bennybear

Good morning and thanks all! Especially Jacqui and Roy love the new map! @ger_77 yikes! Sending my prayers and concerns that all shall be well! I’ll join those who enjoy British mysteries! here’s to Robbie Burns!

Late to the party, but hope @Cruising-along has a great one! Or had if she crossed the date line! @cunnorl and @dfish congratulations on the new babies always so precious, and we so enjoy seeing those photos. @RMLincoln Great news! Now the healing can begin! @JazzyV sorry you have to wait! @kazu yikes, glad Ivan is helping you Today we went for a wonderful lunch to the winner of the James beard award last year. Sadly this over one hundred year old restaurant and hotel, the Manago has been sold. @aliaschief wonderful news, the swells have been crazy here, so I was worried. @dfish yes on the Nanaimo bars, yum!, @Quartzsite Cruiser love how you roll, gelato is mandatory at least once, preferably twice a day! in Hawaii, it’s bubbies mochi stuffed with ice cream, preferably with passion fruit!

I think we took a bus to the train station but a taxi would much easier. As long as you dock on time, the 8 am time should be fine. We just bought tickets on arrival, it’s less than an hour IIRC. I think a few hours should allow you to see both the palace and the grounds and still allow time for pizza. We’ve been to several, Trianon and Da Michel are relatively near the train station. We went to Sorbellos but were underwhelmed. It’s the second photo. The last time we really enjoyed a more local place, Lombardis, the first photo. Bon appetito!

We used Treviso car services for transfers around Venice twice and they were great.

Good morning and thanks all! Hope all goes well for @RMLincoln @ger_77and @Cruzin Terri! @VMax1700 sending good wishes for answers tomorrow Sorry for the multiple posts, but I’ll try to never rival😂 @grapau27 We are having amazing waves. Many beaches closed.

@aliaschief happy birthday to,Sue! A bouquet of tropical doughnuts!

Happy 70 th @smitty34877. Sending wishes for a better decade! And a lovely Jasmine plant to smell!

Good morning and thanks all! Love to hear about your adventure. I think I know that gelato place, it’s one of the best. It costs more to sit down and be served, hence the lines! Either way it’s great!

@atexsix so sorry to hear about your DD, but glad he will get the help he needs! Pop in when you can!

Naples is one of our favourite ports for the wealth of choice. We have been to Ischia and enjoyed it. But it pales in comparison to a visit to the magnificent palace at Caserta, which appeared in the empire strikes back or Villa Oplontis, Neros wife’s villa with its wonderful frescoes. Both are easily reached by train, and will allow for a late visit to Naples for pizza! We also very much enjoyed Paestum and the amazing Greek temples, but as we stayed in that area cannot comment on timings.

We have been fortunate to travel with a friend who is something of an expert on carpets. We also did very well buying a very old carpet in Greece, unexpectedly. But it’s easy to make a mistake, our best rug was bought at home at auction. I think it very much depends on the guide. We hired Lail Kosygin in Istanbul and she was incredible and did direct one couple on where to go. Wishing you luck, price what you like at home and if you see one you really like go for it!

Good morning and thanks all! Acceptance for all is important! @StLouisCruisers sorry to hear about your family having Covid, hope they improve soon. Glad they are getting Paxlovid. Last year after flying our friends were ill for three weeks on arrival in Hawaii, so we do everything we possibly can to avoid it. We used n95 masks and wore them the entire time, from home, in airport, on plane and to car rentals. Even with a four hour delay and were lucky thankfully. There is also a nasal spray called Betadine you can use and Colgate/crest mouthwash with CPC in it that are both supposed to help. @VMax1700sorry to hear your wife is struggling with side effects, those drugs can be very difficult. I had to stop them as for me they were causing more issues and not worth the risks. Hope she can find the best solution for her. We have very much enjoyed the Puglia region of Italy, The Trulli houses near Alberobello are wonderful.

Good morning and thanks all! Stay warm and keep well all! Love the popcorn! @cat shepard I would love a taste of that wine! We splurged on a vintage champagne and while I enjoyed it, I am perhaps just as happy with a much cheaper version. @seagarsmokerYay! So happy for you! @RMLincoln my condolences on the loss of your friend! @ger_77 I am sorry to hear your news! Hoping he can be scheduled soon, our friend had that surgery in November and is now enjoying Hawaii. so a quick recovery is possible. It’s always hard to cancel things we are looking forward to. But so glad you know what is needed to be done. I love the unusual flowers!

I hope you get answers soon, always such a worry! Sending positive thoughts!

Good afternoon and thanks all! That quote can be very true! @summer slopesuch great drinks lately! Thank you! @seagarsmoker sending good wishes! @ger_77 I’m sorry to hear of your DH’s friend! Truly cancer does suck! @Quartzsite Cruiser sorry I missed your news, adding my condolences! @marshhawk sending healing wishes for @catmando@DeniseT great work on the diet. yay on getting some help for those sidewalks and driveways @kazu and @JazzyV @aliaschief I am so enjoying following along, Easter island is on my List! We had lunch at a lovely Peruvian Italian restaurant, I had homemade lobster ravioli and we shared the passion fruit cannoli, yum!

Thanks for your great description. It can and does happen to anyone, they are experts at distraction. We once saw an expert on pickpocketing onboard and he demonstrated and was able to remove watches, belts and even eyeglasses. We use money belts under our clothes for valuables and a throwaway wallet with a few euros, enough to buy a few things but not so much as would ruin a trip. DH was pickpocketed from his front packet in a crowded elevator, but he did catch the guy who had already passed it off. There was enough commotion the accomplice dropped it as DH was not letting the guy go. I love your clear description of not letting it ruin your trip. We once lost 600 euros to a nasty aTM followed up by the cancellation of flights the next day that cost another 700 euros to repurchase. So we rented a Ferrari, might as well enjoy throwing away your money. Luckily insurance and the bank made us whole, although it took some time. I also so agree private transport with luggage is well worth it for ease and peace of. Ind

Good day and thanks to all! @RMLincoln we live also on the deeply frozen tundra, AKA prairie provinces, but have escaped from the frozen north to the more sunny climes of Hawaii. We feel like this is our second home after over forty years! @ger_77 unfortunately they’ve fixed the airport, or we would just stay forever, lol!

Well very late to the party! But it sounds like the drink has lots for all! Thank you for all the warm wishes, both our dear grand pups had issues with the cold but are now doing ok. It is not fit for man or beast! So as I said, there was only one place worth venturing out to….. the airport, but what a dumb day, The pilot got stuck because of flight issues and was over three hours late arriving from half an hour away. We had to take on extra fuel as the plane was being kept running and then had to be deiced twice. So a four hour flight delay had us going to bed Saturday at 6:30 am home time. Needless to say, it’s taken two days to surface. I even got a few quick supplies at 2:30 am local time, no traffic, now I know how they stock those shelves. But you know what’s worse than arriving late, today they closed the airport indefinitely due to cracks on the runway and the flight from Vancouver was turned back after several hours flying time, So we may be marooned on this island indefinitely, which is fine with me after the cold! Hugs to those that need them!

Thanks for all the warm wishes! @kazu I don’t recall it ever this cold. Minus forty is the worst I’ve seen. This minus 50 is insane. I do remember my parents cars dash cracked. Also steering wheels can snap off. There is only one place worth venturing out to.

Good morning and thanks all! Brrrr. We have 50year lows!

Fantastic! Do enjoy!

Well finally got Die with Zero out of library, lol! I think I have been inadvertently following this, I learned in my early thirties we have one life to live and it’s finite. My parents taught me the value of donating to charity and to helping your kids when they need it I think I appreciated the new dryer they bought me when we had our first child more than a lot of cash when I inherited. Hope all are well and enjoying spending a little more.

@HAL Sailer I am so saddened by your news, but hoping you can both enjoy some more good times. Sending hugs!

Good morning and thanks all! @kazu yikes! So glad it’s not broken, holping you have a quick recovery. That ice is no joke! I happily celebrate house plants, Old man winter is definitely in the neighbourhood, we have minus 40 windchills in the next few days, arghh, and a true minus 39 ! Arghh!

@Crazy For Cats I am so sorry! So hard to lose these dear companions!