Saturday, February 17, 2018

Odds N Sodds

Thanks for all your kind words on my last post - I am back to 100% health and feeling good.  Did I do my 10,000 steps while I was sick?  Well, I ended up doing 60,000 of my required 72,000 last week so the answer is no, two days I was just too sick.  I am not worried about it though, I am back on track this week.

I have lost a bit of the urge to blog but will still do so - it might be more of these posts about different things as I don't seem to have time to sit down and write a long post anymore.  This week:

Hubby was out of town for 3 nights on business.  As I was feeling better I decided to steam clean the carpets in all 3 bedrooms.  Zero cost out of pocket as we bought Mom a steam cleaner around 8 years ago and I use it to clean both her place and ours every six months.  I am so happy we took the carpets out and replaced them with Buddy-friendly laminate in the rest of the house.  We would replace the carpets as they are old and low grade and difficult to keep clean but there are pieces of furniture on them that aren't easy to move so that is unlikely to happen for at least another 5-10 years.  For now we will continue to clean them.

I received a $25 credit in points from Saveonfoods which was really fast.  They were not part of the bread price fixing scandal but wanted to thank their customers.  We no longer have that store in our town but I have a card from Alberta that I was able to update and load with the money.  The next time I am in Nanaimo I can pick up my $25 in free groceries :)  Cha Ching

After seeing the exchange rate continue to change in a more costly direction for our trip to Europe this Spring I ordered some Euros and rebooked our Rome apartment.  I managed to find a cheaper (saving $380 over 4 nights) 3 bedroom apartment right next to the Vatican which likely will be even nicer than the super touristy neighborhood our previous apartment had been in.  It has access to the Metro but we can still walk everywhere if we wish.  Even better, there is a local food market nearby that is called Trionfale and has loads of fresh fruit and vegetables, pasta, meat and eggs.  We love seeing local markets so this will be a treat.  I hope to make use of our kitchen every morning for all breakfasts and at least two suppers so this will come in handy.
Trionfale Market near Vatican City, yes those are Nuns

Now a lot of our trip is prepaid, except tours, transfers, meals and our hotel in Paris.  I am not rebooking an apartment there as feel the rate I got on our hotel which includes breakfast, snacks and a minibar in each room is of better value than any of the apartments I have found.  I do not generally enjoy cooking on holiday, we will be doing it more out of necessity on this trip to keep costs down on what is already a costly holiday but in Paris we will just find reasonable options for lunches and suppers.  This week I will buy our train ticket out of Rome once I firm up whether we want to spend a few hours in Naples on the way to Salerno.  This is the first time we have ever tried AirBNB.  We have it booked both in Rome and in Salerno so I will duly report back when we return on the experience.  Our Salerno apartment only has 7 reviews but I am confident that we will have a good experience based on the responsiveness of the host to my inquiries.  Our Rome host has nearly 200 so I think we shall be in good hands.  FYI for anyone trying to book a family or group into Rome concentrate on the Prati (Vatican) neighborhood as there are many many groups who come for the religous experience here and that is the area that has the best multibedroom apartments. 

I am trying to get tickets for us to see the Pope.  We are not a deeply religious family but we are all Catholic and the boys went to Catholic school for both elementary and highschool.  They look at the Pope like a rockstar.  Tickets for the Vatican audience are free but must be requested only by fax a couple months in advance.  Even then you have to get there early as they will only let the first 70,000 people into St Peters Square.  I have found an email address where I can also try and get them from a Bishop in the United States so I am trying that angle.  Although we own a business we do not have a fax as this is archaeic in modern times and have only had to send one fax (to the government of course) since starting the business.  I do have a local business shop that have fax services available but hate to tie their fax machine up trying to get a fax to the Vatican so will try this first. 

There are also tour companies offering tickets to the Papal audience for around $50 but they get the Papal audience tickets for free and then supply a tour guide who sits with you for a couple hours while you are waiting to see the Pope.  I am not paying to see him, so if we get tickets we get tickets, if not I haven't told the boys yet so nothing is lost. Considering that Italy has 40% unemployment I do not knock the Italians for being inventive on how to make money.  This also permits tourists who might be booking last minute to at least have an option to see the Pope. I just do not wish to spend $200 for nothing.

Today I throw out about a kilo of skinless boneless chicken breasts.  I buy them by the 4 kg box, this box was on sale and a different brand than what I usually buy.  They are like rubber when you cook them.  I can't stand them. The first half (they came in two bags inside) was fine, the second is gross.  I have tried and rarely throw out food but I refuse to try again.  Fortunately my favorite brand has 4kg boxes on sale today for $26.99 which is almost $10 off so I will stock up.  

For Valentines day I printed off a homemade card and tucked it into hubby's luggage before he left on his trip.  He got me a lovely Valentines day card on January 1 - yes, completely unexpected just prior to his last business trip.  He just crossed off the Valentines bits lol.  We usually don't do anything for Valentines day anyway, I really dislike the whole idea of the thought that you must do this and that because of a certain day, even harder when you are single as I was for several years before meeting hubby.  Does anyone every have fabulous Valentines days?  I think telling the person you are with that you love them all the other days of the year is more important.  You must buy a card, buy chocolate, buy flowers and then spend even more money going out to eat!  I do admit to taking Mom for lunch on the 14th but we had that planned for several weeks as generally do it when hubby is out of town as a treat.  We eat late in the afternoon so neither one of us has to cook again that day - we had Greek and it was fabulous.

That's all I have got for today.  Hopefully you all have avoided the dreaded flu this year and for those in it's clutches....hopefully good health is just around the corner.  I am so happy to feel human again.

27 comments:

  1. Interesting post, hope you don't give up. I like getting apartments, cheaper usually and convenient for timing of meals. We keep meals simple, lovely local breads and cheeses etc. I'm not a RC but was all for going to see the Pope when he was in Edmonton years ago. My Catholic best friend, on the other hand, was not interested. I need a steam cleaner, it sounds like a good investment.

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    1. I am not, I keep checking our options every few days, changed our Rome accommodations 3 x. If we were staying longer than 3 nights in Paris the apartments would be more affordable in the long run

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  2. oh Rome is wonderful! - staying near the Vatican should be a nice area too.

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    1. I've done a lot of research and it is a very clean safe area. Not alot of tourists except for the main attractions either

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  3. Glad you're OK.
    My conclusion in winter is that one should work hard on one's immune system, find out supplements that could fortify it. I'm not a great believer in the efficiency of mass vaccination against the flu. Anyway, climate is getting worse, viruses more diverse and tough, and this calls for some preventive action on our part.

    I think the best value are those B&B middle-range (2-3 stars) hotels with a minibar and a kettle in the room.(The kettle could be optional as I bring with me an electric fork heater for making coffee). The minibar is a Must and at the time of booking I always specify that it has to be in good order and function well. I keep in it milk for the coffee, bottles of mineral water, and some light food/fruit.

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    1. When it is just hubby and I traveling we are like you, must have a minifridge and kettle so we can do tea/coffee and a bit of breakfast for ourselves but no full cooking facilities required. When we were in spain though we had a great little tiny kitchen and I got sick with a cold, it was so nice to heat some chicken broth and add some pasta for some chicken soup without going out

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  4. I had the flu, followed by uti, followed by pneumonia. I'm done, I hope.

    I want a token of the day and a Happy Valentine's Day greeting, nothing expensive at all. Cards are too expensive and dinner on the day is too crowded.

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    1. You've had a rough winter health wise...I wish you good health!

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  5. So glad you're feeling 100%! Your trip sounds like it's coming together nicely. Even we love when much of our travel is paid for in advance. It makes the trip so much more relaxing and seemingly cheaper. We bought each other Valentine's cards our first year together and have ignored it since then.

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    1. I have difficulty budgeting unless I prepay alot of it. I am looking forward to the trip, the 2nd youngest has never left Canada and the 2nd oldest has only left Canada for training in the States for his job. I am sure both will have the travel bug after this.

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  6. So glad to hear you're feeling better.
    I bet the Italians don't get to a see a single euro of the $50 the Vatican demand for an audience with the pope, more's the pity.
    I've never done Air B&B either but a couple of people we met on our travels around India really rated it, much better to live like a local than some non-descript corporate hotel. xxx

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    1. Actually I've researched that and the tour operator Italians don't pay for the tickets either, they have to request them similar to how everyone else gets them but still for free. In saying that I am one of those people who think Churches everywhere should be taxed - the Catholic Church has more money than any other religion in the world. They should not be free from paying taxes.

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    2. I'm in complete agreement with you. x

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  7. I'm happy you are feeling better, but hope your sealous cleaning didn't delete your reserves. I like following your trip planning-we need to get our details down and soon for August.

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    1. Actually I love seeing nasty old carpet become clean, it only took an hour and a half so not too much hassle...plus I had froot loops for supper that night so it's not like I had to cook - used all my energy on that lol

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  8. Last year Peter told friends that on the 14 he took me to a restaurant on the waterfront and on a cruise. He failed to mention that it was a hotdog and a bag of chips at the Nanaimo ferry terminal and the cruise was the ferry back to the mainland! Glad you are feeling better.

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    1. That's hilarious! Tell him next year he needs to take you on a real cruise that day...just because he bragged about it

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  9. We have 5 nights in Naples. We land about 10AM and after settling in at the airbnb we are doing a free 2 hour walking tour at 4:30PM in the old town. Next day is an 8 hour private car ( we splurged on this but it is only $200.00CAD more than a group tour ) to the Amalfi coast. We can plan where and when we want to stop. Third day will be spent in Naples doing the National Anthropology Museum which is said to be better than the one in Rome or even Greece and a few smaller museums. The 4th day will be a self tour in Pompeii, the trick is to do a lot of research ahead of time. Last day will be more time in museums or not depending how we feel. Likely a lot of wondering around. We then take the train for Rome. Can't remember what area we are staying in, have to check. Next is to do my research for our 6 nites in Rome. It is all very time consuming and I hate that I am here in Mexico and sitting inside doing computer work but it is necessary to get the most out of our Europe trip.

    If you do Naples do not do the hop on/ hop off bus. There are not many of them and do not run often and you can waste several hours just waiting to get back on I have read. Instead get a one day transit pass.

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    1. If we do end up in Naples for a few hours I think we will just use the Metro and wander around, would like to go to the archeological museum but only if the boys are into it. We are hiring a private guide at pompeii for less than $200 CAD for the four of us for a two hour tour. We will still wander around the site for another hour or two after but anything longer than that and I think the boys will get tired (hubby too). We will take the train there. You never know, we might do the self-guided thing too, I haven't actually booked it yet. Everything is so expensive there when you are talking four adults.

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    2. Can you send me the link to your Pompeii tour? $100.00 for two isn't too bad.

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  10. I missed the SaveOnFoods credit coupon but we weren't in town at the time it was available. We have been getting the $20 gift cards from Quality Foods when we shop on the weekend. You have to spend $150 but we go about once a month to do a cabin resupply of meat for the freezer. Wayne prefers shopping there, but I still love to go to Overwaite (It's hard to call it by its new name). Sounds like your trip plans are well under way. Like you I find it harder to blog than in the past. Even with satellite Internet at the cabin I find it's hard to read blogs and write my own when there are so many other things to do. - Margy

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    1. That QF special must be only the Powell River location. We do still have $1.49 day (this coming Tuesday) which I take full advantage of. Mom and I go together to make sure we don't miss any of the deals

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  11. "Even then you have to get there early as they will only let the first 70,000 people into St Peters Square." That part made me chuckle. That's a LOT of people! I'm not religious at all, but I think the current Pope is awesome and I'd love to see him, but not in a crowd like that. I'd be so worried about my safety. Valentine's Day was not celebrated in any way in our house. We too think it's just a Hallmark Holiday meant for spending money. We've been married almost 38 years. If we didn't love each other, we wouldn't be together so long. It's the little things done and said year round that really matter. Glad you're feeling better.

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    1. It is a lot of people, and I don't like crowds but if we get tickets I will grin and bear it. It is pretty orderly since it is a religous event, they have guards and certain areas they set up chairs which you get their early for (I couldn't stand the whole time or would faint as have low blood pressure). Hopefully we get tickets

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  12. You are so organized! As for your desire to see the Pope, I'm not catholic and I would still want to be able to see him. He is a humanitarian. Please take lots of pictures of the Vatican, I am sure it will be gorgeous!

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    1. He is one of the more popular Popes that is for sure. Either way we will see the Vatican, definitely will be taking lots of pictures

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