you might not understand the full implication of this.

Pictures are coming soon: there was an early camera snafu that made picture taking difficult. All in all we took 710 photos and they have to be resized from their enormosity. It is going to take me awhile since I will have virtually NO computer time this weekend (husband decided he needed a vacation from vacation, and is taking off a long weekend to disappear into the woods). Instead I will be chasing a Terrible Two-er. Which is fine with me!

Some of the VE highlights:

- Seeing a Grizzly Bear (not too far away, either) in the Tetons
- Seeing my good friend Janeen at the Butte Fireworks show
- Watching the Symes family as they sat through a crazy long 4th parade featuring loud things and loud people
- Seeing the Symes children climb up the Tower
- Hiking on the Garden Wall trail in Glacier Park (Scary)
- Discovering AJ’s strange new obsession with trains

Hopefully I will have the pictures up soon!

 

Italian Hospitality

Today we saw all kinds of Roman sights - the Colosseum again, the ruins, and everyone wanted to go shopping. Of course, I managed to drink a cappucino or three and a few of us stopped at a little restaurant and had tiramisu. I also found an Internet cafe and e-mailed some people back home. I really like Italy, it is my favorite on the trip by a long shot. I am not really buying anything, but just looking at all the neat things they have here is good enough for me Tomorrow we all leave to go home. I really miss home though, so I am looking forwrd to that too. My cats are going to really be mad at me. But this trip was definitely worth it, at least in my opinion! I would come back to Italy. The people for the most part are super-friendly! One night here, I was eating gelato and I sat next to a little old man. He didn’t speak a lick of English, but we managed to have a conversation. Italians are very proud to be Italians - he asked us if we were “americanos”. Then he went on and on…”Deniro? ITALIANO!!” “Madonna? ITALIANO! George Washington? ITALIANO! Andretti? ITALIANO…” He went on and on, naming about twenty more Italian-Americans, he was so excited and proud. Then he said goodbye, got into a little car, honked, waved, and drove away.

 

Italy and Olives

On the way to Rome, we stopped at Assisi. First we went to a winery, where we got to sample the locally made stuff. They also had a pottery factory where these people were hand-painting the wares. They had about twelve different kinds of olive spreads (YUM) and a lot of things to sample. We then drove up to the older part of Assisi, which has been here since the eleventh or twelfth century. The main reason for the town is the Francescan church, or St. Francis of Assisi. I’m not Catholic, but I learned that he is the patron saint of animals so I can’t help but like the guy. What a neat town, all built on the side of the hill. We got a tour of the church by a friar…who happened to have been raised in New York City! Apparently a lot of them come over to do two-year stints in Italy. He was a nice guy and showed us the whole church, and explained a lot of the beautiful paintings inside of it. For lunch today, the Denises and I went to a little cafe and had the most wonderful food. We sampled a plate of local cheeses, then passed around plates of ravioli, tortellini, and something else I cannot remember the name of. It was so good. I also saw an olive tree. A grove of them, actually. So far I am meeting all of my goals for this trip.

We then drove to Rome, but didn’t arrive until a bit late in the evening. We drove around the city because we couldn’t wait to see the sights. We saw the Colosseum at night, very very neat. It is rather surreal to be here. We walked to the Trevi fountain, which is an ENORMOUS, beautiful fountain into which you are supposed to toss a coin over your left shoulder. The act is supposed to guarantee your return to Rome. You also have the option of making a wish. I threw fifty eurocents in there, so hopefully my wish will come true. The ice cream in Italy (gelato) is unreal. So good that some of us have had three or four of them. (I’m personally on my second but plan to catch up). There was this flavor called “egg creme” that is my favorite.

 

Bullet Train

Now I am on a “bullet train” speeding through the French Alps. How freaking cool is that? Maybe not, but I am sure excited about it. I wish I had some of those grapes I bought yesterday. The fruit stands around here are so awesome. Much more appealing than the produce section at Food Lion, anyway. This scenery is great, and I nabbed a window seat. Four hours from now we should be in Milan. There are warnings against Americans traveling in Italy at the moment, so we aren’t going to stay in Milan but to catch a bus to Florence.

Florence was great - I would like to go back and spend more time there. We went to a leather shop where they make Italian leather (duh) and it smelled great. The downside was, it was EXPENSIVE. I saw so much that would have made great gifts for people back home, but there is something about a $200 wallet that just doesn’t agree with my wallet. We only stayed a night here. It is really pretty - went to the church were Michaelangelo and Galileo (and a slew of other great people of history) are buried. This is where the Renaissance started. I am having a lot of fun.

 

Easter in Paris

Went to another flea market (enormous) and had a crepe. Whoa. I think I could live here just for the crepes. Much like hot dogs are the best in New York, and crabs are best in Maryland - crepes are certainly better in Paris. After the flea market we went to Montmarte which is an artsy section of town with lots of cool shops and painters. We walked over to see the infamous Moulin Rouge. Then we had to leave to catch a train to Pisa in time. Someway, somehow…the tickets were booked for the previous night! We had to make a mad dash across town to another train station to some city on the French/Italian border!

Interesting - sleeping on a train like this. I am having a hard time sleeping because the train keeps stopping and lights are coming through the window.

We had to wait at this other train station for a few hours for our train to Milan. It was freezing! I really have no idea what town we are in, but apparently it is still in France. I decided to walk across the street to get a cup of coffee with Janeen’s parents, Wayne and Margie. This little cafe is so funny - its a total wanna be sports bar. It is great though because we walked in and there is a great big American flag on the wall, and all around are Super Bowl stats from the last three decades! There was a Washington Redskins jersey hanging on the wall! The best part is, none of them spoke ANY English, so with the really sad few French words I know, I managed to order us some coffee and bread. (By the way - there are only two kinds of bread in France - the rock hard baguette, and the buttery delicious croissant. I am sure ther are more, but we didn’t run into any!) Wayne HATED the coffee there, most likely because it was syrupy in strength and very potent caffeine-wise. I had his cup AND mine, and was wired for like the next day and a half. I LOVE THE COFFEE over here. I understand why a “Caffe Americano” is coffee and water now. Because the coffee we drink in the states is no where NEAR this ridiculously powerful! Anyway we left the guy a huge tip by French standards and I hope he still like Americans.

 

Reindeer Sandwich

I had a reindeer sandwich today, for lunch. The mad cow thing has been keeping everyone away from beef, and this little street deli we went to didn’t have any beef anyway. What they DID have was raw salmon sandwiches (some people remarked that they would rather risk the mad cow), cooked salmon sandwiches, some kind of poultry and then reindeer. It wasn’t bad, but I got yelled at for eating rudolph. Oh well, those silly reindeer never stop at my house anyway!
We started at the Arc d’Triomphe, then walked all the way down the Champs d’Elysses to the Louvre. What a big museum (biggest in the world!). The only goal once inside was to see the Mona Lisa. Fortunately they don’t put it TOO far away from the main entrance, but it still was a brisk walk. On the way to see ol’ Mona, I also saw a lot of paintings that I have seen in art books in the past. Very cool. After the Louvre it was on to a flea market, then the Samaritain - which is a big Parisian mall. At night, we took a boat ride down the Seine and topped the day off with a ride up the fully illuminated Eiffel Tower.

 

Canterbury & Cappucinos

Today was….interesting. Went to Canterbury, what a neat little town that was. I really liked reading the Canterbury Tales, so it is really amazing to be in the place for which they were named. The Canterbury Cathedral is straight from a medieval gothic picture book - or it would be, but it is real. Strangely (and sadly?) enough, right next to this centuries-old masterpiece of a building, there is a Starbucks. And strangely (sadly) enough, I walked in and ordered a latte. The best part is that there are different coffee creations than what are in the states - sure they have your caramel macchiattos as well. After Canterbury, we rode a bus to Dover to catch a ferry across the English Channel to Calais, France. From the ferry port, the White Cliffs were a pretty big letdown. I bet they are a lot more majestic a bit further down the coast.

Paris has a lot of fuschia toilet paper. I’m not kidding. I have seen it in three places now. Speaking of toilets…so far, Europe has more weird devices to flush the toilet. You can push a button on the wall, you can pull a string. There are some interesting combinations of both. I exchanged my pounds into Euros and I can definitely say that this language barrier thing is going to be interesting. Had “flam” for dinner, which is a really flat crepe-pizza with ham and cheese and onions. It was really good.