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Traveling with an infant can be daunting, primarily because of all the gear. Before our first airplane trip, I was a bit of a nervous wreck. I couldn’t get my head around traveling with a 4 month old; being limited to carry-on luggage or paying for checked bags; and avoiding the “shoe-bomber” restrictions put in place by the TSA. I did my research at my airline’s website and at the TSA’s site. And then I packed very carefully.
We arrived at the airport with all our gear – stroller, stroller bag, car seat/carrier, blankets, diaper bag, baby bottles pre-filled with water, Zip-Loc bags filled with premeasured formula, etc. I was confident I had everything and followed every rule. Why then, after all our gear was on the conveyor belt and my husband had gone through the metal detector did everything come to a halt?
Minutes passed and the line grew longer, I saw TSA agents pointing at the screen and presumably discussing the contents of my impeccably packed bags. Next, the police appeared! My heart was racing! I could not figure out how I could have messed up so badly. Now my family would be carted off to jail for my packing of contraband.
Only, it wasn’t the bags that I’d packed. It was the one bag that my husband had packed. It seems he neglected to fully unpack after his last hunting trip and had several shotgun shells in a side pocket of his bag.
Fortunately, it was all resolved after a few minutes of discussion between hubby and the police about the best locations for hunting, types of ammunition to use, and a presentation of his hunting license. So the moral of this story is to do your research before traveling with an infant and leave your husband at home! Tee hee hee
Since that first trip we’ve taken her on many more trips in and out of the country. While, we’ve never had the contraband problem again, I have continuously taken steps to lighten our load as airline fees increased along with my back pain.
One great find is the PeaPod from Kidco. It’s a travel sleep tent that folds down into a large light-weight and easy to carry disk. Our daughter loves to sleep in it, and it gives her the comfort and privacy to fall asleep, even when we are all in the same room. It fits in our suitcases or stroller bag, or works easily as carry-on. Check it out. We went with the large one, because we saw no need to have her outgrow it, only to buy a new one. Now we use it whenever she travels with us and when she goes to visit grandparents or the babysitter overnight.
One last tip: Many airlines say you can only check one baby item for free (stroller, crib, car seat etc.). But we can always check one for free at check in and at least one more at the gate hassle-free.
Travel as a way of life! - Kimya
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: There's More to South Florida than South Beach STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 DATE: 04/18/2012 05:22:46 PM -----
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Once upon time, I only knew one destination in South Florida and that was South Beach. And, quite frankly, it was the only destination I cared to know. I was in it for the glitzy hotels, nightlife and maybe the flirting.
My priorities in a vacation destination have changed a bit since then (although, as my husband will tell you, my accommodation standards are still awfully high). My new South Florida destinations include fantastic beaches, great food, family activities, shopping and culture.
Our first few trips to the Pompano Beach Ft. Lauderdale area were monopolized by the work of making sure Villa Pompano was in top condition for guests. On our last trip we made a point of experiencing what our guests experience. So each day we set out to spend at least half of the day enjoying something new. Here’s a sampling of what we did:
- Palm Beach - drove the long mansion filled roads, day dreaming about a future life. As exclusive as Palm Beach may seem, the beach is open to the public.
- West Palm Beach – City Place and outdoor mall with lots of shops restaurants and entertainment
- Boca Raton – at Mizner Park we viewed an outdoor art exhibit, downed our required Starbucks and took in some sun on the plaza. There’s also a Boomers amusement park here and near Ft. Lauderdale.
- Ft. Lauderdale – We put in some hours at the beach and on the boardwalk, including at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
- Miami – enjoyed dinner alfresco at a great Cuban restaurant one day and a lovely jazz club another evening.
- Pompano Beach – we walked the beach, had a great lunch and returned home for an extended swim in the heated pool.
Hubby & Chi Chi looking onto Pompano Beach
The truth is we have only taken advantage of a tiny bit of what the area has to offer. We look forward to many more fun days on future trips. And now I’ve got some new things on my list thanks to Conde Nast Travelers’ “6 Perfect Weekends in Florida.” 4 of the 5 are a short drive from Villa Pompano. (See the article,s sidebar for each of the six destinations).
Travel as a way of life -- Kimya
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: iTravel STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 DATE: 05/03/2012 07:56:51 PM -----
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Let’s get di-gi-tal, di-gi-tal. I wanna get di-gi-tal (channeling Olivia Newton John) J
The days of sitting on the phone listening to the deafening elevator music of Delta Airlines to make an airline reservation are over. (Well they should be except that now I’m on hold with JetBlue listening to the worst of the 80s … more on that later). These days most of my travel planning takes place on my computer and my travel execution on my iPhone.
I’ve got 4 more trips planned for this year. One of them is completely booked (to Villa Pompano, easy peasee). One of them has the air booked and I’m looking for a vacation rental (Barbados). And the remaining two still simply exist in my head. But for every stage there’s an app (or email subscription or website) for that! Here are some of my faves (The rest will be in parts two and three of this entry):
Flights
Kayak (web & app) lets me filter searches a bunch of different ways and view calendars that tell me how my fare compares with other fares on other datesYapta (web & app) has most of Kayak’s features plus the ability to track flights and be emailed when the price goes down. But mostly, I use it to track after purchase for refunds/credits when the price drops below my purchase price. Thus my reason for listening to hold music with JetBlue. After getting an alert from the Yapta app on my iPhone, I called JetBlue and got a $65 credit for each of our tickets to Barbados!!
Orbitz – (web & app) when I know I want to combine airlines for a complex trip. Orbitz will easily pull up itineraries for multiple airlines and you book them all in one transaction. Just remember to enter all your frequent flyer numbers.
Vacation Rentals
You already know I prefer to stay in vacation rentals whenever possible. My first stop in the house hunt is HomeAway (web and app – but web is better).VRBO (web) has lots of listings, albeit in a less visually pleasing presentation.
But often when leaving the country I check local sites, as well. A simple Google (web) search is often a good start to find property management companies.
And for major events like the Olympics, keep checking the host country’s site. They continue to add housing sources the closer you get to the games. (Our favorite rental thus far was a 1 bedroom condo on the water in Vancouver for the Olympics)
Whether renting from a company or an owner always pick up the phone and ask a few live questions. It’s amazing what you can learn or sense from just a quick chat.
Travel as a way of life!
--Kimya
----- EXCERPT: The days of sitting on the phone listening to the deafening elevator music of Delta Airlines to make an airline reservation are over. (Well they should be except that now I’m on hold with JetBlue listening to the worst of the 80s … more on that later). These days most of my travel planning takes place on my computer and my travel execution on my iPhone. For every stage of travel planning there’s an app (or email subscription or website) for that! Here are some of my faves:
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: iTravel (Part III) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 05/16/2012 04:23:25 PM -----
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Here is part 3 (the final part) of my digital world of trip planning and exploring:
All Aboard
At this phase of the trip I’ve got all kinds of confirmation numbers, flight times and addresses to keep track of for my trip, right? We’ll I’m not really worried because every time I receive a confirmation email, I simply forward it to plans@tripit.com. TripIt (web & app) collects all of your confirmation emails and organizes them into lovely itineraries. It even adds maps to get from the airport car rental pick up to your hotel/vacation home. And if you have more items (like say a museum you want to visit) you can manually add them. Then if you love paper (and I don’t) you can print it and head to the check-in kiosk at the airport. Or, you can just pull up the app on your phone every step of the way to get the info you need. (Caution, if traveling overseas you may want to print or save as a pdf on your phone to avoid roaming fees. The app runs on the internet).
If you’re lucky you can clear security and board the plane with an electronic boarding pass on your phone. (Download the smartphone app for the specific airline) This neat benefit is not always available, particularly when traveling with someone else who does not have a smartphone (like say a 2 year old). Usually you can only have one boarding pass per phone (boo!).
On Board
On the flight I’m all about Kindle for reading, tablet for the kid to play games or watch Elmo, and if I’m lucky individual backseat monitors showing free movies or TV (Hello JetBlue!).
At Destination
After I’ve arrived at my destination, I might finally start thinking about what I want to do while I’m there. My favorite travel guides are the DK Top 10 city guides, now available on most e-readers and tablets and can be ordered from Amazon. (Here I usually choose paper over digital. They are pocket sized, light weight and come with a pull-out map.) These guides list the top 10 in every category – shopping, dining, museums, site-seeing, etc. You don’t need to attempt to check off every item on each list, but rather find what interests you and use it as a starting point. Like my AMEX this is a “don’t leave home without it” item.
But the best part of traveling can often be getting away from the touristy destination and living like a local. That’s where our final apps come in. Google Places (app) allows you to search for just about anything (breakfast, frozen yogurt, steakhouse, shoe store, post office, etc.) from your phone. And the best part is there is no need to plan in advance. The app uses your phone’s GPS to find places near you. The results include hours of operation, reviews and directions that open up in your map application. Depending on your smartphone many of these functions are included in the Google Maps app (but for the iPhone it’s not). You can also get the traffic report on Google Maps (app & web) if you are in the US and avoid a traffic jam while on vacation.
Believe it or not I’ve got plenty more apps on my phone (to find cheap parking, to get flash sales on hotels and resorts, coupon apps to eat and shop at a discount at my destination, etc.). All of which are free!! Don’t pay to spend money, that’s just ridiculous.
I’m sure by the end of the month when I depart for my next trip I’ll have more apps and faves. Oh that’s right I was thinking of squeezing in a quick trip with “the kid” before the end of the month … got to get planning!
Travel as a way of life!
--Kimya
----- EXCERPT: The last of my three-part series on travel planning digitally. Use your phone to store your itinerary, board the plane, find activities, navigate traffic and more. ----- --------
AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Love, Lust and Luggage STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Gear DATE: 05/25/2012 01:35:36 PM -----
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I remember the day I fell in love with luggage. And I have Oprah to thank for my “ah-ha” moment.
It was during an Oprah’s Favorite Things episode circa 2002. O (yeah we’re tight like that) was talking about how she refused to carry black luggage since she’d discovered red luggage. She no longer had to participate in the conveyor belt search, scan and hunt of the poor black luggage lost souls. (Although, it's difficult to picture her standing in baggage claim at O'hare elbowing it out with fellow passengers to find her bag, but play along). Since I was watching on TV instead of in the live audience, I did not receive the designer red luggage that those people I will forever envy received. I had to run out and buy my own.
And I mean I had to! It just seemed like such a smart thing to have red luggage. Why had I never thought of this before? And my timing was perfect since a large department store was going out of business. I went in (seriously within an hour of the show ending) and there it was red Diane Von Furstenberg deep luxurious red (as opposed to bright cherry red) with the DVF monogram in beige letters. I got my rollie and matching bowling bag and I was it. Ummmm Hmmm looking good, compliments at the airport and (luckily) it was also functional. I loved it so much, I over packed on my summer language immersion to Barcelona just so I’d need to use all the luggage. A decision I sort of regretted when the cab dropped me ten blocks from my real destination.
Like any great luggage with a 10 year warranty it lasted me 10 years and then it started falling apart. And I’ve spent the last 2 years searching for the absolute best luggage out there. Like looking for the perfect pair of shoes except you can’t buy 5 pairs and see which ones work out. (I suppose my husband would argue you shouldn’t do that with shoes either, but I digress.)
I looked at DVF and other designer brands but found it difficult to find a blend of gorgeous design, functionality and a good warranty. Somewhere along the line it seems the hanger strap has gone by the wayside in many luggage designs. But in its place has come an emphasis on lightweight frames and that my friends is a good thing! (sorry O, quoting Martha Stewart now)
My must have list includes color, lightweight, reasonable price, sturdy and able to protect its contents. I drove myself and my husband crazy going in and out of department stores, luggage stores and discount stores for over a year of my search. Each time determining that some lovely set, was missing just one thing or another. Hubby even offered me the luggage of my choice as a Valentine's day gift. But alas, I hadn’t made a choice so I missed out on that offer.
Last year in Spain, I fell in lust with Mandarina Duck. Beautiful colors and style. Fashionable soft-side italian luggage. While a bit on the pricey side they do go on sale and the company has outlet locations. Why am I not packing a Duck now? Because the warranty was so very disappointing. It comes with a 2 year warranty that doesn’t cover wear and tear or any issue not reported within two weeks of the occurrence. To top it off you must go back to the store where you made the purchase. It is at the discretion of another store if they choose to fix it. Really? If you don’t feel confident about your product's ability to last more than 2 years, why should I?
So heartbroken, I went on to consider what seemed the only sensible choices:
Samsonite - their lovely spinners are easy rolling in full upright position and if I’d started my intent to purchase search earlier I would have purchased a lovely classic styled set from their black label, but it was discontinued before I could get my hands on matching pieces. They do offer an industry standard 10 year warranty and as I previous owner, I knew I’d likely never need to use it. But alas, the colors weren’t right and the style bored me.
Samsonite Black Label in Vintage (discontinued)
Samsonite Spinner CollectionTumi - expensive, but with a lifetime warranty. However, it doesn’t cover airline damage so what’s the point?
TumiVictorinox - their warranty is for life and covers airline damage, but not cosmetic damage. Not too bad, but the selection is sooooo boring.
VictorinoxI was lost, in love with so many great designs, but wise enough to make a responsible choice in this long term investment. Finally, I happened into a shop in Florida last December resigned to force myself to like an Victorinox gray luggage set (blah!). I asked if this was the best warranty in the industry and to my surprise the knowledgeable salesman said it was not. That was the day he changed my life. He told me about Briggs and Riley. They have a lifetime warranty that covers everything. Period.
I’m a native New Yorker so of course I thought he was lying. But I went home and did my research. He was right about the warranty so I went about finding the right luggage. This is one item, I don’t believe you can buy online if you haven’t seen it first. The colors on the screen are so different and it's impossible to get a feel for the fabric. So I went to Bloomingdale’s and was disappointed by the selection. Finally, I used the B&R website to find a store with the full selection.
I ended right back in my native New York in the Delancy Street Neighborhood better known to some as the haggle district. And boy was I happy. I found exactly what I wanted and got a set for hubby too, from an informed salesman. All at a 20-30% discount off the lowest prices I’d found online, including the store’s site Altman Luggage. Two weeks later, I went back and got a small rolling back for my littlest traveler. It's crucial that mommy teach her the important life lessons now. Quality luggage for a quality lady. Let the love affair begin!
Briggs & Riley BRX in Lava for her
Briggs & Riley BRX in Amber for him and for little missTravel as a way of life!
-- Kimya
----- EXCERPT: I remember the day I fell in love with luggage. And I have Oprah to thank for my “ah-ha” moment ... My must have list includes color, lightweight, reasonable price, sturdy and able to protect its contents. I drove myself and my husband crazy going in and out of department stores, luggage stores and discount stores for over a year of my search. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Asiyah EMAIL: agrant02@gmail.com IP: 68.171.231.80 URL: DATE: 05/25/2012 10:41:25 PM
Kimya I thoroughly enjoyed this post. I am a Tumi girl! I only own carry-on pieces so I guess the airport damage thingy is a moot point. As you know I, of course, have the set in orange. I am proud of you, you stuck it out and found the perfect luggage. I know hubby is happy about this major milestone. I just had a thought...if your luggage is damaged at the airport they will pay for it or replace it, No?
Luv yah
See you next week, pool side!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: IP: 173.63.103.200 URL: DATE: 05/26/2012 12:55:26 AM
Thanks Asiyah. Some airlines will pay for damage to your luggage, but most of those have reduced their limits to $100-$200 including all of its contents. So if you have a bag worth searching for and the airline damages it you may be out of luck. If you have a good credit card and used it to book. You may be in luck there! Hmmm.... sounds like another blog post idea :-)
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Something New (to me) in Palm Beach STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation Rental CATEGORY: To Do DATE: 06/12/2012 06:04:11 PM -----
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I've just returned from a long weekend (5 nights) at Villa Pompano. I've said before that Pompano Beach offers the ideal location to explore all that South Florida has to offer. Each time I visit, in between whatever business needs to be handled, I've committed to finding/trying something new. Mission accomplished!
Earlier this year, I took a drive up to Palm Beach for the first time. But we only ogled the mansions and manicured lawns while daydreaming of what our future could be. (Dah-ling, do come and visit us at our winter home in Palm Beach this year. The chef is preparing a lovely Christmas feast.) We never actually exited the car. Instead we headed back over the bridge to the nearest Starbucks location indicated on our Starbucks app.
This time, I actually got out of the car at the isolated North end of the beach and sat oceanside watching a beach-goer's dog chase the waves. I took in some sun, had good conversation with my travel mates while dipping my toes in the warm water.
Practicing my Brazilian fitness moves on Palm BeachUsing tips from a Conde Nast Traveler article, I plotted out the rest of the days itinerary. A leisurely walk down posh Worth Street, passing Jimmy Choo and Cartier and into a funky art gallery. Then a few steps away we discovered a hidden sculpture garden. It doesn't matter where in the world you are, discovering a secret garden is always a delight. And we followed up that visual treat, with a treat for our taste buds.
Worth Street
Sculpture Garden
Sculpture GardenNext stop - Buccan restaurant on County Road. Touted as a tapas restaurant, I arrived prepared for gambas al ajillo (grilled garlic shrimp), tortilla (potato and onion omelet) and pan con tomate (bread with tomato spread). Imagine my panic when I saw nothing familiar on the menu. In fact, I saw nothing familiar to any menu I'd seen in any restaurant. I was way too hungry to hunt for another restaurant, so I took my chances.
My risk taking was well rewarded. We spent more of our dinner conversation discussing how good the food was than on any other topic. We started with small plates of Beef Brisket over creamed corn and a scallion biscuit in mustard BBQ sauce, Florida Corn (on the cob) covered in aioli, cotija, Mexican chilies and lime, and a Beet Salad with goat cheese, arugula and walnuts, plus a yummy vinaigrette. The Brisket melted in my mouth and the beet salad made me wonder how anyone could hate beets. Then we moved on to Yellowtail Snapper in a Thai green curry sauce with bok choy and stick rice, Lamb Albondigas (meatballs) with feta, mint yogurt and spicy tomatoes, and finally a Margarita Pizza. Again we were hit with wonderful flavor combinations we simply couldn't imagine. And the cocktails were awesome as well.
OK, I'm not a food critique so I'm sure I'm not doing a good job of describing the meal. You'll just have to take my word for it or better yet try it for yourself!
More new adventures to come ....
Travel as a way of life
-Kimya
----- EXCERPT: I've just returned from a long weekend (5 nights) at Villa Pompano. I've said before that Pompano Beach offers the ideal location to explore all that South Florida has to offer. Each time I visit, I've committed to finding/trying something new ... ----- --------
AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Summer Fun STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: To Do DATE: 06/20/2012 11:28:56 PM -----
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There is a lot going on in Southern Florida this summer. And I’m not just talking beaches. In between, the sun bathing, swimming, paddle boarding and boating, there’s a lot more fun to be enjoyed this summer.
I’ve updated this website with a list of upcoming area events. If you’re planning a stay at Villa Pompano (and I hope you are!), here’s a sampling of what you can enjoy:Spa, Spa, Spa – Looking for a massage, facial or just a day of relaxation? Miami Spa Month is actually two months long from July through August. Then Ft. Lauderdale continues the dealsfor September with Lauderdale Spa Chic. Both promotions include spas outside of the respective city’s limits.
Big Shows - Concert go-ers can enjoy Earth Wind & Fire, Al Green and Jon Bon Jovi at the Hard Rock Live (Hollywood, FL), or Florence & The Machine and American Idol Live at the Bank Atlantic Center (Sunrise, FL). Plus, Cirque De Soliel will be performing Dralion at the Bank Atlantic Center.
Festivals & Fairs – There is a Braziian Film Festival, the Hollywood Beach Latin Festival and the Miami Wine Festival.
Food, Food & Food – Every great vacation should include great food. So try the Flavor Palm Beach in September or all year round food and music options at the Hollywood Beach Theater’s Broadwalk Friday Fest and Music & Dancing Under the Stars (Monday, Tuesdays and Wednesdays) or the SunTrust Sunday Jazz Brunch in downtown Ft. Lauderdale.
To see the full listing of events with dates click here.
Lucky you! Villa Pompano is not yet completely booked for the summer, so you can pack your bags and head down to the fun. As of this posting we currently have availability for the following dates:
June 27 – July 2July 13 – 27
August 2 – 8
August 20 – September 30
August 2 – 8
August 20 – September 30
What are you waiting for? Get packing and join the fun!
Travel as a way of Life …
--Kimya
--Kimya
----- EXCERPT: There is a lot going on in Southern Florida this summer. And I’m not just talking beaches. II’ve updated www.villapompano.com with a list of upcoming area events. If you’re planning a stay at Villa Pompano (and I hope you are!), here’s a sampling of what you can enjoy ... ----- --------
AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Coupon Gone Wrong STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 06/27/2012 05:11:44 PM -----
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(Sorry for the long post, but hopefully you’ll find some good advice)
Last month prior to my trip to Florida, my travelmates and I spent a good part of our day forwarding Groupon, Living Social, and other daily deals to each other for consideration. We were trying to plan a great vacation that included trying new things and places at a discount. Because well, really who doesn’t love a discount.
After rounds and rounds of emails, we missed out on the spa discount we wanted. (Lesson learned: pay attention to those sale end dates and times) We ended up with coupons for a sushi restaurant and paddle boarding lessons.
After we purchased the sushi coupon, we read the small print again (Lesson 2: read the small print, ALL OF IT, before getting excited and or purchasing) because when we called we were told there was a limit of one per table. This wasn’t in the small print. Apparently the restaurant just decided to make its own rules. If we’d actually gone to the restaurant, we’d have been prepared to argue our case. But we never made it there. We made it to plenty of other restaurants, but we did not plan ahead to go to any of those at which we ended up. (Lesson 3: If you don’t like planning the details of your vacation, then don’t – not even for a bargain)
Paddle boarding was a different story. We were VERY excited about learning a new watersport. One which promised to be fun and aerobic – because actually losing weight on vacation would be an incredible accomplishment. My cousin handled all the contact with Miami Beach Water Adventures, the paddle board instruction company. She started before we purchased the deal from Living Social by making sure they had availability for our desired dates. Her phone calls were not returned but her text message received a reply. They could take us and encouraged us to purchase the deal. After we purchased she made the reservation, again via text. On the day of our scheduled lesson, it rained heavily all day. We tried calling to find out if the lesson would be cancelled/rescheduled. No answer. Again we texted. The next day we were sent a text that we could reschedule and a date and time were confirmed – via text.
Finally, the sunny day of our lesson arrived and we were psyched. We headed for south beach making sure to be on-time. We arrived 5 minutes before the lesson at the listed address. It was a small cottage with a few signs about water sports and a chain across the front steps with a sign reading no trespassing. All indications were that this place was not open. We called the phone number. Surprise! No answer. We decided to take down the chain that blocked the stairs and take a seat on the porch. We assumed we must be the first appointment of the day and so they’d open any minute.
After a while we ended up chatting and laughing as we waited. Eventually a man came and opened the door. He had just out of the bed hair and was wiping his eyes the way toddlers do when they are really tired but don’t want to go to bed. He said, “why is there all this noise on my porch, we’re closed!” We politely informed him that he shouldn’t be closed since we had an appointment that started 10 minutes ago. “No, I have a 2pm for 2 people. I don’t have a 1pm for 3 people.” We informed him we had a confirmation text. “Oh that must be from my secretary.” She obviously did not work on site (because we are really going to pretend that she exists). “Well see here on my calendar,” he shows us his phone, “I only have a 2pm. And I didn’t get in until 7 am this morning.” You too are probably wondering why his late night drinking escapades would be any of our concern. Our conversation continued in this same vicious circle for several minutes, us informing him we had an appointment, him informing us he had had a late night and his secretary never put the appointment on his calendar. Finally, I said, “so, we will go and eat and come back at 2pm and then you’ll be ready for us, right?” He agreed. (Lesson 4: Get out while you can!!!)
An hour later we returned having searched out food in the hot Miami afternoon sun. We were joined by a young couple who were equally perturbed and had a similar booking experience. Only then did we discover that his plan included us carrying the 40-50lb paddle boards and oars to the beach 4 blocks away. I know I said it would be great to lose weight on a vacation, but tugging 50 lbs. of awkward weight through the street under the hot sun in Miami humidity was just not what I had in mind. Especially since this was just the lead up to the “aerobic” activity.
The instructor told us to grab a board and go. I paused, to ask if a life jacket would be available, since none had been offered. This is also a good time to mention that we were not presented with any waivers or paperwork of any kind. The only time we saw the inside the office, which was his studio apartment, no desk in site, was when we demanded to leave our purses and valuables in a locked location.
Finally, we made it to the beach, exhausted and extremely angry. The instructor, I would tell you his name if he’d told us, gave us about five minutes of verbal instruction. Most of it focused on how much the equipment cost and how not to damage it. We all headed for the water, hoping we’d figure it out by doing.
Well, we quickly figured out that strong winds make it hard to choose your paddle board direction. The instructor had decided since the winds were so strong on this day, we should go against the wind to begin and then have an easy return. Did I mention we were all beginners? No matter, the wind was not the least bit concerned with what the instructor wanted. We paddled and paddled and drifted further and further away from the starting point. All the while he yelled at us to go the other way, as if Mother Nature was not in charge.
I’m excited to say I stood up on my board. Sure I only did it because my legs were cramping so bad after lugging the board to the beach, kneeling was only a short term option. Shortly after standing, I fell off. He yelled at me to get back on the board! Duh, wouldn’t have figured that out. I stood again, he was still yelling at me for going in the wrong direction. I followed his instructions to turn around. Mother Nature got pissed. A strong wind came at the same time as a wave and knocked me off the board again, only this time I fell under the board and its 50 lbs. hit me in the head. GOD BLESS MY LIFE JACKET!! I came up from under the water, head pounding, and crazy was yelling at me to get the board. I yelled something back that is not appropriate for publication. Basically, I let him know my pending concussion, trumped his laziness, so he might consider getting the board himself. (Lesson 5: Those who teach sometimes shouldn’t)
While my adventures occurred the rest of the group was left to drift wherever the wind would take them. They tried in vain over and over to make it back to the starting point, let alone to our original destination. Instructor guy then gave up completely on our lesson and disappeared to go flirt and recruit new customers down the beach. We took turns teaching each other how to paddle board. I think we did a pretty good job. Eventually, made it back to the starting point, our new goal for the day, and we all decided we were done. My cousin yelled to the instructor, “Hey, we are ready to start our lesson.” We all laughed, except the instructor, who gave us a blank stare. Then we said, were done. You’re carrying at least two boards, let’s go.
Final Lesson: A deal is only a deal if you get high quality and a lower than expected price. In this case, we thought we did our homework by calling the company before purchasing the deal. But if it were any other on-line purchase or travel booking, we’d have searched for reviews and experiences from previous customers. I did a search today and here’s what I found:
From Yelp - I’d love to be able to write a review- but since they have never returned a phone call of mine, and take forever or never to respond to an email, I have been unable to ever set up an appt to use their services. Horrible customer service and too bad.Well at least, I’ve found a place to put my review, since I did not find that option on Living Social.
From Yelp - I called their number and someone picks up then hangs up. I call again it rings twice for it to go to voicemail. Was going to go today but I guess I’ll take my business elsewhere.
Photo from Miami Beach Water Adventures site. Even these people don't look like they are learning much or going anywhere fast!I’ve gotten great Groupons for $16 parking in New York City and at the airport, local restaurants, and museum admission. So there are good deals to be found.
What has your experience been with Groupon, Living Socials or other daily deal sites?
Travel as a way of life ….
Kimya
----- EXCERPT: Using Groupon, Living Social, and other daily deals to plan a great vacation that included trying new things and places at a discount. Because well, really who doesn’t love a discount. But some times couponing goes wrong as did our sushi and paddle boarding ... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Keli EMAIL: IP: 173.220.119.138 URL: http://www.babybirdsweettreats.com DATE: 06/27/2012 06:38:00 PM
I'll definitely start looking at the fine print with these deals. Sorry you had such an awful experience with the paddle boarding.
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AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: The List STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 07/25/2012 05:44:53 PM -----
BODY:
I love a list. I pretty much run my life by lists. Doesn’t mean if it’s not on the list I can’t do it. But if it’s on the list, its 10x more likely to get done.
Recently, I was having a very preliminary meeting with an architect and he asked me to give him an overall idea of what I wanted in the home redesign. I said, “Hold on, I actually have a list.” His eyes got big and he chucked a bit, I presume because it seemed like over kill. Then I went in my bag, pulled out my spiral notebook and flipped through the first 100 or so pages to get to the page I needed. His eyes got even bigger and he said, “Wow!!! You have a lot of lists!” I replied, “That’s what I do for a living. I make lists.”
I’d never actually thought about it that way before, but it’s true. I consider myself a project manager, which can mean different things in different arenas, but whatever I’m working on it’s usually my job to make sure everything that needs to be done, gets done. And, I approach my personal/family life the same way. I came to terms very early in life with the fact that my brain has a limited capacity. I can’t say I’ll do something and then just remember to do it. The odds of me remembering are at best 50/50. But if I write it down, those odds are more like 95/5 in favor of getting it done. So I visit Barnes and Nobles bi-annually and stock up on vinyl covered spiral note books, in which to store my life.
As you know, my life includes travel. So my notebooks contain lists of trips to book, vendors to call, flight options, packing lists and on and on. I’ve made my husband into a list maker (begrudgingly and only on things that matter to me). We use the Grocery IQ app on our phones to create shared grocery lists. Whoever uses the last of something is charged with scanning the bar code to add it to the appropriate shopping list (Yes, I have separate list for Costco, Whole Foods, Target, etc.). I even create shopping lists for our trips in the app. For example, I keep an ongoing list of things for Villa Pompano. When we arrive in Pompano Beach, I’m ready to make the quick run around the corner to the supermarket and stock up.
I used to keep a list of all the places to which I’d like to travel. Then hubby and I bought a huge wall map and framed it. We put pins in all the places to which we’d traveled. Since we both love to travel and did so before we met each other (in fact, it’s how we met). We had to take it to another level. Thus, we have a sophisticated color-coded map pin system: We each have a color of our own (he’s white, I’m black) for places we traveled to without the other person. We have a color (green) for all the places we’ve traveled together since meeting 5 ½ years ago. It gets deeper. There are places we have both been to, like Madrid or Amsterdam, but we went there before we’d met. These places get a special “Apart” pin (red), because we’ve both been but not together. And the little dots on the map are too small to hold two pins in for one city.
Our Map with PinsThe map usually peaks the curiosity of guests to our home, and also works as a visual reminder to us of the places we’ve been. So in that way it’s a list of our travels. But it also makes it very easy to see the pinless places (the entire right third of the map). I need only glance at the map to know that Russia, China, Australia and South Africa are on my to-do list. So I’ve got my notebook out and I’m making plans.
Oh there is one new wrinkle in the sophisticated color-coded map pin system. We have to order some pink pins. After all, the kid has been more places before age 3 then I’d been to by, 18, no 21, no 25 years old. And she needs her own pin color, because she deserves her own travel list!
Baby's first flight----- EXCERPT: I love a list. I pretty much run my life by lists. Doesn’t mean if it’s not on the list I can’t do it. But if it’s on the list, its 10x more likely to get done ... I used to keep a list of all the places to which I’d like to travel. Then hubby and I bought a huge wall map and framed it. We put pins in all the places to which we’d traveled. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Asiyah EMAIL: agrant02@gmail.com IP: 68.171.231.84 URL: DATE: 07/25/2012 07:45:49 PM
I absolutely love your lists. Traveling with you is such a joy because of your list. (Among other things)
I used to be a multi-lister. I was chided for organizing too stealthily on one of my cross-country trips back in the 90's and wondered what life would be like if I didn't have a list. Well I still managed to get where I was going without my list but the sense of accomplishment is lost without having the opportunity to cross things off of the list. I'm slowly, but surely getting back on track. I do think my choice of phone and geographical location make my grocery shopping list making less enjoyable. I don't know that I'll ever be an efficient grocery shopper, but at least my life will soon be listed for the simple pleasure of crossing things off of that list.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sheila EMAIL: IP: 67.83.196.164 URL: DATE: 07/25/2012 10:46:20 PM
As a fellow lister, I totally understand. However, I now use my iPhone and iPad, which is great as I can also email John & Parker their lists (both not list keepers). One good thing, my lists are now very short.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Kids, Kids & More Kids STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Family Travel DATE: 08/14/2012 04:52:59 PM -----
BODY:
I’ve just returned from my summer vacation at Villa Pompano. My husband, 2 year old daughter and I went down for a week, with my 12 year old nephew and my husband’s 14 year old Little Brother. Suddenly, I went from a mom with toddler issues to a mom with teenager issues. As any parent of teenagers knows it’s much easier to satisfy a toddler.
It’s not that I’ve completely forgotten what it’s like to be a teen. I remember thinking 7th grade would never end. I don’t wear a watch to this day because it was the only way I could make it through high school calculus. With my watch on, I checked every two minutes to see if it was time for the beloved bell to ring. And it never was that time.
But I don’t recall being bored at home. I had an older brother to beat me up; cousins downstairs with which to play and argue; and a street full of kids, with whom we could jump double dutch, race, and play “red light, green light, 123.” I remember spectacular Christmas we got our first video game system. It was called Intelligence and paled in comparison to the Atari system my cousins received but we were still delighted to play our no frills versions of Frogger and Pong. Our play however was mostly reserved for when the outdoor activities were not available. We jumped at the opportunity to be taken to Coney Island Beach or on a camping trip. We even fancied a walk downtown. Oh yeah and then I got a job!!! Well I’m officially old because I will now say, “those were the good old days.”
My temporary status as parental figure for teenage boys has taught me that if you don’t have an X-Box accessible you’ve got to work double time to keep away the inevitable “I’m bored” teenage whine. As a toddler’s mom, you never hear those two words. In fact, most whining is the result of bedtime announcements to which my daughter is opposed because it interferes with her life of nonstop entertainment (this includes, playing with boxes, making up crazy faces and dances, dressing up the dog and sorting her flash cards).
Luckily I had a few secret weapons on this vacation:
Weapon 1: The swimming pool – even the most screen addicted kid can’t resist the lure of the pool. We added a floating basketball hoop, water guns and a football for canon ball passes. The Result: Hours of fun.
Weapon 2: Pompano Beach – only 5 minutes away, a trip to the beach never fails. We had swimming contests, floating contests and at the request of the littlest one - Ring Around the Rosie contests (the winner pulls the most people underwater on “all fall down”. The Result: Several more hours of fun.
Keeping an eye on the boys while taking a break on Pompano BeachWeapon 3: Food, Food and more Food – we grilled chicken, steak, corn on the cob and potatoes. When we were done we grilled some more. There was no chance of food going to waste with two teenage boys on hand and my daughter’s insatiable appetite. But more than that, they also got into the thrill of the grill, watching and learning how it’s done. The result: lots of full bellies.
Weapon 4: Basketball – Hubby took the boys to a nearby park with a basketball court where they joined with local kids for a pickup game. The Result: Some of those kids were in their twenties. Let’s just say our players returned home skills tested and a little more humble, but eager to play again.
Weapon 5: Go Kart Racing & Boca Raton Shopping – Hubby took the boys to Xtreme Indoor Karting for some racing experience, while me and my little shopper went up to Boca Raton to delight in one of my favorite furniture stores Z Gallerie. We met back up with the boys at Xtreme after their races were done and played the arcade games (mostly getting the basketball in the hoop and the football in the whole). The Result: Everybody, including me got a little of what they wanted and we all had fun together playing the games. Score!
Making faces in front of Z Gallerie in Boca RatonWeapon 6: Gulfstream Park – just at the northern edge of Delray Beach (about 25 mins from Villa Pompano by car) is Gulfstream Park, part of the Palm Beach County park system. It has a picnic area, playground and beautiful beach. There is also saltwater fishing, shower facilities and restroom. It really is a destination with something for everyone in the family. We spent hours in the water and when it was time for my daughter to take a break (not because she was tired, really because I was) we moved over to the playground. The result: Everybody’s happy and tired. I’m free to watch the Olympics in peace upon our return to Villa Pompano.
----- EXCERPT: I’ve just returned from my summer vacation at Villa Pompano. My husband, 2 year old daughter and I went down for a week, with my 12 year old nephew and my husband’s 14 year old Little Brother. Suddenly, I went from a mom with toddler issues to a mom with teenager issues. As any parent of teenagers knows it’s much easier to satisfy a toddler. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: villas with pool EMAIL: ahalya_devi@yahoo.com IP: 123.237.212.15 URL: http://www.luxurykeralavillas.com DATE: 08/25/2012 06:14:52 AM
I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Miles to Go STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 08/29/2012 01:09:40 PM ----- BODY:
I’m in Norway now, in a quaint little town called Sandefjord, having a relaxing family vacation. I’ve been planning this trip for months. I did countless online searches and made more than enough calls to airlines, American Express Travel and Royal Caribbean (after we leave Norway we will spend a few days in Copenhagen before boarding the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas for a one week cruise on the Baltic Sea). I was determined to create a fantastic memorable vacation for as little money as possible.
Sandefjord
At Molen (Roling Stones Beach with Viking Stone Graves)I am an avid collector of American Express Membership Rewards Points. I use my Amex for everything, everywhere that it is accepted and then pay the bill off at the end of the month. Its tantamount to using a debit card but with better rewards. As a result, I always have a bunch of miles available when I’m ready to travel. But I don’t just transfer my miles over to the airlines all willy nilly. I wait until there is a special, like “50% bonus for every 1,000 points transferred” or “20,000 bonus miles when you transfer 30,000 or more points.” Since 1 point usually equals 1 mile, it’s not that hard to get enough miles for a free airline ticket to Europe if you pounce when a good trade in offer appears.
So after taking advantage of a bonus trade in offer a few months earlier, I booked our tickets using our miles on Delta. The catch was we each have a Skymiles account so each ticket had to be booked separately. Add to that, the Skymiles website is pretty useless when trying to book internationally and even more so when trying to book multi legs itineraries. If I was an amateur, I would actually have believed that it would cost me anywhere from 160,000 to 400,000 miles to book the flights I needed. If the flights even existed. Because the search results vary, pretty much every time I hit search. Fortunately, this is not my first time to the rodeo. I have long known that both the Delta Skymiles site and the American Express Travel website are useless for booking with miles or points. I only wonder how I could have known this for 7 or more years and yet these two successful companies seem to be comfortable allowing the problem to persist. For Delta’s part, it allows them to charge a fee for calling in to purchase a ticket, despite the fact that is not bookable online. (I disputed this fee, multiple times and ultimately had it refunded).
Anywhoo, I called and spoke to a lovely Delta agent who worked hard to find us seats on a reasonable itinerary that would take us into Oslo, Norway and return from Copenhagen for 60,000 miles per ticket. The final solution required us to depart from New York’s JFK airport (instead of our nearby Newark airport) and connect in Amsterdam both ways. We needed to transfer some miles to my daughters account so she’d have enough for a free ticket as well. When it was all said and done, I spend about $500 on mileage transfer fees and taxes. But that is three tickets to Europe at the end of summer for $500!
Next I went on to booking the cruise. I was eligible to use American Express points to pay for the cruise. At the time of booking I was a few thousand miles short of the number of miles needed to fully cover the cost of the cruise. I did however have the needed amount in pending points (points that would be rewarded after my most recent bill was paid). And now you will learn why I love American Express: I simply called Membership Rewards and told them why I needed the points and asked if they would advance them to me. And because I am their favorite customer in the world, they said, “sure!” (They also have a program I’ve used in the past that allows you to borrow points for a small fee, which you are likely to accrue over the next year.) So, I now had enough points to book the cruise for free as well. However, after I booked it, I did the calculation on the number of points needed versus the actual cost of the cruise. Compared to the value we get for airline miles, the value for the cruise was only about half. So I asked that they not use the miles and just put the cruise charge on the card, for which they rewarded me with double points.
So while points and miles are great, it’s still important to do the math and make sure the trade in offers the best value.
----- EXCERPT: I am an avid collector of American Express Membership Rewards Points. I use my Amex for everything, everywhere that it is accepted and then pay the bill off at the end of the month. Its tantamount to using a debit card but with better rewards. As a result, I always have a bunch of miles available when I’m ready to travel. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: A Day in Tallinn (Baltic Cruise Part 2) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: To Do DATE: 09/26/2012 11:27:05 PM ----- BODY:
A day in Tallinn
So my Top Ten guide for Tallinn, Estonia tells me I should see the following:
1. Town Hall Square, the focal point of Tallinn’s Old Town – Check
2. Pikk Street, “a cobbled alleyway lined with architectural wonders from every age” – Check
3. Niguliste Church, “few places offer a more sumptuous feast of medieval art” – No Check
4. City Museum, “ the lives and times of Tallinners through the ages” – No Check
5. The City Walls, “limestone walls and pinnacled towers of medieval fortifications” – Check
6. The Dome Church, “ Tallinn’s main Lutheran cathedral” – No Check
7. Museum of Occupations, “a compelling account of Estonia’s 20th century misfortunes” – No Check
8. Kadriorg Park – “Peter the Great’s 18th century please gardens” – No Check
9. KUMU – the national art museum – No Check
10. The Estonian Open-Air Museum – “collection of traditional farm buildings” – No Check
You’ll note the list we did not see is almost exclusively museums and this was a conscious decision to avoid indoor tourist places. I believe I’ve mentioned before how our recent trip to tour the White House resulted in my daughter becoming infamous. Known by everyone on the tour, especially the guides, as the little girl who climbed on as many pieces of antique furniture as possible, viewed a velvet rope as an opportunity to get under it, and sang Ring Around the Rosie increasingly louder as the guide tried (and failed) to talk over her. After that trip, we decided it was best to avoid indoor tourist attractions, like museums, until the thrill of a high ceilinged room that could produce a good echo did not out rank instructions from mommy and daddy.
So I can’t speak to the artsy side of Tallinn, but I can tell you that what I saw was beautiful. It looks like a film set for a movie set in medieval times. And mixed in you have the Scandinavian style buildings with their brightly colored roofs. The history I’d read said that Estonia spent a lot of time being conquered and traded back and forth, primarily between the Russians and the Swedes. In between, Estonia would declare its Independence and then one of those countries would simply ignore that declaration and claim Estonia as theirs again. So they were like kids in a bad divorce who just wanted emancipation. (They final did get it.) That does come through in the architecture of the city. And I found it ironic that the City Walls built to prevent occupations still stands (albeit in sections) when it doesn’t seem the wall was very effective.
A Portion of the Old Wall
Old Town SquareSo what exactly did we do in Tallinn, we ate at the sweetest coffee shop/tea house I’ve ever experienced. Chocolaterie Pierre is in a cobbled stone alley way with outdoor café tables as well as indoor antique chairs and tables. They have a variety of teas from which to choose and more importantly several desserts. Hubby had a chocolate cake, Duckie had and even more chocolaty chocolate cake, and I had cheesecake with a white chocolate topping. All three desserts were divine and highly recommended. However, we could have shared just one. The pieces were very large and even my daughter (whose stomach is commonly known as the bottomless pit) had to push away her plate leaving more than half of her cake uneaten. If you visit, come hungry and with enough people to share.
Inside Chocolaterie PierreThere, I’ve told you about the food I enjoyed in Estonia. We didn’t stay for lunch, because we’d done all we needed to by lunch time and hey lunch was already paid for on the boat J
We did start the day with some shopping. Estonia is known for its crafts (felt, wood, wool) and its amber. The crafts were fantastic. I saw a wooden salad bowl that looked like it grew out of the ground to become a bowl. All of the visible texture and inconsistencies of the bark were preserved in this ready to eat bowl. Unfortunately, the shop does not ship internationally and this bowl was not going to fit into my carry-on luggage. So we settled for a huge wooden spatula for me and a tiny one for Duckie. Meanwhile, hubby stocked up on tasty Moose jerky and vintage cigars. The amber shops were quite a disappointment. Most pieces were not set in the highest quality silver or leather, yet the prices reflected gold or gems bought from Tiffany’s. I passed on Estonia amber (though rumor has it, the amber is really imported from Poland.)
The Outside of A Church/Museum :-)In conclusion, I think Tallinn is an ideal cruise port. The Old Town is just a short shuttle ride from the pier and has just enough to keep you busy for an entire day (if you do a museum or two or a guided tour). I don’t need to visit again, but it was a fun start to our cruise.
Next up St. Petersburg, Russia!
Travel as a way of life ...
--Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: nilsenrentals@gmail.com IP: 96.242.34.99 URL: http://www.villapompano.com DATE: 09/26/2012 11:55:09 PM
Please share your experience, questions or comments about Tallinn or anywhere you have been.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Tasheea EMAIL: IP: 24.246.114.137 URL: DATE: 09/27/2012 05:24:22 PM
Very cute post and while it looks like my favorite traveling trio made the most of it, I think I'll have to pass on Tallinn. I will however be sneaking into your carryon luggage for OUR trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. Lol. BTW, any background stories on the name - TALL - INN???
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: nilsenrentals@gmail.com IP: 96.242.34.99 URL: http://www.villapompano.com DATE: 09/27/2012 06:34:58 PM
Ask and ye shall receive:
From Wikipedia: The origin of the name "Tallinn(a)" is certain to be Estonian, although the original meaning of the name is debated. It is usually thought to be derived from "Taani-linn(a)" (meaning "Danish-castle/town"; Latin: Castrum Danorum) after the Danes built the castle in place of the Estonian stronghold at Lindanisse. However, it could also have come from "tali-linna" ("winter-castle/town"), or "talu-linna" ("house/farmstead-castle/town"). The element -linna, like Germanic -burg and Slavic -grad / -gorod, originally meant "fortress" but is used as a suffix in the formation of town names.
The previously used official German name Reval (help·info) (Ревель) was replaced after Estonia became independent in 1918–1920. At first both forms Tallinna and Tallinn were used.[20] The United States Board on Geographic Names adopted the form Tallinn between June 1923 and June 1927.[21] The form Tallinna appearing in modern times in Estonian denotes the genitive case of the name, as in Tallinna Reisisadam (Port of Tallinn).
And if you'd like more history on Tallinn read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallinn
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: A Day in St. Petersburg (Baltic Sea Cruise Part 3) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: To Do DATE: 10/04/2012 04:01:27 PM ----- BODY:
I would tell you what the Top 10 book says to see in St. Petersburg, Russia, but I won’t. Why? Because without a visa (which can cost up to $500USD pp) I didn’t have the freedom to wander around and form my own itinerary. Instead, as a cruise ship passenger the only options were to purchase group or private tours from the cruise line or to have pre-booked a tour with a private operator. Cruise tours ranged from about $79 per person for the shorter group tours to over $1500 per person for private cars. Small children were free (thankfully). Needless to say we took the group tour option.
Many of the tour options were 9 hours long. As an adult, I’m not interested in a 9 hour tour, let alone with a 2 year old. Instead we opted for the 4.5 hour walking city tour in the morning and a 2 hour shopping tour in the afternoon.
Because of Russia’s strict immigration policies, after disembarking the ship we had to go through customs and immigration as though we were at a major international airport. The process took over 40 minutes to get our entire tour group through. As a result, all of the morning tours got off to a late start.
The ride into town is like no other. We saw the old Soviet housing buildings, were each citizen was given apartment. Imagine rows and rows of tall cement buildings. They are larger than college dormitories and even more drab. I was saddened to think about living that way, pilled one upon another. Can one have a sense of community when your community consists of hundreds of families in assigned housing? I don’t know.
It was slow going getting into the city. St. Petersburg has many small beautiful bridges that connect the land over the many waterways and canals. However the bridges, like most roads are hundreds of years old. The automobile population has simply outgrown the available roadways. As a result, there is heavy congestion and short trips can easily turn into long trips.
We were rewarded after our long delay getting to our tour location. The city is magnificent. Very old government buildings and palaces are being restored following the “Soviet Period” (this is the way our tour guide referred to the communism). Former high society gardens are now large open public parks with large statues of historic Russian leaders and artists.
Many of these buildings occupy a full square block along the Palace Embankment. This area contains many sites of Imperial Russia including: The winter palace, now the Hermitage, a 5 building museum housing over 1 million artifacts. The Admiralty, a ship yard built to accommodate Peter the Great’s new navy in the early 1700s. The Bronze Horseman, the famous statue depicting Peter the Great on a horse, which was commissioned by Catherine the Great to celebrate the city’s founder. The Summer Garden, built by Peter the Great and later destroyed by floods, now rebuilt as an English garden with a bronze sculpture of Russian writer Ivan Krylov. And finally, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the largest in Russia, which was used as a museum of atheism during the Soviet years.
The Bronze Horseman
The Hermitage
Church on Spoiled BloodBut for me the highlight by far was the Church on Spoiled Blood. I’ve seen enough cathedrals in my travels to have little need to see one ever again. However, this church is more of an architectural and artistic marvel. Much like my fascination with La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, it would take months if not years of full time study to appreciate every detail of this breathtaking church. Quoting my top 10 book,
“a cacophony of color [it] stands out in St. Petersburg by nature of its Russian Revival style, something that is extremely rare in this city of Baroque and Neo-Classical architecture.”It’s true, this structure is an unexpected surprise in this very old-styled city. The church is adorned with color, mosaic walls, icons, elaborate window frames and a 265 foot high golden steeple. It was built on the site of Alexander II assassination as a memorial in 1881.
It was at this point that my camera battery died. I was frustrated, but I supposed the viewers of my photos are blessed to not have to look at the hundreds of pictures I would have taken of this one building. Fortunately, I did manage to get a handful of photos before the battery died.
Our tour concluded with a trip to a gift shop. There we purchased obligatory (and beautiful) Christmas ornaments for my collection, as well as Russia dolls as gifts.
Having seen all of those sites as well as dealt with the delays of traffic and immigration (which you must go through again before boarding the ship), our tour returned to the port an hour late. Leaving us about 30 minutes before our next tour would start and certainly not enough time to get through immigration to board the boat for lunch and get off again. The shopping tour was to be focused on souvenir shopping, which we’d just done. So we decided to skip it. (OK, OK, after we found out the Starbucks scheduled to open any day now was not yet opened, we decided no city mug, no shopping tour needed.)
There was much much more to see in St. Petersburg. And some of our fellow cruise passengers who did the 9 hour tours got to see it and appreciate it. They were also very very tired. I was disappointed that the visa restrictions inhibited our ability to freely explore. Then I ran into a Venezuelan mom and daughter who had been a part of our tour group. Because the visa restrictions only apply to the US, Canada and most of Western Europe, they were free to roam around St. Petersburg and did so. They were not happy with their experience, however. They found no one spoke English, the train system very difficult to navigate and people generally unhelpful. The tour books warn of many scams and dangers including getting into a taxi with other people (those people are there to rob you), taking a taxi ride at all (many cab drivers will rip you off). Also there are lots of warnings of racism. Fortunately, I did not experience any of these things (other than the extra 5 minutes of staring by the customs agent). But I did sense the isolation of the Russian people. Though its been 20 years since Soviet rule and signs of great change like commercialism and high employment are prevalent in the St. Petersburg, it’s still a place whose people don’t have much contact with the rest of the world, likely by design.
I look forward to seeing more of Russia when they host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Stay tuned.
Travel as a way of life …
--Kimya
----- EXCERPT: The city of St. Petersburg, Russia is magnificent. Very old government buildings and palaces are being restored following the “Soviet Period” (this is the way our tour guide referred to the communism). Former high society gardens are now large open public parks with large statues of historic Russian leaders and artists. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Asiyah EMAIL: agrant02@gmail.com IP: 209.59.121.174 URL: DATE: 10/04/2012 05:46:36 PM
Wait no Kremlin or the famous square? I guess I wont rush out to see those sights. I didn't realize a VISA was needed. It is so American of me to think I should EVER have to requiret a VISA to travel.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: A Day in Helsinki (Baltic Cruise Part 4) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CATEGORY: To Do DATE: 10/11/2012 03:17:09 PM ----- BODY:
There isn’t yet a Top 10 guide for Helsinki, Finland, so we had to do this third port on our Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas cruise all on our own. Technically, we could have purchased one of many guided tours from the ship, but we’d just as soon explore on our own. We like a little adventure, and it’s not exactly high risk to explore the downtown area of a major Scandinavian city.
We grabbed a free map at the port before boarding the shuttle bus to downtown. There we located the tourist information center and after a few minutes of study (and free Wi-Fi for hubby) we mapped out a plan for the day. I had one must do on my agenda, see the Olympic Stadium. Since it was the furthest destination, we planned a route that would gradually get us closer.
First stop was City Hall, just across the street from the tourist information center. The pretty light blue building is just past the beautiful esplanade that sits between two roads lined with cafes, shopping and cultural centers before leading to the harbor. It hardly gives off the impression of the worn down or stodgy grayish government buildings I’m accustomed to seeing.
City HallAnd just across the square at the harbor is the Market Square, filled with stands selling brightly colored fruits and vegetables and fisherman (and women) selling fresh seafood from the boats. Just a few steps away in a small, but long, brick front building is the Old Market Hall. Inside local vendors stock stalls with fresh cheeses, coffee beans, meats, breads and cooked meals. This is the only time during our cruise vacation when I wished I had a kitchen in which to cook. I satiated my culinary desires by buying a delicious wedge of Finnish sheep cheese, which I coupled with a glass of wine later while relaxing on deck.
Market Square
Buy fish right off the boat
Cheese for sale in the Old Market HallThen off we went on our long city walk. We left the beautiful harbor and wove our way across the bustling downtown business district stopping to take photos of the Royal Palace and Central Station. We stopped in to a supermarket to feed the nap deprived toddler in tow and picked up a Finnish newspaper for my dad who is a foreign newspaper connoisseur. Next we hopped on the tram for the 10 minute ride followed by the 10 minute uphill walk to the stadium. The site of the 1952 Summer Olympics sits adjacent to a modern sports complex which makes for an interesting comparison of now and then. Even more so is looking at the rear of the stadium which is now a hostel that appears to have the original 1952 window coverings (and that was not meant as a flattering description). The front of the stadium houses a sports museum. And out front sits an Olympic statue of 12 time Olympic medalist, Paavo Nurmi also known as the “Flying Finn” in his running stance. It was all very exciting for me. I love the Olympics. But I was even more excited to look at this stadium built 60+ years ago, which isn’t a long time, and compare it to the Bird’s Eye stadium which was the home of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Bejing (I am eagerly looking forward to seeing it on our February China trip). The contrast of the buildings is drastic as reminds me how much we can advance in a small space of time.
Olympic Stadium
Hostel in Olympic Stadium
Me & PaavoEnergized with the Olympic spirit, we hiked over to the Rock Church (I say hike because it seems every block was more uphill than the last). The Finnish name is Temppeliaukio Church, meaning temple square. The Lutheran church was conceived in the 1930’s but not opened until 1969 due to delays of World War II. The interior was excavated and built out of solid rock (we did not go inside). Outside only the top and front of the church are visible, appearing as a formed pile of stones coming up from the ground.
Rock Church
Inside the Rock Chuch (not my photo)After a quick stop at the souvenir shop across the street for more Christmas ornaments, we made our way quickly back downtown on foot. We rushed in an attempt to grab a bite to eat before getting on the last shuttle back to the boat. But discovered the restaurant I’d spied on the esplanade was now closed for a private event and the surrounding cafes specialized in the Finnish favorite sweet treats as opposed to actual meals. So we high tailed it back to the boat in time to catch the lunch buffet 3 minutes before closing.Our day in Helsinki was fantastic. It’s a beautiful fresh air city with kind people, beautiful new and historic sites and it’s very walkable. I would love to go back and spend a long weekend, strolling from stall to stall in Market Square and then go back to a vacation rental apartment and cook up some fresh fish and veggies, yumm!
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: A Day in Stockholm (Baltic Cruise Final Chapter) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CATEGORY: To Do DATE: 10/18/2012 08:14:11 PM ----- BODY:
The last stop on our very enjoyable 7-day Baltic Sea cruise was Stockholm, Sweden. This port stay was short (only about 6 or so ours in port) and sweet!
The short shuttle ride from the pier was probably a quite annoying ride for my husband and the people seated near us. I spend the entire time repeating phrases like, “It’s so beautiful.” “Wow! It’s so beautiful.” “Oh my goodness it’s gorgeous.”
My limited vocabulary was the result of a condition hence forth known as tourist shock and awe (TSA). I had no real expectations for Stockholm. My husband had been several times in his pre-me life, so I hadn’t purchased the travel guide and was pretty much prepared to follow his lead. Since my first visit to Oslo after meeting my husband, I’ve come to expect that most Scandinavian cities and towns will be picturesque. So my severe reaction to entering Stockholm indicated that it exceeded all expectations and surpassed (IMHO) the beauty of the Scandinavian cities I’d previously visited. I’m not an eloquent enough writer to find the words to truly capture what about the landscape took my breath away, but I will try.
Stockholm is a series of islands connected via a series of walkable bridges. The result is water, water everywhere, in between huge old European buildings in bright colors against a bright blue sky that blends back into the water, which is filled with hundreds of sailboats and water taxis.
When we got off the shuttle, I was still suffering from TSA and walked around looking everywhere but straight ahead. Like a child I hurried from one great photo opportunity to the next. But I already knew that the photos would not capture what I found so appealing. I haven’t found a camera capable of documenting not only the complete 360 degrees of a setting, but also the feeling. So I slowed down on the picture taking and tried the novel idea of living in the moment.
We walked around the harbor area, passed the Royal Palace and the Nobel Museum. We continued over into the old town (Galmastad) and window shopped while walking briskly, due to the limited amount of time we had to explore.
Lone fisherman adjacent to the shuttle bus stop
The Royal Palace
A TSA Moment
After about 20 minutes, we arrived at the Nordic Sea Hotel, home of the Ice Bar. There is probably no more touristy thing we could have done. But we loved every minute of it – which was about 15, because it’s an ice bar. You don’t come to sit around for hours, you come pay a stupid amount of money for your brief stay, put on your special cold-keeper-outer cape, sip your “free” drink, while oohing and aahing at the walls, seats, bar and glasses all made of ice. Everyone around is doing the same thing in a variety of different languages.
The highlight of our short time at the Ice Bar was watching my daughter. She was outfitted in a special mini hooded cape and hot pink micro gloves. Before entering the bar we were escorted to a holding area in which the back door must close before the entry door to the bar opens. While in this black area lit by blue lights she said, “What are we doing mommy? Let’s go!” When the doors opened and we entered she stared around in disbelieve. Having given up all faith in me, she turned to her dad and said, “Daddy its cold. Let’s go now.” As we put her warm hood on, we tried to convince her that his was a fun experience. She didn’t get upset but kept looking around at all the people, as though we were a group of aliens. The last straw for her was her repeated attempts to drink from her glass. The icy glass slipped from her hands every time she tried to take a sip. It was hilarious to watch, but frustrating for her to experience. She gave up and resorted to people watching to pass the time. As soon as we walked out, she hastily took off her gloves and cape and handed them to the host. She walked to her stroller in a huff. Afterwards, she looked at the pictures we took in the bar and laughed while telling me, “Mommy, cold!!”
The Ice Bar
"Why are we here?"----- EXCERPT: My severe reaction to entering Stockholm indicated that it exceeded all expectations and surpassed (IMHO) the beauty of the Scandinavian cities I’d previously visited. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: nilsenrentals@gmail.com IP: 96.242.34.99 URL: http://www.villapompano.com DATE: 10/19/2012 03:43:22 PM
Please share your thoughts comments, etc. I'd love to hear from you.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Have you started your holiday planning? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation Rental CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 10/24/2012 07:35:18 PM ----- BODY:
Have you started your holiday planning? I have. In as much as I recognize the holidays are coming and I’ve acknowledged I will be cooking for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. No, I haven’t done any shopping, or meal planning. But even if I had the time and presence of mind to shop now, I wouldn’t. The deals from Black Friday through New Years are usually worth the wait. As for meal planning, it wouldn’t taste as good if I planned way in advance. What’s a holiday meal without the last minute purchase of the forgotten cranberry sauce (Am I right?).
On the other hand, I don’t apply the same type of procrastination to my other holiday planning. Every year we take a kid-free trip in early December to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Fortunately, it falls right between Thanksgiving, the start of the season, and the December holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa , New Years and Festivus – For the Rest of us J) This isn’t a coincidence. When we planned our quickie wedding (4 months lead time), we based it on a Delta airlines sale which they used to run each summer for the travel period just before the busy Christmas season. We got a great rate then and continue to each year because most hotels/resorts and airlines need travelers from after the Thanksgiving rush until around December 15th (when those lucky/smart people who forgo from the cooking and the cleaning to go lay on a beach check-in). When I worked as a travel agent, I was astounded to see how many people booked vacations for $10,000k plus for a family vacation during the last two weeks of December. And those were the folks who booked by August. The “late” bookers paid double.
One day, when I am lounging in my chateau in Aspen, I will laugh and laugh at this post as I ski right out of my door. Until then, I’m living in the real world and hopping a Jet Blue flight to Barbados just before high season. I used some of my faves to book it all. Jet Blue, booked well in advance (May) so as to protect myself from fare increases, but also to be eligible to receive credit if the price drops. I think I’ve received two credits so far totaling about $50. Then I searched Homeaway.com and Booking.com for a home in which to stay with our friends. I lucked out on a deal almost too good to believe for a 3-bedroom town house in my desired area. But further researched showed that the deal was true and the townhouse is one of a several in a luxury community built to sell, but impacted by the economic downturn. As a result, the developers have decided to use them as vacation rentals offered at very reasonable rates. Reviews of previous guests have been glowing.
Meanwhile, back in Florida, a lucky Christmas vacationer has already booked the Christmas to New Year’s dates. As a result, we’ve extended lower season rates through Dec. 23rd. Which means you could live the life of luxury and then fly straight to grandmas for Christmas dinner J Or if you’d like a little pool-side turkey, Thanksgiving is still open for bookings at the lower rate. I don’t want to be the only one with a great tan this winter. Start planning your vacation now and get packing!
You (and your turkey) could be here!Travel as a way of life …
--Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: nilsenrentals@gmail.com IP: 96.242.34.99 URL: http://www.villapompano.com DATE: 10/24/2012 07:47:03 PM
What are your holiday plans?
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Stormcation STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 DATE: 11/05/2012 08:36:48 PM ----- BODY:
Stay-ca-tion (stey-key-shuhn) noun.
1. a voluntary vacation taken in one’s own town or local area. An opportunity to take advantage of all the stuff tourist get to do while you are working.
2. an affordable vacation.
Storm-ca-tion (stawrm-key-shuhn) noun.
1. an involuntary confinement to one’s home or neighborhood as a result of storm conditions and/or damage.
2. an unrequested, unappreciated vacation
To my recollection, I’ve never taken a staycation. Well, perhaps I’ve done a night in a Manhattan hotel. But that would be on a weekend and not involve taking off vacation time from work. I get the concept and understand how it could be enjoyable for some. But for me vacation days = travel. Personal and sick days on the other hand might equal hooky days (read beach days). I’m sure that philosophy was not so pleasing to my previous employers (nor the many co-workers who waited to the last minute to request vacation days off, only to discover if it fell around a holiday, I’d already had my request approved. Nothing better than enhancing vacation days with a nice company holiday.) Alas, I’m self-employed now so my current boss is pretty understanding.
Stormcation of course is undesirable to all. No matter how much we may look forward to a relaxing day at home with nothing to do, it’s not relaxing to be forced indoors. It’s pretty amazing how quickly cabin fever can set in. Following is an account of my Stormcation brought on by “Super Storm Sandy,” and how some of our travel experience came in handy.
Pre-Storm Prep (Saturday & Sunday)
Shortly after I met my husband we traveled together to Morocco. We’d only know each other for a few weeks. I’d already had a solo trip planned and he’d asked to come along. I gladly agreed, as I was unsure how wise it was to be a single woman tourist in Marrakesh. I’m pretty sure his primary interest was in wooing me (and I guess it worked.) While there we went to a Hammam (a bath house) that offered various packages that included massage and scrub after the bath. We perused the menu but were indecisive. The attendant looked at us and said, “He needs to do the energizer and you need to do the relaxation package.” We laughed because she had done a perfect read of our temperaments which is true to this day. Hubby is Mr. Cool, almost always laid back. I am super planner, gotta do this, gotta do that, what if this, what if that.
Before the storm was no exception. I was super amped up about making sure we had everything we needed. We have purchased a new home which is currently being renovated while we stay at our current home. I was very concerned that the new house was vulnerable to wind and water damage because it was in a gutted state. I was harassing contractors day and night. Our current home had lost power for the first time during last year’s Hurricane Irene. The power outage only lasted for 12 hours. I was concerned that we needed to have non-perishable food in the house should that happen again and last longer. My husband kept repeating, “I think we’ll be okay.” Of course I wanted to kick him, but I figured I must be over-reacting since I was the only one all wound up.
I did succeed in getting him to fill the cars with gas, stock up on a few Cup of Noodle soups and fill the 5 gallon cooler with water. That was the extent of our preparation.
Storm Day (Monday)
The day the storm was to come, was a wait, wait, wait, wait and wait some more day. The news kept telling us it was coming. But even the reporters seemed to be bored as they pretended to be blowing in non-existent high winds, or standing in puddles to simulate high tides.
My daughter spent the morning jumping in a pile of leaves with her friends next door. Once they were forced to come inside, she rebelled against the containment. She actually ran around in circles. She jumped off the ottoman, climbed back up, repeat, repeat, repeat. Then back to the circles, then run and leap on to the sit and spin toy, fall down, do it again. We could do nothing but watch and wonder, how in the world her babysitter makes it through whole days without forcing her to take a nap. We both agree that woman is underpaid. Finally, her bedtime came and we rushed her to bed, relieved to have only our own cabin fever to focus on. We posted updates on Facebook to let our families know we were doing fine. Then it happened …
The power went out at 8:20pm. As did the heat (gas heat, but pushed by an electric heat pump) and the hot water (again gas water heater, using an electric power vent). We called it a night and went up to bed to read our kindles by candle light (and headlight in my husband’s case.)
Post-Storm Day 1 (Tuesday)
Our traveler instincts kicked in. We certainly didn’t want to spend another day watching the kid run around in circles, without the distraction of TV or internet to make it bearable. So we jumped in the SUV and headed for our home away from home, Starbucks. We tried our two local Starbucks and found them both closed. We ventured farther out (seeing the devastation of power lines down and fallen trees). The next Starbucks was closed as well. We used our Starbucks smartphone app to scout out additional locations. On our way we noticed nearly all the Dunkin Donuts were open for business with long lines. Proving what our grandparents and generation after generation has proved, those who have achieved the American dream often don’t work as hard as those working toward it. (Corporate owned Starbucks, versus franchised and immigrant owned Dunkin Donut locations)
Alas, there was no Starbucks to be found, so I called up my BFF and invited ourselves over to their fully powered home. I also suggested she might want to start cooking while we headed over. (Yup, I’ve got a lot of nerve.) The kids played together and blew off steam. We chicks discussed storm stories and the guys sat quietly surfing Facebook and occasionally looking up to show one another a picture or post. Eventually, we had to go home and let the dog out and start up the fire in the fireplace. But before we let cabin fever set in we were off again to the house of a neighbor who had the good sense to have a generator. We spent a few hours there watching Disney DVDs to my daughter’s delight, before returning home to climb under a mountain of covers for the night.
Power lines down 1 block from our home
Tree down on same block
Bottom of the same treePost Storm Day 2 (Wednesday)
This is the day it really set in that we didn’t have power and we had no idea when we would get it back. We had little access to news. Only what we could get on the radio, which focused a lot on New York City. The city had definite timelines; New Jersey (where we live) simply had updates on the stats of the growing numbers of people without power and without homes.
Fortunately, the babysitter lives in a different town and had her power back on by Wednesday. Normally, we are slackers and Duckie doesn’t get to the sitter until nearly 10am, on this day she was probably there by 8:30 at the latest. With her in a safe warm place, we were freed up to focus on figuring out what next?
We started at the very crowded but open, diner in a neighboring town. Their Starbucks was open too. Clearly our day was off to a good start! A call from my realtor reminded me that not only was it Halloween, but I had a property closing as well as new tenants moving into a rental that day in FL. Ok this is where I pat myself on the back for doing all the closing paperwork a week early. Because honestly, much like after our newborn daughter arrived, after the storm my recollection of pre-storm information was nearly non-existent. Occasionally my “needs a relaxation massage” personality comes in handy.
Having been alerted to the fact that the rest of the country/world was continuing as though it was a normal day, we needed to get connected. So we headed over to the local cigar lounge, of which hubby is a member, and utilized the Wi-Fi and power. I spent hours killing my lungs by inhaling the smoke and listening to what passes for male conversation (rumors, tall tales and unsubstantiated facts). I was the only woman there, a noticeably difficult change for some members, but it was a lively good time because we were all happy to be out of the dark chilliness of our homes.
Hubby woke up to the fact that we didn’t have power and decided perhaps we should get a generator (ha!). He’d been a hold out because, after all, we would not be living in this house for very long so why bother. A couple of days with no electricity tends to change minds. But since we were way late to the party, there was not a generator to be found in stores or online. Lowes and Home Depot were calling up trucks from around the country to get in more stock. But the unknown road and airport conditions meant they had no idea when those shipments would arrive, nor at which locations. The high of his decision to get a generator quickly turned in to a depressive low. I was acutely aware that we had virtually no control over our situation. And while I constantly reminded myself how fortunate we were compared to those who had lost so much, I have to admit I lost a bit of my chin up spirit that evening.
Minor damage to our new house
Minor damage to our new housePost-Storm Day 3 (Thursday)
Our daily routine was in place. Drop off kid; go to Starbucks (who by now only had one size drink available, only two types of milk and growing lines); head to cigar lounge, connect with outside world and update friends and family via email/Facebook. As word spread that some far away towns had power restored, hubby decided to reach out to a friend near Philadelphia. It turned out he’d gotten his power back and was willing to lend us the generator he’d borrowed from a mutual friend. So lucky to have a full tank of gas, we took the 90 minute drive down to pick it up.
On our way down and back we saw utility trucks from around the country headed north. We also saw FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) trucks and a few oil tankers. The cavalry was on its way. We also discovered that the further south we went the shorter the lines were for gas (compared to the 3-4 hour waits that were average in our neck of the woods). So we stocked up on gas filled some hard to find gas jugs and hightailed it back north with our 20-30 year old generator.
We had light and 30 minutes of television news before we went to bed that night. I also had a smile.
Post Storm Day 4 (Friday)
We awoke looking forward to a day during which we could work from home once again, only to find that the cable TV/internet had gone out. The cable company informed us they could not trouble shoot customers using generator power. In other words, “your out of luck buddy!” So we were left with our routine of days before. Only this time, I had the moving company guy bring boxes to the cigar lounge. I started spending any idle time filling boxes, so I could feel more accomplished than I did spending long spans of time staring at my in-home entertainment, the burning logs in the fire place.
Fortunately the YMCA was open and Duckie was able to have her gym and swim class that evening so she was still on cloud nine. The whole week had been a fun adventure for her of visiting friends and neighbors, watching DVDs and wandering aimlessly around Home Depots (because everything you could possibly need was sold out). Occasionally she’d ask us to “fix my light. It’s broken.”
After we put her to bed, we watched a DVD in near silence as we both were at a low point. Power had started to return to many communities, but not ours. We surmised we had to be in a low priority area. Information was so hard to come by, we had nothing to do but hope and count our blessings. Then, it happened …
Post Storm Day 1 (Saturday)
Duckie woke hubby up at 2 in the morning complaining that her sock came off and he needed to put it back on for her. She was clearly disoriented and normally never wakes or leaves her bed in the middle of the night. He took her back to her room to discover her light had come on! He plugged up everything and came to wake me up with the good news. I took me a while to accept that I wasn’t dreaming. Once I did, my adrenaline kept me awake for the next several hours. In the morning Duckie came in to announce that finally “Daddy had fixed her light.” Because, in her world, anything good that happens must be the result of daddy’s efforts J
We still didn’t have TV or internet but now we were eligible to be placed on the repair list. We also got the good news that my dad’s house had gotten power back as well. Things were looking up.
We ventured out to a couple of stores which were very empty for a Saturday. With the gas shortage and many still without power (including many stores), nothing was normal. But this was the new normal, be happy for anything and everything you had. For us that was power, heat and food. We gave away our extra gas for the generator to a neighbor who needed gas to get to the school where he works.
Post Storm 2 (Sunday)
It’s all come together now. The television, internet and phone have been repaired. More and more people are reporting they have gotten their power back. The governor has forced the power companies to commit to a repair timeline for each community and publish it. Libraries and churches that have power back on have opened up as 24 hour warming and charging stations. Neighbors are smiling and friendly. Duckie celebrated Halloween by putting on her costume and wearing it around town all day.
Duckie in her Halloween Costume, Ready to Toss the Ball with DaddyThere’s a little part of me that’s afraid to get to comfortable. It’s an irrational fear that we could lose power again at any moment. For all my anxious tendencies, fear is almost never a part of the equation. And if this is my new normal, though I doubt it, I will often remind myself of the many, many people in the world for whom, power outages, gas lines and food shortages are the old, new and future normal.
Travel as a way of life …
-- Kimya
Note: While editing this post, my heart stopped as we lost power again. Luckily the utility workers a few blocks away were just making a quick repair. Power was restored within a half an hour.
----- EXCERPT: Storm-ca-tion (stawrm-key-shuhn) noun. 1. an involuntary confinement to one’s home or neighborhood as a result of storm conditions and/or damage. 2. an unrequested, unappreciated vacation ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: nilsenrentals@gmail.com IP: 173.54.48.80 URL: http://www.villapompano.com DATE: 11/05/2012 09:06:03 PM
How have your or your loved ones weathered the storm?
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Khadijah EMAIL: IP: 66.87.116.178 URL: DATE: 11/05/2012 10:31:09 PM
Wow, what a stormcation! Sorry about the damage on your new home.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: nilsenrentals@gmail.com IP: 173.54.48.80 URL: http://www.villapompano.com DATE: 11/05/2012 10:37:54 PM
Thanks, Khadijah. In the scheme of things the damage to the new house is very minor. We count ourselves as pretty lucky.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: My 20 Minute Vacation STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: To Do DATE: 11/19/2012 04:49:46 PM ----- BODY:
This is a test. A test of my ability to write a blog on my cell phone. I'm not naive. I dont think 1m the first to attempt such a feat. 1m pretty sure many have tried and succeded before me. But as my mom would say, "you're not like everyone else." 1m sure she means that as a positive (well almost sure). But in this context im different than many because my texting ability has not improved along with technology. In fact, when texting moved from the numbered keypad to a qwerty keyboard i saw no marked improvement in my abilities. The only thing that changed was the expectation of others that my messages would somehow contain more content. Great! Now im a special under achiever.
Whew 1 st paragraph done. That took about 10 minutes. 1m also simultaneously taking on anotheR challenge. I gave up my iPhone and im writing fro. My new Samsung galaxy S3. I've only had this phone for 3 weeks most of which was occupied by hurricane sandy. So i don’t know all the features and tricks yet. But im exciting to learn how my new cellular buddy will impact my traveling as a way of life :-)
Samsung Galaxy S3
Back of My S3Speaking of traveling, im on a plane right now. That was my motivation or blogging this way. I couldnt be bothered to get up and get my computer from the overhead bin. And i need my tray table hold the worlds [least interesting cup of tea. We are returning from Villa Pompano where we were*] Making minor repairs and getting new appliances. We also had to ready a new long term rental property and meet the tenants of another. And in between work and touring with our real estate agent to see what else is out there, there wasn’t time for anything else.
By the end of each day we crawled into bed craving sleep while catching up on emails. Poor duckie hax only had one quick dip in the pool and 15 minutes at the playground which also doubled as picnic breakfast time. Last night hubby and I gave up hope [of ever being able to truly vacation at Villa Pompano. Then just before we headed to the airport, we decide to spend 20 minutes in the pool. For a little space of time we didn’t have a ca*]Re in the world.
It was magical. Duckie was so happy and excited she kept asking to jump in and swim more even when her tired eyes were unwilling to stay open as she made her request. We headed to the airport relaxex and refreshed . What a grear family vacation. Only 20 minutez can make a big difference. (Like the 20 extra ones it has taken to write this on my phone!)
Playground/Breakfast time
Duckie making the best of her time in the car
One more cute kid photo to really sell it!! :-) --KimyaTravel as a way of life!
*these portions were magically deleted from the phone (I blame hubby).
Spelling and grammatical errors were left as typed on the phone to accurately portray my cell phone typing abilities or lack there of.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: nilsenrentals@gmail.com IP: 173.54.48.80 URL: http://www.villapompano.com DATE: 11/19/2012 05:09:21 PM
Every had the best vacation when you least expected it? Do you feel my texting pain? Any and all comments welcomed.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Asiyah EMAIL: agrant02@gmail.com IP: 68.171.231.85 URL: DATE: 11/19/2012 05:29:27 PM
The blackberry has the best typing tool. I still find that people with iphones and samsungs never really respond to your messgaes with more than 2 words. It doesn't matter that you've just poured your heart out, just ok, or oh boy as their responses. Good job Kimya. You captured the experience despite being on the "new fangled thingy"
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya DATE: 11/19/2012 05:36:26 PM
You know that is true. Now if only BB would come out with a decent phone!
My next quest is for a tablet that fulfills all my needs. Going to go and check out the new windows focus I think it's called.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: alfrieda EMAIL: IP: 205.188.117.10 URL: DATE: 11/23/2012 12:23:08 PM
i just love your blogs and have read everyone with anticipation of the fun you are obviously experiencing at this point in your lives. you 3 are awesome and living my dream. i love all the information and facts you keep supplying. this just tells me i can still learn even at this age. Yeh!!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya DATE: 11/23/2012 05:31:58 PM
Ah thanks Alfrieda. We are having a blast and it's great to have a forum to share info.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Get Packing! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning CATEGORY: Travel Gear DATE: 11/30/2012 12:30:36 AM ----- BODY:
I’ve spent this last week trying to fight off the effects of Tryptophan. After cooking way too much food for Thanksgiving, I’ve spent the week in a vicious cycle of gluttony and despair. Determined not to allow the mounds of leftovers to go to waste, and yet knowing two pieces of pie as a daily dessert will come back to haunt me. Finally, today I put the last of the left overs in a big pot to make soup (which should provide my daughters lunches at least until summer).
Any who, my focus is now on packing, packing, packing. And by focus I mean my mind is focused on willing my body to take action. I should be packing up my house for the move we are supposed to make in the next month. But its more likely I will start packing this weekend for our anniversary trip to Barbados which is just over a week away. Ok, OK, it’s not highly likely I will pack this weekend versus packing the day before we depart. But when I’m envisioning my future self, I like to think of her as highly efficient and motivated.
I read an article a few months ago about packing techniques in Real Simple Magazine. The article discussed multiple techniques, including the traditional individual fold and stack, the rolling style and a new layered approach I hadn’t previously explored. The way it works is you stack all of your similar type clothes (i.e. dresses or shirts) one on top of another then fold the whole stack into a tight little bundle. I thought it sounded strange, so naturally I tried it. But I added a little twist. I put them in those clear bags where you press out the air and the bag gets skinnier. To my surprise the technique worked pretty well. The best part was unpacking. It’s easy to grab a bunch of hangers and put all the dresses in the closet. Then head over to the dresser and load in the tops and bottoms. The only downside is you do need to refold everything you are putting in drawers. Also on the return trip, I had to separate the clean and dirty clothes so that can get a little more complicated.
I don’t know what technique I will use when I finally get around to packing this time, but swimsuits and flip flops shouldn’t take up much space anyway, right?
Check out more packing tips from National Geographic, sent to me by Travel as a Way of Life reader Sheila K (thanks!) Do you have time tested packing techniques? Please share.
-Kimya
Travel as a way of life ...
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: nilsenrentals@gmail.com IP: 173.54.48.80 URL: http://www.villapompano.com DATE: 11/30/2012 01:25:14 AM
Gotta a packing tip? Please share
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Gifts for Travelers (Even if the Traveler is You) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Gear DATE: 12/06/2012 07:39:21 PM ----- BODY:
Most gift lists for travelers include the lasted and greatest products to hit the markets. But since I don’t have advertisers and therefore no way to profit from endorsements, I’m going to go with the 10 things I already have and that I find invaluable in my travels. If you think they would be of value to a fellow traveler or to you, then put them on your gift list.
- Kindle – I’m old fashion (at least technologically speaking). I prefer the standard black print Kindle for reading books any and everywhere. Its light it doesn’t glare in the sun and it holds tons of books. I have the leather lighted case which allows me to turn on a little reading light whenever needed. I do have a Kindle Fire, but almost never use it. I’ve found it more useful for my daughter to watch her educational videos and play drawing games. Others may prefer a tablet where they can download movies and shows to watch while traveling. That is a good idea if you are willing to pay for the content. So far I’m not so I just watch what is showing on the plane or read a book on my Kindle. Maybe by this time next year I’ll be a tablet person … we’ll see.
- Cannon PowerShot Camera - I’m on my third PowerShot camera. This would lead you to believe there must be something wrong with them. On the contrary, they are that great. I had one when I embarked on my travels to Spain. It was great, took hundreds of pictures on one battery and on SD card. After a few years I upgraded to the latest available model with more megapixels. Fearing we’d lost that one on a beach vacation, we bought another one, only to discover months later, it was packed away in a secret compartment of one of our bags. So now we have too, his and hers (his is pink since it used to be mineJ). The picture quality is superb, the price is economical and the small size makes it very easy to fit in your pocket. I carry mine with me every day in my purse.
- Briggs and Riley – I’ve raved in the past about this luggage. So I’ll just refer you to that earlier rave. But in short it’s strong, cute and comes with a lifetime warranty.
- Backpack with hip belt and chest strap – As I previously mentioned, I’m not a tablet person. This means I’m always traveling with my laptop. As the years have passed laptops have gotten lighter but the damage to my back from lugging around earlier heavier models is ever-present. Now I use a back pack with straps to click over my chest and hip to ensure the load is distributed evenly. In addition to my laptop, I fill this bag with my Kindle, headphones, cell phone, sunglasses, camera and neck pillow. It’s the bag I won’t ever gate check. I found mine at the Timberland outlet, but I don’t think that matters much. Just a good bag with a cushioned pocket for my laptop (though I still put it in a soft case as well) and some front pockets for easy access to items needed en route.
- Merell or Ryka shoes – I think the best way to explore a new place is on foot whenever possible. That can lead to some very tired feet. The most durable and comfortable shoes I have found are Merell shoes. They continue to expand their line with more styles, but fashion can’t really be your first concern when looking for this type of shoe. They also have sandals that rival the comfort and durability of Teva another good brand. But last year I also discovered Ryka. I running shoe company that says its shoes are designed wider in the front to accommodate the shape of a woman’s foot. I used these shoes to walk miles and miles around Seville and Barcelona and never had achy feet. I’ve since used them to work out and to run a crazy 5k mud race (which I will never do again) and they haven’t failed me.
- Silk Sleeping Bag – I get the heebie geebies pretty easily (that’s the freaked out creepy crawly feeling you get from being grossed out). The short list of what can bring on the heebie geebies is carpet stains, dust bunnies, human or animal hair, any damp, muggy, moldy or dusty smell, sheets with little tiny balls on them, quilts, blankets or sheets that are not white and pillows (all of them). So it’s safe to say I spend a lot of time being grossed out. And when I’m grossed out I don’t sleep, I won’t sleep! Early on, I figured if I was going to be a traveler I had to find a way to overcome my disability. Will power hasn’t worked, so I carry baby powder and Febreeze for odors, do as much research as possible to avoid dirty rooms and bring my silk sleeping bag with me always. It’s very thin and light and packs up into a little pouch about the size of my hand. I’ve only had to use it a couple of times, but knowing I have it gives me the comfort of knowing I can attempt a good night’s sleep anywhere in my own sheets.
- Power converter with adapters – I killed a computer battery by not using a converter. They say today’s batteries don’t require a converter, just an adapter to the plug the right size for the outlet. I hope that’s true. But to be on the safe size. I have an adapter and a pouch with a bunch of different adapters. We grab a few and throw them in a bag before any overseas trip. Better to have them than not, because invariably you will overspend buying them at your destination.
- Extra Cords – I like to have extra USB cords for my cell phone, kindle, camera, whatever. This way not only do I not worry about losing one on a trip, I take my spare with me and when I get home, my regular one is still in its normal spot ready to charge my lifelines.
- Orange Bag – I have a small orange bag that has a pocket to hold my travel documents, another to hold my camera battery and charger and earphone outlet adapters, another for well I don’t know for what but there are 3 pockets on the front and one full length pocket on the back. This is the pouch I need for everything I will need at the airport, car rental counter and cruise or hotel check-in. I keep it in the front pocket of my backpack and I always have what I need at my finger tips. (I got it at a cool store, Flight 001, which has lots of nifty travel things, you never knew your needed.)
- A Ticket – gotta have somewhere to go people!
My Travel GearTravel as a way to of life …
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: nilsenrentals@gmail.com IP: 173.54.48.80 URL: http://www.villapompano.com DATE: 12/06/2012 08:02:22 PM
What's on your travel wish list or gift list?
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Asiyah EMAIL: agrant02@gmail.com IP: 68.171.231.86 URL: DATE: 12/06/2012 10:55:26 PM
So what are you going to add to your list? I would add a pashmina. They are a great accessary to add to your waredrobe and they keep you warm on the airplane. (I know you wouldn't add this Kimya)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya DATE: 12/07/2012 12:49:03 AM
Asiyah,
You're right I woudnt do that because my pashmina would attract all the yucky hair left by the previous seat occupant and then I'd dirty it with my constant clumsy tripping. Lol. But I do like the idea and before the silk sleeping bag I always travelled with a beach sarong which doubled as a safe bed sheet when needed :-)
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Barbados and Me (and Miss Expectations) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 01/08/2013 06:34:59 PM ----- BODY:
Happy New Year to All! I hope the year is off to a great start and that eight days in you are still holding up your new year’s resolutions :-) All of my resolutions revolve around less work and more relaxation or self-fulfillment. (Like make more pottery, learn to play the guitar that is sitting in my basement, do yoga at least three times a week so my back won’t hurt so much, and spend more time playing with Duckie.)
I read an article yesterday about Christmas wishes. And the writer was wishing to be a unitasker instead of a multitasker. She bemoaned how she struggled to do just one thing at a time or simply relax. On the rare occasion that she did relax she felt guilty, that she wasn’t doing enough. I totally identify with this perspective. (Or shall we call it a disease, condition or disposition?) I have to give myself a pep talk to sit down and watch a guilty pleasure Housewives of wherever show, while eating lunch. Yes I’m still doing two things, but I could be checking emails, signing documents, returning phone calls or blogging instead of sitting calmly and digesting my food.
I think this is one of the reasons why I like vacation so much. My inner high expectation voice, stays at home and I’m free to be. Ok maybe she sends her little brother, because I can’t just lay around and do nothing on vacation, I need to get out and see the sites, taste the food and meet the people. But those are enjoyable things, not obligations. So when I boarded the plane to Barbados I waved goodbye to Miss Expectation and said hello vacation!
We arrived four hours later to sunshine and blue waters. I’d booked a town house at Battaley Mews through the Booking.com site. I’ve previously told you about my hair and dust phobia’s which plague me when staying away from home. I was particularly worried about these accommodations because they simply seemed too good to be true when I booked it. Five nights in a beautiful three bedroom townhouse, walking distance to the beach for $800! There were few reviews at the time of booking, but I took a chance and checked in regularly for more reviews. My research showed that it was a community built to sell, that had to switch to vacation rentals due to the recession. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised to arrive and find everything was exactly as advertised and super clean. Whew!
Battaley Mews TownhouseOur 5-minute downhill walk to the beach rewarded us with warm water, a beach bar and restaurant, snorkeling boats and beautiful sunsets. Our walk back up the road rewarded us with the best of all, food from the back of a minivan! My husband and I traveled to Barbados with my cousin and her boyfriend. The first morning each couple returned separately from the beach. But we all knew instinctively that the best possible lunch would come from the lady who’d pulled her van to the side of the road and opened the trunk to sell food. We had flying fish (are Barbados staple), stewed lamb, rice and peas, cabbage, chicken, plantains, potato mash and on an on. We had it nearly every day as the menu rotated and we fell into a delightful cycle of breakfast at home then beach time, followed by food from the trunk. Needless to say these were some of the best meals we had on the island.
Our Anniversary Dinner at Cobblers Cove TerraceOther island highlights included Holetown, which has Lime Grove, an upscale mall that was home to a nice outdoor bar and a chic indoor cigar bar, La Habana (this made the island a home away from home for hubby). Also in Holetown, was a great beachside restaurant for lunch or dinner called Surfside. It catered to locals and tourists as the place to watch all the big sporting matches with large screen tvs and open beach views.
I went on a pina colada tasting spree which started at Café Sol in St. Lawrence (a beach side Mexican restaurant and bar, where several years ago I had the best pina colada to date) and continued to Brown Sugar Restaurant just outside of Bridgetown and on to any bar we happened upon. In the end, I never found one to top the original, and apparently the original bartender at Café Sol who made the perfect colada years ago, has a life and has moved on. The nerve of some people!!
It was a short trip so we didn’t plan much, but we decided to spend one day just driving around the island, making sure to hit all the scenic views indicated on the map (if that’s what you call a paper with random lines, few street names and no scale.) We saw the high waves crashing in to the cliffs at North Points. Then when down into the caves and walk through the calm waters just below the cliffs. We saw the giant boulders that sit in the water in Bathsheba on the eastern side of the island and then high tailed it out of there as clear skies turned to nearly hail strength rain in a matter of seconds.
North Point Cliffs
The Cave at North Point
Muscle man hubby holding up a boulder at BathshebaI wish I could tell you I completely disconnected and Miss Expectation never got a hold of me. But that would be a fib. I do bring my computer with me wherever I travel. I feel a sense of responsibility to the tenants, vendors and contractors that I work with. And I was grateful to have been connected when a tenant suddenly had a water shut off crisis. While I wouldn’t call that experience fun. It was a lot nicer being in crisis management mode in 85 degree weather sitting on the back patio sipping on Malibu and pineapple, then sitting here at my desk. And once the crisis was resolved it was back to the beach!
I’ll keep working on unitasking, I hope you’ll keep working on your resolutions. Mostly I hope this year will find you traveling.
--Travel as a way of life …
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: nilsenrentals@gmail.com IP: 173.54.48.80 URL: http://www.villapompano.com DATE: 01/08/2013 07:01:17 PM
How are your new year resolutions holding up? Ready for vacation?
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sheila EMAIL: IP: 67.83.197.228 URL: DATE: 01/09/2013 07:10:48 AM
This sounds like a winner. Pix--gorgeous as are people. I am so happy to share your joy. Cheers!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: alfrieda EMAIL: IP: 64.12.117.18 URL: DATE: 01/09/2013 04:49:20 PM
this is how life was meant to be. any other way of living is really a compromise of getting life to this point.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: DIY or Pay to Play STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 01/28/2013 07:43:38 PM ----- BODY:
Its been a hectic couple of week’s. We finally moved into our new house a week ago, but all of the work is not completed. So it’s a bit of a dance between dusting, unpacking, redusting, moving boxes out of the way of contractors, finding anything when its needed, and on and on. In the midst of all this chaos, it was time for me to go apply for our visas for our upcoming trip to China.
The tour company offers to take care of the application process for you for $30 per person in addition to the $140 fee charged by the Chinese consulate. However, since I am near to the New York City consulate I had the option to go to the consulate myself and save the $30 fee for me, hubby and duckie. A grand total savings of $90. It seemed like a valuable savings at the time and as a bonus I could just go to the city and make a day of it.
My plan had a few flaws. The first is that I had these pleasant day in the city thoughts when I booked the trip last summer and decided not to pay the additional $30 fee. In reality, the rules don’t permit applying for the visa more than three months prior to departure, so my pleasant day in the city would now be smack in the middle of a New York winter. The second flaw was that I hadn’t planned on being in the middle of moving and pushing contractors to finish their work (obviously this was unsuccessful). And the final flaw was plain mathematics.
The consulate advises that you arrive before 10:30am to avoid long lines. This meant commuting to the city during rush hour. (Its great living in the suburbs until you actually need/want to go into the city. Then it sucks. Your options are heavy traffic, expensive tolls and over-priced parking, or unrealiable and oddly timed public transportation.)
I awoke that morning to find that it was chilly and snowing as I drove up the hill to park in the strip mall across the road from the express bus stop. I thought it was odd that I was the only one there for the bus which, according to the schedule, would arrive in 3 minutes. I put in my headphones and opened the I Heart Radio app on my phone to pass the time and ignore the cold. I watched as a half dozen more people showed up after the bus' scheduled arrival time. They approached slowly and casually, not the least bit concerned that they might miss the bus. Finally, 13 minutes after the scheduled time the bus came. Obviously these regular commuters knew that, although the bus route is only 10 minutes long prior to our stop, the bus never arrives on time. I often wonder how people can live in the suburbs and deal with the daily commute on unrealiable pubic transportation. Anywho, I made it into the city and walked the four long blocks between avenues to the consulate which was across from the Hudson River. It was a brisk chilly walk but I had my music to make it more pleasant.
The lines were very short at the consulate (which seems odd since they tell everyone to come early, but I’m not complaining). I had our passport photos, passports, 4 page applications, letters of invitation and our itineraries. Everything I needed. Well almost. They have a 25 cent scam in which they never tell you to bring copies of your passport but require them when you show up. They happily direct you to the paid copy machine, for your convenience. Okay, I got that done, now up to the lady in the window.
“Miss you have to sign this application for your daughter,” she said.
“Okay,” I said as I realized I’d forgotten the most important thing.
“Miss you have to sign your application.”
“Okay.”
“Miss do you want to take all the applications back so you get your husband to sign his or do you want to leave your’s and your daughters and just take his?”
Damn it! I’m not going back through commuter hell to start this process all over again. “Umm, could I just take it out to the car for him to sign?”
“Oh, he’s outside?”
“Yes.” Working hard on maintaining eye contact.
“Okay.”
Well, I won’t say anymore about that scenario so as to protect my not so innocent accomplice. But I did submit all of our applications within the next 5 mins.
After submiting the application, I was given a pick up slip for the following week. After stopping for a bite to eat, I checked the bus schedule only to find out the mid day buses run 2+ hours apart. Good grief! So I walked another 12 blocks to the Penn Station and hopped on the next train home. My local train station however, is a 20 minute walk from my house. So after arriving at my station I called hubby to let him know I was walking. I started the trek through the quiet snowlined streets. While I wouldn’t want to do it everyday and my legs were getting heavy from all the walking I’d done in the last few hours, it was a nice meditative walk. A few blocks from home, hubby found me and I got a ride the rest of the way.
When it was time to pick up the visa, I just plain forgot. Luckily, my cousin reminded me. I didn’t have time to scramble for a public transportation plan, so I googled for a parking coupon and got in the car, early that afternoon. It was just around lunch time and I was able to get in quickly and park in the lot just across the street. Unfortunately, the temperature outside was about 15 degrees farenheight and the windchill coming off the river was about -3 billion degrees(given or take a billion). The one-half block walk was trecherous. The pick up was quick and easy. The walk back to the parking lot was even more trecherous and the cold got into my lungs and launched a coughing fit. But I made it back in the car, ready to head back to the tunnel before 3pm (the offical meheim start time).
So all told I had two days worth of adventure to save $90. Well, I spent $8 on the bus, $6.50 on the train, $18 on parking, $12 on tolls and something on gas. Therefore, I really saved about $40 bucks. If I use my husband’s theory that time is money and I pay myself minimum wage, I’m in the hole and that’s not even counting money spent on meals. Geez Louise!!
Okay kids, today’s lesson is it doesn’t pay to be cheap. But you might at least get a good story out of it :-)
--Kimya
Travel as a way of life …
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 01/28/2013 07:58:30 PM
Ever been to China? Or anywhere that required a visa? Please share your travel stories.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Asiyah EMAIL: agrant02@gmail.com IP: 209.59.121.174 URL: DATE: 01/28/2013 08:23:35 PM
I loved the story!!! But time is money.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Khadijah EMAIL: IP: 141.149.60.184 URL: DATE: 01/28/2013 10:54:20 PM
At least I got to spent two afternoons with my cousin.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: popdo EMAIL: popdo@verizon.net IP: 71.127.211.159 URL: DATE: 01/29/2013 04:08:47 AM
Sounds like you actually saved on Gym fees LOL you really got quite a workout! Nice story
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: OMG! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 02/06/2013 04:22:37 PM ----- BODY:
This is a quick post to say OMG! (And the G is for Gosh Golly Good Greif, this is ridiculous, you have to be kidding me!)
Our departure for Beijing is a little more than 2 weeks away. I haven’t been really good at focusing on the details because I’ve been busy with the move. However, I took notice when our E-tickets and full info packets were emailed to us on Friday. The 38-page document (that’s right 38 freakin pages!) details what to expect in our travels, repeatedly stresses the importance of keeping expectations low, and warns that you might not like the food. As pre-travel documents go, it was not the most uplifting. However, I was still holding on to the bit of excitement I’m able to muster when I don’t focus on the 13.5 hour flight with a 3 year old. After all it’s still China, a place I’ve never been, that is nothing like home and is on a continent to which I have never traveled. Basically, I’m dreaming of the pin I get to put in my map and of course seeing the Olympic stadium. Beyond that I really haven’t put much thought into the trip.
My entire focus has been on the long flight. I tried to get the allergist to give me the good stuff for sleeping on the plane. But he wimped out and recommended Benadryl (that’s what I get for agreeing to see the rookie in the practice). I’ve Googled suggestions for how to make it through a long flight in coach class. I’ve debated getting a second neck pillow so I have options. But I really hit pay dirt when I asked my good friend S (blogging in Gossip Girl code now), how she managed the flight from NY to Dubai. She said she’d passed the time watching full series of shows on the individual monitors on the back of the seats. Great idea! Trying to watch six or seven movies is challenging, because inevitably I’d have to watch a few bad ones and suffer through. But a good TV show can suck me in and cause me to lose track of time. So I’d had my game plan. I would also load up the Kindle Fire with kiddie stuff for Duckie. Overall, I was feeling a wee bit less stressed about the flight.
Then I received my e-ticket with instructions to call for seat assignments. I dutifully called Air China for the six of us in my booking, with the intention of getting seats together and requesting a no pork, non-lactose meal. The friendly agent got us two rows of seats together. He scrolled through the seemingly limited options and informed me there wasn’t a no pork option, nor was there a non-lactose options. The choices were vegetarian or not vegetarian. The last time I choose the vegetarian option on an international flight, I received one large grilled or steam mushroom as my entire meal. So no thank you sir, I will take my chances. (And pack a lot of sandwiches).
The agent was so friendly and patient, I figured I’d be sure to get all my issues handled at once. After getting our frequent flyer numbers added to the booking, I threw out a no-brainer. “So you have the individual seat monitors on these planes, right?” (I was building up to ask if American television shows were part of the programing). “No. We have the large screens in the center of each cabin.”
Hello! 1989 would like their plane back! Panic, ensued. I went online to look at the virtual tour of the plane, because surely my friendly agent was mistaken. There in not so gorgeous purple velour, were the rows of seat where their bare, non-TV equipped backs.
When life gives you lemons make lemonade. When cheap airlines deprive you of viewing options, round up all the tablets and laptops you can find and get to downloading!! (Also pray, for recharging outlets, that will be my next call to Air China)
-Kimya
Travel as a way of life ...
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 02/06/2013 04:37:06 PM
Got any tips for surviving a long flight? Or airline disappointments of your own? Please share.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Sochi 2014 Olympics Tix Available Now STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 02/11/2013 05:14:07 PM ----- BODY:
I'm super excited to have just gotten my event tickets for the Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia, Febuary, 2014.
As I was doing my celebratory dance, so happy that I was able get tickets to the events we really want to see. Last time we settled for curling, which was actually pretty interesting. But this time, I had my events mapped out in advance and my finger on the trigger at 12pm EST when tickets went on sale. So we scored tickets to short track speed skating, snowboard halfpipe and ski jump.
The only downside to my excitement was realizing I'd forgot to share the info on how to score tickets with all of you. So if your interested go to www.cosport.com ASAP and order. They are the only legal ticket retailer in the US. Today is the first day of sales and tickets to high profile events do go quickly. However, they say they will continue to get inventory and advise checking back often. Perhaps I'll see you in Sochi :-)
Travel as a way of life ...
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 02/11/2013 05:23:12 PM
FYI, Cosport will also be the ticket retailer for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Renee EMAIL: IP: 174.236.225.85 URL: DATE: 02/12/2013 12:08:26 AM
Good share. Thanks Nilsen!!
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: I owe you a blog about China STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 03/12/2013 03:27:52 PM ----- BODY:
I owe you a blog about China. The problem is I really don’t want to write it. I mean I really, REALLY, don’t want to write it. Actually, I did write it. On the plane on the way back from Beijing. I was typing my little heart away as babies cried, grandparents yelled at crying babies, and cranky sleeping people complained about crying babies and yelling grandparents.
None of that really mattered to me because my little Duckie had long since decided that it was unacceptable to sleep on a 13.5 hour flight. She’d mastered the art of staying up on our way to Beijing when she powered through her dose of Benadryl and entertained herself by opening and closing the ashtray in the arm of the chair for about an hour.
Right now you’re thinking what type of plane has an ashtray in the arm of the chair. I will let you marinate on that while you imagine what other modern amenities our flights might have been missing.
So, I was tap tapping away on the tablet I borrowed from my generous brother. This was after spending a great deal of time figuring out how to turn it on, then how to get the keyboard to work and then how to find an app in which I could type freely. (I know it sounds like I’m seriously technology challenged, but it didn’t used to be this way. I’m great on the computer and any Google product. But mobile technology has grown to be my nemesis. I think I really believe that I should be able to do anything I can do on a computer on a cell phone or tablet. That seems to be what they are advertising. But the reality is it is not so, and that gives me a headache.)
So after I’d gotten about half way through writing my post, the damn tablet app froze and my blog was stuck in no man’s land until the end of time. I couldn’t save, I couldn’t copy, nothing. Finally, I closed out the program and of course all my work disappeared. So now here I am, angry and bitter to be starting all over again. I’m telling you that blog post was so good, maybe my best ever! (Which I can comfortably say, knowing you will never read it.)
Ok, Ok, are you still waiting for me to talk about Beijing. Geez, I thought I made it clear I didn’t want to do that. Fine! But I must preface my remarks by saying; I do not think that my visit to Beijing is representative of all of China, any more than a trip to New York is a visit to the United States.
The Good:
The Great Wall was tops of the tourist attractions that we visited. It’s stood the test of time and is in very good condition. It is a challenge for anyone looking for a workout. And the views of Mongolia and China are spectacular. The wall gets very steep very fast. About half way up our section, I decided not to climb any further for fear of the aches and pains I would experience for the rest of the trip. Hubby, every the show off, proceeded to put Duckie on his shoulders and climb the approximately 1 million steps to the top. (In case you are wondering, that did not make me feel like a punk at all. (In case you are still wondering, I’m lying.))
Duckie on Hubby's Shoulders at The Great Wall
Tiananmen Square is huge and it was nice to visit and feel the history. We stood in front of the congress hall which we were told hosted a lunch for 100,000 people. That seems impressive not just for the building size, but who catered that meal?
Tiananmen SquareThe Forbidden City & the Summer Palace were beautiful sites with multiple structures spread out over the land. They showed off the ancient Chinese architecture that we have come to know very well from the movies.
Forbidden City
Stone Garden at Forbidden City
The Summer PalaceThe Bad:
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go inside any of these structures. Occasionally a door to a specific room was open with a few old furnishings inside. But there was no lighting so it was hard to see the intricate paintings and architecture on the ceilings and walls. It’s kind of like being at a dimly lit museum where everything is behind the glass or velvet rope.
The Ugly:
The main drawback to visiting the tourist attractions was the other tourist. The Chinese have a reputation for being big travelers within their own country. As a result, since our trip was in the off season most of the other tourist we encountered were from other parts of China. It would seem that the rural parts from which they came did not allow them the opportunity to view a Black person. That’s understandable. What’s not understandable is stalking children, pulling them away from their parents and posing them for pictures with your family. Yup that’s what happened to 3 year old Duckie and my 7 and 10 year old cousins. We would be trying to listen to the tour guide or looking at something interesting and turn around to find someone touching and moving our kids to snap photos. When we would say no and take the children back, others would video tape the whole incident, while still others tried to jump in for a quick photo.
Woman pleading with daughter to take photo with DuckieIf this had happened one or two times, it would not have been such a downer. But it happened so often that our entire tour group was on alert. The kids were being treated like the cute panda at the zoo that everyone stared at and wanted to pet. And the persistence was mind-blowing. Making it worse was that I’d cornrowed Duckie’s hair. That seemed to add to the mystique and desire to touch her.
The older kids were freaked out by the unwanted attention. But Duckie, ever the people lover, would walk right off with someone. You don’t have to be a mom to imagine how troubling this all was. So we had her in her stroller as much as possible (though that did not stop the families from posing around the stroller) and we were always on the lookout.
To add just one more disgusting note: Our tour guide thought it important to share a little tid bit of information. According to him, the reason many Chinese people keep their pinkie fingernails long is to make it easier to pick their noses and remove ear wax. Nice! Imagine all those extra germs touching my child.
I shouldn’t end on such a low note. We did have lots of fun on the trip. I was traveling with hubby, Duckie, my cousin and her children, and my other cousin and her husband. We had a family group of 8 people, which means we had lots of laughs. And sometimes a vacation is more about the company you keep than the places you see.
I’ll give you more info about the food, accommodations, the tour package and of course the Starbucks mug quest in another post.
Travel as a way of life …
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 03/12/2013 04:00:06 PM
Comments are always welcome. Do share!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sheila EMAIL: IP: 24.189.97.81 URL: DATE: 03/12/2013 05:59:36 PM
I've heard similar comments about China: beautiful vistas, complicated culture, strenuous touring, and the unending curiosity, stalking and unwanted cameras. I hope pluses outweighed minuses.
Happy traveling!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Asiyah EMAIL: agrant02@gmail.com IP: 209.59.121.174 URL: DATE: 03/12/2013 07:08:23 PM
Kimya, you forgot to mention the fact that we were in a time zone that never let us have a decent night sleep. Waking up at 3-4am every morning just is not normal. I am an early riser but since returning to Tortola I can't get up before 7 am. You do recall, I'd wake up at 5 am daily to work out.
The work out is on hold until my body regulates.
I would like to add a BIG plus!!! The Yashow market. It is a must if traveling to Beijing. There are 5 floors of merchandise that you would think came straight off the racks of Macys, Bloomingdales, or the like. The basement was where the "Major" items were held. Louis Vuitton anyone? It was thrilling to see what they were passing for knock offs. They offered Hermes belt buckles with or without the signature stamp. If you don't ask for the "real real" you get the "fake fake". If you walk away their prices drop 50%. I loved it!!! I live on an island with no malls, shopping centers, bookstores, drug stores, or Starbucks. That was heaven to me. I'm mad I didn't barter my way to even more trendy named brand treasures. But I digress... The Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square and Summer Palace were great too...
Can't wait to read the rest of your commentary.
Asiyah
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Beijing Highlights STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 03/22/2013 04:35:13 PM ----- BODY:
I am 100% better today. After my return from Beijing I was jetlagged, sick and coping with the change to daylight savings time. Not a good combination. After two weeks, I’ve regained my energy, my appetite and my positive outlook on life. To that end, I’d like to share with you my Beijing highlights from my traveler’s notebook (in no particular order):
Bird’s Nest & Water Cube – the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony put the world on notice. Say what you may about China’s government, but when you need to get a massive amount of people organized and in sync, you know who to call. The drumming spectacular took my breath away and raised my Olympic enthusiasm to Olympic fever. I’d always dreamed of going to the Olympics (first as a gymnast – a dream that died around age 13 when the uneven bars was the only piece of equipment on which I had any true skill – then as an event planner. Neither dream worked out). After watching the Beijing Olympics I was determined to at least be a live spectator and did so at the next Olympics in Vancouver. Visiting the Bird’s Nest (the arena in which the opening ceremonies were held) and the water cube (home to swimming competition) was like coming full circle for me. I did not get to see the nest at night all lit up, but strolling down the long stretch of concrete that connects the structures which form Olympic park was magical.
Olympic Park
Bird's Nest (Olympic Stadium)Jade Factory – one stop on our tour was to the Jade factory that made the jade which was used in all the 2008 Olympic gold medals. It was also a huge store that sold hundreds or thousands of jade sculptures and jewelry. After an explanation of the jade formation process and the various levels of quality, we were of course encouraged to shop. I had no intention of giving in to this set up, but next thing you know I found myself haggling down to half price on a beautiful white jade on silver ring in the shape of a flower. Did I need it? No. Should I have bought it? Probably not. Do I love it? Yes.
Ship model made from JadeMassage & Tailoring – two additional services were offered to us by our tour guide. One was a massage in your hotel room. The other to have any item of clothing tailor made in 2-3 days. We decided to take advantage of both. The massage was reflexology, but apparently that’s just a nice name. I’ve had reflexology before and this was not it. It was two ladies (one for me, one for hubby) talking and giggling to each other in Chinese, while randomly rubbing clothed body parts. And for a special touch they fill a grocery store plastic bag with very hot water and “Chinese medicine” to soak your feet. The first bag sprung a leak on our carpet. The second bag was more successful.
The tailoring was as advertised. There were several books from which to select pictures, swatches of fabric all of good quality and prices that could not be beat. I couldn’t pick a photo from the book and wished I had planned a head and brought a photo of a coat I liked. Instead I got a very nice tailored cotton white shirt for about $20 USD. Looks like Brooks Brothers, costs like Wal-Mart!
Starbucks – as usual there was the hunt for Starbucks. The Beijing hunt was just plain silly. We spent hours going in circles in the ridiculously large and confusing China World Mall to find its 3 Starbucks locations. We found one. It was sold out of the Beijing city mug. Our search for the other two locations was an utter failure. After 2 hours we just quit and went back to the hotel. Over the next few days we tried to scout out locations from the tour bus. We found the second mall location, which is very technically not in the mall. They were sold out too. The third location will always remain a mystery. But our bus research led us to a location 3 (very cold blocks) away from the hotel. There we found mugs galore in a nice warm, tiny mall.
Starbucks City Mug Found
Starbucks MenuPearl Factory – my favorite stop on our tour was the pear factory. It had nothing to do with the presentation on how pearls are made or once again being thrust into a shopping environment and told you have over an hour’s time to kill. I don’t like pearls and even the best deal wouldn’t change that. So we spent the time sitting in the room next to the shop. But instead of watching the clock we watched our kids. First, Duckie mimicked her 7 year old girl cousin and they put on a hilarious fashion show. They were divas on the runway. This was so delightful to the young son of one of the shop workers/owners that he laughed and laughed and then invited the kids to join him in a game of throwing his rubber toy. He did not speak English and our kids did not speak any of the Chinese languages. But it didn’t make one bit of difference they had so much fun. They laughed so hard it was contagious. When it was time to leave the kids looked up how to say goodbye in Chinese and the little boy ran up to the bus with each of us as our personal escort. It was pure delight to see kids be kids anywhere in the world.
Our kids performing 
Our new friendSpecial Note: Villa Pompano has enjoyed a very well booked winter and we thank all of our guest. We now are starting to book up for summer with lovely low rates and there are still a few spring week's available for booking. Please check out calendar and contact me to book ASAP. The beach is calling you!
Travel as a way of life ...
--Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 03/22/2013 05:28:45 PM
Your comments are always welcome and inspiring
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Property Virgins STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 04/03/2013 07:18:13 PM ----- BODY:
Maybe you’ve seen the show Property Virgins on HGTV. If not, it’s simply about first time home buyers and their inexperience in determining what’s really important in buying a house. Fortunately, they have a knowledgeable realtor to show them the true value available for their money and how to prioritize their “wants” vs. “needs.”
Let’s consider this the world premiere of my new untelevised show Vacation Rental Virgins. (Cue the theme music …) In this episode, we meet Jane (not her real name) who is seeking an affordable vacation for her family of four (2 kids, her and a hubby). They live in a very chilly mid-west city and the winter blues have bolstered their desire for sunshine during the kid’s spring break. After all what kind of “spring’ break includes snow? But if you’ve ever been in Jane’s position, booking a vacation at the same time of year as every other mom in a chilly town for your kid’s week off from school, you know prices sky rocket. The only more expensive time of year to book a sunny destination is Christmas/New Year’s.
When I worked as a travel agent for American Express, families looking to book for the Christmas holiday and spring break were going low budget when spending $6 -7k for a week’s vacation (airfare and accommodations). In my twenties, when my friends and I wanted a getaway we’d book a nice hotel and stay 4 or more in a room to make it affordable. Then we’d have to stretch our budget to include eating at restaurants (chains became the least expensive options), paying for parking, and hopefully we’d have enough money left to actually enjoy the destination.
The only time I’d rented a vacation house was in Martha’s Vineyard, MA, where hotels are few and since we were a big group in just made more sense to share a house. But what I didn’t realize is how much more I was paying to get less at the hotels. Let’s compare:
- At a hotel, you get a nice bedroom. At Villa Pompano, you get 3 bedrooms.
- At a nice hotel, you get a lovely outdoor pool to share with all the other guests during pool opening hours. At VP, you get a private heated pool to use whenever you like.
- At a hotel, you rent a beach chair. At VP, they are free (and so are the beach towels).
- At a hotel, you get a mini-fridge which may charge you if there is any shift in the weight of its contents. At VP, you get a normal size fridge and a welcome bottle of wine.
- At a hotel, if you are hungry you can pay ridiculous prices for room service, high prices for hotel restaurants, or high prices for local restaurants located in hotel districts. At VP, you can stock up your fridge at the supermarket down the road and put some shrimp on the Barbie, or you can dine out because you want to (not have to) at local restaurants with residential prices.
The VP outdoor bistro (DIY) conveniently located poolside.Jane called me during the vacation and told me how much they loved it and would definitely do a vacation rental again. When I asked her about the beaches and sites around the area, she said they seemed lovely. But they were having so much trouble convincing the kids to get out of the pool, they weren’t sure how much they get to see. She was calling to ask for a late check-out to get a few extra hours of pool time (one more benefit of a vacation rental).
Summertime means great rates at Villa Pompano. Book now for just $1250 per week (April 14th through October 31st) and get an extra 20% off if you like us on Facebook.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 04/03/2013 07:39:09 PM
Got summer vacation plans? Do share... Or if you have questions about renting a vacation home, (mine or elsewhere) ask away!
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: The Best Time to Fly STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 04/16/2013 06:26:05 PM ----- BODY:
I’m on day 42 of my stay-cation. We are finally at the point where we might have two consecutive days without any workmen/servicemen inside the house. The outside of the house had to be painted and the garage repaired, but I have chosen not to consider that work an intrusion, since it takes place outside of the house. The carpet runners are being installed on the steps today and I’m quite excited. I have long looked forward to this day as a ceremonial ending to the construction and renovation. It is also the end to wearing shoes in the house.
So here I am sitting barefoot at my desk 42 days into my stay-cation (which, in this usage, only refers to me keeping my butt local instead of booking a trip somewhere. Sadly, it’s not a break from my work). And I’m thinking, “Man, I can’t wait to be barefoot in the sand!” I just don’t think there is a cure for this travel itch that I’ve got.
So the best I can do is travel smart. And one of my favorite resources for doing that was Budget Travel magazine. After realizing I’d not received an issue in months, I did a little research. It seems the magazine was unable to print the November/December issue and instead posted it online. That is the last existing issue. Since then I have continued to receive the weekly emailed newsletters, but there is no official word from the magazine about its fate. Online speculation is that the ad dollars are simply no longer there to support the publication.
This is very sad news to me. Just as people mourned the loss of many daily newspapers, I am mourning the loss of my monthly travel cheap guide. Emailed newsletters just don’t do if for me. I want to sit back in a bath tub and let my imagination run wild reading about the places I could be and the tips and tricks to get there inexpensively. So I’m left with only my CondeNast Traveler magazine, which is more than happy to tell me where to go, but it’s not going to be cheap!
Many of the tips I have passed on to you have come from Budget Travel. I’ve been reading it for more than a decade. But no matter the fate of the magazine, I will continue to search out the best travel info to share with you. For instance:
A survey by Kayak.com says the best time to book a domestic flight is 21 days in advance. And the best time to book an international flight is 34 days in advance. Also the best day to travel domestically is departing on a Saturday and returning a week later on a Monday. Internationally it’s best to depart on a Tuesday and return the following Wednesday.
I’ll keep my eyes open for more travel tips to share with you. In the meantime, I’ve got 10+ years of travel info filling up my brain. So please, send me your travel questions.Travel as a way of life …
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 04/16/2013 06:35:46 PM
Got a question about travel? Trying to figure out how to make your dream trip a reality? Want to know hot to find the best deals? Send me your travel questions and I'll find you the answers.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Khadijah EMAIL: IP: 66.87.117.252 URL: DATE: 04/16/2013 09:31:04 PM
I read the November/December issue but I did not realize it was the last. Very unfortunate. There is no magazine like it. It's inspired many trips...
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 04/17/2013 07:37:11 PM
Khadijah,
You won't find any official notice on the budget travel website. I guess they are hoping to find a way to bring it back. But since its already been 4 months without publication online or in print, it seems unlikely. They also haven't said anything about refunding unused subscriptions. So we'll see how it all unfolds.
Like everything else these days, I guess we'll have to find out trip inspiration online.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Travel Small Talk STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Op-Ed DATE: 04/24/2013 06:22:29 PM ----- BODY:
This last week has been an emotional rollercoaster. The bombings in Boston and the ensuing man hunt had us all on the edge of our seats and for many of us every incident like this takes us back to 9/11 or other traumatic events. Additionally, I bore witness to a young man using his physical stature, baritone voice and potty mouth to intimidate an elderly woman. Of course, I couldn’t stand it so I jumped in and immediately became the primary target of his intended intimidation.
Later that same day, in a conversation with my mother, I pointed out my desire to believe that all religions should be accepted and not judged by their more radical wings. But that in truth I can no longer go along with that line of thinking after reading about the forms of female oppression and anti-female aggression that are done in the name of religion. (My first in-depth exploration of this issue came five years ago thanks to Ayan Hirsi Ali’s book, Infidel). My mom chuckled and said, “Well, you’ve always been radical.” She referenced something I’d written as a child about injustices to women I observed in the Bible. I have no recollection of the writing she mentioned, but I’ve no doubt I wrote it. Incidents like that and my confrontation earlier this week are why my husband refers to me as “The Angry Black Feminist” (A title he gave me during the Clinton-Obama primaries in 2008 which pit my inner Black radical against my inner feminist and resulted in overall anger at the media and electoral process).
They say you should never discuss politics or religion if you want to have pleasant small talk. It’s probably clear to you now that I am not good at small talk. But all this got me to wondering is travel was now the third item on the list of “do not discuss”. Before we all got caught up in Boston, the most sensational story was Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s trip to Cuba. There were charges that they traveled illegally (which they did not), there were charges that they were being unpatriotic, supporting a dictator and even supporting a racist country created by a racist revolutionary, Che Guevara. Man, when did it get so hard to take a vacation!
Beyonce & Jay-Z in CubaI have been to Havana. And I’ve had people lecture me that I should not have gone and supported the Castro regime. As you know, I’ve also been to communist China, no one questioned my travel as a form of support for the Chinese government. I’ve also been to Russia. No one asked if by going if I was encouraging Putin’s particular brand of leadership by force and fear.
In these days where everything is political, travel is the perfect target. And I agree that there are many places around the world in which human rights are violated and people (particularly women) do not receive fair treatment. But in my view, my choices are stay in the bubble (safely at home or only in those vacation destinations deemed non-controversial) or get out and see the world with my own eyes. Discover first-hand how people are really living, what dictatorship feels like and looks like, and find out what people truly value.
The people in Havana, were some of the most friendly and welcoming people I’ve met in my travels. I was fascinated by their pride in little things like always wearing clean clothing regardless of their level of poverty. I was blown away by what passed for housing. Crumbling cement apartment buildings, which lacked windows or clear entryways, were fully inhabited. Havana was the most urban like atmosphere I’ve experienced on a Caribbean island (tall buildings lots of concrete), and yet that city was built in the 40’s and 50’s and has not been updated since. The pollution from the diesel fuel used in their 1950s Fords prohibited us from opening the car windows during taxi rides despite the heat. We went to the Museum of the Revolution and saw the Cuban Missile Crisis through Castro’s eyes and through Che’s eyes. But none of this made me feel less patriotic as a U.S. citizen. It made me feel fortunate. It made me ask more questions to understand how their government and economy works. It made me explore whether the embargo was helping or hurting these wonderful people. And ask the same question about my tourism dollars.
A residential community in downtown Havana 
A home in downtown Havana
Cuban Cars
City view of HavanaWhen people ask, I tell them that going to Havana was not a vacation for me, it was a learning experience. I believe that all travel should be. Even when I want to escape it all and spend a few days at an all-inclusive resort, I find myself chatting up the locals, wandering off to local restaurants and shops and on the way observing the people’s way of life. I’m not traveling to advance or deny a political agenda. I’m traveling to know … to know the people, the cultures, the economies and the governments. I’m traveling to know that the world is bigger than what is fed to me on the nightly news and that the people not the politics are what matters.
Travel as a way of life ...
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 04/24/2013 06:49:18 PM
This is probably the most opinionated post I've made to the blog thus far. But just because I have my opinions, doesn't mean I don't want to hear your's. Agree, disagree or introduce something new to consider. Your comments are always appreciated..
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Khadijah EMAIL: deego75@hotmail.com IP: 64.1.27.162 URL: DATE: 04/24/2013 07:24:36 PM
How wonderfully put.
Last Thursday I was in an arguement with two African-American people who felt strongly that Beyonce and Jay-Z should not have gone because they were Black and the implications were greater for them since they were celebrities that people looked up to.
I asked whether they should have polled Black-American's before they went and should they do so before they make any decisions?
The world is bigger and more wonderful then the limitations of race, nationality, sex, etc.
P.S. I am a Black Feminist not quite so angry though. :)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Asiyah EMAIL: agrant02@gmail.com IP: 68.171.231.86 URL: DATE: 04/24/2013 08:47:25 PM
Where is the "like" button?
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sheila EMAIL: IP: 24.189.96.50 URL: DATE: 04/25/2013 04:45:07 AM
👍
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 04/25/2013 04:27:09 PM
@Khadijah: "Angry" is the husband assigned (not self-assigned) adjective :-)
@Asiyah you can like it here https://www.facebook.com/VillaPompano
@Sheila your comment did not come through.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Best Budget Airlines??? I’ll Be the Judge of That STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 05/02/2013 05:25:05 PM ----- BODY:
This week I’m reviewing BudgetTravel.com’s 12 Best Budget Airlines list. I haven’t flown on all of them, but I will offer my opinion on the ones on which I have traveled:
- JetBlue Airlines – hands down my favorite airline. Its spoiled me for flying any other airline domestically. We fly back and forth to Florida several times each year and 99% of the time its on JetBlue. One time we had to take a United flight back home because the flight time was better for us that day. We were so hungry and bored. We aren’t used to flying on an airline without free unlimited snacks and free DirecTV.
In addition to food and entertainment, JetBlue also offers one free checked bag, generous legroom (in comparison to others), leather seats and the opportunity to get money back should the price of your ticket decrease after purchase. I have saved hundreds using the price guarantee feature. After I purchase a ticket, I enter the details into the flight tracker on Yapta.com and get an alert whenever the price drops below my purchase price. Then I call JetBlue and they give me a credit for the difference in price. These credits add up quickly as there is no limit to how many times you can take advantage of the price guarantee. Every time the price drops you call for another credit. I’ve been able to use my Travel Bank (JetBlue’s name for the credits) to purchase entire flights. - Southwest Airlines – I’ve heard good things about this airline, including their free checked bag policy. They’ve also recently started flying out of my nearest airport, Newark Liberty International. Unfortunately, they haven’t offered direct flights to any of the places I’ve needed to go (and I’m a big believer in flying direct when flying domestically). Perhaps sometime in the future, I’ll get to give them a fly.
- West Jet – Never flown
- LAN – I flew LAN to Costa Rica years ago. Too long ago for me to remember details. What I do remember is a standard airline, nothing fancy, but not to skimpy either. That was 10 years ago, so things most likely have changed. According to budget travel they now have entertainment at every seat. I think it’s time to go back to Costa Rica!
- Iceland Air – This is a great, inexpensive way to get to Europe. All flights go through Iceland (which if we remember our geography lessons is really not frozen tundra). The bonus is you can do a short or a long layover, thus enabling you to add another destination to your trip. I did an 8 hour layover on my way back from visiting my then boyfriend in Norway. I didn’t have enough time to take advantage of the Blue Lagoon or see the northern lights. But I did walk all over Reykjavik, have lunch and do a bit of site-seeing, before boarding my plane home. I’d definitely recommend Iceland Air for good price and an option for breaking up a long trip.
- Air Lingus – This Irish airline seems to compete with Iceland Air for low prices to European destinations. I’ve never flown them because I choose Iceland Air but they do seem like a viable alternative.
- Easy Jet – We flew EasyJet and RyanAir during the same trip. They were flights to and from England to other European destination. The prices for both are unbelievably cheap when searching their websites, but when Its time to book the prices creep up and up with fees and taxes not included. And you pay for your bag by the size of it. You pay more to check your back if you don’t pay at the time of booking and even more at the airport.
- Ryan Air - Ryan Air walked through the boarding line measuring bags and forcing people to find cash in their pockets to pay fees when their bags were deemed too big. And anything over the size of a child’s book bag was deemed too big. Both Ryan Air and Easy Jet had self-seating, so boarding was a mess. Several chairs were broken and overall it was a chaotic low service experience. But if all you care about is the price Easy Jet and Ryan Air may be hard to beat.
- Fast Jet – this is a budget airline in Africa. I’ve never flown but look forward to it. I’m saving Africa trips for when Duckie will actually remember them.
- Hawaiian Air – for a long time I had no interest in visiting Hawaii so I’ve never flown this airline. In the last year, I have come around to the idea of Hawaii. Mostly because I saw the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills vacation there (don’t judge) at the Four Seasons. I don’t know if I can afford the Four Seasons but it looked so gorgeous and luxurious, where there is a will there has got to be a way.
- JetStar – I’ve never even heard of this airline. But it serves Asia and the South Pacific so I need to keep it on my radar. Again these long haul trips will have to wait until Duckie is a little older.
- Tiger Airways – Another airline I’d never heard of before (thanks BudgetTravel.com for the continued education). It services Asia and Australia, so onto the bucket list it goes.
So consider all the options when booking a flight and then book what’s right for you. IMHO saving $20 is never worth it if you have to sacrifice comfort, commuting time, or FOOD!!
Travel as a way of life ...
-Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya DATE: 05/02/2013 06:30:14 PM
Do you have a favorite airline? Do you hate them all equally :-)? What's important to you when booking a flight?
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sheila EMAIL: IP: 198.228.201.163 URL: DATE: 05/02/2013 09:01:48 PM
Can't believe I've been someplace you haven't. I love Hawaii! Beautiful weather, friendly people, breathtaking terrains, and the most beautiful and fragrant flowers. 2 thumbs up for this destination. I don't remember food at all but I was traveling with a low budget back then so I probably ate on the go. ;)
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Do We Need Another Travel Planning Website? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 05/08/2013 07:17:47 PM ----- BODY:
In my quest to keep us all ever aware of the latest and greatest in travel, I watched a segment on the Today show a couple of weeks ago. The guest recommended several hot new travel websites. But since I had some trouble understanding what was so hot, or even what some of them did, I figured I’d better test them out first before passing them on to you.
GetGoing.com – this site offers two search options:
- Option one is a flight search that allows you to select a region/experience or be specific about your city choice. Then the “Flight Finder finds personalized recommendations for affordable flights for you. This option is appealing if you want to go to Italy but don’t care if you go to Rome or Florence.
- Option 2 is called Pick Two. You select the type of experience (i.e. Caribbean Beach) then you are presented with several destinations from with to choose and a starting price for flights. When you select a destination you then choose the departure and return flights you prefer. Then you do the process all over again for your second choice destination. After you are done picking, you put in the passenger info and a credit card. The site then randomly selects one of the two flight itineraries you selected and books it.
Pintrips.com – to utilize this site you need to install a plug-in for your browser. For the sake of testing I should have been willing to do this, but after reading the benefits of using the site and its plug- in I was not inclined to do so. The benefits of Pintrips is that you can search flights on any website and then “pin” those flights to your dashboard. Then view all of your selected flights together (with current pricing) and discuss with yourself how you are feeling about your choices. If you find that you don’t provide yourself with satisfactory feedback, you can invite friends and family to view and comment on your itinerary. IDK, with Kayak, Yapta, Orbitz and Expedia, were we all struggling to compare flights? Sure it would be nice to show a friend I’m visiting the two flights I’m choosing between. But I’ll settle for copy and paste versus having to install a plug in and presumably have my friend do the same.
SeatGuru.com – this is a Trip Advisor website. It’s probably most helpful when flying an airline with which you are unfamiliar. Simply enter the airline, flight number and travel date and you are presented with the seat map. But this is a special map that includes important comments about some seats. For example on the JetBlue flight I will take to Fort Lauderdale at the end of the month:
- The 1st row of seats is priced higher as an “Even More Space” row (denoting extra legroom). But SeatGuru.com say the bulk head in this row limits the leg room and since the tray table is in the armrest the armrest it is immovable.
- Row 10 is also an “Even More Space” row, but because it is an exit row and there is another exit row behind it, the seats have limited or no recline.
GetGoing.com and Pintrips.com are good examples of venture capital funds availability. I don’t see how anyone without cash to burn could have conceived that either of these sites would become go to sites for travelers. SeatGuru.com on the other hand is very valuable, particularly if you are taking a long flight or trying to sit a large family together. It gives you information you need and doesn’t waste your time showing off useless features.
More site reviews to come.
Travel as a way of life …
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 05/08/2013 07:34:45 PM
Would you find these sites useful?
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: On the Road Again (2nd attempt) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 DATE: 05/31/2013 06:18:10 PM ----- BODY:
I'm on board a Jet Blue flight attempting to blog from my phone for the second time today. My first attempt included two intriguing, insightful and beautifully written paragraphs which were permanently deleted with one tap of an auto correct (or suggest) word. So two hours and several deep breaths later I'm trying again ... (damn this mobile technology).
Its been a hectic few weeks which have kept me absent from blogging. Duckie and I were on standby for a Royal Caribbean sailing from New Jersey to the Caribbean for 9 nights. We had to be all packed and waiting at port to see if we would make it on the sold-out cruise. We did!
On Saturday, we returned to NJ and headed straight to Costco for some power shopping. The next day we hosted our house warming BBQ. An exhaustingly fun day of friends and family. And in the days since I've done loads of laundry and repacked for my trip down to Villa Pompano and which is why I'm now on this flight praying these words are not deleted.
More on cruising and Florida to come. For now a Villa Pomano update: June and July are fully booked. August and September are still available with the 20% discount for our facebook friends ( like us at www.facebook.com/villapompano). August is also Spa Month with great massages and spa packages available for under $100. So come and enjoy our heated pool, warm beaches and Florida sun. I'm looking forward to my girls weekend ... lets get the party started.
Travel as a way of life ...
Kimya
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Live from the sand at Pompano Beach STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 DATE: 06/10/2013 02:17:04 AM ----- BODY:
Whooo hoo! I've just done some major wave jumping at the newly renovated and gorgeous Pompano Beach. Starting from the new shops and restaurants lining the Atlantic Blvd approach to the harbor scenes as you cross the draw bridge everything is shiny and new. Parking is abundant in the new lots and on street parking spaces. There's also a new kiddie sprinkler area and beach chair and umbrella rentals (but we already have those for you at Villa Pompano). So I'm loving it. And since tropical storm Andrea visited a few days ago this usually calm beach is a surfers paradise. I'm not a surfer but it was just as much fun jumping and riding the wave with my body. Duckie and I tried to use karate to break them up. Instead we broke into a case of the giggles :-)
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Live blogging from Johnny V STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 DATE: 06/13/2013 11:06:09 PM ----- BODY:
Hubby discovered this restaurant on his boys weekend at Villa Pompano in March. Now he's back here with me for date night (duckie is with the sitter aka her cousin). The restaurant lounge is on Las Olas Blvd in Ft. Lauderdale. So far so good. Had the cheese plate to end all cheese plates (and I don't do cow's milk). My favoriyes were two sheep cheeses, idiazabal and petite basque. Yummy buttery flavor.
Next up appetizers. Calamari in something yummy with a spicy mango chutney and two types of aioli. Hubby had fried quail egg on bacon and toast. This is the same he'd gotten before. At this point I'm so full but here comes my main course, surf and turf. Lobster did nott come with butter sauce and did not need it. So flavorful. And the steak melted like butter. Hubby had a delicious (according to him) pork chop. I should have a picture to show you the beautiful presentation but I was hungry so here..
Time for dessert. Can I handle it?
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Slice of America STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 DATE: 06/21/2013 01:38:11 PM ----- BODY:
I'm visiting my first Cracker Barrel. We are in Daytona Beach almost halfway through our drive from Villa Pompano to Charleston, SC. I suppose I look like a typical northerner typing on my phone while waiting on my food. But after losing yet another post this morning to auto-suggest, I finally had the brilliant idea to turn off that feature on my cell phone. And to think it only took several months to come up with that idea.
Ok. Enough about my genious. Let's talk about how much fun Duckie, Hubby and I had during our three weeks in Florida. Duckie had one glorious week at the YMCA summer sports camp. She swam and played sports for 4 hours daily, only to come home and do laps in the pool with Hubby. And I do mean laps. What we will remember the most is how this 3 year old became one of the best swimmers we know. Luckily her NJ YMCA summer swim classes start again on Monday so I shouldn't have to endure too many days of whinning about why we dont have a pool.
Other trip highlights included celebrating Father's day with breakfast at the W hotel on Ft. Lauderdale beach. And later, a water taxi criuse past the plentiful Ft. Lauderdale mansions. And it wouldn't be a perfect day if we didn't cap it off with frozen yogurts and toppings which we ate on a bench on beautiful Las Olas Boulevard.
More to come on the specifics of Florida activities. In the meantime, I've finished my catfish meal and realized on our way out that we were not at just any Cracker Barrel, but the one right in front of the Dayton International Speedway. Now, if only I could commemorate this moment with a Starbucks mug :-)
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Top 10 Cruise Tips (In No Particular Order) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 07/09/2013 04:57:11 PM ----- BODY:
I’ve been on half a dozen cruises or so. And I’ve worked as a travel agent, booking others on great and not so great cruises. I enjoy cruising mostly for the opportunity to experience many destinations in one vacation. I believe everyone should cruise at least once. And if you have any apprehensions about cruising don’t book the cheapest thing sailing (it will only meet your low expectations). I always sail Royal Caribbean because for me it’s the right balance between quality and price. In the future, I hope to step it up a notch and try Celebrity Cruises, and Disney Cruise Lines. I’m also intrigued by river cruising, thought it seems like something I might save for retirement. So the options are a plenty. I hope you get on board soon. Here are my best tips for booking and enjoying a cruise.
- Eat in the Dining Room and Try New Things – Yes the buffet is great on a cruise. It will have a wide selection and may seem like its open all day. But unless you are just too beat from a long day in the sun, I suggest showing up for dinner in the dining room. This is where I first tried escargot (which I now love). I never would have tried it if I went to a regular restaurant and had to pay. This also where I smother myself in lobster, when available. These days the dining room dress code is more casual than you’d think. And just like the buffet you can have as much as you like. Order two entrees, three deserts, no one (except your friends) will look at you funny. Bonus tip: If you are traveling with small children the dining room has the added plus of service. A waiter to bring your food so you don’t have to juggle the stroller, the plates and drinks while desperately searching for an open table.
- Don’t Book the Tour – I like to use the cruise tour brochure as a guide to the types of excursions available. Depending on the modernization level and safety of your destination you can determine if you need to pay double the going rate to see the sights. On almost every trip to the Caribbean I have either found a great taxi driver to take us site seeing an wait for us at specific locations, or I’ve gotten off the boat and found and independent excursion company right at the pier selling the very same itineraries for less. The only exception was when Duckie and I cruised together and she was only one year old. I did not want to bother with lugging her and her stroller around while trying to bargain hunt for the best deal. In that one scenario, I booked the cruise excursions. However, I got so bored on one of them (and so did she) we got off and took a taxi to Starbucks (of course)!
- Don’t Buy the Soda Package – Ok this tip is a two-for-one. You shouldn’t by the soda package because it’s only a discount considering the soda is overpriced to begin with on the ship. Iced tea, lemonade, water and even flavored water are free at all meal times. Your soda card does not include alcoholic beverages so you still have to pay for those. And the second benefit is you really didn’t need those extra calories anyway. Let’s face it; you are going all out on food for a week. Cut yourself a break and have a glass of water. Because really, are you REALLY going to the gym to work out?
- Use the Gym – Sure you can work out, if you like. I’m proud to say I did it a time or two on my last cruise. But even if you don’t want to work out, the gym usually has the sauna, steam room and a less crowded hot tub (compared to the ones on the pool deck).
- Ignore Free Sessions at the Spa – “Learn how to lose 5 inches in one super sucker fat melting session.” That may not be the exact seminar name but you get my drift. I listened in to one of these sessions while I was inconspicuously stretching in the back of the room. The presenter gave a tough love talk to a room filled with trusting people looking for a shortcut. That shortcut was going to cost them a lot of money. So much money that she would not come out and say it during the session. You had to sign up for your personal consultation to receive your individualized plan. But over and over the presenter stressed a need to commit to the plan, in other words, commit to a monthly payment plan. Really if you want to waste money on fake waste loss schemes stick to Groupon people!
- Do Book Last Minute – these days it’s hard to find a last minute flight at a discount, but a last minute cruise is easy. When you discover you have a few days’ vacation time you need to use or lose, go to the cruise line websites and get exploring. They are always looking to fill up cabins especially on shorter cruises. And in exchange for your last minute booking you’ll get a very nice price. (The catch is only certain cabins will be available, this may mean getting an inside cabin instead of a balcony. But hey you’re not going on vacation to sit in your room.) And if you do book early, check for cruise lines like Royal Caribbean which guarantee you the best rate. They will refund the difference if they lower the price for the cabin type you booked.
- Eat at the Specialty Restaurants –I normally don’t like paying for something when I can get a similar item already included in my fare. But the steakhouse and other specialty restaurants can offer you a meal that off ship would cost $100 or more for just and extra $10 - $40 bucks. Just check the menu before making a reservation to confirm there is the value in dining there.
- Consider Ship vs. Itinerary – Once there was the mega ship, now there are the super duper mega ships which make the former big dog ships look like puppies. These gigantic ships have more to offer than size, they have lots more to do on board. But when selecting your cruise it’s important to consider how much time you will spend on ship vs. how much time you will spend in port. A cruise itinerary which includes several days at sea, really benefits from a lot of on-board options. While a cruise that it is in a new port each day, will hardly leave you any time to enjoy the on-board extras for which you will have already paid.
- Kids Club!! – Do you like sanity? Are you traveling with kids? Then you’ll love the kids club. These onboard day camps have way more to offer than your regular child care options. Kids are grouped by age to enjoy non-stop activities with well trained staff. Duckie doesn’t like to be picked up from the kids club because it means the fun is over. There are also clubs for teens which gives them a meeting place for which to begin their onboard adventures. You will not see your teen for most of the cruise. I utilize the kids club for our days at sea. It keeps Duckie from being bored and also allows me some adult time.
- Do Your Research – The cruise line would be more than happy to take care of your every need, for a price. But before you book do your research. The cruise line can book your airline tickets and airport transfers which make traveling really easy. In some cases, after your initial airport bag check you may not need to touch your bags again until you see them appear in your cabin. However, if you prefer travel savings to VIP service, search flights yourself first, to make sure the airline can book the lower priced options. Also find out the cost of taking a taxi to the ship or other airport transportation options. Once we rented a car at the airport and turned it in at the rental site 5 minutes from the ship. The rental car shuttle dropped us at the pier. We’ve also found transportation vans waiting at the pier to go to the airport that required no reservations and were cheaper than the cruise transfers or taxis.
Here’s wishing you happy cruising!
--Kimya
Travel as a way of life …
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 07/09/2013 05:06:44 PM
Sharing is caring ... Do you have any cruising tips? Or perhaps you have a questions? Please share your thoughts.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Top 10 South Florida STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: To Do DATE: 07/18/2013 06:23:35 PM ----- BODY:
After spending three weeks at Villa Pompano last month, I’ve come up with a list of my top ten places to enjoy in South Florida. This time they are in order of preference. Here goes:
10. Sawgrass Mills – “Shop till you drop,” is a phrase invented for this mega outlet mall. We first visited during our honeymoon and we exhausted ourselves trying to cover the distance of the mall. Back at the hotel we exhausted our luggage trying to fit in the new wardrobes we’d purchased. If you like shopping and bargain hunting plan to spend the day.
9. Water Taxi – The Fort Lauderdale water taxi is an excellent way to spend the day. Stay on the boat to ogle water front mansions or hop on an off to visit Las Olas, The Galleria Mall, numerous waterfront restaurants or Fort Lauderdale beach.
View from the water taxi8. South Beach – Perhaps the most well know location in South Florida is South Beach, Miami. If your young it’s the place to party, If you are not so young, it’s the place to go and pretend you are J The beach backs ups to Ocean drive which is filled with restaurants and bars that keep the non-stop party scene alive. And one block over on Collins Avenue you’ll find well known stores mixed in trending hotels. One block further takes you to Washington Avenue, your destination if you are seeking a new tattoo.
7. Ft. Lauderdale Beach – tons of restaurants, bars and pretty hotels line one side of the street while the other side is the ocean. Plus, in the summer crafts and art vendors line the side walk and many restaurants have a discounted menu. There is also live music on summer weekend nights.
Hubby & Duckie dining at The W on Fort Lauderdale Beach6. Boca Raton – is a lovely place for a leisurely afternoon. Downtown Boca has lots of cafés, restaurants and shops. But nothing beach Mizner Park. Not a park in the really, really green sense. It’s more of a garden of greenery and fountains lining the sides of a walkway, which the center piece of the surrounding shops and eateries. But at the end of the park is the Mizner Amphitheatre home to many outdoor free concerts.
5. Palm Beach – this town has got you covered for shopping, eating, and enjoying a relaxing time at the beach. First take a coastal drive in Palm Beach and peak over the hedges to see what luxurious living really means. Then join them for a dip in the ocean. The beach is public so you can stop along the road, park and enjoy what the residents enjoy. Then head to Worth Street for people watching, car watching and gallery hopping. There are also several excellent and innovative restaurants in the Worth Street area.
4. West Palm Beach – just over the bridge from Palm Beach is a more laid back but equally enjoyable town. Head to City Place, an outdoor mall similar to Los Angeles’ the Grove (the shooting location for the TV show Extra). Your favorite stores and shops mingle with well know restaurants and a movie theater. If you are flying out of the West Palm Beach airport this is an excellent location to kill time before takeoff.
3. Lincoln Road – Just north of South Beach, Lincoln Road is a pedestrian only stretch of cafes, bars and restaurants which include some slightly less touristy than found on South Beach. And often there is live music.
2. Gulfstream Park – just at the northern edge of Delray Beach (about 25 mins from Villa Pompano by car) is Gulfstream Park, part of the Palm Beach County park system. It has a picnic area, playground and beautiful beach. There is also saltwater fishing, shower facilities and restroom. It really is a destination with something for everyone in the family.
1. Las Olas Blvd – this is my favorite place in South Florida. This very long boulevard is lined with cute boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and real estate offices. Why so many real estate agencies? To sell the beautiful mansions that line the canals off Las Olas. Its fun to “window shop” for dream houses. There’s a bar on wheels, (one really big bike with a table down the middle), every kind or cuisine, and shopping for everything from clothing to antiques.
It all begins at Villa Pompano– Surprise. I’m sure you could not have guessed this is my favorite destination in South Florida. It has everything I need to make it my jumping off point for exploring or just sitting out by the pool with a margarita doing a whole lot of nothing!
Travel as a Way of Life ...
--Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 07/18/2013 06:36:16 PM
Been to South Florida? What are your favorite places?
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Back to School Blues STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 07/31/2013 04:46:00 PM ----- BODY:
It’s that time of year again. Time to prepare for summer to wind down and school to begin again. And even though I haven’t been in school in too many years to mention, I still find the back to school commercials depressing. It’s completely illogical. When I was in school, I loved getting new clothes, shoes and supplies. I loved meticulously planning my first day of school outfit and coming home that day to devise fancy book covers from paper bags. So why as an adult to the concept of back to school bring on such dread?
I’m pretty sure it has more to do with the end of summer. Here in NY/NJ summer means freedom. Freedom to walk places, dine alfresco and catch an outdoor concert all without freezing off my tukkas. Of course, it also means ridiculous heat waves, crazy beach traffic, and yucky bugs. But when I’m waxing nostalgic for a season that is almost over, I have to overlook those negatives.
This summer has been all about planning for fall and winter. My upcoming trips are Brazil in September/October, Florida for our wedding anniversary in December, and Russia/London for the Winter Olympics in February. Obviously that’s a lot. And none of them has been easy to plan. The emphasis has been on budget travel planning. So I’ve driven myself mad, attempting to use American Express Membership Rewards and frequent flyer miles for every possible aspect of these trips. This requires a lot of mathematics, because a point is not a point and a mile is not just a mile.
Points earned on credit cards like AMEX have varying value. For instance, if I book travel directly on the AMEX Travel site, I spend 100 points per dollar. However, if I take those same points and transfer them to Jet Blue Airlines and use them on a sale flight I spend 64 points per dollar. Now multiply this equation by all the different airlines, sale fares and flight combinations one could consider. Have you gone mad yet?
So that is how I’ve spend my summer, trying to get the best value for my points/miles, while also trying to find the best flights to entice Duckie to sleep and get us to our far-fetched destinations (getting to/from Sochi, Russia is not a simple feat). As of yesterday, I’d booked all flights for all trips (expect one possible domestic Brazilian flight pair). Now, my focus is fully on finding accommodations. As much as I’d love to use points for that as well, I find staying in apartments and boutique hotels is often a better all-around value and comfort. Most of these options cannot be booked with points or miles.
And so, the rest of my summer will be spent putting Google Translate in turbo mode (imaginary) to read reviews, booking details and location information for potential Russian and Brazilian dwellings. I’m sure I’ll manage to fit in a BBQ, beach trip, alfresco lunch and a few great walks before its time to depart summer for Brazilian winter.
Travel as a Way of Life …
--Kimya
p.s. JetBlue is having a 2 day sale that ends today. Travel through December 18th.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 07/31/2013 04:53:45 PM
How do you feel about the end of summer? Got any travel plans for the rest of the year?
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Politics, Politics STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Op-Ed DATE: 08/14/2013 05:37:44 PM ----- BODY:
The political atmosphere in the U.S. is crazy. But it’s not the subject of blog. Russian politics and U.S. foreign relations with Russia is now front and center in my travel-sphere.
As previously mentioned, hubby, Duckie and I are looking forward to attending our second winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia this February. The first Olympics we attended was in Canada (the North American neutrality equivalent to Switzerland). Now for our second Olympics we appear to be going to Canada’s political polar opposite.
In recent weeks, Russia’s president has passed a law which makes it illegal to discuss gay rights or relationships where children might hear the conversation. Since the Olympics and 2018 World cup (also to be held in Russia) are huge public international events attended by and watched on television by children, the law effectively bans any gay activism, protest or displays of pride from these events. Needless to say a number of Olympic athletes may be affected by the new law.
Additionally, President Putin’s granting of asylum to US whistle blower or anti-patriot (depending on your perspective) Edward Snowden in the face of the US government’s request for his return has raised the tension level several notches. Some Congressional members have even advocated a boycott of the 2014 Olympics (as have some gay rights advocates).
Well, all of this makes it hard for the Nilsens to merrily look forward to a pleasant adventure to go cheer on our US and Norwegian athletes, while experiencing a new destination. We are not completely naïve, we knew ahead of time that there were already things that make visiting Russia not so friendly/easy for Americans. On our cruise stop in St. Petersburg we were only allowed to visit locations with a paid tour guide, while visitors from preferred countries like Venezuela were free to roam independently. My entry through Russian customs included a lengthy stare down by the customs agent of me and Duckie. No actual words were spoken, just the intimidating stare before eventually granting us entry. This process was repeated again (4 hours later) upon exiting the country.
Russia has strict visa requirements for US citizens which begin with a lengthy and costly visa application which may take as long to complete as a graduate school thesis. The process also requires a letter of invitation for the place we will stay and then a couple of visits to the consulate for processing. Some of these restrictions have been waived for athletes but not yet for spectators.
So as the start of the Olympics draws near, my flights have been booked and my accommodations search is nearing its end. I’m carefully watching the political developments and praying that the U.S. is able to put the hopes, dreams and once in a lifetime opportunities for our young athletes ahead of our need to protest and punish those who don’t share our views or honor our requests. And of course we hope that in the end the courage and performance of the world’s young Olympians will outshine politics.
Travel as a way of life ...
--Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 08/14/2013 05:45:11 PM
Any thoughts?
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Beach Day STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 08/28/2013 03:47:00 PM ----- BODY:
Woke up this morning, got Duckie dressed and fed. Then picked up a friend , dropped Duckie at day care and sped away to the beach. Now I'm happily sitting under my umbrella (which I got up all because myself, thank you very much! and enjoying the summer breeze.
We are relaxing at Long Branch beach on the New Jersey shore. There are very few signs that Hurricane Sandy was here. Which must be a testimate to the great job that was done in the clean up.
Next up is lunch at my favorite NJ restaurant, The Avenue. It sits right on the beach and serves up deliciousness. I don't know yet what my entre will be, but I know I'm starting with buttery, garlicky escargot. Yumm ... I love day-cation.
Spotted NJ Govenor Christie being filmed on the boardwalk ... cause were stonger than the storm
Travel as a way of life ...
Kimya
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Confessions of a Travel Snob … Vol 1 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 09/09/2013 06:17:15 PM ----- BODY:
I’m going out on a limb and saying this is a first in a series. I’m willing to take this risk because after quite a bit of self-analysis. I realize, I’ve always been a travel snob and have no plans on making a change anytime soon. It’s not that I’m proud to be a snob. I feel it’s less a badge of honor and more of a psychosis.
All who know (or read) me, know I am very picky about my accommodations at home and on vacation. I simply don’t believe in slumming it. This doesn’t mean I need to stay at the Four Seasons everywhere I go, though if that were in my future, I’d gladly accept. I’ve never stayed at the Four Seasons, but in case anyone is thinking of inviting me, I’m pretty sure they meet my requirements list:- White bed linens - If dirt/germs are there, I want the best chance at seeing them, so I can promptly plan my exit.
- Dust free dust ruffles – The purpose of a dust ruffle, contrary to its name, is not to collect dust and display it for guests to see. In my view, its only purpose is to hide what’s under the bed. And really there is no point in doing that, because I’m going to look there anyway.
- Dust bunny and hair free – I bought my cleaning woman yellow microfiber cloths to use so she’d quit using all my paper towels. She said, “OK but I need the blue cloths to clean the bathroom because they are better for cleaning the windows and getting hairs out of tubs and showers. On her next visit, I gave her two blue towels rated #1 on Amazon for cleaning. Momma don’t play!!! Hair is … is … OMG I can’t even discuss its gross qualities.
- Leather or other non-porous seating – Throwing a blanket over a couch just makes it look like exactly the type of bed I don’t want to sleep in. A sofa should be comfy and preferably slippery. As in, all bodily fluids (and hairs) slid of before I got there. Wood or plastic is perfectly fine for all other indoor or outdoor seating.
- WiFi – This requirement has nothing to do with cleanliness, but I need to be in contact with the world. Able to call Hubby and/or Duckie if I’m traveling without them, and able to plan my vacation while I’m on it. I don’t use phone cards because they are a waste of money. I’m Skype or Google Talk (now Hangout) all the way.
Ok. That was the short list. And while I don’t think any of those requirements are unreasonable, I recognize there are plenty of people in the world who could happily do with a lot less. You may also think this is a list of nice to haves. No, not for me. If I’m not satisfied that the bed is sanitary, I will not sleep. I will try, but I won’t sleep. I will layer the bed with beach sarongs, Febreeze, baby power, beach towels, whatever I can to limit the chance of contact with the questionable sheets. In fact, I regularly travel with my silk sleeping back for these situations. But mentally, I’ll never move past feeling the creepy crawlies are coming to get me. So I won’t sleep. As a result, my vacation will be attended by a very cranky and irritable person - me!
All this brings me to my trip to Brazil. It’s the first trip in 7 years (other than to Villa Pompano) that I’ll be taking without Hubby. He is used to my snobbery, and even has some of his own (he avoids people with long finger nails like the plague and any business that doesn’t keep their bathroom stocked with toilet paper is worthy of a boycott). I’m going to Brazil with one of my closest friends. She’s the best and we will have a great time together. However, she’s either recently decided to be a laid-back person, or she was this way all along and kept it a deep dark secret. She’s down to stay in a nice little budget apartment in Rio and I’m driving her crazy with my DEMANDS! I even explained that the roots of this psychosis go at least as far back as summer camp where I wouldn’t be caught dead sleeping on camp issued linens. Or when I was going away to college and my mom said “just request a single dorm room, you’ll never survive with roommates.”
Ultimately, a mutual friend referred us to one of her family members who has a nice apartment in a great neighborhood in Rio. I’ve seen a few pictures of parts of rooms. They look OK. The linens are blue and white … eeeh) And I’m told the home owner (a woman) may be in residence during some of our stay. The bottom line is I’ve decided to stop thinking. Because there is no way I can sell myself on it.
Instead, I’ve agreed to bring my own linens, which I will do in addition to my sleeping bag. I’ve already gotten shower shoes. And, I will get new pajamas with pants and a robe for sofa sitting. And finally, I’ve informed my very wonderful, loving and patient friend that if I don’t like it I’m leaving and going to a nice hotel!
:-)
Travel as a way of life ….
--Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 09/09/2013 06:26:05 PM
Snobs of the world STAND UP!!! Well, just tell me about your travel snobbery or experiences traveling with a travel snob and/or me :-)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Asiyah EMAIL: Agrant02@gmail.com IP: 76.76.172.78 URL: DATE: 09/09/2013 10:00:52 PM
I loved this article. It's good to have standards! Hail to the Snob!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Curlyn EMAIL: IP: 68.44.130.103 URL: DATE: 09/10/2013 06:15:49 AM
It's not being a Snob it's being clean. I have asked to have my bedding changed upon arrival and noticing hair on the sheets. For the couch I spread a beach towel and sit on that. Target sells pillow protectors at a reasonable price. Only white towels without stains at hotels are acceptable. Socks or sleepers on the floors never barefoot. Clorox wipes or baby wipes for the remote. Germaphobe, that's me.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 09/10/2013 04:28:04 PM
I love it. Snobs unite! :-)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Khadijah EMAIL: IP: 64.1.27.162 URL: DATE: 09/18/2013 07:23:08 PM
I thought of you when we went to Wildwood, NJ. There would be NO WAY that you could have stayed in that "Resort". Yes, they called it a resort. If there is a way to have -1 stars. They should have gotten it. I will spare you details.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 09/19/2013 12:59:39 AM
Its so funny you mentioned that. When you said you had gone. The first thing I thought was ... "I wonder where she stayed." But then again, that's always my first thought.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Go Go Go on an Adventure STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 09/18/2013 06:38:52 PM ----- BODY:
If you're not up on your children’s public television, “Go, Go, Go on an Adventure” is the theme song for The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That. Duckie and I have never actually seen the show, but having heard the theme song in the commercial lead-ins to Sesame Street, we’ve made it the jingle to our daily preparations. Time to leave for daycare? “We’re gonna, Go, Go, Go …” Time to go to Costco, HomeDepot, for a bike ride, to walk the dog, pretty much anything that could benefit from a little hype music.
Today I’m packing for Rio de Janiero and running pre-trip errands. On my way back from the shoe-maker (who is fixing my favorite, but now discontinued, Merrell sandals), I found myself humming the Cat in the Hat tune.
My adventure starts Sunday evening when my flight departs. Good news on that front: TAM Airlines (unlike China Air) has individual seatback screens and “tons of free movies,” is what the agent told me. In addition, this Brazilian airline allows passengers to check 2 free bags weighing up to 70lbs each. WHAT!!!! Why would they go and give a girl that kind of packing freedom?! I mean with luggage limitations like that one could have a bag just for shoes. Whoa Nellie! I’m calming myself down. Just because they let me bring two bags to check (and a carry-on, plus personal item – backpack, purse, etc) doesn’t mean I should. I want to! But I won’t. For the simple reason, I do not as yet have a butler. I’ve never had one, but hope springs eternal. When I do have one, he will certainly travel with me.
Normally, I’d have my semi-butler, Hubby, to do the heavy lifting. But, since this is a girl’s trip, its time for a reality check. I have a bad back and that last thing I need to do is aggravate it on the way to a vacation. So I’m sticking to one checked medium-sized bag. With those limitations in mind, I laid out all my clothing options for the trip this morning and set about deciding which would be the best packing method – rolling, folding, stacking, using my To Go Space Bags (my “after” pictures, differ greatly from those on the front on the box)
Then it dawned on me that it’s not really crucial which method I choose, because they all work fairly well. But the difficult decision is what to pack. Because no matter how your roll of fold, you can still only get but so much in a bag. So I had to prioritize and minimize. I ended up with the following for a 10-day trip:
4 Sundresses/Maxi dresses1 Tunic1 Pair of blue jeans1 Pair of black jeggins (to double as leggings under tunic and to be worn in-flight)2 Pairs of shorts (khaki and olive)1 Long sleeve shirt3 Tank tops (including one for the flight)1 Zip-up sweatshirt (to be worn in flight)1 Pajama pant set + 1 pair pajama shorts3 Bikinis1 Silk sleeping bag1 Pillow case1 Beach towel3 Laundry detergent pods
That’s all for now. Toiletries and in flight gear (computer, headphones, travel pillow, socks, etc.) will be packed Sunday morning. How did I do?
Travel as a way of life ….
Kimya
P.S. Villa Pomapano is available for your Thanksgiving or fall vacation. As a bonus, low season rates are still in effect.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 09/18/2013 07:14:21 PM
I hear NeNe leaks comment that she stocks her carry-on bag with her favorite tea bags. That sounds like a good idea to me. I also bring noise cancelling headphones and my travel pillow. Let me know what you put in your carry on? And what do you think of my check-in luggage packing list?
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Pop EMAIL: popdo@verizon.net IP: 100.1.25.37 URL: DATE: 09/18/2013 07:26:11 PM
Can you fit a father in that extra luggage?
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Asiyah EMAIL: IP: 209.59.85.190 URL: DATE: 09/18/2013 11:20:33 PM
Fathers usually aren't invited on the "girls only" trips.
I don't leave home without my favorite tea bags.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Asiyah EMAIL: IP: 209.59.85.190 URL: DATE: 09/18/2013 11:23:55 PM
Fathers usually aren't invited on the "girls only" trips.
I don't leave home without my favorite tea bags.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.23.208 URL: DATE: 09/19/2013 12:58:10 AM
Aww. I'll pack a picture of my Dad :-) And when we Skype you can virtual vacation.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: 4 Days in Rio (so far) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 DATE: 09/27/2013 08:33:32 PM ----- BODY:
So far its been three adventurous days in Rio. The flight here on Tam airlines was great. New plane, good food, and dozens of movies to view in flight. Our flight was delayed quite a bit but at least we were comfortable. The only downside was the ridiculously cold air. Luckily, I'd purchased a travel blanket for this trip, the goes over the head to keep it from sliding off and covers my legs. Still I had to jimmy rig it using my eye mask strap to pull and hold the back of the blanket onto my head for warmth. It was touch and go, but I was able to get in about 4 hours of sleep.
Upon arrival it was cloudy and rainy. The forecast indicated we were in for several days of rain. We arrived at our apartment and within 5 mins I was sure I would not be staying there. So we set out for Starbucks and free Wifi. We ended up booking a stay at the top hotel in Ipanema (which is equivilant to a US Marriott or Hilton) and I am a happy camper.
Unfortunately, our second day was drenched by rain but we busied ourselves with a tour of th H. Stern gem and jewelry factory. The tour was unexpectedly followed by two hours of sales presentations. We were given unlimited refreshment, seated with a professional and repeatedly brought rings and earrings from the safe to try on. I fell in love with a large green tourmaline ring set In white gold. After the 30% discount we would receive due to our US citizen duty free status, the ring would be $1190. It was hard but I declined. For the next 1.5 hours my friend was presented with and brainwashed by emeralds. We barely made it out of there with all the high pressure sales. But luckily we did, without a purchase.
Since it was freezing and rainy outside we held up for the rest of the afternoon at the restaurant of the Copacabana Palace enjoying good food and terrific soft rock samba.
On Wednesday, we eecked out a bit of sunshine and braved the winds to ascend sugar loaf mountain and enjoy spectacular views of the city. After we toom the Metro to the museum of the republic and toured the old palace and home to previous presidents. It was a nice museum, but the two floors about government history we presented only in Portuguese, the floor on palace decor included English translations.
Finally this morning we awoke to sun. We are spending the afternoon on the beach with our swimsuits under our clothes, laying on the beach wrapped in towels to sheild against the wind. We'll take our sun however we can get it!
Travel as a way of life ...
Kimya
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AUTHOR: Kimya
TITLE: 3 Days in Copenhagen (Baltic Cruise Part 1)
STATUS: Publish
ALLOW COMMENTS: 1
CATEGORY: To Do
DATE: 09/19/2012 02:46:22 PM
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BODY:
As I mentioned in my previous “Murphy’s Law” post, our big trip this year was the Baltic Sea cruise, from which we have just returned. After leaving my in-laws in Norway we flew from Sondefjord, Norway to Copenhagen, Denmark, where we would spend two days exploring before departing on our Royal Caribbean cruise.
Before I tell you about our Danish explorations, I’ll fill you in on one of my faves going in. For city trips, I absolutely love DK Eyewitness Travel Top 10 guides. Although I am an avid reader, I prefer to spend my time on fiction and autobiographies, not on outdated, long-winded travel guides. The Top 10 series gives you just what it advertises, a list of the top 10 things to see/do in a particular city. It then breaks those down into more in-depth top 10 lists. For example, Top 10 Copenhagen lists the harbor sights as the #1 Highlight. Then the list of 10 ten harbor sights includes the opera, the Nyhavn port area, the Little Mermaid, etc. Additionally, the books include lists of museums, historic buildings, music venues, restaurants and shopping. Also included is a breakdown by neighborhood, should you only want to sightsee in the area in which you are staying. Finally, the books give some practical information, including places to stay, safety and currency information. As a lovely bonus it includes a pull-out laminated pocket-sized map that you can mark up and take with you while leaving the book behind if you like. So that’s my completely uncompensated sales pitch for DK’s Top 10 books. I have relied on these guides for many years.
Accommodations: We chose Hotel Axel Guldsmeden in the Vesterboro area of town. Located in a transitional neighborhood; it sits between an area that was once completely over run by drugs and has since been cleaned up, though you will still see occasional wandering drunks or users walking in the area, and a bustling shopping and business district. The actual street on which the hotel is located is bright, clean and wide with several other large hotels and restaurants. I found the hotel on Booking.com earlier this year when my husband needed to spend just one night in Copenhagen on business. He came back raving about how great the hotel was, so I booked it again for this trip. It’s a boutique hotel that prides itself on being green, which is reflected in the towels (made from bamboo, I believe), the toiletries and in the fabulous all organic breakfast buffet (yummy, yummy). The only downside was the free in-room Wi-Fi that worked perfectly during my husband’s stay was spotty at best during our stay.
Sights: In our short stay (we stayed two nights pre-cruise and one night post-cruise) we were able to see four of the top 10 sights in Copenhagen. Which understates how much we were able to do, in this extremely walk-able city. The only thing better than walking is to ride a bike, which had been the fantasy I’d had when dreaming about one day visiting Copenhagen. Alas, my biking skills are far from fantastic and with our 2 year old in tow, it was simply easier to walk the city with a stroller. Our walks took us to Tivoli Gardens, the world famous amusement park at which my little duckie rode her first roller coaster. There is an entrance fee to get onto the Tivoli grounds which is separate from the fees to enjoy the rides. The grounds are beautiful and include a Japanese garden amongst many lovely landscapes, cafes and concert grounds. But the costs would add up quickly if you came with the intention of riding many rides or with a large family.
Me and Mai on the Pirate ships at Tivoli GardensPast Tivoli, we walked down to Stroget, a very long sprawl of stores, well known and independent that goes on for at least a mile. The area is largely closed off to traffic and includes a few plazas with outdoor markets or cafes. If I was in a shopping mood, I could easily have spent hours buying clothes, shoes and housewares. There is also a small section of side streets with shops of small designers and more eclectic fashions. Alas, as in the rest of Scandinavia the prices are high and it doesn’t make sense to purchase something at a global chain store which would cost much less in the U.S. And the local designers were very focused on grays, grays and more grays, not the color for which I was searching. So I did not do much in the way of shopping except to add to my Christmas ornament collection. We tried adding to our Starbucks city mug collection as well, but apparently Starbucks largely underestimated its popularity and the mugs sold out within one day.
Stroget
Starbucks City MugWhen we came out the other side of Stoget we were in Nyhavn. The popular canal side area lined with bars, cafes and restaurants. People park their bikes (and there are many) and take a seat at the edge of the canal to enjoy their drinks and eats while watching the tour boats float up and down the canal. We were sucked in by the ice cream shop with fresh Belgian waffles. (Which violates a major rule, why be in Denmark and order something Belgian. It’s like ordering seafood at a steakhouse or vice versa. They’ve already told us what they do well; why not take their word for it?). I won’t tell you the name of the shop because the waffles were gross and there is absolutely no reason to go there. But I will tell you the name of my new favorite restaurant in the world, Cofoco. Just two blocks from our hotel, it too boasts an organic menu, but it is truly mouthwatering. Whatever I ordered it was delicious, but I can’t remember what that was because the chicken nuggets I ordered for my daughter erased any memory of what I’d eaten before. That’s right, I said chicken nuggets. The freshest, juiciest and tastiest chicken nuggets, I’ve ever tasted. No dripping oil or chewing for days. Just delicious and served with equally delicious pieces of corn on the cob. If you are in Copenhagen, this is where you want to eat dinner. They even make their own juices and sodas. But you’d be smart to make a reservation. We lucked out the first night, but weren’t able to get in the second time we tried.
Outside Cofoco RestaurantHmmm, I got off track thinking about food (I’m still thinking about food but I’ll try to focus). At the end of Nyhavn you have a great view of the Opera house (and access to free restrooms in the performing arts center).
Nyhaven
More Nyhavn
Operaen (Opera House)Well those were the main highlights of our brief stay in Copenhagen. We did visit one of the Royal Palaces as well as a couple of other cool neighborhoods (including the meat packing district with delicious Mother’s sourdough pizza, oops I’m back to food again). I loved Copenhagen and would gladly visit again because there is plenty more to explore.
Up next Tallinn, Estonia …
Travel as a way of life ...
---Kimya
----- EXCERPT: Our big trip this year was the Baltic Sea cruise, from which we have just returned. After leaving my in-laws in Norway we flew from Sondefjord, Norway to Copenhagen, Denmark, where we would spend two days exploring before departing on our Royal Caribbean cruise. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: SL EMAIL: sherazadel@hotmail.com IP: 72.229.102.133 URL: DATE: 09/19/2012 04:57:54 PM
you are hysterical....and I will travel to have those chicken nuggets! agree...travel as a way of life..can't wait to hear what you thought of Talinn, Helsinki, St Petersburg...I really hope you liked Talinn...one of my faves
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: nilsenrentals@gmail.com IP: 96.242.34.99 URL: http://www.villapompano.com DATE: 09/20/2012 05:23:44 PM
Its all about the nuggets!! Talinn was our first stop on the cruise, so I'll post that next week.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Murphy's Law STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 09/05/2012 04:00:59 PM ----- BODY:
“If anything can go wrong, it will.” We all know this as Murphy’s Law. And often it is also the law of travel. It is also often said that the beauty is in the journey not necessarily in the destination. We’ll I beg to differ and side with Murphy when it comes to the hassles involved of getting to and through the airport. Case in point, our “journey” from West Orange, NJ to New York’s JFK airport, by way of Newark (New Jersey) Liberty airport.
Ever the penny pincher when planning travel, I was determined to find the least expensive option to get our family of three to and from JFK airport (arguably the 36 most stressful miles in the universe). We would be traveling for 18 days, so parking at the airport for a minimum of $10 per day plus tax was not a feasible option at $200+. The next option was a car service. I researched every taxi and car service near west orange and found $120 each way plus tolls (about $15) was the lowest rate available. Still that meant more than $250 round trip. Finally, I decided to see how much it would cost to rent a car each way. Using a discount code received months prior from a friend, I was able to book a car to be picked up at Newark Airport the morning of our departure and returned to JFK airport just before our departure that evening for only $60 and the same for our return. Great!
I had used the discount code several times before with this rental company when we travel to Florida. There in Fort Lauderdale, as a member of their rental car club, I don’t need to stop by the counter simply proceed to the lot and pick out my car. I’d show my license and credit card to the security personnel at the exit booth and Voila, affordable car rented. But on this day at Newark, my luck ran out and Murphy’s Law set in. I had to go to the rental desk instead of straight to the lot. (Seemingly, Jersey folk are not as trusting as Floridians.) The agent immediately asked me for my State of Nevada ID which would entitle me to the rental rate. In all my years of traveling and using discount codes, including when I was a travel agent with the ID to back up the discounted rate, I’ve never been asked to show the ID at the check-in or pick up counter. Obviously, I had no ID to produce, but tried to play it cool as if I’d just forgotten to bring it. To no avail, the agent said they had experienced many people sharing codes and therefore could not give me the discounted rate without the ID, but would be happy to offer me the club rate. The wonderful club rate was exactly double the discounted rate bringing the cost of the car to $120 before gas and tolls.
So I left carless, and instead called the car service to pick us up 3.5 hours prior to our flight departure time. If we were going to spend $120 plus tolls, we might as well do it while relaxing in the back of a town car instead of stressing out driving in NY traffic and then lugging our bags from the rental car drop off to our departure terminal.
Our driver showed up right on time in his not so new and not so cozy town car. We got all our bags, car seat, stroller and bodies in and he commenced to drive like a lunatic for the next 30 minutes. His urgent “Need Oil Now” light was on for the entire ride. He took the longest route possible and routinely cut off other drivers while changing multiple lanes for no apparent reason and honking his horn. Somehow through all the mayhem, I managed to dose off. Just then I was awakened by my husband saying, he’s breaking down!! The engine was revving and the car was moving at about 20 miles per hour on the highway. The driver was alarmed but had no clue what was happening. My husband began yelling at him that the car was out of oil and something or other about the drive train or some other man car speak. It was Greek to me, because I could care less about this man’s knowledge of car mechanics, I was furious that he’d decided to attempt to drive this ticking time bomb all the way to JFK for a fee.
I told him there was a gas station coming up in ¼ mile in the center of the highway. He responded, “But I don’t need gas?!” I was exasperated. Was he seriously this dense? “You need service and a gas station is a service station. Besides which your car will not make it more than ¼ mile to get anywhere else.” A light bulb appeared over his head (at least figuratively), then he said, “Oh, but I’ll never be able to change lanes.” Ey Karumba! I rolled down my window, signaled to the other drivers to let us cross the necessary two lanes and yelled and the driver to go now. Finally he did so, very slowly.
At the station, I went inside and asked for the number for a local taxi service. The kind attendant handed me the business card for a taxi service and put out a chair in which my daughter and I could sit while we waited for the new taxi to arrive. Meanwhile, he rushed out to assist that our original taxi driver call a tow company and get that crappy car out of his station!
Within 10 minutes our new taxi arrived. We were now in a rush. We’d planned to have a nice leisurely dinner at JFK’s new chic restaurants in their departure terminals. That was out of the window, we just needed to make it in time to check in for our flights. “Why didn’t you check in online Kimya?” you ask. Because the flight was on Delta’s partner airline KLM and each airline claimed we needed to check in on the other’s website. When I called to get the situation resolved I was given the same misinformation. In addition, I discovered that our seats had been separated and we would only get seats together on the oversold flight if an airport agent was able to do so. So you can see that timely arrival at the airport was of the utmost importance. A six hour flight with a toddler next to me and Daddy 30 rows ahead is not my idea of a great flight.
Taxi number 2 did the job and got us to the airport. There at the check in counter we requested that our seats be moved together, but were told that could only be done by the gate agent. As the tags for our bags printed out the check-in agent, also realized only my husband and I had connecting tickets from Amsterdam to Oslo. As in, oh yeah we were just planning on leaving our daughter at the airport in Amsterdam and continuing on our way. NOT! We waited as this latest issue was resolved and then headed to security.
There at security Morten’s Law superseded Muprhy’s Law. If you are unfamiliar with this law, it holds that my wonderful husband Morten, will find a way approximately once a year to ensure we are stopped by the TSA. It also holds that the reason for pull over will almost always involve ammunition of some kind. This time as the agent search our one carry one bag over and over, putting it through the X-ray machine multiple times, I could not imagine what had raised the red flag. I’d checked to make sure the bag was completely empty before packing it (as previously my husband has left shot gun rounds from his hunting trips in luggage that he then repacked for a flight). Finally, the agent opened the zippered pocket of my husband’s jacket and pulled out a shiny silver bullet. A bullet so shiny it looks like it came with a Halloween costume. I called my husband over and told him to explain. He smiled and explained that it was a piece that had broken off of an old cigar cutter and it just happened to be shaped like a bullet!
OMG Murphy! We finally made it to our flight a few minutes before boarding and were able to secure seats together albeit in the center section with four seats instead of the side section with three seats we’d originally booked. Our flight took off nearly on time at 6pm, just 1.5 hours prior to our daughter’s bed time. But as Murphy would have it, she willed herself to stay awake until just about 1 hour before landing, keeping mommy and daddy awake with her.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Khadijah EMAIL: IP: 66.87.117.52 URL: DATE: 09/10/2012 02:30:34 PM
Whoa. You need a driver and a private plane.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Asiyah EMAIL: agrant02@gmail.com IP: 68.171.231.80 URL: DATE: 09/10/2012 03:10:36 PM
Back in the day a friend/family member would drive you to the airport and gladly pick you up. God forbid you would have to spend money on a cab. Nowadays its every man for themselves. I think we need to create a carpool to the airport service. The fee would include gas and tolls. I am so sorry you had to go through that. I'm sure your neighbor wouldn't mind driving your car to the airport and placing it in your driveway upon their return. When they need a ride to the airport you would reciprocate the gesture. I'm just saying. I don't know a soul who doesn't love to see a familiar face when they arrive back home.
Morten's Law, that was pretty funny. I hope you have pictures of the trip.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: nilsenrentals@gmail.com IP: 96.242.34.99 URL: DATE: 09/13/2012 02:38:24 PM
When we go to Newark (only 20 minutes away) friends and family are always available to take/pick us up. But JFK is such a long haul, sometimes (like this one) we don't ask. As much as I hate sitting is an hour's worth of traffic to go 30 miles, I hate more to subject others to that when I'm the one who gets to go on the vacation :-)
But I think Khadijah is on to something with the whole private plane thing ...
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Back to School Savings STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation Rental DATE: 07/19/2012 03:03:00 PM ----- BODY:
I remember being a kid and watching the commercials for back to school start smack dab in the middle of summer. It made my blood boil. The nerve of these stores putting a rush on my summer. School starts in September, so please save your commercials until then. Of course, those feelings quickly changed when my Mom took me school shopping. Once I got home with my new outfits and shoes, I couldn’t wait for the first day of school to show off my new gear.
As an adult, I find it amusing, how the back to school ads still have a similar effect on me. I never want summer to end, despite my aversion to heat waves and mosquitos. Seeing those commercials reminds me that summer Fridays, hooky beach days and a valid excuse to eat frozen yogurt daily will be no more. No major life changes occur in adult life when school starts (unless of course, you are a parent of a school age child, in which case the commercials are a cause for celebration!). But something about summer seems worth holding onto.
So we invite you to extend summer this August and September at Villa Pompano. I’ve just posted a BACK TO SCHOOL SALE of my own. But this one lets you enjoy the beach, the pool and all the goodness of summer. The weather is still warm and summer is not officially over until the end of September so why not enjoy? Come down to Pompano Beach, Florida for a long weekend to de-stress from the back to school prep. Or, take that vacation week you couldn’t over the summer, because everyone else in the office got their vacation request in before you. Whatever your excuse, don’t miss out on our lowest rates ever!
Save $300 per week, only $950. Save $75 per night, only $175 per night (3 night minimum). Click here to book through HomeAway.com or complete our Contact Form.
Here’s wishing you an endless summer!!
Travel as a way of life
-- Kimya
----- EXCERPT: I remember being a kid and watching the commercials for back to school start smack dab in the middle of summer. It made my blood boil. The nerve of these stores putting a rush on my summer. School starts in September, so please save your commercials until then ... We invite you to extend summer this August and September at Villa Pompano. I’ve just posted a BACK TO SCHOOL SALE of my own. Save $300 per week! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Call Me, Maybe? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 07/12/2012 07:00:46 PM ----- BODY:
I think anyone who owned a cell phone in the 90s and traveled anywhere remembers the horror of roaming fees. The shock of a $300 phone bill when you only used the phone for 15 minutes scared you into communication lock down for future trips.
Fortunately, competition between carriers brought us the more pocket friendly nationwide calling plans and even on our home phones most people no longer pay for domestic long distance. But when traveling internationally it’s still quite easy to spend more on your phone bill then your plane ticket.
Canada
Cell phone usage in Canada can be tricky. Some areas may be included in your U.S. calling plan. But if they are not rates for incoming and outgoing calls and even checking your voicemail can be high. So what’s a traveler to do? Always check your coverage area before departing. Go onto your provider’s website and search for the coverage map for your calling plan. If you cannot definitively tell whether the area you are traveling to is covered, call the provider and ask. They will not only tell you if it covered, but how much you will pay per minute for incoming, outgoing calls and voicemail message. Make sure you get the answer for all three items.
Sample US Calling Plan Coverage MapThe Caribbean
Ah, the Caribbean. So close but so far when it comes to cell phone roaming. Some services just won’t work on some islands. Consider it a blessing! (Go lay on the beach.) Others, like AT&T usually work, but again you are most likely roaming. Even if you are in a U.S. Territory like the US Virgin Islands, don’t assume you are not roaming.
The Rest of the World
Who are you kidding; you know that you are roaming!
How to Cut Cost?
The easiest way to save on cost and control spending is by using SIM card purchased at your destination. If you’re US phone accepts SIM cards (many Verizon phones don’t), simply remove your US card and place it in a secure place. Then insert the new SIM Card and enter the PIN number that comes with the card. (Be sure to check with your provider before leaving to see if your phone needs to be unlocked to allow use of another SIM card. They must provide you the code, though you may have to insist you are not interested in purchasing their international calling plan.)
Purchasing a card from an electronics store has worked the best for me. They tend to sell cards from several local providers and can allow you to compare rates. Airport kiosk and vending machines tend to carry the highest cost cards or not enough selection for comparison.
If your US phone does not allow for a SIM card, you can usually purchase a phone preloaded with a SIM card and free minutes at the electronics store. These phones are inexpensive and comparable to prepaid phones in the U.S. Therefore, don’t expect a smart phone, just a basic mobile phone that will allow for calling and texting.
If you are cruising, buying a SIM card may not make sense, as you may be visiting many different countries. Many cruise ships now have agreements with the US providers that allow you to use your phone on board. But this coverage is not included in your regular plan. So again, you run the risk of running up a high bill. The way to avoid that is to call your carrier and let them know the dates you will be traveling (you can even call them from onboard). Ask for the special cruise calling plan to be added to your account only for your travel dates. They will need to know your cruise line and specific ship. Once you return double check that the new plan has been ended as of your requested date. The plan rates are significantly lower than roaming rates, but are still not included in your unlimited calling plan.
Staying Connected
If you are on vacation, do yourself a favor and try to disconnect. Get out and see the sites. But as I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, the internet and smart phone apps can be very useful for plotting out your adventures. The key is to make sure you are connecting for free.
Before your flight takes off, put your phone in airplane mode (usually in settings menu) before turning it off. When you arrive at your destination, leave it in that mode. Find free WiFi at Starbucks, your hotel or other locations and then turn on the WiFi function on your phone (keep the phone in airplane mode). This will allow you to surf the internet and use certain apps, including Skype, so you can video chat with those at home for free. And Google Talk (accessible through Gmail and smartphone apps) still allows you to call US phone numbers for free. Your phone settings may vary, but the key is to have your network turned off and wifi turned on. If your network is turned on you run the risk of being charged roaming fees. And with an iPhone its even easier to incur fees for apps you didn’t know where running.
When we travel we use our local SIM card loaded phones to call friends and family at our destination or to make restaurant reservations. We save international chatting for Skype or Google Talk on WiFi. When we stay at hotels that don’t include free WiFi, we often purchase the services as we both need it for work. But the daily WiFi rate is usually still a bargain compared to roaming fees, and you can make unlimited free calls on the internet.
Do you have any tricks for avoiding roaming fees or staying in touch while traveling?
Travel As A Way of Life!
--Kimya
----- EXCERPT: I think anyone who owned a cell phone in the 90s and traveled anywhere remembers the horror of roaming fees. The shock of a $300 phone bill when you only used the phone for 15 minutes scared you into communication lock down for future trips. Fortunately, competition between carriers brought us the more pocket friendly nationwide calling plans. But when traveling internationally it’s still quite easy to spend more on your phone bill then your plane ticket. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: iTravel (Part II) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 05/09/2012 04:04:56 PM ----- BODY:
Continuing the discussion of my fave travel planning tools here are a few more:
Hotels
Westin is by far my preferred hotel/resort brand. Heavenly Beds are well, heavenly. But thus far, I’ve yet to stay at one that wasn’t well cleaned, super comfortable and staffed with friendly helpful people. That review actually extends to most of the Starwood brand (web & app) hotels and resorts.
When a Westin is not available (most likely when I’m traveling abroad) I love Booking.com (web & app). This site has tons of hotels with reviews from people around the world and all the search filters you desire. Plus the rates are low and most bookings require no commitment. You can cancel your reservation at any time. It also suggests other hotels to consider based on your previous selections.
When desperation hits, like it did planning our trip to D.C. for a White House and Capitol tour, I turn to Priceline (web & app) and Hotwire (web & app). Hotel rates were super high and we only needed to stay one night in D.C. $400 for one night is not my kind of fun, but I will not stay in anything less than four stars. We ended up at the W across from the White House for $200 after bidding on Priceline. Searching Hotwire or Priceline means you don’t always know what you’re getting. But there are usually clues (location, rating, amenities) that can help you figure it out. And now there’s a website Bidgoogles (web) that claims it can figure out what hotel you’ve found on Hotwire. In my experience it worked about 1 in 4 times, but I only tried it on D.C. hotels.
Car Rental
I’m all over the place with car rentals. I check all the major sites (Orbitz, Hotwire, Yapta, Kayak) and sometimes the car rental company sites (Hertz, Budget, National). Generally, there is not too big a difference in price. When there is, Hotwire is usually the best, but often requires advance payment when most car rental sites do not.
As long as I haven’t prepaid, I then enter my reservation information at AutoSlash (web). This fave site is like Yapta for cars. It will track the price you’ve paid against current available rates. But unlike Yapta, you don’t have to lift a finger. If the rate goes down, it simply rebooks for you and sends you an email with your new reservation. Tadaa!! You can also book directly on the AutoSlash site, but I have found their selection to be limited as of late.
More to come ....
Travel as a way of life!
--Kimya
----- EXCERPT: Looking to save on booking a great hotel or car rental? Let your phone or computer do the work. You can still save even after you book. Find out which sites and apps can save you the big bucks on nice digs. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Welcome! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation Rental DATE: 03/14/2012 08:23:05 PM ----- BODY:
Welcome to our new website. We are so excited that the day has finally come when the site is complete.
I've worked hard to make sure this site contains virtually every bit of information you need to know about our home Villa Pompano. If you think I missed something, PLEASE let me know. I'm sure I'll continue to add new things and update the old.
So why come to Villa Pompano? Why not, is a much better question. We bought this home after spending our honeymoon, pre-cruise vacation and then our first "family vacation (with our then baby girl) in the south Florida area. Our vacation needs changed a lot between the first and third trips. Initially, hotels were just fine and we loved them. But once we contemplated traveling with our infant daughter we quickly decided vacation homes were the way to go.
We started early. She took her first trip at just over 3 months old. Packing was overwhelming and storing all that gear plus a crib in a tiny Chicago hotel room, well it wasn't the best idea we'd had. So for our next trip to the Vancouver Olympics (when she was a mature 4 months :-)) we rented a condo. Life was sweet. We had a separate room for her crib (which meant we actually slept) and we had room to spread out. We cooked breakfast, packed snacks for lunch and ate out for dinner or ordered in. It was truly the best of both worlds (home and vacation).
Later that year we took her to Florida and met up with another couple with an infant. We all rented a villa and the rest is history. I don't think we left the house much that week. With the heated pool, outside grill and comfy indoor living area, we had everything we needed. And the kids had everything they needed too.
;)
(the dancing queen enjoying the vacation rental life)Since then we only stay in hotels if we are traveling for just a night or two. We've found vacation home owners to be honest, considerate and clean people. We liked them so much we decided to become one of them.
We hope you will take the opportunity to become familiar with Villa Pompano here on this site. Then enjoy the comforts and luxury of this south Florida home for yourself.
Travel as a way of life! - Kimya
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Final Four in Rio STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 10/09/2013 04:57:08 PM ----- BODY:
Our original plan for our 10 days in Brazil was to spend a weekend in Bahia. Unfortunately airfares were to high to make that a reality. Fortunately, it did stop raining for long enough for us to have a fantastic final four days in Rio. Why four and not six days? The forecast called for more rain to come on our final few days. Not looking forward to more dreary days in an outdoor city and missing my daughter terribly I change my flight to return home 2 days early and suprise her.
But we did pack those last days in Brazil with fun. Starting with two nights in Lapa, the night club district. Best I can tell it consist of one full block desgined to look like a block in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Our first night of clubbing was spent at a night club above a resturant filled with young(er) people partying hard. The crowd and DJ were enthusiastic until ... it suddenly turned into a music recital for an out of tune teenage band. Ha! We suffered through one full song before deciding, this turn of events called for a round of caiprihinas at outside tables.
Our second night of clubbing was far more successful. Across the street from the previous night's club is Rio Scearia. Its a gigantic antiquarium filled with antiques, a dinning area, a two floor ballroom and a massive nightclub in the adjacent building. After eating dinner, we exhausted our self dancing to the music of samba singer Dhi and her live band. And I mean exhausted as in where is my asthma pump, exhausted. Then after downing a few more caiprihinas we recruited a group of young(er) locals to show us the latest moves to brazilian hip hop and r&b. We partied like it was 1999, for real!
With Samba singer DhiOur complete rio cultural experience was capped off by attending a live soccer match (goooooaaaaal!), eating, eating and eating, and shopping at the Hippie Market, a weekend craft fair. I managed to find a beautiful wood and leather folding lounge chair for $180 and brought it home on the plane with me. Looks perfect by the fire place.
In conclusion, I had a great time with my friends in Rio. We were well overdue for a girls trip. I don't, however, need to go back again. The disparity between the haves and have nots is too great. A view of the Favales (shanty towns) was emotionally brutal for me. Learning that minimum wage had been raised from the American equivalent of $40 a month to $200 in a city where costs are comparable to NYC was heart breaking. Kids that can't afford to go to private school only receive 4 hours of instruction per day from underqualified teachers and have little hope of passing the college entrance exams. As a tourist, there does not seem to be much that can be done to affect this systematic poverty and government corruption. Therefore, I've been. I've seen. And I'm ready for my next adventure.
A FavelaTravel as a way of life ...Kimya
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Tis the Season STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation Rental DATE: 10/24/2013 01:45:50 PM ----- BODY:
No, not the season for holiday shopping (though you wouldn’t know it walking through the mall). Tis the season to book your winter vacation.
This morning the thermostat read “outdoor temperature 46 degrees.” I checked before I walked Duckie the half-mile to pre-school. It’s been nearly an hour since I returned home and my ears have just warmed up. Coming to terms with the fall is difficult. Accepting winter is nearly impossible. There are only two good things that can happen in winter:
- The Holidays (Food, decorations, ridiculously large Christmas trees, gingerbread houses and more food)
- VACATION (Think nice warm Florida!)
Day 1 – Board plane fly to Ft. Lauderdale (or Palm Beach or Miami all airports are within 45 mins of Villa Pompano). Pick up rental car at airport (drop the top if you’ve gotten a convertible) and unpack at Villa Pompano. Actually, just unpack your swimsuit and then go jump in the heated pool.
Day 2 – Fire up the barbi, jump in the pool and/or laze pool side. Soak up the sun and let the pre-vacation stress melt away.
Day 3 – Head to the beach. Take your pic, for pure relaxation or family fun head to Pompano Beach (just 5 mins away). Or for restaurants, shops and people watching head to Ft. Lauderdale beach (15 mins away). If it’s a weekend don’t miss out on brunch at the W hotel. Yumm
Day 4 – Get shopping. Head out to Sawgrass Mills, a mind bogglingly large outlet mall with several great restaurants as well. It’s only 30 mins away, but it’s a day trip, simply because there are so many stores.
Day 5 – Go chic and head up to Palm Beach, West Palm Beach or Boca Raton. Enjoy the good life browsing galleries, high-end shops or the beaches across from gated mansions and manicured lawns.
Day 6 – It’s your last full day of vacation make it count! Head down to South Beach in Miami and have a spa day, do some water sports, eat at one of the many tasty restaurants on Lincoln Road or party at a nightclub or all day at Wet Willies by the beach.
Day 7 – Pack your bags, but if you have a late flight, take a trip on the Ft. Lauderdale Water Taxi first. Enjoy the breeze while checking out the sites and the mega mansions waterside. Return your rental car, board plane, lay back and think about next year’s vacation :-)
Villa Pompano is booked for Christmas but is accepting reservations for the winter months of January, February and March. The early bird gets the (sun) worm.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.102.237.51 URL: DATE: 10/24/2013 01:57:06 PM
Any questions about booking or planning your vacation at Villa Pompano?
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: The Value of the Agent STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning CATEGORY: Op-Ed DATE: 11/13/2013 04:47:52 PM ----- BODY:
Travel agents are out of style. I know, I used to be one. The age of online booking and electronic tickets has created a market in which travelers are able to see most available travel options without the assistance of a travel agent. As a result, many people don’t see the value in a travel agent. Even worse some may attempt to use the internet to undermine an agent. (i.e.” I found the itinerary you spent 2 days building for $20 cheaper online.”)
The airlines used to pay travel agents a fee for booking your flight. Now they don’t because they can just keep all the money to themselves and you can book it on your own online. Most hotels still pay travel agents very small (5%) commissions. And cruise lines pay the most commission to agents, because they need them the most. Cruisers tend to value the advice of a knowledgeable agent who can help them choose the best ship based on the food, layout, ship conditions, etc, and also inform them about the various cruise ports. It’s a bit more challenging to get this unbiased information online. Still however, it tends to be the older set that relies on agent’s to book cruises. The younger generation is content to roll the dice.
It’s no secret that I love travel. I also love helping others experience great destinations. I became an unofficial agent when I started organizing annual trips for about 100 twenty-somethings to the Caribbean. We had a great time and I worked hard, including parties and activities in our itinerary. Eventually, I became a full time agent while going to grad-school at night. The group trips were a labor of love. I kept my prices low so most people could afford to attend. But because people are people, by the time I’d dealt with the numerous phone calls, emails, mind-changes, room-changes, friend changes of each guest, I was earning below minimum wage per hour. When I became and American Express Travel Agent, I only worked with people who valued the input of an agent, because they were required to pay a fee for me to book their itinerary. Most of my customers were the heads of large families looking to book holiday, or school break vacations. Busy moms who didn’t want to spend hours in front of the computer searching for the perfect deal.
This last week I was reminded of my agent/group trip experience as I helped my aunt coordinate accommodations for our family to attend a graduation. Though our group is less than 20 people (instead of 100) the attempts to satisfy everyone had the same result – impossible. So many days and hours were spent researching, negotiating and discussing. In the end, exhaustion weighed in and wenwent with the easiest solution for the majority of the people. I used to joke that democracy was overrated. And that was based on my group experiences. Someone has to take the lead and make the decisions. If you wait around for everyone’s agreement, you spend a lot of time sitting around :-)
The rest of my week was spent searching for and booking accommodations for our two nights in Moscow on our way to and from the Olympics in Sochi. I used an agent to book our accommodations for Sochi, but wanted to use my Amex points to book the Moscow hotels. Special events bring out special prices. As a result, I was able to book a room at the 5-star Intercontinental at the beginning of our trip for $200 (but in points). 5 days later the same room would cost over $500. So I had to find a separate hotel for the end of our trip. An additional complication was our limited time to do all the site-seeing (8 hours on the stop in Moscow, 5 hours on the second stop) and the travel time required to get from the hotel to the airport. In the end I had to make a spreadsheet and review it with hubby to make a final decision. It would have been nice to have a travel agent just take care of it!
So here is my shot out to all those still working hard as travel agents. Most of the successful ones work exclusively with wealthy or corporate clients. If you’re lucky enough to find a good one who works with regular Joes, be good to your agent and value his/her time (in dollars) :-)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.105.242.244 URL: DATE: 11/13/2013 04:52:41 PM
Agent or DIY?
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: F. Morris EMAIL: f.morris@oabchurch.org IP: 108.50.154.40 URL: DATE: 11/15/2013 12:52:35 PM
Informative and convicting article on the merits of attaining and retaining a competent travel agent.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Old Age STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 11/21/2013 04:14:00 PM ----- BODY:
Three years ago we missed our flight from Fort Lauderdale back to Newark. Were we stuck in traffic? Rushing to the counter to try and make the flight? Did the stress of getting all the baby items packed for our then 1 year-old cause a delay? No, No and No. We sat in our vacation rental killing time patiently waiting until it was time to head to the airport. When I got there and tried to print our boarding passes, I was perturbed that the JetBlue check-in kiosk would not recognize my reservation. It turns out I’d memorized the landing time of our flight not the departure time! Our flight had left an hour prior and would soon be landing in Newark. The good people at JetBlue let us take the next flight free of charge. But for me this was an EPIC failure.
Hubby has always bragged about how his wife amazingly takes care of all the details for our complex travel itineraries and he just shows up and goes where I tell him. And even prior to his praise, I prided myself on having good organizational and planning skills. However, I’ve noticed everything seems to be getting harder. I might spend 10 minutes looking for the sunglasses sitting on top of my head or the pen that I put in the rings on the side of my notebook. The mind is slipping and frankly it makes me angry.
Initially, I blamed my memory decline on “baby brain.” When you have an infant, it’s really enough to just remember his or her name. Let’s face it you can't expect to remember things when you don’t get any sleep. But Duckie is 4 years old now and has slept through the night since she was 4 months old. So really, I’m running out of excuses.
Yesterday, I dragged hubby into New York City to go to the Russian Consulate and apply for our visas. The application took about 40 minutes to fill out online, and additional documents are required. We needed certified checks for various amounts, because I couldn’t figure out the actual cost from the confusing website. We needed our application and 2 specially sized photos. And, we not only needed proof of our reservations for accommodations, but each of us must have a letter of invitation from said accommodations (in this case the cruise ship that will be docked at the port in Sochi).
After the 1.5 hour drive into the city during the morning rush hour we lucked up and found a parking space. At that moment I realized I’d forgot to print the invitation letters. Fortunately, I took a chance and asked an employee at a nearby Chase bank to print the documents from an email I forwarded. He did! Once again proving that New Yorkers are nice, helpful people.
We then went to the consulate, all documents in hand, and the doorman/bouncer asked me for my passport …. Dun dun dunnnnn!!!!
I apologized to hubby for dragging him all this way and forgetting the passports. He said, “well, I never think of checking if you have everything, because you used to be so on top of things. But it’s completely understandable, because you’re getting OLD!!!
Travel as a way of life …
--Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 74.105.242.244 URL: DATE: 11/21/2013 04:31:03 PM
Your comments are always welcomed
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Mistress EMAIL: Josni@aol.com IP: 66.87.116.189 URL: DATE: 11/21/2013 05:29:04 PM
OMG! This was too funny and completely relatable. We're not the young chicks that we once were. I like to fool myself into thinking it and I times I feel it's true. But then Mother Nature decides to knock some senses in me by making me forget where I placed my cell phone while I'm actually talking on it or going out to dinner on a weekday and being tired by 9pm. It's a cruel, cruel world! LOL!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Deego EMAIL: IP: 141.149.58.174 URL: DATE: 01/03/2014 12:00:30 AM
Never happens to me. Getting better not older. :-)
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Happy New Year STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 DATE: 12/30/2013 06:41:36 PM ----- BODY:
Its been a very busy end of year for me and for many of you too. The holidays are nearly gone, but I'm happy to say that all of my hard work paid off.
Thanksgiving was right here at home with some lovely Norwegians flown in (Hubby's family). Next up we went down to Villa Pompano for a bit and included an overnight dash to Key West to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Then we road tripped it up north to Tampa where we were met by Duckie and other family members to attend and celebrate my cousin's college graduation. While there I fell in love with the city. So maybe someday there will be a Villa Tampa :-)
Finally we came back home just in time to for our newly bought frozen Christmas tree to thaw and be decorated. Duckie made her request to Santa and he delivered!
The time has flown by and now I'm deep in preparations for the Olympics in Sochi. But I did take time to check out this article on the 11 places to visit this winter. http://www.budgettravel.com/feature/budget-travel-vacation-ideas-affordable-winter-getaways,8931/?wpisrc=newsletter. I need only add the one that is obviously missing ... Villa Pompano. We still have weeks available for February and April.
Wishing you happy travels in the new year.
Travel as a way of life ...
Kimya
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Mommy Target STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 01/14/2014 04:11:30 PM ----- BODY:
Last week the US State Department issued a travel alert for Russia during the upcoming Winter Olympics. While I'm not surprised that this happened, I was really praying it wouldn't. The alert is non-specific, which is in someways even worse than a specific threat. The alert begins, "The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens planning to attend the 2014 Olympic Games in Russia that they should remain attentive regarding their personal security at all times."
It goes on to warn that the medical system in Sochi, Russia has never before been testing by large scale events. Additionally, it says while there is no specific threat, the Caucasus Emerites leader (a group recognized as a terrorist organization by the US State Department) has lifted his previous order not to attack civilians and/or the Sochi Olympics. Nice!!!
Lastly, there is a warning to US visitors to be on guard for the inflated levels of petty crime which accompany large scale events like the Olympics. "Purses, wallets, cell phones, and electronics should be secured while traveling on buses, trains, or other forms of public transportation." But throughout the alert, it notes the US' trust in the additional security measures taken by Russia and overseen by the Olympic Committee.
I have purchased travel insurance with medical evacuation coverage. We are staying in well known hotels (and a cruise ship) in highly protected areas. And I'm signing us up for the State Deparment's Smart Traveller Enrollement Program (STEP), which they say will allow them to better assist us in an emergency.
It's certainly not ideal to take Duckie to a destination under a travel alert, and if the alert had been made earlier, I would probably not have booked. That being said, life cannot be lived in fear. As alerts go, its pretty mild. And, this is not our first trip to the rodeo (the Olympics or Russia). So we are confident that we and all the Olympics attendees will have an excellent time.
So all of this security drama, reminds me of a trip to Barcelona we took almost exactly 3 years ago. It was my first experience with security concerns as a mom. Below is the piece I wrote at the time ...
Travel as a Way of Life ...
Kimya
Does being a mom make you a target?
As a new mom or even just a mom to be, you get targeted by plenty of companies selling baby products, books, software. Like me you’ve probably been targeted by “helpful” strangers, particularly older women, eager to share advice, old wives tales, or quite likely a little scolding for something you are doing wrong in their opinion. In my case as a mother adopting a new born baby girl, I was constantly scolding by women of all ages for “having that baby outside so young.” Since I didn’t think I needed to explain to each stranger the number of visits the states requires the parents and child to make to various government and medical offices during the first few months, I quickly learned to walk away.
Seventeen months into mommy-hood, I felt I’d developed a pretty tough skin to being a target to marketers (I discovered the kiddie consignment shops) and to strangers wielding unwanted advice. What I didn’t prepare for was being the target of something more sinister … crime.
While on a long vacation in one of our favorite cities, Barcelona, Spain, my husband and I regularly took trains and buses instead of taxis. We did this not only because of the obvious cost benefit, but because we considered it safer than even a short taxi ride with out a car seat for our 17 month old. I’d spend the first few weeks grumbling about he general lack of concern people showed for a parent pushing a stroller. It wasn’t unusual for people to cross right in front of the stroller, or refuse to make way on the sidewalk or in the subways. I even had a verbal dispute in my best Spanish with a woman in a mall who objected to the concept of baby strollers inside stores or elevators.
So when the day came that we were boarding the train and two young men came in front of me and picked up the front of the stroller to help me on, I was elated. Yes! There are people who have some consideration for the stresses of mommy-hood, I thought. A few seconds later two women pushed onto the train behind me. As a native New Yorker, I was uncomfortable with anyone pushing up against me so I began to push my elbow into one of the young women to create space between us. But I was also still focused on getting the stroller into a safe position and the young men who had assisted me were now moving awfully slow, in fact preventing me from making good progress forward. It was in that moment that it clicked.
The two young men and the two young women, quickly ran to make it through the closing doors. I screamed to my husband “That girl just took my wallet.” Superhero that he is, he stopped the closing doors, jumped off the train and stopped the thieves (not that we recommend this action). The young lady who had taken the wallet had thrown it quickly when hubby gave chase. In all the commotion the train actually had remained in the station with on-lookers concerned for me and the baby. One woman found my wallet and returned it to me. I gave her a very, very long hug. We were in a rush to get my in-laws to the airport so we couldn’t wait for the police to arrest the thieves. But I was happy to have all of my identification and credit cards. Fortunately, our passports were also in my bag and I had those too. Most importantly, mommy, daddy and baby were all okay.
So, what I learned was this: Taking responsibility for another person doesn’t mean taking less responsibility for myself. If I was traveling without the stroller and/or my daughter, I would have kept my bag in front of me at all times. In fact, I’ve done it the many other times I’ve been in Barcelona (which has a reputation for pickpockets) sans baby. Instead of worrying about the treatment I wasn’t receiving from everyone else, I should have been focused on the treatment I was giving myself. The next day, I did the following which I recommend to anyone traveling or simply going to a crowded city location:
-
Made a copy of my passport and carried that instead of the original (in Spain, it must be shown to use your credit card)
-
Stopped using my checkbook size wallet and moved one credit card with good theft protection services and one debit card to a smaller bus pass size wallet.
-
Shortened the straps on my shoulder bag (the ones that go across the body) so that it sits at the hip and no lower.
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Kept my bag in front of me at all times even when pushing the stroller or carrying the baby.
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Started taking the bus more often, its just less hassle getting on and off with the stroller, which means I can be more alert.
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Be alert and aware of your surroundings at all times, don’t just look for baby dangers, be sure you are not making yourself a target.
After “the incident,” we took the train the two stops to our destination, and along the way the women on the train empathized about how awful it was that someone would steal. And as I stood by the doorway to exit the train, an older woman speaking in Spanish pointed her finger at me and said, “you must remember to always keep your bag in front of you, never ever on your side!.” I suppose, I made my self an easy target for that scolding :-)
Please share your thoughts or experiences
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Frank Morris EMAIL: popdo@verizon.net IP: 72.76.106.92 URL: DATE: 01/17/2014 01:14:26 AM
My Shero, Hero and lil shero ' The Ducksters lean forward. My prayers are with you. Love Dad
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: 6th Time is a Charm? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 01/22/2014 04:21:23 PM ----- BODY:
We are on our way to the Russian visa services offices in the hopes of finally picking up our visa. We depart in just over two weeks and have spend the last 3 months attempting to get these visas.
1st Attempt: As I mentioned previously, this failure can be attributed to my aging brain. I forgot the passports. Though even if I had them, its unlikely they would have accepted our lengthy applications. First, because there seemed to be a velvet rope system where in the front door security guard doesn't speak English and was not inclined to let you in if you don't understand his Russian. Second, because despite the dozens of pages of documents we had, I discovered there was even more to be had. So I made sure we had a letter of invitation from each of the 3 places we would stay, even though two of them were only for 1 night.
2nd Attempt: A few days after the New Year we took the 90-minute rush hour drive to the consulate again only to discover it was closed. No signage on the door and even the policeman assigned to stand out front was unaware. After ringing some door bells we were told through the intercom that they were closed for 3 days. Their website didn't mention that they close for US and Orthodox Christmas!
3rd Attempt: Having invested so much time, gas and tolls into our first two attempts, we decided we might as well pay the additional $30 fee that is required if you go to the visa services office in downtown manhattan. This is not a consulate but a private company that is allowed to process the visas. I called as we drove down from the closed consulate. After a few rings, I got a busy signal. But that wasn't surprising, thus far I've never been able to get anyone on the phone at the consulate or the visa services office. We arrived in the Wall Street area, and unable to find street parking, parked in a lot. 5 minutes later we walked into the building only to be told they to were closed but only for 2 days. Hmmm, sure would have been nice if that was in their non-existent phone message! So we left and paid the $10 to get our car out of the lot and headed home. Failed again.
4th Attempt: We waited a week and tried again, we were now just one month before our departure date. Back to the consulate we went. I'd confirmed by email that we did not need to bring Duckie with us, and I printed every possible document that could be required. Despite the Polar Vortex, we were made to wait outside until the new bouncer deemed us important enough to be let in. Then we were told to turn off our cell phones, go through the metal detector and wait with the paper number we were given. No one ever mentioned the long hallway out of our line ofsite. Nor did they mention the sound of bells. After watching others we figured out that down that hallway were the counter windows where our numbers would be called on the digital displays.
When it was our turn, we were greeted with the warmth and friendliness I recognized from the Russian customs agents at the St. Petersberg cruise port. The agent made as little eye contact with me as possible while alternating betwen silently waiting for me to figure out what she wanted me to do, and barking questions at me while rolling her eyes. She tried very hard to find a way to deem our applicaitons invalid. She questioned Hubby about his work and school history (yes, the application requires you to list your entire work and school history along with everywhere you've traveled in the last 10 years!). When we refused to crack under the pressure, she asked for Duckie's birth certificate. Hubby who had decided to sit away from the window to control his temper, came to my side as we both looked at her like she'd grown two heads. Why on earth would you need a birth certificate when you have a passport. She tried to come up with a reason, and when she couldn't she decided on a fear tactic. "l'll submit your applications, but I doubt they will take them. They will email you if there is a problem." I may not have my 20 year old memory, but my nearly 40 year old self, knows how to complete paperwork and follow instructions. I've had years and years of practice. Despite the notices on the consulate and visa service offices' websites which say special procedures are in place to grant same day visas to Olympic attendees, we were given a notice to pick our's up one week later.
5th Attempt: Having not received any emails about issues with our visas we went to pick them up at the visa services offices, where all visas must be picked up. We took the train in this time, which only saved us the cost of parking, but otherwise the cost was equal to paying the toll. After handing the agent our receipts she stepped away and returned shortly, sans passports and visas. She said, "oh the passports aren't delivered to us this early. You'll have to come back after 2pm." This despite the fact that our receipts said pick up was at 11 am. Unable to stick around doing nothing for most of the day, we headed home again.
6th Attempt: We decided that Monday would be a good day to head back into the city to pick up our visas (or try) since Duckie had the day off from school, we could make the day of it. But since it was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I called ahead to make sure they would be open. Don't be silly of course they didn't answer the phone. So I emailed and eventually received and email response that said, "We should be open that day." The workmen who came to work on our home heating system ended up staying most of the day and we never made it to "New York City" (that's what Duckie called it all day when asking if it was time to go there yet. Despite having been many times, she was excited now that she'd realized that's where the animals in Madagascar lived).
So now its Tuesday, and we are driving through the begining of the latest Polar Vortex snow storm to the visa services office. The plan is for one of us to stay in the car and the other one goes to get the visas. If that fails, we know where we can park for just $10. But as it is a snow day, Duckie's school is closing early, so fingers crossed we can get in an out in time for her 12:30pm pick up ....
Success!! In less than 2 minutes I had our visas, which are restricted to only the 5 days we will be in Russia (instead of the normal 30 days).
Me and My VisaTime to do the math...
Costs to get visa in-person through NY consulate:
Application fees $420 + Tolls $51 + Parking $17 + Train $10 = Total: $498 + gas + time spent
Cost to get visa by mail:
Application fees: $705
Cost to go in person to visa services center
Application fee $510 + parking $7 + train $10 = Total: $527 + gas + time spent
So best case scenario, we saved $29 by going through the consulate instead of the visa services center. Was it worth it, no. But I did get this blog post out if :-)
Travel as a way of life ....
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 01/22/2014 04:46:32 PM
Your thoughts are always welcomed ...
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Cassandra EMAIL: onyxvi@gmail.com IP: 65.113.91.148 URL: DATE: 01/22/2014 11:57:05 PM
Such fortitude! Impressive. Congratulations on getting those visas.
Please cheer for the U.S. Virgin Islands Olympics contender in the slalom events. Jasmine Campbell. See? We CAN appreciate cold weather from time to time. :-)
Enjoy!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Renee EMAIL: IP: 108.48.88.86 URL: DATE: 01/25/2014 05:19:08 AM
Why do the Nilsens always travel to WINTER olympiad's? Enjoy & safe travels?
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 01/25/2014 02:20:53 PM
@Renee the winter Olympics are less expensive all around ( tickets, airfare, lodging). Not cheap, but compared to the summer games in places like London, there is a substantial cost savings.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: 26.5 Hours in Moscow STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 02/16/2014 10:33:37 PM ----- BODY:
We landed in Moscow on Sunday afternoon. Since their time is 9 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, we had traveled a full day. In reality, by the time we’d left the airport it had been 13 hours since we’d left home. We landed at the older airport, which looked pretty much like you would have expected a communist era airport look (old, cement, institutional). Although we’d originally planned to take the train in, after reading information and speaking to the agent at the information booth, we determined it would be a struggle with the luggage. Besides, we were tired and eager to get to our hotel as quickly and stress-free as possible, so we got an official taxi from the taxi desk.
I thought our taxi was the dirtiest car I’d ever seen. Turns out it was in good company. Moscow is fully of dirty cars. I don’t mean, “Oh, it’s been a while since I hit the car wash” dirty. I mean “let me wipe of my windshield wipers so I can attempt to remove the layer of mud that currently blocks my view.” There are even men by the side of the highway selling windshield wiper fluid. The sidewalks of the city are covered in the same thin layer of mud, so white shoes/sneakers are out of the question.
Dirty cars and streets in MoscowI’ve no idea how long it took to get to our hotel, as I was fast asleep within the first 15 minutes. But when I awoke we were driving down a wide boulevard lined with designer stores, museums and hotels. We got out at our hotel, the Intercontinental Tverskaya. I’ve stayed in one other Intercontinental, over 10 years ago on a travel agent trip to Costa Rica. It was a great hotel then, and it’s a great hotel now. In the midst of a major city filled with signs I can’t read and a language I can’t speak, it’s always great to stay at a good business hotel, where the staff is more likely to speak English and go out of their way to assist us in getting around town. This was the case for the Intercontinental. Both the check-in agent and the concierge spoke and understood English fluently. By the time we finished check-in, we had a late check-out for the following day and a taxi reserved to take us to the airport.
The room was delightfully clean and modern. I forgot to take a picture of the armoire, but it was a very chic, silver painted Bombay styled chest, with a sepia photo of a French building on the front. Inconspicuously, placed inside was the refrigerator, glass storage and the safe. I’d love to take that piece home and plop in in my “foyer.” Anywho, it was the first hotel I’ve stayed in which I walked around barefoot and did not get skeeved. Clean, clean, clean. So happy.
I came to Russia with very low expectations for cuisine. Our previous trip to St. Petersburg was on a cruise ship, so we did not eat while onshore. The guide books indicate travelers should expect lots of meat stews. To my delight, the concierge suggested a fish house. And that’s the name of it, Fish House. It was right across the street, so it was great for our weary trio to grab a bite before giving in to jetlag. But it was way better than necessary fuel. I ordered the sea bass, and it was hands down the best grilled sea bass I’ve ever eaten. The skin was crispy and salty, while the meat was juicy and flavorful. Oh just thinking about it makes be happy. Duckie and Hubby had some good food too, but me and my Venti sized mojito were just happy as pie to focus on the sea bass.
At Fish House
Yummy sea bassAfter dinner we joyful went to purchase our Moscow mug at the Starbucks conveniently located a few doors down from our hotel. Mug, good food and a great room to sleep in, what more could we ask for. We were all asleep by 7:30pm.
So naturally, we were all awake by 4:30am. We had plenty of time to watch the previous day’s Olympic coverage in Russian, before heading to breakfast. The night before we’d passed a Parisian bakery on our way to the Fish House. As our heads turned to look in the window, our mouths watered. We had a clear breakfast plan. Inside Paul’s, was a beautiful display of pastries and sandwiches. The staff had to lure us away from the counter and gesture to explain that we could actually sit and order from the menu. We didn’t like leaving the food for those brief moments. Then I had the best tuna fish sandwich I’ve ever had!!!! The tuna was delicious with a little smoky flavor, but what really made the sandwich was the warm French bread. Yummmmmmmmmmmmm. Oh yeah and I topped it off with and apple tart. When in Paris, in Moscow ……
After breakfast we set off for the 15 minute walk to the Kremlin. Duckie walked aggressively all the while make her I’m a bad girl from New York so don’t mess with me faces. I kept asking if she was ok, and she’d say, “Yeah.” Finally, just as we arrived at the Kremlin, she says, “I wanna go home! It’s too cold!” L It was a humid 29 degrees. And it was the type of cold that is fine until it gets to your bones.
The tourist channel in our room recommended getting to the Kremlin early to avoid the crowds. So there we were at 9:30 am standing in front of St. Peters church and across from the cathedral, with the 2 other tourist and one vendor. None of the buildings opened until 10 am. But that was ok. I was happy to see the architecture of the church. The Kremlin is not much to see, but a few towers and a long brick wall. Duckie was happy to retreat to the warmth of the neighboring mall. We wondered aimlessly through the mall, warming up. It’s not really hard to do in Moscow because every place you go (included the airplane I’m on right now) seems to pump out the heat at the highest tolerable levels.
We decided against a $12 cup of coffee at the Armani café in the mall and walked outside to head back to the hotel. We exited onto a pedestrian shopping plaza and in the distance I saw the Krispy Kreme sign. Well, you know what happened next. I know it’s a typically American thing to do. Leave the country, only to go to American chain restaurants, but come on people this wasn’t McDonalds, this was KRISPY KREME. Yummmmmmmm. P.S. Duckie was no longer asking to go home (aka back to the hotel).
Finally we made the cold walk back to the hotel, warming up briefly, each time we had to go through the metro stations to use the underground passage ways that are the only option to cross major roads. After a bit of packing and a far too brief nap, we were in a taxi on our way to the new airport on the other side of town. This one was the polar opposite both in location and appearance of the airport at which we arrived in Moscow. After we checked-in, passed security, and passed the very large Victoria’s Secret store, we were able to have a warm sandwiches at a coffee shop near our gate. Now we are onboard S7 airlines for our 2 hour flight to Sochi and were pleasantly surprised to discover they served a full lunch. It wasn’t delicious, but still it’s great that any airline would serve a hot meal on a 2-hour flight in 2014.
I’ve been closely watching all the Olympic coverage we can find, and it’s fair to say I’m excited. Sochi here we come!
9:50 am Monday, February 10, 2014
Travel as a way of life ....
-Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sheila EMAIL: IP: 24.185.242.84 URL: DATE: 02/17/2014 04:30:56 AM
So exciting to hear about your trip. I can't believe all the propaganda. 😍
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: How I Ended Up at a Russian Police Station STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 02/20/2014 02:13:45 PM ----- BODY:
So I’m here surrounded by a half dozen officers, being questioned about the contents of my bag. How on earth did I get here? And will I be leaving anytime soon?
The day started off pretty well, we had a plan of action to get through the additional layers of Russian bureaucracy to attend the games. In addition to buying event tickets, each person must also possess a spectator pass. This photo ID badge is to be worn at all times and allows for free transit on public transportation. It must accompany all event tickets for admission. I was advised by email a few months ago by my ticket seller that we needed to get the badges. I completed all required info on the website and uploaded photos for Duckie, Hubby and me. Only Hubby’s arrived in the mail. Despite repeated emails no other passes ever arrived. So we were left to pick them up in Sochi.
The first hurdle was to find out where we could pick them up. That took several attempts, multiple uses of google translate, and several personal escorts. This morning we were finally able to get the missing passes at one of the main train stations. Due to the kindness of the volunteers we were moved to the front of the line after waiting in the long line for about 10 minutes (It pays to have a stroller).
Pier entry pass, ship entry card, spectator pass, these plus room keys and event tickets were needed to get aroundPasses obtained we set off on the train for Olympic Park only to find upon arrival that we could only go inside Olympic Park on the day of our ticketed event, or we could purchase an additional ticket solely for entry into Olympic Park.
So back on the train we went to investigate luggage storage options at the airport. We’d only have a few hours between our last event and our flight’s departure on our last day. We took the train back to the main station to switch to the airport train. While speaking with an information officer about transportation options, I realized I no longer had my backpack. Hubby asked if that meant I did not have the passports. I did have those in my purse, but the event tickets ….. ALL OF THE EVENT TICKETS were in my backpack!!!!
I’d carried the tickets with us, because only ticket holders were entitled to the spectator pass. Why I’d carried them all instead of just one set, can only be blamed on jetlag. And so I started to cry … and panic, and cry and panic. We made it all the way to Sochi (and trust me it wasn’t easy, given the layers upon layers of security combined with a complete lack of information about everything. How to get to the ship where we were staying, how to get from the ship to anything, how to get to the events, how long it takes to get to the different event locations). So I stood there sobbing into Hubby’s jacket, assuming I’d single handedly ruined the trip.
The information agent, calmly assured me that the train would be searched when it got to the last station. She said it would take at least 30 minutes to get answers and suggested that we get something to eat and she would come and find us. We headed for the train station café, stopping first for a potty break. Then Hubby noticed the agent looking for us and he chased her down. She told us to go to the last stop on the line, Sochi (the actual village of Sochi not the site of the Olympic Games) and ask there if they had found our bags.
We headed there, arrived and I used Google Translate to ask the police officers on the platform where I could go to ask about my bag. They sent some texts and then tried to direct me to an office. But that office was a 10 minute walk through the train station around through a few security check points and back up to the station. That required several additional offers to escort us, each one handing us off to the next police officer and then walking a few more yards. Finally we arrived at the police station and were told to wait. Suddenly the half dozen officers appear, both plain clothed and in uniform. The youngest one, the English speaker, begins by asking me the brand name of the bag. Then he ask that I describe the things inside. I say it’s a Timberland bag and I have tickets inside, I have a hat … My mind is racing because I really only carried the stupid backpack because the ticket envelope was too big for my purse. Now I have to remember the contents of a bag, I never really intended to carry that day.
I didn’t feel like any of my answers were satisfactory. I assumed they were at the point of taking a report, and would keep an eye out for my bag. Then I realized they were all focused on a paper the young office was holding in his hand. And they kept asking me what else, what else was in the bag. Then I realized they papers they were holding were mine. I said “medical insurance!!! I have medical insurance in the bag. Here is my passport it will match the name.” Success, they all nodded showed me the paper and asked me about the aerosol in my bag via hand gesture. “Asthma pump,” I shouted. It was like I was playing for $10k on Scatergories and finally winning!
After waiting a few more long minutes in the police station lobby with the officer (“Sochi beautiful, yes”), they brought me the bag with EVERYTHING IN IT! They asked repeatedly if it was all there. I thought to myself, that if it wasn’t, I certainly wasn’t going to accusing the Russian police of taking my valuables. But every single ticket was there. And I was relieved.
My bag and event tickets Hubby had tried to console me all along that my bag would be found, because of the continuous police patrols on all the trains. And I thought he almost believed what he was saying. But I was mostly grateful, that if I was the one who has ruined everything, he wasn’t going to make me feel worse about it.
You probably want to know how Duckie reacted to all the commotion, the worry, the up and down steps and elevators, the conversations and escorts from multiple officers, and finally ending up at the police station under the scrutiny of everyone there … She didn’t react, because she slept through it all. Jetlag caused me to bring and lose the tickets, and it caused her to sleep through it all :-)
P.S. Who says Russian police are scary? I found them to be quite hospitable. Especially considering, I’d probably caused some level of a bomb scare, right?
Tuesday, February 11, 2014 – Sochi, Russia
Travel as a way of life ….
-- Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 02/20/2014 02:49:47 PM
I wrote these post on the dates indicate at the bottom of the post. Due to limited to no free internet access, I've waited until getting home to post most of them.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Cassandra EMAIL: IP: 65.113.92.41 URL: DATE: 02/20/2014 03:13:33 PM
Can't wait to hear about the rest of this trip. What an exciting beginning!!! 'Backpacktracking'-a new Olympic event. Lol-'
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sheila EMAIL: IP: 24.185.242.84 URL: DATE: 02/20/2014 06:32:03 PM
Did you see any events? Sounds like you were in transit for entire trip. Hope you had fun.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Keli EMAIL: IP: 173.220.119.138 URL: DATE: 02/20/2014 06:36:41 PM
So glad everything worked out.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Karina EMAIL: IP: 86.138.168.91 URL: DATE: 02/20/2014 09:18:00 PM
wow .. what an ordeal!!! adds to the excitement!!!! =)
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: The Truth about Sochi 2014 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 02/25/2014 04:08:19 PM ----- BODY:
The media put out a lot of misinformation and used a lot of scare tactics leading up to the Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Below are notes of our experience at Sochi 2014:
SecuritySecurity was very tight throughout all Olympic locations and the entire Sochi – Adler – Olympic Park Area. Yet it was not frightening. It was not men in camouflage with machine guns handing from their shoulders. It wasn’t large dogs barking at people or sniffing around your belongings. Instead it was metal detectors, scanners, pat downs and patrols.
The ShipTo check-in for the Grand Holiday ship on which we lived. I was required to complete an online registration one month in advance. However upon arrival none of that information was available. Instead I had to:
- Redo registration
- Get pier entry card
- Go through security
- Drop of luggage
- Go through ship security
- Check in on ship, receive ship security card, get a separate room key
- At ship at pier entrance, card entry required, then full scan of person and belongings
- At ship steps, card entry required
- On board, full scan
- Full screening to enter train station
- Full screen to go to track for boarding a train
View from the Adler train station
- There were no security checks when coming from Olympic transportation (buses, trains, gondolas)
- To enter airport from train station
- After checking to get to gates
When we arrived at Sochi airport we were told there was no public transportation to our cruise ship and that there were no legal taxis available for at least 30 minutes. This was not in fact true, we could have taken the train to Adler station from which a shuttle bus runs. But throughout our stay it was clear Olympic volunteers knew very little about the cruise ships housing spectators.
We haggled with the “unofficial” taxi drivers and were able to get a reasonably priced ride to the ship, less than 20 minutes away.
- From the ship, the shuttle bus ran once per hour to the Adler train station. It stopped running at 8pm, despite many events ending close to midnight. To get back to the ship at night we had to walk 20 minutes from the Olympic Village train station.
- Train maps were hard to come by and more difficult to interpret.
- Train time tables not available for distribution.
- Train arrivals and departures board were combined into one. So each line on the info monitors showed where they are coming from, where they are going to, when they arrive at the station and when they leave (usually 5-10 mins later) Very confusing.
- Travel to mountain cluster events can take up to 2 hours by train, then bus. Then 20 minutes of walking.
Duckie decided to crawl from half pipe to bus, 20 mins away
First and foremost the Olympics is about the athletes getting their shot at their dreams. Most have spent a lifetime preparing for this moment. And that is why we love being a spectator. Seeing the athletes perform, meeting their friends and families and rooting for our countries.
Every event we were able to attend was fantastic:
- Women’s Ski Jump – first time ever
- Women’s Half Pipe (which I learned was “pipe” not “pike”. Makes a lot more senseJ) - the USA won gold and bronze medals!!
- Men’s & Women’s Short Track Speed Skating - included men’s relay semi-finals and women’s 500 m final.
At the ski jump
Finger pipeFood
The only downside to Sochi was the food. Since we weren’t staying in Sochi village we didn’t have access to trendy restaurants. On board the ship the food was pretty awful. The only thing worse than the buffet was the salt drowned dish I was served at the special restaurant.
At the events, the food was inconsistent. You couldn’t count on finding the same foods at different venues. At half pop we had hot dogs, but we are not sure of what they were made. That night I also had mulled wine. It was strong with an offensive flavor. My stomach objected with each sip.
At the ski jump we had pancakes with chocolate and warm donuts. That was yummy, but still left us hungry for sustenance.
Krispy KremeTravel as a Way of Life ...
--Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 02/26/2014 03:00:27 PM
Did the media hype scare you?
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Luck Run Out? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 03/07/2014 12:38:27 PM ----- BODY:
I suppose it may be true. At some point perhaps your luck does run out. So far we’ve have 5 flights with no real issues, including our last one which was delayed and threatened to cause us to miss our connection. But the pilot made up time in the air and we were able to arrive in time to board our flight from Vienna to London.
Then our luck ran out. Just around landing time, the pilot announced that strong winds in London would force us to land in Brussels. He said once we landed, he’d make an announcement regarding the ground transportation arrangements. As it was already nearly midnight, and we’d been traveling for 11 hours, the thought of a 5 hour train ride did not sound appealing.
No need to worry about that, it turns out there were not ground transportation arrangements. After landing in Brussels and waiting and hour, we were told there were no options for the airline to have us taken by ground transportation to London, nor was it an option to stay overnight in Brussels and get a flight to London the next day. Instead, the flight would return to Vienna, and there we would be put up on a hotel and advised of further travel options. Another hour later we took off, headed back to Vienna.
Its been a very long day, and I’ve not had much to eat for the last few days, as edible non-pork and non-cheese options have been hard to find at Sochi venue food stands, on the ship, at the airports and onboard the flights. So I’m basically existing on breads, pretzels and tea. At this point I want a steak and a bed.
To be continued...
-- Approximately 2am, Saturday, February 15, 2014, somewhere near Vienna.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: 4.5 days in London (Instead of 5.2) STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 03/18/2014 03:35:14 PM ----- BODY:
After our flight debacle in Vienna, our flight landed perilously, 3 hours later in London. The winds had diminished enough to get our landing approved, but not enough to stop me from praying through the entire wild decent.
Feet firmly planted on solid earth, we breezed through customs and baggage claim and headed to our apartment rental via cab. We’d originally considered taking the airport train to the London tube but due to the location of the apartment, that would require a minimum of 3 trains. We weren’t up to that with our 3 suitcases and a stroller, after 24 hours of travel and about 30 of being awake.
Our metered taxi took us through all the cool neighborhoods of London and past many a landmark, including Buckingham Palace, Harrods and the Tower Bridge. 90 minutes later he charged us 107 British Pounds (approximately $180 USD) and a 10% credit card convenience fee for the privilege. He was very kind pointing out each landmark we passed, and giving us directions to public transportation from the apartment. He even handed hubby a complimentary Tube map, before departing. It’s not my first time over the pond, so I knew it’d be expensive, but that was hands down the most expensive cab ride I’ve ever taken. And I was pretty sure we’d been taken. Surely there is a highway to get one from the airport to the outskirts of London?
Exhausted, we chose to stay positive and look forward to our time with our friends in London. We were meeting a good friend of mine, whom I’d met my first time, on my first day in Barcelona, more than 10 years ago. She, her husband and two young children were renting the apartment with us while we were there. They’d arrived the night before (like we were supposed to) and had stocked the place with food. Fantastic. We munched and prepared for a nap, while familiarizing ourselves with the apartment. It was a nice dump!
We booked it expecting it would be simple. The price was significantly lower, we assumed, based on its outside of the city location and small size. What we didn’t expect was that the simple things like clean, stain free linens, and ample bath towels would be difficult to come by. But I’ll save that story for another post. It is worthy of its own space.
We caught a quick nap and waited for our friends to return to the apartment. After which, we headed to The Navy Musuem just before closing. We were able to let the kids drive ships, prepare pirate meals and load up the ships with stock in the children’s area before heading out into the streets of Greenwich. A very cute area of town filled with restaurants, cafes and taverns. We wondered a bit before settling in for Pizza at a kid friendly restaurant. That was enough activity for our sleep deprived day.
At Naval MuseumThe next day we headed to the grounds of Kensington Palace upon which sit the recently opened Princess Diana Memorial Playground. The Grounds of the palace are a huge park themselves, inside which sits this spectacular playground. No adults are admitted without children, and only a limited number of people are allowed in at a time. But there is no rush to get you to leave. This means your kids are free to run around and play in a safe environment that is not over crowed. They also have special sections only for very small children. Something anyone whose ever parented a toddler can appreciate.
For our big girl, it was all about pirate ships and dare devil tricks. She varies between being a pirate, Spiderman and Batman. So she honed in on the angled log wall leading up to the slide as a challenge and she worked for several minutes to figure out how to propel herself up the slanted surface. Finally, she turned to us and said, “I got a great idea!” She then slid over to her left, put one foot up and launched herself forward to grab a secured vertical board at the top of the landing. Then she used her legs to climb the rest of the way up. All by herself, and garnering the cheers of all the nearby parents. She continued these feats of bravery, climbing the ropes atop the pirate ship (something my fear of heights probably would not have allowed me to do). She was scared, but kept talking herself into not giving up. After each climb she jumped from the significant heights into Hubby’s arms. Excellent family day. We topped it off with tea and scones at a nearby hotel.
Pirate Ship at Princess Diana Memorial Playground
More climbing at the Princess Diana Memorial Playground
Tea timeAfter a home cooked meal, we put Duckie to bed and Hubby and I went for a romantic walk. It was romantic until we got lost. Then it was urgent. (A few days before I’d watch an episode of the British Crime Luther, in which a couple is attacked by a gang as they sit in their car in a London neighborhood. Yes, I am the type who can’t sleep after watching a scary movie.) We walked for 40 minutes before finding our way home. How’s that for spontaneous adventure.Monday, we headed out to Borough Market near London Bridge. A great market with hot food and lots of other delicacies that’s fun to wander through and eat, and eat and eat. Hubby devoured two roast pork sandwiches immediately upon arrival and we shared a beef pie. Unfortunately, many of the stalls were closed because it was a Monday (a fact of which we were not previously aware). But we did manage to snag a delicious goat and ewe cheese for me and what Hubby reports was one of the best blue cheeses he’d ever tasted, from a Frenchmen’s open stall.
After a walk along the Thames we left our friends to head off to view the Olympic Park. And that’s what we did. View it from a distance, through the construction which is scheduled to go on for the next couple of years. In the end, it will be lovely, a business district, retail stores, a park with a playground, multiple sports and entertainment venues, etc. But for our visit it was an unreachable construction site L Still, its on the list of Olympic Parks/Venues I’ve seen … Vancouver – check, Helsiniki – check, Oslo – check, Sochi – check, yet shockingly not Atlanta, despite my repeated visits. Hmmm…. What’s up with that?
London Olympic Park behind me ... in the distanceOur friends returned to Leeds that evening and the next day we met another friend, her daughter and niece at Harrod’s for tea. Because, when in London! From there we traveled mostly by foot to see the London Eye and Big Ben. Duckie’s preschool class had created Big Ben and a double decker bus just before we left for our trip. So it was a rare moment when you can get a 4-year old excited about sightseeing. From there we headed to Covent Garden, which is, an old fruit and vegetable market now filled with restaurants, shops and street performers. We ate dinner at Jamie Oliver’s Union Jack’s restaurant. They pride themselves on using locally sourced food to create traditional British food. My lamb was traditionally delicious, as was my gin fizz (both of them). Our friends stayed the night with us, which meant every night in London for Duckie was with a playmate of two. An ideal vacation for an only child.
Big Ben and The London Eye
Covent Garden
At Jamie Oliver's Union Jack'sWiser than when we’d arrived, Hubby booked a car online that would take us to the airport for only 42 British Pounds. We were to leave at 9 am to catch our 12:30pm direct flight to Newark, NJ. Man, I was so excited, I could hardly sleep. We’d had a great vacation, but I was looking forward to the comfort of my very own high thread count sheets :-) and cozy bath towels. When my alarm when off at 7:30 am, I noticed I had a Google Voice message from United Airlines. Our flight was delayed 3 hours. I called the car service to inform them of the delay and move our pick up time to 11:30am. I shoved my face full of all the uneaten groceries and checked and re-checked the house for any unpacked items.
Then we went outside for a photo session of Duckie, to whom I’d promised a picture in front of a double decker bus, or as she calls them “Double Decker, Decker.” We had her pose while buses zoomed by and we tried to capture the photo. Then at 11:25am we brought our luggage downstairs and waited. At 11:45 am, I called the company, via skype using the apartment’s wifi, and was informed the driver would be there by 12 pm. No reason was given, except that they had tried to call me to tell me. Noon arrived and our car didn’t. We called again and were told he was 5 minutes away, stuck in heavy traffic. By 12:10 pm we were trying to call other taxi services or hail a cab in the street. Finally, just before 12:30, he showed up, unapologetic and complaining about traffic in our neighborhood. I had no words.
Double Decker Decker PosingHe then proceeded to make a wrong turn and inform us of it. Apparently there really was no highway to get from our area to the airport. So we weaved through a different set of not so posh London neighborhoods on the 90 minute ride back to the airport. Arriving at 2 pm for our 3:30 pm international flight. Luckily, there was no one in the check in line, or security and we arrived at our gate 5 minutes before they boarded the flight early. Lucky Duckies Indeed!
Our luck has continued as we’ve had the best flight crew we’ve ever experienced. All smiles and helpful. Our flight is half empty (something I thought was nearly impossible in this day and age) and Duckie is receiving first class service. So far she’s received 3 sets of wing pins, 3 cakes, and ice cream sundae (only available in first class) and a warm cookie (only available in first class). This and her 45th viewing of the movie Frozen on her Kindle have made for one happy Duckie on this flight that is inexplicably 8 hours long.
We’ve watched the second half of an episode of Wallander (check Netflix) that we’d started on another flight) and the 3 + hour Wolf on Wall Street movie. Only 1 hour and 40 minutes to go, then its soft sheets, here I come!
Travel as a way of life …
--Kimya
Wednesday, February 19, 2014, somewhere over the Atlantic at 4:56pm EST.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 03/18/2014 04:23:16 PM
Got any favorite London spots? Do share ...
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: The Vacation Renter does a Vacation Rental STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 03/24/2014 06:44:45 PM ----- BODY:
I mentioned in a previous post that our 2-bedroom apartment rental in the Lewisham area of London, left a lot to be desired. Let me give you some details.
Because of our flight delay, we arrived the day after our friends. They arrived to unmade beds, dirty sheets and towels, crumbs on the dining table and general disarray. Knowing me as she does, and generally being a neat freak, my friend sprang into action cleaning up. We’d first met as students in Barcelona when I was staying at the apartment reserved for the school president after refusing to stay in the “brown” room in the apartment to which I’d been assigned.
When we arrived the apartment was clean, but all of her hard work could not hide the fact that the apartment owner had cut every corner possible. The apartment itself was a modern build with nice hardwood floors and white large tiling on doors and bathrooms. But the majority of the furniture was obviously purchased from IKEA. The colored bed sheets had stains or bleach marks. Comforters were not on the beds, but had to be dug out of closets and the laundry area. And there was a bucket of used water sitting in a mop pail. So basically YUCK!!
My lovely friend made sure we had washed sheets and towels on our arrival. So I was able to nap before truly letting disappointment set in. (Hubby meanwhile was very impressed that I agreed to lay down in the bed, knowing in there has been a time or two in the past where I refused.) I did have my travel silk sleeping bag with me but did not use it because I knew the sheets had been cleaned, even if they were still not visually appealing. This was a major feat for me to have accomplished.
By the next morning our friends started to reveal the condition in which they had found the apartment. We all knew the apartment rental fee was low, for London, but attributed that to its significant distance from the city (15-20 min train ride). We did not expect, plain old laziness on the part of the owner. So I sent her this email:
Hi Elisenda, We arrived at the apartment last night and found that it was not ready for us:
- The apartment smelled of smoke and there was a used ash tray.
- The beds were not made and we had to search the closets for bed linens which are not clean. They are stained.
- Cot not set up for baby.
- There are only 3 bath towels, so we have to share
- There were crumbs on the dining table, on the floors and on the beds.
- The shower door in the master bathroom cannot close
- There was a mop sitting in a bucket of dirty water
- Used shaving razors in each bathroom.
- Hair and dust on bathroom fixtures and floors
- And we have not been able to turn the microwave on.
I tried to call you twice today, but there was no answer. We would really love it if you would come by first thing in the morning to address these issues.
She called us and said she may have had some confusion with the cleaning people. (ummm, either you did or you didn’t. Clearly you did, so why did you wait for us to complain before making sure the apartment was clean?) She promised to send someone to clean while we were out that day.When we returned after our day out, it was clear that someone had been by to do some light cleaning, and had left two additional towels. They did not throw away the old razors nor empty the pail of dirty water. But they did sweep the floors and fold the quilts on our bed (because that’s important?!?).
The owner did not check in to make sure we were happy with the cleaning. Fast forward to the end of our stay. The last thing I did was leave the keys on the dining room table next to the apartment entry instructions. (There is a lock box outside the apartment door, with an additional set of keys to lock up the apartment upon departure). When our flight landed at Newark Airport I had a message from the owner. Here is the email conversation that occurred over the next 24 hours:
Elisenda: Dear Kimya, Hope you had a nice stay. Unfortunately we are missing a key and the fob, do you have them with you? Thank you. Elisenda
Me: I left both right on the kitchen table.
Elisenda: Kimya, thank you for the email. But I was there yesterday and I could not see them, are you sure you or any of your friends didn't take it by mistake? Sorry to insist, but can you double check for me please.
Me: I was the last person to leave. I left them both on the table quite intentionally. The yellow band fell off one key so that one is just the key. The other one has a red key ring and the fob. I left them right next to the paper with instructions to open the outside door and lock box. Does someone else have access? I did exactly what I was supposed to do.
Elisenda: Kimya, Thank you, let me find out
Then there was silence. I heard nothing from her for 4 days. I assumed this was all a scam and discussed with my friend my belief that she was trying to keep our security deposit. My friend sent me this message:
Friend: I keep trying her line but it isn't connecting, like her phone is off - her office hours say 8-4! She is rubbish
On day 4 I began emailing again:
Me: Hi Elisenda, Did you find the keys? Also when will you be refunding the security deposit? Thank you, Kimya
Elisenda: Dear Kimya, Yes, we did find the keys and the fob at the end. We will refund the deposit tonight. Kind regards
Nope, I did not delete the part where she apologized for accusing me of taking the keys. I also didn’t delete the part where she apologized for the condition of the apartment upon our arrival. And no, she didn’t even apologize for taking 4 days to let me know she found the keys that could not have possibly been taken by someone else, but clearly they were. I did get the security deposit back.I’ve had fantastic vacation rental experiences and some that were not so great. But until Elisenda, I’d never rented from an owner who just doesn’t give a damn. All other owners have been quick to respond to any complaints and issues. As an owner myself, I accept that things can happen (although none of the things that happened in this case) and it’s my job to make sure I get them corrected ASAP. Elisenda does not seem to bare that ownership burden. But alas, there were some clues that we overlooked.
- The price was absolutely the best we could find for a two bedroom with good looking pictures online.
- Elisenda was slow to respond during the booking process. I had to beg her to send me the info to pay off the balance before we departed for Russia. She said she planned to send it 4-6 days before arrival. What? Why would you assume I’ll be available that soon before I check in? And as an owner, don’t you want your money?
- I relied on email communication, previous reviews, and online photos. All of which is good. But nothing beats a phone call to really get a feel for what the owner is really like.
Below are pics of the apartment.
Travel as a way of life ...
Kimya
Our bed
Under the bed, after the cleaning
Dish cloth left for us to use
One of the razors left by previous guests
And finally the shower door which cannot close----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 03/24/2014 07:08:57 PM
Every stayed in a dump? Or dealt with a shady owner? Do share ...
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Khadijah EMAIL: IP: 141.149.58.235 URL: DATE: 03/24/2014 08:28:06 PM
Gross. Reminds me of the Days inn that I stayed in near Asbury park. The staff was rude the room was filthy but Days Inn was responsive to my complaints.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Labor of Love STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation Rental DATE: 04/01/2014 04:07:37 PM ----- BODY:
It’s been a banner year for Villa Pompano. We’ve had more bookings than ever before, and early bookings have become the norm. Even better we are seeing previous guests return for their second and third stays. And if Hubby wants to give me all the credit for Villa Pompano’s success (he does), I’ll take it!
But in truth it’s a family affair. My in-laws visit each year and fill their days with gardening, painting, and other upkeep. Hubby is becoming handier each visit, caulking, spackling, plumbing, electrocuting himself. I’ve never seen anybody handle 120V like that man can! He’s amazing :-)
Now your all like, “Well Kimya, what do you do?” And I’m like, “Get off my back people! I’m in charge of ideas and shopping.” Just kidding, sort of. I do help out with some projects, weeding, painting, etc. But mostly, I keep the list of what needs to be done. I talk to the property manager, the landscaper, pool guy, and cleaning lady. The plumber, the electrician, the appliance repair guy and the healthy tree guy. And they all give me updates on what needs to be done. Some info comes from guests (i.e. it would be really cool if you had …). And, the rest I observe when I stay in the house myself.
Less than a year ago, I was super stressed as we faced a $20k plumbing job. I could have put it off, but that would have met the potential of guests experiencing backed up pipes and emergency visits from the plumber. That’s no way to spend a vacation. I bit the bullet (after searching about a better price and plumber), and we had the work done. I didn’t know exactly how long it would take to pay off that bill. But our commitment to keeping the house in tip top shape seems to have paid off. Guests are happy and feel well taken care of. As a result they tell their friends and they come too.
It takes a lot of work and an army of people to keep a vacation rental in great shape and to make it a place where people feel at home. Except, when we are on vacation, don’t we want something even better than home? I sure as heck do.
At home I don’t walk out my backdoor to a warm pool. I don’t head out to my shed and grab my beach chairs to use when I arrive at the beach 5 minutes later. And I don’t sit poolside sipping cocktails while reading my Kindle. I sure would like to, but something about negative wind chill temperatures during winter, the lack of a pool in my backyard, and the hour’s drive to the beach in summer traffic, make it not quite possible.
But when I get to Villa Pompano (or another vaction home), I look around as If I’m a guest and think, “What could be better?” If I think of something, it goes on the list and the army is called into action. This means that most of my vacation time at Villa Pompano is spent working. But it’s a labor of love witht the bonus of family time. And I’m so happy that so many guests have fallen in love with my work product.
Thanks to all of our guest that have made Villa Pompano success, and a shout out to all the guest yet to come. The sunshine is waiting.
Hubby, Duckie (and me behind the camera) at Pompano Beach
Me, enjoying the fruits of my laborDuckie learns to swim at Villa Pompano
Travel as a way of life ….
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 04/01/2014 05:54:54 PM
What's important to you in a vacation home?
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Do You Costco When You Travel? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 04/09/2014 03:30:50 PM ----- BODY:
Do you Costco when you travel? I do. I’ve been a member of Costco for a long time. Frankly, long before I needed to be. But I was in my Martha Stewart stage back when I joined, and I wanted my cabinets packed with everything I could possibly ever need to create a recipe or do a dining related craft. I also used to enjoy cruising the aisles of the local Stop & Shop supermarket, regardless of if I actually needed groceries. It was my happy place. So nice, bright and clean compared to many Brooklyn supermarkets at the time. And they carried a variety of hard to find and Caribbean foods. I no longer feel that way about the supermarket. I find it annoying, time consuming and overpriced. That’s partially because it is overpriced and also because it’s a chore instead of a joy now.
However, my love of Costco has only grown. With a family to feed, I delight in paying the lowest possible price for staples like milk, eggs and butter. That is why I tell myself it’s perfectly fine to go once per week. (Yup, I said it!) Naturally, I don’t just buy those staple foods, I get lured in by some of the foods offered up for free tasting. I’m dazzled by the kitchen, dining, patio and outdoor items. A fair portion of my Christmas shopping is done at Costco. Hubby thinks it’s criminal to purchase liquor at the duty-free, when the same or better prices can be found at Costco. And a significant part of Duckie’s wardrobe is often found there as well.
So when we travel domestically, we usually end up at a Costco. If we are staying at Villa Pompano we pick up chicken, steaks, corn and potatoes for the grill. I usually get sucked into buying some kind of pool toy, or activity book for Duckie. And then usually an upgrade for Villa Pompano usually catches my eye (i.e. I recently bought a Roku which now allows guests to watch Netflix and Amazon Prime among other options).
On our way to the Presidential Inauguration we stopped to buy a camera. We subsequently, lost the photos in a vicious computer virus attack. Perhaps if we’d purchased virus protection software from Costco, that would not have happened. But, I digress. Spa Finder certificates have help us double up on savings during Miami Spa Month (July & August). And I know others who get discount ski tickets at the nearby Costco when they head out West.
But only recently, did I decide to check out Costco Travel services. Having worked at a travel agency in the past, I know that prices don’t typically vary much between large/national agencies, unless it’s a particular cruise or package the agency has bought in bulk in advance. Well, this is the second time I have compared rental car prices using all the discount sites (Hotwire, Kayak, Priceline, etc.) and Costco beat their prices by far, for the same rental companies. When we head down to Florida next week, I will be renting an SUV for less than the price of a standard car price at all other sites. Even cheaper than with my travel agent discount. And all I had to do was book online and pay when I pick it up. Easy peasy.
Next I’d like to try booking a cruise via Costco.com. (Right now Hubby is reading this and shaking his head.) I’m not going to book a cruise, right now, but I’d like to J
Well that’s my Costco commercial. They don’t pay me, I wish they did. But when I find a good value, I have to pass it on. If you have found any, please share with the group.
Our latest Costco haul: Bulbs, potting soil and plantersTravel as a way of life ….
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 04/09/2014 04:35:00 PM
Let us know how you save on travel or when traveling
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Don’t Get Taken for a Ride Instead of a Vacation STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation Rental CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 04/15/2014 06:23:13 PM ----- BODY:
The May issue of Consumer Reports Magazine has an article on vacation home rental in its Scam Alert section. Naturally the article immediately caught my eye.
It begins with the story of a retired teacher who regularly rents vacation homes but ran into trouble renting in Spain. She was scammed out of $3000, when she took advantage of a 15% discount offered if she paid in full and sent the money to a Barcelona bank account. It turns out hackers had accessed the landlords’ account and sent the fake email. So she had paid money that the landlord never received.
This scam was new to me. And I’d like to think I’m up on my scams. But I can see how easily it can happened. Hackers can find owners’ email addresses on sites and then do whatever they do to get access. And a renter receiving an email from a landlord, isn’t suspicious, because it’s a communication they have initiated. Despite not being aware of this scam, I can be assured that I would not have gotten sucked in for one good reason. I refuse to pay with anything other than a credit card. And I check my statements weekly.
This scammer is not interested in a credit card transaction because it takes longer to get the money, it’s much more traceable, and the credit card companies are willing to invest money in hunting down criminals. As a renter, the card offers you the protection of getting a refund if you don’t receive the services/products promised. A good credit card, will likely not allow the charge to go through in the first place. Their computers recognize a suspicious charge and alert you immediately. This was the case in Brazil, where any payment I made to the hotel required a phone call to American Express to get the charge approved. Credit card fraud is so common there, even the recognizable name of an international hotel chain was not enough to have a charge automatically approved.
But, back to the Consumer Reports article. It list some other possible hazards of vacation rentals as well:
- Renting a property that doesn’t exist
- Renting a foreclosed property and the bank shows up to kick you out
- The landlord raises the price after you confirm or make a payment
- The landlord doesn’t deliver what he/she has promised
- The property is located in a municipality (like New York City) that prohibits short term rentals)
Luckily there are ways to avoid all these problems. Consumer Reports recommends taking these steps:
- Use a reputable booking sites such as Flipkey which does landlord background checks or HomeAway and VRBO which offer $10,000 rental guarantee that protects your against internet fraud. (Villa Pompano is listed on HomeAway.com and VRBO.com)
- Search the internet for the name of the town in which you are renting along with search terms like “tenants rights” and “short term rentals.” To make sure vacation rentals are legal in that town and any protections that might be available to renters
- Use Zillow.com and Google Earth to make sure the property looks like the pictures shown in the listing, and that the property is not for sale.
- Get the rental agreement in writing and make sure you understand all of the terms.
- Pay via credit card or PayPal or by using the website’s payment system (HomeAway and VRBO process all payments for Villa Pompano). Never pay visa Western Union, money order, cashier's check or wire transfer.
- Call the owner before making a payment. If the phone number is disconnected … you’ve been forewarned.
Travel as a way of life …
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 04/16/2014 02:01:03 PM
If you know of a scam I haven't mentioned, we'd love to know. Please share.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sheila EMAIL: IP: 172.56.2.78 URL: DATE: 04/16/2014 03:13:08 PM
Good points. Thanks Kimya.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Spring Break 2014 STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 04/23/2014 11:16:25 PM ----- BODY:
Let me tell you what’s hard. Finding time to blog during a great family vacation!
But I suppose it should be that way. After all, elements of a great family vacation would include disconnecting from our gadgets and getting out to enjoy our surroundings, right? Well I guess that’s why it’s been so difficult. Perhaps in the future, I’ll do blog by photo. I’ve done a much better job of taking photos and video this trip. Of just the little moments.
We are now on Day 4 of our spring break trip to Villa Pompano in Pompano Beach, Florida. Duckie has the week off from pre-school, so we decided to spend it here. And it looks like we made the right decision.
We flew in on a 9pm flight out of Newark, NJ on Saturday. As in, the night before Easter. The airport was nice and empty! Almost as empty as when we traveled in Europe on Thanksgiving Day. If you don’t actually have to be somewhere on a holiday, it’s the best day to fly. The only downside to our plan was that we arrived at midnight and when we awoke in the morning to our empty refrigerator all the major stores were closed. But since capitalism prevails we were able to get basic supplies from CVS and Walgreens to hold us over until everything reopened.
We grabbed breakfast at First Watch Cafe a breakfast and brunch chain we discovered in Tampa last year. Then came back to Villa Pompano for egg dying and the big Easter egg hunt, pool side. (And by big I mean the search was for 5 eggsJ) Then Hubby and Duckie jumped in the pool for her on-going Olympic training – look for her at the 2024 Summer Games, she’ll be the girl in the pool with the big curly afro.
Our second day included a lot of errands, but taking care of business in the sunshine is almost enough to not make it feel like work. But the second half of the day was nice and relaxing. Duckie and I took some selfies before taking a swim in the pool. Then I chillaxed on the patio, reading my Kindle while hubby put some salmon on the grill. After lights out for Duckie, we watched the latest episode of Game of Thrones on the Roku.
Day three was pretty similar to day two, a little work, a lot of play and a happy family. Every night at bedtime, I ask Duckie, what she would like to do tomorrow. Her answers are as follows: Day 1 – “Eat Breakfast, Eat Lunch”, Day 2 – “Swim in the Pool, Eat,” Day 3 – “Go to the Beach, Eat.”
So obviously we had to go to the beach today, and then hit up Las Olas Blvd to eat some FroYo (courtesy of a Living Social coupon). The high temperature today was 90 degrees. Which combined with a light warm breeze made it a perfect beach day. And, I also learned something. Simple can be extraordinary. Hubby spotted a family walking on the beach carrying a laundry basket. The basket was filled with all of their beach items - towels, sunblock, etc. And while it wasn’t the most stylish presentation, it was pure brilliance. I spent my time at the beach trying to minimize the amount of sand that got into my beach bag and on our towels and clothes. I was anticipating the car and house clean-up that would be required. But a simple plastic laundry basket, eliminates all the hassle. Straight from the beach, to the car to the washing machine. Only a precious little amount of sand will remain in the basket when you leave the beach, and then it all the items can be dumped right into the wash. If any sand remains in the basket it can be dumped and rinsed in the driveway.
Well, while I was being blown away by not so modern innovation, Duckie was on a friend hunt. She walked up to the water and waited. She scouted out a few possibilities, talked to some parents about the availability of their children for playing. And then laundry basket family arrived, with a 4 year old boy, excited to see Duckie. They immediately began the beach friendship initiation ritual of throwing sand on each other. Every mother loves to watch this! Then he just about became her BFF. Everywhere we go Duckie ask people, “Do you remember me?” Whether or not she has actually met them previously is irrelevant to her questioning. Since she talks to virtually everyone, her question is often not answered with a yes. But laundry basket boy said, “Of course I remember you!” She turned to look back at me beaming, “Mommy he remembers me.” And the bond was formed. They played for the next 30 minutes. Laundry basket boy’s older brother joined in after a little while and they attempted to build something out of sand. Even laundry basket’s parents got in on it, when Duckie ran into the water with her new friends to greet them.
Maia and most of the laundry basket family (daddy basket is to the right taking a photo)As an only child, she accepts that it is her responsibility to meet and make friends. She takes it seriously and is very good at it. As parents, she makes it pretty easy for us and we are grateful. As we left the beach she sang the bird habitat song she learned on Sesame Street.
Where’s it at – THE BEACH, THE BEACH
Where’s it at – THE BEACH, THE BEACH
Where’s it at – THE BEACH, THE BEACH
That’s a HABITAT, a HABITAT
Travel as a way of life ....
Kimya
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Childcare While Traveling STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Family Travel CATEGORY: Travel Planning CATEGORY: Op-Ed DATE: 05/06/2014 05:46:14 PM ----- BODY:
Childcare is a big enough issue when we stay at home. We only have one kid. We both work from home and can take and pick her up from pre-school. And because we adopted her through the state system, the cost of her preschool is currently covered by the state. We are extremely lucky.
This set up does put us out of the babysitter game. We don’t do date nights very often because that means finding a family member, friend or teenager to watch her sleep. (Duckie needs her 12-13 hours a night so she’s typically knocked out or hysterical shortly after a babysitter would arrive.) But we feel guilty about asking family too often. And no one lives less than 25 minutes away, so it also adds a commute to the logistics. But we are also very picky and some would say paranoid.
We were so excited when Duckie started to talk, because we knew it meant she could tell a caretaker exactly what she needed. And since she’s not shy, this has definitely proven to be true. Mostly it sounds like, “Feed me! Feed me more! More!” But still we’ve never left her with someone we didn’t know well. The only exception is my close friend who has a daily babysitter to watch her 3 kids. Duckie has been under that sitter’s care when she visits with them while we have a double date.
While we are cautious of individuals, we are comfortable with established institutions, like her pre-school, the YMCA and the kids club on Royal Caribbean ships. I never worry about her while she is at these places. I’ve seen how happy she is when she comes home and how eager she is to return. But really this is just a larger group of people I don’t really know.
Hubby and I were recently thinking about going to New Orleans to see a concert (Jay-Z and Beyoncé, if you must know). Since we’d be driving up from a stay in Florida at Villa Pompano, Duckie would be with us. No Way Jose, is she coming to the concert with us! So this means we’d have to find a babysitter.
I know several friends and relatives who have found excellent sitters on Care.com and similar sites. One friend hired a travel nanny online and she turned out to be wonderful. In fact, she did watch Duckie for a few hours, while we were cruising with that friend and her kids. The daily sitter my friend uses was found on Care.com. So why does the thought of finding a sitter online to watch Duckie sleep for 4 hours, terrify us?
Duckie with her kids club and teachers before the pirate parade on Royal CaribbeanI blame the media!!! (It’s always best to be able to blame your irrational fears on someone else, especially if that someone is nameless and faceless.) But really, in the end I’m afraid of “the killer,” “the molester,” and the “internet child porn poster.” Hubby and I must believe that this is the person we are going to potentially hire through these time tested online childcare agencies. Even though, statistics show it’s much more likely that these people would exists amongst our friends and family (feel free to raise your hand now if any of these titles belong to you, friends and family).
As of now, I don’t think we are going to the concert. I’d like to convince Hubby that hiring a sitter will be easy peasy and nothing to worry about. But first, I have to convince myself …
If you’ve overcome this hurdle please share your thoughts with me.
Travel as a Way of Life …
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 05/06/2014 06:05:56 PM
Please! Share your thoughts/experiences.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Roohi Lupton EMAIL: IP: 2.25.134.223 URL: DATE: 05/07/2014 01:04:05 PM
I couldn't agree more! As neither of our famlies live anywhere near to us (closest is over an hour away) we do not go out. Others use babysitters such as their child's carers from nursery - these girls are great and my kids have a great time with them at nursery, but for some reason I would not be willing to leave my children with them in my home whilst we went out! Irrational....perhaps! Only the grandparents will do- best babysitters around, just not near enough!
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Single Mom Week STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Op-Ed DATE: 05/15/2014 02:06:19 PM ----- BODY:
This post is going to be short. Not because I don’t have plenty to say, but because I don’t have time to say it. Hubby is away in Canada on his annual bear hunt. In year’s past, when he’s gone on these trips, Duckie and I have taken a trip ourselves or she’s gone to visit Grandma for a couple of nights.
This year, I decided to stay put to please my wallet and to keep her in school. She’s only in pre-school, but she loves it and she benefits from being there. I expected it to be a long week of me missing Hubby and finding things to occupy my/our time. Well, I could not have been more wrong. A single mom on a cruise is a lot different than a single mom at home!
Where is my personal chef, maid service, entertainment, kid’s club, etc? Not here. Hubby and I do a decent job of dividing up responsibilities, especially those that are part of the morning routine. I handle clothing, dressing, bed-making and hairstyling, along with any school documents. He monitors tooth brushing, face-washing, packs her lunches and on most days is responsible for unloading the dishwasher. Well guess what? Daddy’s not here!!!
So that morning flow is way off and I’m trying to get it all done and still have time to walk to school each morning (gotta get my miles in). It’s pretty overwhelming, but I realize why kids of single parents (like me) are so independent. They only way I can get it all done is if Duckie does her share. I’ve put more responsibility on her this week, and where she started off whining she has step up to the plate. This morning she showered herself, including washing her hair. She’s dressed herself all week, without wasting time begging me to “watch her” get dressed. Yesterday I was loading the dishwasher and turned around to discover she’d gotten the Cheerios and her bowl out and poured her own breakfast.
I’ve always know she was capable of these things, but in the interest of time, sometimes I don’t want to have the fight and so I just get it done. In the absence of both parents, she seems to have embraced her role as a partner in getting things done. I love it.
I’ll be happy when Hubby returns, but in the meantime I’m having a lot of fun with my new independent friend.
Duckie putting the trash can out for pick upTravel as a way of life ….
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 05/15/2014 02:13:10 PM
Shout out to all you single moms! I only experience the responsibilities of single parenting in small doses, but I'm inspired. I'm going to keep adding to Duckies responsibility list. Any ideas? In what ways are your kids (or the kids you know) independent?
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Troy EMAIL: trayworks32@gmail.com IP: 71.56.10.190 URL: DATE: 05/16/2014 09:38:45 AM
Hey dont forget the single dads as well some of us who are doing not by choice.
It is a very exciting time to watch your childs development when they exhibit
There independence i hope you are proud.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 05/19/2014 02:22:52 PM
You are oh so right Troy. Single dads rock! But until I have that sex change operation (which I'm not planning), I can't blog about what its like to be one :-)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Troy Ray EMAIL: Trayworks32@gmail.com IP: 71.56.10.190 URL: DATE: 05/19/2014 03:08:28 PM
True that wonderful Blog and beautiful lillte girl.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Our Travel Bag Prayers Have Been Answered STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Family Travel CATEGORY: Travel Gear DATE: 05/22/2014 02:16:40 PM ----- BODY:
I remember very clearly the first time I traveled with a then infant Duckie. She was about 4 months old and I was going on a business trip to Chicago. Hubby and Duckie were coming along, because we believe in taking advantage of any excuse to travel. And he’d never been to Chicago (Obviously neither had Duckie, but she’s not very likely to remember). I studied up on the TSA rules for what liquids were and foods were allowed when traveling with a baby. We waddled into the airport with a conveyor belts worth of bags and gear. I remember having one bag for the bottles of water and ice packs, another bag had the dry formula, sucking toys, and who knows what else. Then we had all the diaper bag stuff, a change of clothes or two, and on and on.
I was a nervous wreck as we hurried to make our flight (everyone knows everything takes 8 times longer with an infant and no matter how hard you try, you're always late). Luckily, there was no line at the security check. We piled all of our stuff on and I stayed back waiting for it to all go through, while Hubby went ahead to start collecting the mounds of stuff as it came through. Then everything stopped and I figured one of my half dozen bags was improperly packed with liquids or something. I walked through the metal detector and awaited questioning. Only to discover I was not the one being questioned, it was Hubby. He had forgotten to fully unpack the bag he’d used on his last hunting trip before packing it again. Inside were shotgun shells. A high interest item for the TSA!
A long line of people formed behind us as the Police came to talk to him. Meanwhile, I prayed I wouldn’t miss my flight and have to explain to my boss that my husband is now a suspected terrorist. Duckie was calm and flirty with the police. My many bags were finally checked by the TSA, liquids tested and many items scrabbled around the various bags. Ultimately, the police were more interested in comparing hunting stories with Hubby than arresting him, so we were able to head to our gate after the shells were confiscated. We just made the flight. And after all of that excitement, I still had to figure out my flying with baby routine. Mix formula, have it ready for take-off. Where are the diapers, does she need changing, blah blah blah.
In those days I would have killed to have one of these Birdling Bags. They are fantastic carry-on or weekender bags with magical compartments to help keep everything baby organized and findable! I’m so excited about these bags because one of the creators is my friend Meagan Coomber. But mostly because it’s such a great idea. In addition to the 3 nylon compartments which can be easily wiped down, it has outside pockets on every side of the bag, and is made of water-resistant canvas. And my personal favorite, the included laundry bag! But even now that Duckie is old enough to bring her own carry on, I would still use this bag. Heck, I’d use it for a girl’s weekend. A bag with compartments is a blessing no matter what your age.
I asked Meagan, mom to 3 kids under 5 years old, a couple of travel questions and bag questions to celebrate Birdling Bags’ launch:
What's it like traveling with 3 kids?Chaos. Trying to entertain one kid and another starts crying.
Do you have any tips for parents traveling with young children?I try to stay organized and make sure I have enough activities. And most of the time, rules fly out the window to keep the peace among other passengers. I let my kids pick out a candy and snack at the airport and keep it with me until they are really starting to melt. My oldest is now almost 5 and needs very little entertaining. He can sit and draw or play on the iPad the whole flight, but the younger two are such loose cannons. You never know what you will get...
Where is your favorite place to travel?I think with kids the beach is always the most fun. Sans kids-Europe!
Where would you most like to take your kids?I’d love to take my kids to the Grand Canyon but not until I can trust them
What compelled you to design this bag?Courtney (my business partner) was the brain child behind this, and I just helped her make the bag come to life...it really came from a need to keep all your stuff organized.
What's different about this bag that we couldn't find elsewhere?I have never seen a bag that has compartments that help keep products from becoming a jumbled mess.
How would you pack this bag?It depends on who I am packing for. When I am using it with the kids I like to put all the pi's, underwear and socks in one spot and the clothing in another, with the last spot reserved for items like shoes, wipes, diapers, extra bottles, toys, etc.
Travel as a way of life ...
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 05/28/2014 02:12:02 PM
What do you think of the bag? And as always share any travel tips you have?
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Eliza Snow EMAIL: leez@destinationstravelgear.com IP: 24.4.32.115 URL: http://www.destinationstravelgear.com DATE: 08/25/2014 08:52:14 PM
Thank you for this post - I love the roominess and the organizing touches in this Birdling Bag. Much success to Meagan in her new business!
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: That’s The Point STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 06/19/2014 02:17:41 PM ----- BODY:
Summer is almost over. Well that’s how it feels. I waited so long for it to come and now with the official start just days away, it seems as if it’s already slipping away. The last few weeks have been filled with events surrounding Duckie’s pre-school graduation (yay!) and putting the final touches on summer plans.
So far it looks like this:
- End of the school year – tomorrow
- Friend’s wedding upstate NY – next week
- Pre-July 4th, possibly on the NJ Shore
- Villa Pompano – the rest of July
- Big 40th Bday Celebration in Montreal – mid August
- Norway for Duckie & Hubby – end of August
- School starts – Sept 4
See, all accounted for. I thought about putting Duckie in summer camp with some of her friends. Then I realized there were only 2 possible weeks to do that. Maybe next year.
A busy schedule like this could easily cause a light wallet. But, planning an active travel summer means starting in the cold days of winter and being ready to act on deals when they appear.
The accommodations for the wedding were chosen by the bride and groom, but they did get a discounted rate for their guest. So we’ll just count that as a date night.
If Duckie and I go down the shore with our cousins we’ll stay at a Sheraton or similar hotel about 5 - 10 miles from the beach. Driving to the beach instead of staying on the beach allows us to do a quick 2-night getaway for under $150 per night.
Villa Pompano is obviously a working vacation, but by far Duckie’s favorite place to go. She just advanced to the intermediate level in her swim classes and her at home coach (Hubby) will surely be running daily swim drills in the pool, much to her delight. But when I booked my flight (Hubby and Duckie will drive, I’m not down with that), I saved $50 by flying into West Palm Beach airport instead of Ft. Lauderdale. It’s still only a 40 minute drive from Villa Pompano. Then I received a $45 credit from my Jet Blue Travel Bank. This is where credits are stored when you book a flight and the price drops.
Every time I purchase a Jet Blue flight, I log the details at Yapta.com. They send me an email when the price drops and then I call Jet Blue for the credit. I’ve done this as much as 3 times on one ticket. And it really pays off. The $45 credit I used for this ticket was a $15 refund I received from our flights back in April (3 tickets). So in the end I paid $80 for my flight to West Palm Beach. And yes I’m still tracking that flight on Yapta.com. Because if the price drops below what I paid (INCLUDING the credit), I will be eligible for another credit!
Finally, booking flights for Duckie and Hubby to Norway was by far the most difficult task. The best time to go to Norway is in the summer, unless you are interested in starring in your own version of the film Frozen. The least expensive and non-Frozen time to visit is in the fall. But now that Duckie is in school, we don’t have the same freedom to travel any time of the year. So if she was to see her grandparents, aunties and cousins, it had to be done this summer. Tickets ranged from $800+ up to $1500. Booking at those rates was not an option. After months of tracking fares and dates, I was able to find flights just under $800 per person and book with our American Express Membership Rewards Points. (As I’ve mentioned before, I buy EVERYTHING I possibly can with my card, and pay the bill off every month so I can maximize my points.) I didn’t have enough points to pay the full price of both tickets. But the beauty of the program is that it allows you to use whatever you have available. So I used all my points and then added $300 in cash. A savings of $1300. Nice!
Now I can use that saved money to pay for the therapy I will surely need after being separated from Duckie while she’s there and I’m here :-(
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 06/19/2014 02:20:08 PM
What are your summer plans?
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Irmelin Sørensen EMAIL: pumpumen@gamil.com IP: 109.247.167.77 URL: DATE: 06/21/2014 11:30:16 PM
Good that you will get "therapy" when Morten is visiting his family. But it would be so much better if you would join him :-D So we could spend some time together. We miss you and love celebrating your 40th birthday and be together as a family.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Rose Colored Glasses STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Family Travel DATE: 06/25/2014 07:02:09 PM ----- BODY:
Sometimes I put on my rose colored glasses and fantasize about what it would be like if Hubby and I had stayed in Barcelona, Spain, instead of moving back to the states. Ah, the good life. Walking distance to the beach, beautiful architecture everywhere, not to mention cheap wine and tapas! The fantasy falls apart quickly, because if we hadn’t come back to the States, we would not have adopted Duckie. So off come the glasses and I realize just how rosy things are when I spy with my two eyes … the good life that’s all around me.
I’ll never be rid of my itch to be elsewhere. There are just too many places in this big world of ours that need to be explored, by me. So the best I can do is pass that itch on to Duckie. I think I’m doing a good job. This morning she came in to my room with a toothbrush still in its packaging and said, “Mommy, I want to take this toothbrush with me to Florida. It’s beautiful, right?” It’s the free pink toothbrush the dentist gives out at checkups. But to Duckie, it’s a reason to plan for a future of destination brushing.
At home she has a kids SoniCare toothbrush, so she can brush like mommy and daddy. But I prefer that she travel with the disposable brushes so there is no financial loss when the brush is accidently left behind. She’s obviously adapted this reasoning to mean a disposable toothbrush is an opportunity to travel. We don’t head out to FL for another couple of weeks. But she’s planning. Soon she’ll start picking out outfits, swimsuits and shoes – man, I’m doing a really good job raising this kid!
Two peas in a podShe has a calendar on her bedroom door so she can draw pictures of her upcoming events, activities and destinations. (This also helps to prevent me answering the same question over and over, i.e. when do we go to Florida?) She gets giddy filling in the calendar and counting the days and weeks until we depart. When we drive near the airport or see an airplane in the sky, she says, “That plane is going to Florida (or China, or Russia…) mommy!”
She’s equally excited to know who we will travel with or who we will meet when we arrive at our destination. She’ll run through a list of cousins, grandparents and friends she hopes will make an appearance. After all, she is an only child so a vacation that only includes parents definitely has room for improvement. But more than that she is a people person. I met some of my very best friends during my travels and I’m excited to think that the same is already happening for her.
Duckie slumming it in FL with her parentsSo, I’m lucky. I don’t need my rose colored glasses, because I’ve got Duckie’s bright brown eyes through which to see the world. And to her a trip to the NJ shore or even the library is just as exciting as bringing that pink toothbrush to Florida. Travel is truly her way of life.
Travel as a way of life …
-- Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 06/25/2014 07:09:33 PM
Duckie will happily receive your shout outs here :-)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sunshine EMAIL: IP: 66.87.81.52 URL: DATE: 06/25/2014 08:16:30 PM
Very nice!!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Sheila EMAIL: IP: 172.56.35.237 URL: DATE: 06/26/2014 10:35:07 PM
The good life!
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Oops, I Did It Again! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 07/09/2014 02:51:28 PM ----- BODY:
Sometimes you have to learn the difficult lessons in life. Sometimes you learn them over and over again, and then you just want to kick yourself because you should have known better. Well that’s me and hotel booking.
Despite my hotel snobbiness (which severely limits the number of hotels I can choose from at any destination), and my years of experience in the travel industry, my brain insist on believing that hotels don’t sell out and rates only go down.
But what makes my inability to book a hotel early so outrageous is that unless you book the pre-paid rate (something I would almost never do) or use a site like priceline, most hotel bookings are 100% refundable up to a few days before arrival. So if I find a hotel that meets criteria, I need to just book it. If I find a better deal or place later, I can just cancel and book again, right? Yes, I am right. So, why am I not listening to myself?
On our way back from Villa Pompano, we’ve decided to visit Disney Animal Kingdom. Duckie loves animals and we think she’s just the right age to take advantage of the majority of attractions in this park. Since Duckie and Hubby will be driving the rest of the way home from Orlando, I wanted to book a hotel for the night before and after our day in the park, so Hubby could be well rested. But a day with nothing for Duckie to do, is a day of torture for all of us. So I had my eye on booking the Disney Swan Hotel (a Westin property) that has its own mini water park on-site. This means a day of water activities for Duckie, followed by a day at Animal Kingdom, and then a nice tired kid for the 15 hour drive home. (You’re welcome Hubby)
But part of this plan requires that the dogs, who are traveling with us (yay! not really) need to be boarded in Orlando. None of the hotels I’m willing to stay at will allow pets. I found a kennel and put Hubby on the job of booking it. Before booking he had to get documentation from the vet. In the week or so that it took for all that to be completed the Disney Swan sold out!
Why on earth did I not just book it while I waited for Hubby to work out the kennel details? That’s what I was saying while smacking myself in the head repeatedly and madly checking every booking site I could think of to see if anyone had a room. I discovered I could get a room through a Costco Travel package but that would require purchasing 3-day all access passes to Disney World. At $1200+ it’s actually a good value for all the options included. But for our one-day park adventure, it was way over budget.
Ultimately, I found that if I changed my dates (to leave Villa Pompano a day earlier :-( ) I could book our two nights at the sister hotel the Disney Dolphin (a Sheraton, not a Westin) which shares the same water park on property. So what did I do? I asked hubby to see if he could change the kennel reservation and I waited until he confirmed the change the next day to book the hotel! (Damn it, when will I ever learn!!!!)
Coming up next, I’m off to Villa Pompano for 2 weeks. I’ll try my hand again at live blogging from my phone and Surface tablet. Apologizing in advance for the typos and other quirks that are bound to occur when I am expected to type on anything other than a normal-sized keyboard. If I’m feeling really adventurous, I’ll start an Instagram account (ha!). But in the meantime, please make sure to like/follow Villa Pompano on Facebook to see the posts. www.facebook.com/villapompano
Travel as a way of life …
Kimya
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Mom of a Stalker STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Family Travel DATE: 07/22/2014 05:00:54 PM ----- BODY:
Duckie is a stalker. And she is a damn good one. No she’s not the cut the letters out of a magazine to write a note type of stalker. She’s just your regular everyday 4.5 year old friendly stalker. You never know where you might encounter her, but she’ll have her eye on you.
I try to plan as many vacations as possible to include a significant amount of time spent with friends who have kids. As a parent to an only child, I do feel obligated to make sure she has access to playmates her own age. Not obligated, like I need to provide her with a sister or a brother (that’s just crazy talk). But obligated to make sure that all of her days aren’t spent tagging along with mommy and daddy.
And while Duckie, is very appreciative of her travel playmates, she has created an awesome stalker system which allows her to find friends anywhere kids can be found. She started her stalking at a very young age. Before she could talk, she spend a lot of time watching. Watching everything and everyone. Not in a casual observer way. More in an “I’ve got my eye on you,” kind of way. At that point in time she might occasionally grunt at you during a particularly long stare.
Once she was able to walk, she became a full time stalker. If she saw a group of kids anywhere, she would run over and make herself a part of the game. Words were not important to her initially. And so, while she didn’t speak many, she also didn’t care if the kids completely ignored her. She just smile and keep pretending she was part of the game. She was and is literally immune to rejection. Her #1 stalker quality.
So now when we vacation and our friends and their kids leave, I never have to worry. We just head to a prime spot like a beach. Stalker Duckie, prioritizes her needs. First she gets a feel for the sand. Then she eats as much food as possible, then she observes. She looks around and makes an account of the available kids. She’ll begin a slow approach. (She used to just run up and say hi, but has since adjusted her methods). She listens in on their conversations. After creeping up, she just stands next to the kid who is usually with his/her family. Then she might say “hi” and smile. If the kid gives and unfavorable reaction (like say running away, screaming or just ignoring her), she moves in on the mom.
Duckie makes her moveShe finds a good opening, like “have you noticed my awesome necklace?” Moms eat this up and her plan is off and running. The mom now thinks, “This is a cute kid, I need to get my kid to be nice to this kid.” The mom will then try to get her kid to play with Duckie. But this is where her stalker tendencies really pay off for me. There are two kinds of moms at the beach, the over-protective mom and me. My stalker child has just found a beach mom. She could care less if her original target kid wants to play with her. She has found a highly capable playmate. In fact, the kid is now jealous of the attention their mom is paying to Duckie. Can you imagine how hard it is for this poor unsuspecting mom to say, “go away kid, I’m busy trying to over-protect my own kid over here.” It will never happened. Because over-protective moms are also, super-sweet, polite, and over-worked moms who can’t do mean things. They are not the slacker moms who sit back in their beach chairs under a nice umbrella laughing as they enjoying their relaxing time at the beach, free of babysitting responsibilities. That’s me!
Travel as a way of life …
--Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Deego EMAIL: IP: 24.103.29.10 URL: DATE: 07/22/2014 05:28:33 PM
So cute.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: What happened to August? STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 08/27/2014 01:29:38 PM ----- BODY:
I’ve had such a great second half of this summer that I haven’t found the time or energy to blog. I’m like the Europeans … I took August off!
All my summer travel is behind me and there’s not much on the fall calendar. But I’m still floating on my summer high. Hopefully the memory of this summer of fun will stay with me through the cold days of winter (not likely, but a girl can dream).
After leaving Villa Pompano at the end of July we headed to Disney World for 2 nights. We limited ourselves to one day of theme parks and chose to spend it at Animal Kingdom. It turns out we made the perfect choice. Duckie, tall for her age, was just the right height to ride all but one of the attractions. Like her dad she loves roller coasters and laughing at her mom while she screams on the roller coaster. The best part for all of us was the Safari. We’d love to go on a real safari in Africa, but that still years away from possible. The Animal Kingdom safari was so beautiful and filled with gorgeous animals that it’s quite easy to trick yourself into thinking it’s the real thing.
African Drumming with Duckie and her band @ Animal KingdomI’d read a theme park tip which said, when you arrive at a theme park in the morning head straight to the furthest area of the park and do those rides first. That advice combined with the 3 fast pass choices provided to users of the Disney mobile app, made for a day filled with lots of fun and very few lines. And the best bonus was the shows. We loved the Lion King show (a thirty minute musical dance extravaganza that includes audience participation).
Simba and Duckie watching the Festival of the Lion KingWe also took advantage of staying at the Disney Dolphin hotel. Duckie collected two new “sisters” from Texas. They helped her find the courage to go down the huge water slide, and then do it again and again and again. As far as she was concerned she now had two new sisters (to add to her collection of friends she promotes to siblings). We also walked the Disney Boardwalk, ate at one of the fancy restaurants while Duckie enjoyed the Kids Club. The great thing about 2 nights of Disney is, you get to leave before you go broke!
We returned home just over a week before my 40th birthday and the celebrations commenced. Hubby surprised me and Duckie with a daycation for my big day. We visited Lambertsville, NJ a quaint town with lots of antique shops and galleries that sits just across from New Hope, PA. The towns are connected by a walkable bridge over the Delaware River. We had a great day of window shopping, strolling around both towns and ended with a river side lunch at the side of the old railroad tracks.
The Shops in Lambertsville
the dividing line
Jumping for joy by the Delaware RiverAnd the crème de la crème of the birthday celebration was a kid-free trip to Montreal with 7 of our closest friends. We spent 5 days in the Paris of the north and it was incredible. This was the second visit for Hubby and me, but we loved it like it was our first. We rented a 10-bedroom house in the suburbs via HomeAway.com. So we had plenty of room to relax, laugh and enjoy each other’s company. Every day we set out for another part of the city and strolled and ate and shopped and ate and then came back to the house and ate. Then we drank and drank and drank. What more could you want from a vacation? Well we had it. A heated pool in the back yard, and a delightful city filled with the friendliest people willing to tolerate our lack of French fluency. I loved walking the streets of this cultural city and can’t wait to go back. I started trying to figure out how we could re-locate there. I don’t have a workable plan, yet. For now I’ve got to start my French lessons.
La Tour, part of the Olympic Stadium in MontrealTravel as a way of life ….
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 108.53.72.102 URL: DATE: 08/28/2014 11:50:24 PM
I hope you've enjoyed your summer...
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Balance What? This is a Juggle! STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 10/20/2014 03:18:49 PM ----- BODY:
Work/Life balance is something I’ve always taken very seriously. Travel isa major part of the life side of the scale. But these last couple of months have gone from balance to juggling. I’ve been attempting to adjust to a new job while continuing my other projects (Villa Pompano, and other real estate), in the midst of Duckie starting a new school, with approximately 1 million school holidays, and celebrating her 5th birthday. And somewhere in there I’d like to retain my status as greatest mom in the world (subject to Duckie’s daily assessment).
All this juggling is driving me insane. At a minimum it cuts into to time I have to blog. At a maximum it’s a travel distraction!
The bright spot is that Hubby really is a team player. He’s picked up my slack and runs emergency drills to clear everyone out of the way when I’m about to blow J. It’s clear, we need a vacation! But that’s easier said than done. A missed day of school for Duckie means more cash out of our pockets (it’s a long explanation but that’s how it works out, miss a day and pay for it). So our travel days for this year are limited to the rare time when her million school holidays line up with days I could take off from work and travel affordably.
Usually, Hubby and I celebrate our anniversary somewhere, anywhere! But this year it falls in the middle of the week, the weekend before we need to attend a college graduation in Florida. So we’ll have to staycation for the anniversary and squeeze a Florida trip in on the weekend and get Duckie back to school ASAP.
But I’ll take it. 2-3 days of sunshine in December is worth it. Especially if this winter in the Northeast shapes up to be anything like the last. So now I’m gonna put this best time to buy theory to the test. Every few months various websites and travel companies come out with predictions about the best time to buy airline tickets. The current prediction is 6 weeks in advance (excluding holiday travel, which should be booked ASAP). This week is 6 weeks before we need to go to Florida. I’ve been waiting to get a sale email from JetBlue, but so far that hasn’t happened. So I’ll book our tickets next week. Then I’ll sign up to receive alerts if the price drops. Since its JetBlue, I’ll be able to call and get a fare credit if the price drops. But I’d really like to see if the 6 weeks idea holds water. I’ll let you know.
In the meantime, somebody go somewhere wonderful and send me a picture!
Travel as a way of life …
-Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 173.63.211.118 URL: DATE: 10/20/2014 03:26:02 PM
Where are you going? Tell me! Tell me!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Shereese Williams EMAIL: IP: 68.34.181.36 URL: DATE: 10/22/2014 10:51:55 AM
I am planning vacation in December also to Florida but hubby may have work issues.
Then in February. But no idea where yet. Love your blog!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya DATE: 10/22/2014 05:55:25 PM
Thanks Shereese!
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Too Bad So Sad STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 10/28/2014 06:15:16 PM ----- BODY:
Last week I said I’d book my Florida flights (6 weeks in advance) and then track the price to see if I’d truly found the sweet spot for getting the best fare. Turns out last week was actually 7 weeks in advance. But I went ahead and booked anyway. I knew if I booked on JetBlue I’d get a credit if the price dropped by any amount during the following week or any time prior to my departure. So I booked 3 round trip tickets from Newark to Ft. Lauderdale for $258 per ticket.
Next, I went to Yapta.com to enter my flight information and the price of my tickets. This is the website that sends me alerts whenever the price of my purchased flight drops. In which case, I would then call JetBlue with that information and cha-ching, a credit is added to my account. At least that’s what used to happen ….
This time, when I put in my flight information, Yapta informed me that I would only receive an alert when the price dropped $75 or more per ticket. Whoa Nellie!! Surely, this was a mistake. I scoured the JetBlue website for info, to no avail. Then I sent this email:
Has your policy on refunds for fare price drops changed? It used to be any drop in price would be eligible for a travel bank credit. According to Yapta.com a $75 decrease is now required. Is that true?A day later, I received this disappointing email from JetBlue customer service:
Dear Kimya,So, my take away is that they never advertised this policy before so they could easily eliminate it at any time. Now is that time. Now they have a new unadvertised policy that will allow me to get credit within 14 days. Surely, that can be eliminated at any time as well. The post-14 day policy is a joke. For an east coast flight to decrease by more than $75, hell would, indeed, have to freeze over.
Thank you for contacting JetBlue. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your message.
While the service of honoring a lower fare wasn't one we've publicized in the past, it's something we've been willing to do upon request. However, we're also operating in a very competitive industry
and made this decision so we can continue offering the value that our customers have come to expect from JetBlue. The things that set us apart from other carriers include the roominess and comfort of our seats, free DIRECTV, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, unlimited snacks and beverages, Fly-Fi, and TrueBlue Points that don't expire.
If you notice a lower fare on your same flight within 14 days of your original booking date, let us know by promptly calling 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583) and we'll be happy to offer you JetBlue credit for
the full difference in fare. If you notice a lower fare 15 days or more after your original booking date, we'll still issue honor the lower fare for a fee of $75 per person.
Thanks again for reaching out to JetBlue. We look forward to future opportunities to serve you for your travel needs.
Sincerely,
Sarah
Customer Commitment
JetBlue Airways
Crewmember 08258
I’m still watching the fares, so I know just how pissed off to be. This change in policy is not enough to make me “quit” JetBlue. Mostly because, all the airlines suck and JetBlue still sucks less than the others. As their email points out, I will still get unlimited snacks, on-board tv, and free baggage. Sadly, that’s enough to make an airline #1 in 2014.
But that doesn’t mean, I’m not keeping my eyes open. This month’s Consumer Reports magazine rates Southwest as the “Best Airline for Flight Switchers.” That’s because, most airlines will allow you to cancel your flight for no-fee within 24 hours of purchase. But Southwest will let you change your itinerary at any time for only the difference in fare (no change fee). Now that’s a big deal. I wonder if this is an unadvertised policy … hmmm? Alas, on the same page, Consumer Reports lists Southwest as the airline with the worst on-time arrivals record.
The search for an airline to love, continues. As does the quest to save, save, save (and travel, travel, travel)!
Travel as a way of life…
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 173.63.211.118 URL: DATE: 10/28/2014 06:20:09 PM
Do you have a favorite airline? What makes them so great?
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Miracles Can Happen STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 0 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 11/10/2014 08:41:26 PM ----- BODY:
Quick post to let you know miracles can happen. Even on Halloween!
In my previous post, I shared my disappointment that JetBlue had changed its travel credit policy. It now requires that changes in price happen within 14 days to receive a credit and after that time the change in price must be over $75. I figured all hope was lost.
I became even more dismayed, when I realized that the alert I’d set on Yapta.com would only activate when the price dropped more than $75 (because Yapta tracks prices for purchased tickets based on the published airline rules). When I went to Yapta.com to change my alert to a fare watcher for a non-purchased ticket. I noticed that my fare had dropped on pair of flights I had previously been watching. Since one of the flights I actually booked was included in this pair, I called JetBlue immediately.
Imagine my delight when I called on that 11th day after booking (Halloween) and was told my flights had dropped in price by $71.78. Whoo hooo! Multiply that by three tickets and Momma just saved $215!
The time to check the price and complete the call was approximately 5 minutes. If only I could find a job that earned me nearly $45 a minute, maybe then I’d have my own private jet.
Travel as a way of life ...
Kimya
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Kimya EMAIL: contact@villapompano.com IP: 173.63.211.118 URL: DATE: 11/10/2014 08:44:32 PM
Still jumping for joy over my savings. Please share any great savings you have discovered.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Frank Morris EMAIL: IP: 74.102.233.97 URL: http://frankmorris.pdiform.com/ DATE: 11/12/2014 01:43:02 AM
Anybody who can keep up with all of that deserves a hefty refund. XXXXX my favorite booking agent in chief Kfabulous
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Discount Double Check STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 01/14/2015 09:38:36 PM ----- BODY:
If, like me, you’ve spent the last 18+ weekends watching football then you’ve probably been inundated with commercials from life insurance companies and their jingles (We are Farmers, bum bada bum bum bum bum; Nationwide is on your side/Chicken parm you taste so good). Perhaps that’s how the idea of the (State Farm) discount double check got into my subconscious.
Last month we went to Villa Pompano for a long weekend to celebrate my cousin’s college graduation. I’d already done well by getting the great travel credit from JetBlue when the price of my tickets dropped. But just days before leaving I randomly decided to double check my car rental. I’d reserved through Costco more than a month prior. I went back to the Costco site and search my same travel dates and found that all the cars were now less than half the price. My $200 rental was now $80! I was able to cancel and rebook at no charge. Cha ching!!
Duckie enjoying one of her approximately 140 jumps into the pool
One of multiple attempts to get a usable Christmas card photo while in FloridaThis weekend, Hubby and I are headed to Greenwich, Connecticut for a belated anniversary weekend. I booked about 2 weeks ago on one of my favorite sites for hotels worldwide, booking.com. They typically offer the best rates, many of which don’t require payment at the time of booking. Our two night stay at the beautiful Hyatt Regency was only costing $262 plus tax.
My reservation allowed me to cancel up until 24 hours in advance. First I did a new search on booking.com, but the prices were $50 higher than my original booking. Then I checked the Hyatt site (because you should always check the company website especially when booking airline tickets, many benefits are not available to you when you book elsewhere). At first the rates appeared similar to what I’d booked. Then I saw an option to check rates for AAA members (which don’t come up in the regular search). Sure enough I was able to book the same room with daily buffet breakfast for two for $10 less per night!
So from this day forth, may you never settle for the rate originally booked until all options have been explored a few days before departure. This is my travel wish for you.
Travel as a way of life ….
Kimya
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Shrimp Etoufee is Calling STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Travel Planning DATE: 02/24/2015 04:13:59 PM ----- BODY:
Like everyone else I am so over this winter. I spent last spring, summer and fall becoming the type of person who enjoys being outdoors (not the dirty parts). Making walking 10k step or more per day outside my daily exercise. I bought a new bike in hopes of finally being able to ride a bike up even the tiniest of hills (I’ve yet to succeed at this). And when I took on a new job this fall, I knew time would be hard to come by. So, I let go of my membership at the YMCA and researched the right gear for winter outdoor exercise.
Well, you know the best laid plans … I have actually walked in 20 degree weather with snow falling. You can’t quite power walk when your hat is the size of a small animal and doesn’t allow for peripheral vision, and your coat is nicknamed “The Beast”. But I did walk. I had motivating destinations like Starbucks, and Starbucks, and sometimes Starbucks. But after weeks and weeks of escalating cold, horrid winds and streets covered in ice, that dream is deferred. So after weeks of indoor treadmills and Wii Zumba, I need a new dream. A destination dream (the best kind). I’ve got my eyes set on New Orleans!
I’ve been to New Orleans four times before and if I could I’d have gone many more. But its been about 15 years since my last visit. I tried to finagle a trip last year to see the Jay-Z/Beyonce concert but couldn’t pull off making that the family trip it needed to be, so we ended up at Disney. But this year, I’m all over it. Duckie is attending a Jewish school this year and as a result her spring break falls over Passover instead of Easter. Yeah for us because this means less travelers to compete with for flights and hotels. But its New Orleans, so like Vegas, its never truly low season.
I went to work selecting flight pairs on yapta a couple of weeks ago. At the time the fares were as low as $227 per person for direct flights, but required departing on the latest flight and returning on the earliest. If you know Hubby like I do (I hope you don’t), he will rise at 3 am for a day of dog training or hunting. But he considers flying early to be inhumane. So I added a bunch of flights with more favorable times, but higher fares, to my trips to be tracked. I then checked the calendar to see when I would be in the sweet spot for fares 6 weeks out. That spot was this past weekend.
In the two weeks prior, fares doubled and rose even higher. I held my breath and told myself to trust in the process (traveler mantra). Because I’d already told Hubby I could bring this trip in at about $1500 (air and hotel), It would be a no go if my 6 weeks prior gamble didn’t pay off. And I’d be home shoveling snow for spring break :-(
Airfares one week agoLow and behold, Sunday morning I awoke to a price alert from Yapta telling me the fare had gone down to $236 for itineraries with return flights during normal waking hours. I pounced.
History of fares for preferred flight pairIn the end I paid $257 per ticket for two reasons:
1. I opened the email a few hours after I got it, so I may have missed out on some seats.
2. When I did my initial search I only search for 1 seat instead of 3. So my saved searches were looking for the lowest fare for one seat. As you may know those airlines love to put just a few seats on sale for the lowest price and then gradually bump up the price for the next set of seats. So to get 3 seats together they all have to been at the same price (price gouging airline rule), and that price was $257. If I’d had more time, I could have booked one seat at $236 and then gone back to book the other two at $257, but I didn’t have the time or patience to play that game on that day.
Still It’s a pretty great deal for direct flights from/to Newark airport. Man I miss the days of Duckie being a lap baby :-(
Fares as of today. The sweet spot has passed and fares are back on the rise----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Good Food in the Big Easy STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: To Do CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 04/13/2015 04:02:46 PM ----- BODY:
OMG! I needed a vacation. Last month was one of the roughest months I’ve had in a long time. Work was actually driving me insane. So our trip to New Orleans, planned for Duckie’s spring break, came just in time.
We didn’t go to Villa Pompano because it was already booked by guests. At first, I was bummed, because that meant spending more money. But in reality, it’s the best thing that could have happened. We needed a vacation where we wouldn’t be tempted to lift a finger. When we go to Villa Pompano, we can’t help ourselves. We seek out things to fix and upgrade. But our trip to New Orleans was a REAL vacation and we loved every moment (well almost).
Our 5 day break was jam packed with family fun. Quite different from my previous trips to New Orleans. Approximately 15-20 years ago, I visited at least 3 times, with non-family fun intentions J But it turns out, I had just as much fun if not more this time around. Hubby had never been before, and initially, I thought there might be a lot of repeat tourism in the deal for me. But I was wrong. I saw a whole other New Orleans. Partly, because I hadn’t been post-Katrina. And also because I was seeking out different activities.
I think the best approach is to break it down by categories:
Food - Eating was our primary vacation activity in New Orleans. It wasn’t surprising. One of the reasons I booked a room at a hotel instead of a vacation home, is because it would be sinful to cook in a city with so much delicious food available at every turn. We could easily go for another 5 days and still not have sampled all of the popular dishes. Here’s what we had:
Beignets, beignets and still more beignets – if I’m being honest, this is why I wanted to come to New Orleans. I do know how to cook these delicious squared fried donuts topped with lots of powdered sugar, but I’m pretty sure there is something in the air or the water that makes them extra good in the Big Easy.
We had them at the café in City Park, Morning Call. A cash only business which only has about 5 other things on the menu. Here our order was just warm instead of piping hot. They were tasty but not where you would want to take a person who’s never had one before.
The next day we found a spot around the corner from our hotel. It was a coffee bar in the Renaissance hotel, the New Orleans Coffee & Beignet Company. We wanted hot and we got it. We struggled not to burn our fingers and we ate these double sized and delicious treats.
On day three, we decided to go for the undisputed king of beignets, Café Du Monde. They’ve been making them since the 1800’s. They should have it down to a science, and they do. The line always runs out the door and down the block, but it moves quickly as customers come in and seat themselves at one of the many café tables. Like Morning Call, this is also a cash only business. I found it ironic that in 2016 a thriving food and tourism business could operate on a cash only basis and not be run by the mob. The second surprising thing was the wait staff. The majority of the waitresses/busser were clearly eligible to receive social security. And this wasn’t easy work. It was non-stop, taking orders, bringing orders, taking cash and clearing tables. But they did it quickly, while sporting various wigs and covered in powdered sugar. Our waitress, seemed to be out to lunch! She disappeared for at least 15 minutes after delivering our order, and when she reappeared she still did not return to us. We were waiting to pay and to exchange the incorrect coffee she’d given hubby. Eventually, her co-worker noticed her absence and sent her over. I gave her a $20 she gave me change and then walked away leaving the $20 on the table! But you can’t cheat an old lady (I’ll be one sooner than I know), so we chased her down with the cash. Despite the questionable service the beignets were delicious and hot. What Café Du Monde has that the others don’t is a thick egg flavored doughy center. Yum!
waiting for our waitress at Cafe Du MondeOn our last day we had a big decision to make. Try an untested spot for our daily beignets or go back to what we know is good? We found the middle ground. Instead of returning to the flagship Café Du Monde, we went to the one in the outlet mall. No lines, and our beignets were pulled out of the fryer right in front of me. The cook then proceeded to smother them in powdered sugar. Talk about hot, fresh and delicious! We saved the best for last. Who knew the best place for fresh beignets would be the mall.
The Other Food – yes, those are the two categories in my mind. Beignets and other food. But the other food was mostly fantastic:
Mulates – Warehouse district – recommended by the hotel for an inexpensive Cajun lunch. I had Crawfish Etoufee and Hubby had Seafood Gumbo. It was just OK.
Grand Isle Restaurant in the Harrah’s pavilion – nice seafood restaurant where I had a delicious gourmet grilled shrimp po boy (sandwich) and Hubby enjoyed raw oysters will Duckie dinned on Mac & Cheese.
Ernst Cafe – Warehouse district - was a small bar with outside seating across the street from the hotel. I had low expectations but had a delicious grilled catfish and Hubby had a yummy catfish po boy.
Annunciation –Warehouse district - this may have been our best dinner. A small restaurant we found on Opentable.com. We tried sweetbread which was described as veal meat from the neck area. It was a yummy appetizer. Next I had a pan fried flounder topped with crab meat and Hubby had a pork shoulder with jalapeno BBQ sauce. And we wrapped it up with mango sorbet and butter scotch custard. Everything exceeded our expectations.
SweetbreadPalace Café – French Quarter -this was the largest and least impressive restaurant at which we ate. It’s on Canal Street and seems to attract a large crowd of tourist, business diners and some locals. I had a very juicy Cajun spiced steak and Hubby had a good baked chicken. We had no complaints, but here was just nothing special to write home about.
Today’s Cajun Seafood – located just at the perimeter of the top of the French Quarter, this was by far the least fancy place we went. It was more like a buffet/carry out. But it was hands down the best food. We ordered 4 lbs. of crawfish and two large pieces of cornbread. We hopped a cab to the riverfront and commenced to peeling and eating, and peeling and eating. Oh it was so good. If you’ve never had crawfish, its reason enough to visit New Orleans, but you have to get it from a local (non-tourist) spot to get the best flavor and value. The cornbread was equally as good. I’m happy we didn’t buy more, because there would be no way to stop eating.
Duckie, The official food inspector
The Crawfish AftermathEmeril’s – for our last dinner, we headed to the restaurant owned by the renowned chef. Here too, the cornbread was super delicious. I started off with uniquely flavored steam mussels and hubby had an oyster stew. Both were good. Then we order the fried chicken entrée that serves two. The menu says it comes with all the fixin’s. The fixins were crawfish, corn on the cob, potatoes and andoullie sausage. And the chicken was a cut up whole chicken. Very yummy but too much for us to finish in one sitting, so it was also the next day’s lunch.
That was a lot! In my next blog, I tell you what we did, besides eat.
Travel as a way of life ….
-Kimya
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: A Not So Wild Weekend in Florida STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 06/29/2015 12:45:33 PM ----- BODY:
I’m writing this while on the flight back from the bachelorette weekend planned to celebrate my cousin’s last weekend of single-hood. The three of us (the bride-to-be, her sister and me) were continuing the tradition of our annual girls’ weekend. Only this time with a little extra incentive to make it memorable.
I spent more time than I would have liked searching for flights from the New York Metro area to Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach (both convenient to Villa Pompano). Prices have sky-rocketed and I have no idea why. It wasn’t a situation where choosing another weekend would have produced more favorable fares. I’m having the same struggle finding similar flights for my family trip in August. Alas, I decided to fly out of LaGuardia airport for the significantly lower fare, but this meant a greater commuting hassle. As I was booking I realized I had about $200 in my JetBlue travel bank (credits from previous fare decreases) and was able to book my itinerary for under $100 out of pocket. That was great!
A few days before leaving, I began searching for parking options at LaGuardia and quickly realized that I could easily spend $100+ to park for 3 night trip. Ugh! That’s just the kind of stress I’m trying to avoid in life. Travel should be pleasurable not an added stress. In the end, I was fortunate to lend my mom my car and have her drop me at the airport. But that still required me to leave the house 5 hours before my departure time to make the plan work (she lives in Brooklyn, I live in New Jersey). Naturally after all that hassle, our flight sat on the run way for an extra hour or so before take-off!
However, the flight crew was great and helped celebrate the occasion by announcing to the passengers that we had a bride-to-be onboard and giving us complimentary champagne. (Ok, it was really cheap sparkling wine which I later threw up, but it’s the thought that counts right?!). We landed too late to head out for drinks as planned. So we picked up our rental car, and headed to Villa Pompano. (Pause, to mention our 3 night car rental was only $62 for a full size vehicle, booked at the Costco website!)
Cheers!Our first full day was mostly spent pool side. After stocking up on snacks and breakfast foods at the grocery store, relaxation was the name of the game. Then we draped the bride-to-be in tacky bachelorette accessories and headed to Bonefish Grill for some tasty seafood, delicious bread and sangria. Next stop was the all-male review “Hunk-o-Mania” in Miami. It could easily have been called the comedy hour and we should have gotten a senior citizen discount. We were certainly the oldest of the crowd, which was comprised exclusively by bachelorette parties. As such, we also logged the most complaintsJ! So the scam works like this. You pay $25 for tickets on a website. Then you receive an email telling you there is an additional 2 drink minimum ($20 or $25 for premium liquor), cash only. Upon arrival you pay that $20 at the door and are told that you pay the bartender an additional $2 per drink at the bar when you order your premium drink. But at the bar, the bartender says no its $4 per premium drink. Mayhem ensues, bartender has hissy fit, ultimately gives me drink with no additional fee (Yay middle age women, wearing them down). Then the bathroom is conveniently out of soap, but the attended offers to sell a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer for the low low price of $1. And finally, the less than attractive “hunks” walk around making sure everyone has all the single dollar bills they could possibly need. VIP section ($35 additional) brides to be are called to the stage individually to receive their dance from one of the “hunks”. But first their friends are instructed to cover the girl in dollars. So basically, it’s a comedy show! Sex appeal – zero. Fun of being able to appreciate the comedy of life and not stress – Ten.
Bachelorette Accessorized
Car AccessorizedSaturday, was nearly a wash out as rain-storm after rain storm passed over us. But by late afternoon the skies cleared and we got in pool time as well as a nice lobster dinner at Sea Watch restaurant with beautiful beach view. We capped off the evening with wine and cheese pool-side.
Sunday, was predetermined. For us, a weekend at Villa Pompano means brunch at the W Fort Lauderdale. And as always it was delicious. The very best crab cake, I’ve ever had; A delicious Bellini and a fluffy stack of pancakes. Yum, yum, yum. From there a walk to Starbucks and then across the street of spend an hour on the beach before preparing to head to the airport.
Getting it inAll in all a wonderful relaxing and entertaining weekend celebrating our sisterhood and the fantastic married life that awaits my Frousin (Friend + Cousin = Frousin).
--Kimya
Travel as a way of life ...
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Austin EMAIL: pompanocarpetcleaning@gmail.com IP: 27.252.150.174 URL: http://www.carpetcleaningpompanobeach.net/ DATE: 09/26/2016 02:45:32 AM
looks like you had great fun.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Sick-cation STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 CATEGORY: Vacation DATE: 08/27/2015 06:04:03 PM ----- BODY:
For months (8 to be exact) I looked forward to our August trip to Villa Pompano. I had a lot riding on this trip. I spent the last year working at the wrong job and strung myself along to the end of my contract by focusing on our lengthy summer vacation at our home away from home in south Florida. I am a planner by nature. Most people (including Hubby) think it’s a control thing. While I do like taking control of my own destiny. I mostly plan to have something to look forward to. This is especially true when it comes to travel.
When I worked full time in offices (aka corporate jails), I worked hard, sometimes harder than I should have. But every work day completed was one day closer to vacation. I capitalized on long weekends and holidays to make my meager vacation days stretch in to international trip worthy stints. And the worst days of the year, were the last day of vacation spent anticipating my return to the work place. This would be true no matter how much I loved a job. Ok I never LOVED a job, but I’ve like a few, for a while …..
It’s just the way I’m wired. Looking forward to a trip, road trip, domestic or international travel, is always my light at the end of the tunnel. When I’m in a funk I start planning. If money is tight, I look closer to home, examine options for using frequent flyer miles, coupons, or anything else I can think of. Except credit. Charging a trip I couldn’t afford would only begin a vicious downward spiral.
So, after 8 months of watching the light at the end of the tunnel grow brighter and brighter. I came into my last 2 weeks of work. And typically, I worked more in those last two weeks than in any other two weeks during the year. I have a habit of doing too much to make employers happy at the end of my tenure. So I burnt myself out getting everything done, giving marathon training sessions and driving long distance. I did all this plus an ambitious charity drive (another thing that brings me joy) while ignoring a sore throat, which led to inconsistent laryngitis and eventually a sinus infection. But I soldiered on.
Only after my last day, did I consider tending to my illness. With my flight to Fort Lauderdale just a week away, I decided flying with sinus pressure and pain was not a good idea. (I have flown with strep throat before and cried involuntarily through the entire 5 hour flight.) So I called a telephone doctor service offered by my insurance company. Because it was convenient not to try to get a doctor’s appointment during those busy days. But honestly, mostly because it’s free! Cheap Charlies beware. I told the doc my stomach had been sensitive to antibiotics prescribed in the past few years by the dermatologist and the dentist. He said ok and prescribed something called Augmentin. What is this? An antibiotic combined with an acid. The acid aids in the killing of the bacteria. In short, it makes the Amoxicillin in the drug more effective. Sound great right? Wrong!
2 days after I started taking the medication I was out shopping for school supplies (again) for Operation Backpack. Shall we say I made frequent use of the public restrooms? By the time I came home, I was a bathroom regular. Over the next few days, I had intense muscle soreness and cramping, stomach pain and naturally no energy. My diet was reduced to approximately 1 piece of toast a day and a couple of crackers. I foolishly finished my meds and figured it would pass. 6 days later when it had not. I called back the telephone doctor service and with my luck got the same doctor who prescribed a fix. I began taking that and praying frequently. My flight was in just 3 days. The medicine took away the pain, but nothing else. I was able to fly and meet Duckie and Hubby (who drove down) in Pompano Beach. Praises, for short flights with on-time departures!
But upon arrival, I continued to decline. Ultimately going to an urgent care clinic for testing. Eventually, I was diagnosed with C. Diff. An intestinal infection caused by over aggressive/un-needed use of antibiotics. And bonus, common in nursing homes – the location of my aforementioned training work.
So of my 16 days at Villa Pompano on only 4 of them was I healthy enough to enjoy that light at the end of the tunnel. Through my illness I had ridiculously low energy. I watched Hubby paint all the bedrooms, wheel barrow and insane amount of mulch and repair all manner of things from gutters to fences to trimming palm trees. He was super-handy man. A title he had not previously been associated with. I made runs to the home improvement store, tried to entertain ducky briefly, but mostly all I could do was keep him company until I ultimately passed out on the couch mid-day. The first few days of our trip my BFF flew in from Atlanta with his kids. This was a blessing as it kept Duckie busy and happy. But honestly, I couldn’t even tell you what happened when they were there. :-(
My sick-cation was a real blow to my tunnel light. After so many months of focusing on the singular goal of an intimate, extended family vacation. It was all slipping away. The medication to treat the infection (my 3rd medication in this saga) is 3 large bitter pills a day for 10 days. The side effects include a metallic taste that causes many things, especially water, to taste horrible; low energy, dry mouth or in my case cough, and a kind of nauseated dizziness. The day I took my last pill was long awaited. That’s the day I started my vacation.
First we headed for the beach. When Pompano Beach was too crowded because it was a Saturday, we headed north to explore. We discovered the costal mansions and intercostal yachts of Hillsboro Inlet. The Palm Beach of Broward County. Just at its boarder we discovered a nice quite beach behind the Embassy Suites on Deerfield Beach. The water temperature was 86! My light was getting brighter.
Duckie on Deerfield Beach
Me trying to capture the yachts and mansions of Hillsboro (and failing)On Sunday, we joined our favorite cruising couple, the captain and his gorgeous wife, aboard the Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas for lunch and caching up. We lucked up as they were docked in Ft. Lauderdale for the day. Duckie got to play with her three beloved British playmates and ice cream/sorbet was enjoyed by all. Plus I got to show of my 10 pounds lighter figure in my skinny white jeans. (Everything has an upside even 3 weeks of infection!!)
Duckie and Friends on The Independence of the SeasMonday, Duckie and I went décor shopping and then returned to decorate the newly painted room with new wall art and bedding. After we had a long overdue celebration for Hubby’s birthday (I was sick for both of our birthdays). Using a Living Social deal we ended up at a lovely French seafood restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, called Sea. The owner/hostess was darling and the food was fantastic, including my fav escargot prepared French provincial style with tomatoes and herbs stewed in with the garlic and butter. YUMM!
Decor shoppingAnd for our last day we waited eagerly for plumbing work to be completed and new cable TV to be installed before dashing out to be gluttonous. We got our Pollo Tropical on. We got our Starbucks on. We got our Krispy Crème on and then we topped that off with frozen yogurt on Las Olas (another shop that always has a good Living Social promotions). We came home for some laps and laughs in the pool (Duckie is on point to outswim us all by next summer) and then headed back out for double lobster tails at Outback. Whew, that was New Orleans level eating.
Resuming our tradition of Friday girl's date @ StarbucksFinally, it was time to pack up and prepare to leave. But I didn’t have my normal end of vacation back to work blues. Partly, because I’m not going back to work. (Yay !!! … for now) And because there are new lights at the end of my tunnel. Duckie is starting first grade in a new school. And while always a nice milestone for parents, this is actually the commencement of a plan and a bit of luck that Hubby and I had to put in place years in advance to have come to fruition. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say we are delighted that we were able to get Duckie to be in the perfect place at the perfect time for her to see many many lights along the tunnel of her life.
Travel as a way of life …
Kimya
P.S. While I was sick I planned an all-inclusive wedding anniversary trip to the Dominican Republic for $600!
----- -------- AUTHOR: Kimya TITLE: Relax-cember STATUS: Publish ALLOW COMMENTS: 1 DATE: 12/13/2015 07:44:37 PM ----- BODY:
My day so far: slept in, walked over to breakfast then over to beach, relaxed on beach with cocktails for a few hours, took a dip in the ocean followed by more relaxing, walked over to lunch, sat pool-side sipping a cocktail while hubby napped, at sports bar sipping another cocktail and writing this while waiting for the football game to be put on the big screen. Plans for the rest of my day: go back to beach after watching a bit of the Jets and/or Seahawks game, sip more cocktails while there, shower and change for dinner/beach party.
Whew, not exhausting! I cannot remember the last time my day consisted of relaxing on the beach. Because, really, that was the only thing on my agenda today. The kid is with the grandparents, work and the rest of real life is back in the US and we are here in the Dominican Republic celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary by doing a whole lot of nothing. And it’s easier said than done. We don’t really do nothing. The last time I tried to do nothing we were in Cuba at a beach-front resort and I was bored out of my mind. Most of our travel is to cities, anywhere in the world. We like the opportunity to explore new places, see the different downtowns and markets, try out new restaurants and see the sites. Relaxation is not typically the primary focus of a Nilsen family vacation. And that is by design. I really couldn’t do this for days on end. But on this occasion, I decided to succumb to the forced relaxation.
We are at an all –inclusive resort in Puerto Plata, DR. You’re options are to eat, drink, and lay on the beach. (Ok, there may be more options, but I don’t have the energy to seek them out) In the time that we’ve been together, we’ve been to 4 all-inclusive Caribbean resorts. Two were for weddings (one of those was ours) and two times it was just us. The times we went with a group for a wedding we had a great time. The times it was just us, I struggled a lot more not to be bored. “If you’re bored you’re a boring person,” that’s what mom’s tell their children, right? Well, I’m not buying it. We both work from home (at least for the next few weeks) so when we go on vacation, it’s not our chance to say all the things we never had time to say at home. We’ve already said those things. So if we can’t explore, or meet new people, I get bored.
However, I made a commitment to myself as I sat at the Thanksgiving dinner I spent three days preparing, I would make sure this December would be my most calm and relaxing holiday season yet. One year I stressed myself out so much attempting to make the best Christmas for Duckie, I found myself in the ER on Christmas Day. Lesson learned. But still is very easy to get caught up in running the school holiday giving drive, coordinating Secret Santa, going to see Santa and the Rockettes and the Rockefeller Christmas tree, baking cookies, holiday shopping and all the other added holiday tasks. I’m still doing all those things, just without the intensity and anxiety that usually accompanies them. For example, we arrived exactly after the Christmas tree was lit at our town lighting. Normally this would send me into fits of controlled rage. This year, I just walked around and looked for friends and neighbors to whom I could say hello and then we made a little Starbucks stop before walking home, content.
So, we head home tomorrow after a morning on the beach. And when I arrive I will keep in my mind the image of me relaxing (sometimes reading, sometimes, knitting, sometimes sleeping and sometimes staring out into the horizon) on the beach and continue to strive for that tranquility in my daily life.
Speaking of changes, I’ve decided that there are more topics I’d like to discuss with you than just travel. So shortly I’ll be changing to a new blog Busy Mom Kimya. There I’ll discuss the myriad of things that contribute to the life of Busy Mom Kimya (a name gifted upon me) and all those things that interest and fascinate me. Stay tuned and Happy Relax-cember!
Travel as a way of life ….
Kimya
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