slidergirl

Laurie - if you want to stand out from the tourist herd, look at the daypacks from Cotopaxi. Being the bag hoarder that i am, I have multiple packs and bags from them. My latest aquisition was the Taal bag. It is a convertible bag - use like a messenger/tote or a backpack. It is 16L. I wanted a bag that I would be able to put all my "in the plane" things and then use it for my everyday bag. It ended up exactly what I wanted and it didn't look like just another pack. I also have: Allpa 35 and 28L travel packs, Tasra 16L daypack, Batac 16L daypack, Luzon 18L pack Bataan hip pack and Mariveles 32 duffel. The duffel went with me - it folds down flat to take up very little room in a suitcase. I used it as my 'cabin bag' when I did my 2 Coasts trip last week so I could have a little more room in my roller bag (I checked because it's free for me) to put my cowboy booties plus I wanted to put my toiletries bag and stuff in there. I was bringing back some stuff from the Mennonite store so I needed that room. no judgement, please...

I found Native deodorant this Spring. First scented deodorants I can stand. The one really nice thing is that they have mini sizes of several of the scents. I bought 2 to take on my monthlong trip - even with multiple uses sometimes during the day (multiple showers sometimes), 1 mini lasted the month. I have a full-size at home, the Vanilla/Coconut sensitive formula. They don't have the minis all the time, but it's worth looking from time to time. They do have unscented, too. And i will say their shampoo and conditioner are working well for me, too (Coconut/Vanilla). I've been a decades-long user of Lush solid shampoos. I do have a problem with scents, so I go to the store and smell them out. I was a 'Godiva' bar user. Alas, it's gone and I haven't found a good replacement yet. Another thing - if you use conditioner, be sure to bring a little with you if you do a land trip. i was rather surprised to find out that most of the places I stayed at in France and Italy had shampoo, but no conditioner. With high heat and humidity, I sure needed some to keep from going "Bozo the Clown" with my hair! I guess my hair took a real vacation with no conditioner, no product, very little blow-drying.

no furniture gnawing was needed. I picked up food and gassed up the car. And, I ordered some pork products from my favorite on-line ribs & bacon supplier (Pig of the Month). Good for at least a few days. I didn't realize you were doing these trips to italy!!! Cruise, land trip... I have to say I'm jealous. Yes, even after my trip, i'm jealous. Where in Campania are you visiting??? More ruins that you haven't visited?? As for the 'one dinner' in Rome, I have a few suggestions 😸

I stayed in hotels for all but one 3 night part of my trip to France & Italy last month. The one was a studio apartment in Aix-in-Provence. I saw it pop up on several blogs. It was in a perfect location on the Cours Maribeau. I went in with my eyes wide open about apartment rentals. It went problem-free. That said, I will always pick a hotel over a rental IF the location permits. I didn't notice the hotel pricing in Europe and Washington DC (a few days ago) to be what it has been for awhile. And, the hotels were full. What was surprising was the rental car prices for both. I rent the manual transmission "econo box" cars in Europe and it was more than what I remember paying a few years ago. DC was a shocker - $1000 for an econo box for 6 days... hint on vacation rentals - stick to the people who are "super hosts" as they have passed certain over-and-above standards.

yay for a good hotel!!! Enjoy your breakfast and have a relaxing train ride to Seward.

It is all a big blur for me right now. I can't even remember the few days I was at home in between trips! Good thing I took lots of photos and the iPhone nicely labels the location automatically. I lived vicariously through all y'all's vacations and cruises lately, so it was my pleasure to take all y'all on my trip! This group inspired me to "go big"on the trip. It was definitely worth it!!! OOTD: didn't make it to the market yesterday. I may try today. Different running shorts and Tshirt.

Yes, it was Florence. Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco. If I can find Brunello by the glass, I go for it!

If your ship actually docks in Bordeaux, it is a very easy and pleasant walk around the city to see the sights. It's all flat except for a very little incline to get to Cite du Vin. I was just there the beginning of August for a few days and was able to see all I wanted to see/do with just my feet and an excellent tram system. Let us know where you are docking and what you want to see/do and we may be able to help a little more than this.

Water: When you are at a restaurant/cafe and order water, chances are, unless you specifically ask for a type of water, you will be asked "still or sparkling". Those of course, are the bottles they charge for. You can say "tap" and you will be brought free tap water. It's perfectly fine. It's a way to save a couple of Euro on you meal.

I just got back from a month-long canal barge and land trip to France and Italy. Did it in a carryon and a small backpack. It was scorchingly hot the whole time - from 95 to 103 in the daytime. I did have to a little more laundry at night because I was sweating so much I had to change shirts a few times during the day, But, hand laundry at night is just part of my travel routine - been doing that for years It doesn't take more than maybe 5 minutes and I use clothes that are overnight dry-able. The dresses took (first time taking dresses) 2 days to dry, but that was OK because I didn't need them everyday. On land trips, I have been known to visit a lavanderia and do clothes. Interesting from a sociologist's POV and i've met some lovely locals. It is also a nice way to relax, put on the headphones and listen to music or read.

Lois - good to hear you are enjoying the land portion of your trip. The Alyeska is probably nicer because it is also at a ski resort so it is usable year-round and not just for tour groups. I got back home last night. Yes, I'm now crashing on the sofa. I thought I had taken a picture of the parking aisle sign when I left on the 12th. I knew I got on the shuttle at stop 1 (what I usually try to do). Well, when I got off the shuttle and went to look at my sign pix, it wasn't there!!! I spent a good 30 minutes wandering around the area looking for my KIA. Not the first time that has happened to me, but the first in a long time. I had some yogurt in the fridge that was still "GOOD" so I had it with granola and a cup of coffee this morning. I've got to go to the market today!!! Again, I thought I packed really light, but still came home with things not worn: pink long sleeve linen shirt - just never went anywhere cool enough or needed to dress up blue long sleeve linen shirt - same bathing suit & sunscreen shirt - we didn't sit out or go to a pool for girls' weekend - we just sat in the house or went walking around town. no one has a pool where i was in PA. rain jacket - lucked out and the rain only happened during the night or when I was just hanging out at the house. denim jacket - one little kid wore it at an outdoor dinner in SoCA. I took it with me to the wedding reception (it was outside at a farm), but it stayed in the car. Again, it was too warm for me to wear. Yellow Laguna Surf hoodie - I bought it on the girls' trip, but never had weather to wear it. Sweaty Betty leggings - I just was too lazy to put them on to hang out in on the girls' trip - just put on my jeans shorts first thing in the morning and kept them on until I went to bed. Smokey Bear trucker hat - just didn't have anyplace to wear it. I ended up wearing my Gigi Pip hat when I needed a hat. OOTD: running shorts and a Tshirt. Add a bra under the Tshirt when I go to the market, and add my trail runners. This trip to SoCA, DC and Pennsylvania was definitely a jeans, jeans shorts and T-shirt kind of trip. Right up my alley!

Thank you for sharing. I'm like @cruisemom42and @purduemom1 - I travel light and I don't think my "fashion style" would lend itself to a Cunard cruise. I'm a very casual dresser. The ladies here convinced me to buy and take a few dresses on my month-long European vacation. While I did wear them and liked having them in the scorching heat, they would probably not qualify as Cunard-worthy. I'd be out and about during the daytime and hanging out in my cabin at night, I'm afraid. Your choices were nice for a dressy line, though.

I spent the afternoon in DC, walking around the Capitol Mall area. Took a photo of the fenced off Supreme Court-somehow my middle finger got in the way 😉 Best of the day was spotting an albino squirrel! He was hanging out on the Mall grass and trees with the other squirrels. Totally white and had pink eyes. I stopped in at this little bakery in the next town from us that my niece said had the best donuts. She wasn’t kidding. Bought a cream-filled one to eat with my coffee on the road and one for a night snack. They also had raisin-filled cookies that I loved as a kid so I had to buy a bag. They are soooo yummy! After walking around for a few hours I went back to the hotel and absolutely crashed. Slept from 6 to 11!! Got up and had my donut for dinner, changed to my sleep shirt and went back to sleep until 7 this morning. I REALLY needed that! My flight home is at 5, so I am just being lazy for now. I’ll grab some lunch somewhere and do a little something in places with air conditioning before I go to the airport.

I hope you like it, too! If you need leggings, try the Stella. They are what I wear multiple times a week for work. Super comfortable.

Thanks. The moonshine mix was 190proof grain alcohol, vanilla vodka, orange juice and something else. Really tasted like a creamsicle. A tasty but sneaky mix!!! The farm does a lot of the events around here. They have some gorgeous Percheron horses that the owners show.

Josie (the lab) and Bella (jack russell) came to the reception for awhile. They are both sweethearts. Not sure the bride’s teenage bro & sis will remember- both were drinking quite a bit. I know sis barfed 2x after the party. She’s only 15 but mom & dad let her drink. Bro left for college this morning so he was probably hung over. Teenagers- what are you going to do… Dinner tonight and say ‘bye’ to everybody. Leaving in the morning for DC. OOTD: Jean shorts and black Woolx tank, changing to white & blue long sleeve T. And the hi tops.

Yep. I use Lush solids.

The wedding was very nice. My grand niece’s dress was gorgeous. The weather stayed sunny and warm. The reception was at a local horse farm. Everyone was up dancing and drinking. I am now a fan of creamsicle moonshine. Those shots went down very smoothly. They really tasted like creamsicles. They had specialty drinks named for their two dogs. Cute. I lost count at about 6. Interesting mix of music- country to hip hop to classic rock. A fun filled 7 hours of reception fun. The photos were from around my SIL’s house. A lot of Amish and Mennonite folks bought farms around here maybe 20 years ago to get away from the touristy Lancaster area. I wanted to post a pic of me all spiffed up but I can’t do it tonight for some reason. I‘all try tomorrow when I’m sober… I couldn’t post last night. I’m still whooped from the moonshine last night- not hung over but really slow. 2 cups of coffee and a bottle of water helped.

Spent today driving around the old ‘hood. Stopped at the local Mennonite store to pick up some honey and salivate over the produce. We have ox roast sandwiches and just picked corn on the cob for dinner. Some random sights.

Helped decorate the church yesterday. Today we all gathered to have a birthday party for one of the little kids. Went across the road and visited the new babies at the dairy farm. Played with my dog nephew Winston. Tomorrow I’m going to drive around and see some old places, hit up some farm stores. OOTD: Jean shorts, black Woolx sleeveless T, high tops.

I take Alpine Start Instant Coconut Latte with me when I go camping. I think it’s pretty good.

GF trip over. We were a bunch of lazy old women. We binged The First Lady on tv. Went out for breakfast once. Ate in the rest of the time. Gossiped and caught up on our lives. A good time. Another girl and I stayed 2 extra days at another’s house. Went out for dinner (Mexican), brunch and then dinner with the daughter who loaned us the house. The 3 of us binged on Yellowstone- we finished up at 3am last night!!! We couldn’t stop. Got up at 7am to clean the bedroom and bathroom I used and get ready. Sitting in the airport now waiting to board in about 10 minutes. Report in later. OOTD: jeans, gray T-shirt and my pink hi tops. Oh, and my hat.

For some reason, I've come a fan of the Aperol Spritz. Goes down easy, it's refreshing after a scorching hot day. To me, it's not strong at all like a cocktail and not as intense as a glass of wine. And I could drink 2 and not feek drunk... I wanted to try a Compari spritz, but 'Aperol' kept coming out of my mouth when ordering.

I was in Bordeaux Aug. 1-4. one of those days I took the train over to Arachon Bay. No indication of any fires on the way or once I got to Arachon. Living in the Mountain West and asthmatic, I am very sensitive to smoke. I didn't see or smell any smoke. The skies over Arachon were nice and blue. Other than being scorching hot in Bordeaux and Arachon, it was a very nice time. I've included 2 photos - one of part of the Arachon beach and one of Bordeaux, with the AMA Amadolce docked on the river, Hopefully this will give you just a glimpse of an idea of the skies.

Anita - if I listened to the "appropriate for my age" babble, I wouldn't have 90% of my clothes!!! I'm not a matron and I refuse to dress like one. 😸 Dress in what you like and what makes you feel good and what makes you happy.