slidergirl

Good luck! if you can't get into your cabin right away, take the time to do the wonderful walk on the riverside promenade!

Sherri - welcome back from your travels. Sorry to hear about your dad. It is hard to see a parent lose a bit of themselves. Glad that I gave you a chuckle with my SC photo. The lone security guard behind the fencing said there have been a lot of people coming by to take 'dissent' photos. A tad ironic (and hypocritical) that the motto on the face of the Court entrance says 'Equal Justice Under Law.' Apparently, the Capitol building is no longer under fear as no fencing around and you can walk right up to it now. There were a couple of "Police Line Do Not Cross" fence pieces laying on the ground here and there, almost like a historical reminder of what happened. Woke up at 4:30am to the sweet scent of eau du skunk... When your bedroom window is open, the damage is done by the time you smell it... On the cruise fashion front, Faherty is having a sale and some of the Isha dress colors are on sale at $99. It is the dress that turned me into a dress wearer and saved my body from melting away in the scorching European heat. I have no plans for today. So, I'm hanging out in joggers and a Tshirt.

I bought a pair of Olu Kai Pehuea Li mesh sneakers to take to Europe. Now that i'm back, I will say that they were perfect right of the box. I alternated between them and the Pilahi hi top sneakers. Over the month that I split beteeen France and Italy, i put a lot of mileage on both. No blisters, no rubs, just comfy. The pehuea has the extra feature of being able to turn down the heel piece, turning it into a mule. That heel piece is like a neoprene so it will mold to your heel. I give them a hearty 2 thumbs up. And, they come in size 11 & 12.

did they give you a specific address as quai des Chartons is the riverfront drive/scenic walkway. when i was there a month ago, i did take a photo from near Quincones that had ship in the background. As I walked the riverfront I got to the ship. There were flags for Viking, but it was not a Viking ship. It was the AMA Amadolce.

what day would this be? on saturdays AIX has a wonderful open air market on Cours Marabou and an antique market on sundays same spot. i stayed in an apartment on the cours in july, next to Pizza papa and Cafe Nino. Plenty of people watching. I ate some breakfast lunch and dinner at nino and once for dinner at pizza papa. Back behind Cours marabou are some wonderful little streets to wander and window shop. I wasn't feeling all that good when i was in AIX plus the heat was oppressive so I didn't do much wandering in AIX itself.

My month in France & Italy was a 3-shoe trip. Wore my Merrell trail runners on the plane, packed my olu kai hi-tops and olu kai mesh low-tops. Ended up only wearing the merrells once, when we went to the horse/bull ranch from the canal barge. I shipped them home, along with some other things I bought, so I'd have room in my carry on. The low-tops were perfect for walking around and wearing with dresses. The hi-tops were also perfect for walking around and wearing with certain dresses. For my 12 day trip to both US Coasts for a girls weekend in So. CA and a wedding in S.Central PA with a day wandering around Washington DC. I had 3 pairs of shoes. Wore my Olu kai hi-tops on all the flights I had (3). I wore the hi-tops and the Olu kai low tops day and night everywhere, as there were no dresses involved. For the wedding, I brought my tan cowgirl booties to wear with the dress I brought. in the end, I could have left the low tops at home. I do have a nice pair of leather flats laying around, but they always seem to be too dressy for my usual clothes or not dressy enough. if I still worked at my last 2 hotel Front Desks, they would be great. I'm just not a sandal or heel person - no heels because of my reconstructed ankle and no sandals because I just don't like them (never have).

Oh man, I wish they had this sale 3 month ago! I saw a bunch of Allbirds (or shoes that looked like them) in Europe this summer. The runners are always highly rated.

Cynthia: I know you tend to want to stay within the Centro for your dinner. In case you want to venture out farther, I do suggest trying Da Cesare al Casaletto. It's a 1/2 block or so from the last #8 tram (Not the bus), which is Caasaletto. pick up the #8 tram at Largo Argentino. Homey atmosphere, solid food. peruse the website. The "menu' on there does not have all the offerings but gives an idea of they have.

@laurspag I use packing cubes regardless of what bag i'm using. i just like the extra organization I get with them. mine are very lightweight and don't have any hard edges so they can adapt and get squished into whatever space they can fit. inside the clamshell of the Allpa, one side has a mesh zippered covering to keep everything in place and the other size has 3 divided up sections, each with the similar mesh coverings. So, things are not moving around any more than in my hard side.

melody - wow. sorry to hear this. i hope your test results are clear!

Rentals may be in the same boat (pun intended) as hotels. Very minimal income during the pandemic, so they are big in competing with hotels for business. Just from my condos - during the pandemic we didn't see many guest rentals at all. Owners came and stayed to avoid COVID in their areas or they'd send family members to quarantine. yes, we had college-age kids of owners show up to stay for quarantine - we'd put the keys in the condo, unlock the door, and they'd go up the garage elevator to their unit and no one had any contact. How they got to town was not our business...

If you like Wool&, you'll like Woolx. I've had shirts from there for a good 4-5 years now and are still in good shape. I bought my LBTD (Little Black Travel Dress) from there, too. It saved me big time when I wore it to the Andrea Bocelli concert - a clear and HOT afternoon/evening that had a walk down and up a hill to the venue! I also sweated like I didn't know I could sweat on this trip and my Woolx things worked perfectly to not make me feel all slimy.

Anita - as the resident bag 'sl*t", I did have the Motherlode and Jr. I donated them. The Allpa has a side zipper that lets you slip into the one side without opening up the clamshell. I haven't done the "surprise me" yet - I either buy at one of our two brick & mortar stores here down in the Valley or I select something from the bags shown. yes, it doesn't come with a carry strap, but, if you have one laying around ( or buy one in the San Lorenzo market in Florence for 10EU), you can clip one on using 2 of the lash points. This is what I did with the Marabeles duffle I packed. I just now put it on the Allpa and did a few pics for you to visualize. This is the 35L one it just looks little. The strap I actually did buy in the market. I'll just rotate it among bags as needed. The big colorful staps were for sale all over the market and I saw them on just small purses all over France and Italy - a fashion trend, i guess. I'm a bit jealous of your trip to Glacier NP. I may miss any camping this year ☹️ Glacier NP is on my short list of road trips - maybe next year. Be sure to have your bear bell with you!!!

@LindaD22 - Thanks for the clarification. I was looking at just Brooklyn, not Brooklyn Heights. The ladies can telll you I was doing exhaustive searching for clothes that I needed/wanted but didn't have for my trip. I may have passed on Heights because it is high waist (not a good fit on me) and has a split seam on the bottom. Good to know that this is an excellent fit for others. Athleta is usually the first place I look for clothes. My clothes adventure over the Spring and early Summer did lead me to some new sites to buy things. Pact, Saint and Sofia, Faherty, Liverpool have been added to my list (Athleta, Woolx, Outdoor Voices, Prana) and add a little "spiff" to my usual jeans/leggings & Tshirt wardrobe.

Wow, how did I miss recommending Pizzarium????? Serious brain fog. I got off the Metro at the Cipro stop - Pizzarium is across the street. From there, I walked up to the Vatican Museums. It's about a 10 minute walk.

Well, after a week in the hospital in Siena, 2 surgeries when i got back home, 3 months in casts, a year of rehab, I can do almost everything. It ended up a little weird at the ankle, so my foot splays out like a duck. I notice it all the time when i walk and stuff, but no one else would notice it.

I just looked online again - the ankle pant in black does show that stripe. Looks like it could be about an inch wide. Black on black it may not be as noticable. Where are the full-length ones? All I saw were the ankle pants.

To be honest, I've never seen a tour bus anywhere near the Centro Storico in Florence, i was just there a couple of weeks ago the last time. There isn't much room anywhere for a minivan, let alone a bus. For kicks, I just looked up "hoho bus Florence' to see what was offered. There actually is one, but it runs out the outskirts of the city, not in the centro. I looked at the details for your excursion and, as usual, it's pretty sparse on actual details. If you want more walking than bussing, may i suggest you do the 'on your own' excursion where they give you the bus to/from and then you set your own places to walk to and see.

hmmm. That's probably the only one of my usual places that i have always made the res online. maybe it's changed. Or, all those dates are already filled or not opened up yet.., i just played around with the site and also the ResDiary site. Looks like things may be filled up. or the website is wonky. i used to do it via email which popped up if you asked to make a reservation. Times change, I guess. it wouldn't hurt to try to call.

hope @cruisemom42 knows any of these as I have not dined at any of them. To add to your list, I have eaten at these near Campo di Fiore and recommend them: Roscioli Emma pizzeria (don't let the name fool you - they have much more than that) Both are upscale-casual places that I would say are moderately priced. you can look them up on the 'net. Boh require reservations as far in advance as you can do.

Oh, i've been to Montalcino. had several Brunellos by the glass there. it's also where i shattered my leg while hiking one of the trails through the vineyards...

Melody - it's Kavu for that sling bag. I had one to use after I had shoulder surgery years ago. much more comfortable than doing the 1-shoulder backpack thing. Anita - I like a clamshell carryon that isn't a roller for when I camp. Easy to keep at the end of the tent and easy to open up and get what I want out of it. that's where the Allpas come in. the smaller one also makes a good cabin bag if I need to take a little more with me in the plane. The shoulder straps are nicely padded. The larger Allpa also had a good padded hip belt (removeable). I like the company because 1)it's local, 2)uses remnant fabric they buy up from other companies, 3) pay fair wages to workers, 4)have a very good warranty. As much as I do like other brands, I will always try to support a local company first.

Did look online at them when I was hunting for a pant to take to Europe. The only thing that took them off my list was the "stripe" of fabric down the sides of the legs. I know it's the same color, but I have a pair of the Farralon shorts with the same thing and i'm just not in love with it. But, so many of you like them, maybe I missed out. Good to see all of you recommending them.

Cynthia - you KNOW I was suggesting Armando 😉 You've been to Rome more than me lately, so nothing new on my horizon, dining-wise. And, it sure sounds like you have a lot of new ruins to explore! yep, the lack of A/C was a little on the uncomfortable side. At least my niece's house had a few ceiling fans, incuding my room, so with the fan going and the window open, sleeping without a sheet was OK. But, I'm one of those people who have to have at least a sheet covering, so it's not the best sleeping for me. the cool temp in the morning is really nice. But, it's jumping into the 80s still in th daytime. Today, it was nice and cool in the house again, but supposed to get to about 85 today and stay in the upper 80s/low 90s for the week. ugh. ootd: my tie dye hoodie again, but I'm getting ready to change to my jean shorts and a tank. Got to go to the Post Office and pick up my mail that I had on vacation hold since the 12th. I may just put my hair in a pony and wear one of my baseball hats - maybe my new Ferrari red one!!

That 64 does feel really good, especially after 6 weeks all that heat and then the last 2 weeks of having to sleep with windows open and no sheet because my first friend's AC wasn't working and my niece doesn't have AC... I couldn't bring myself to watch Roadrunner again. It was a really sad documentary. oh - if any of you get Discovery+, I saw an ad for Stanley Tucci's series reruns starting on there.