dani negreanu

Mark, keeping your daughter (and all of you) in my thoughts, for a successful and worry free operation 🙏.

Pls. see final thoughts below Alhambra was amazing. I'm sure on the 2nd visit, you'll see details you've missed on the first. Our Venice trip is over. We got home late Saturday night (motzey shabat). Of course, nothing food-shopping wise is open so late, and if some non-kosher supers are open, they don't have fresh produce, since Friday and Saturday.... And Sunday is also takes time to replenish. We stocked today. We'll fly to Marrakesh on March 19th, the day some of the lucky ones of you will debark Oasis... I'll have all the week to follow your adventures and be jealous 😢 We enjoyed our trip to Venice and fulfilled a long-time dream of living like a Venetian and eat fresh sea food products. We had 2 days of beautiful and freezing weather, and we're grateful for those. It was a real treat to buy at the sea food market. Hubby kept whispering: "Did you check how much are those"? Me: "I don't CARE"... In the end, after really going "wild", the bill was 39 Euro, which lasted us 2 gourmet evening meals, and the 2nd time, even cheaper -- 36 Euro, again, for 2 gourmet evening meals. For lunch we took away an amazing pizza (3X), a few mins walk from our rental. It was pipping hot still when we got "home". The last day we finished all the pizza left overs. I've splurged for my fav raspberries, and found a new version of blueberries, enormous, flat [think IRobot] and very sturdy. I've bought 6 packets for the flying home day, and they sustained us very well. It was one of the cheapest stays, food wise. Nevertheless, we don't plan to return any time soon. For us, it's an exhausting city.... If you're tired of walking, you can't just call a taxi home. Of course, you can take the waterbus, but first, you have to reach the nearest station, spend some time in it, and then, if you're lucky, your accommodation isn't far from the station. So, proximity to a waterbus station is very important. As an example, Saturday -- woke up when it was still dark, checked up to see if the waterbus we needed to reach the Bus Station is not cancelled due to the foggy weather. Thankfully, it was running. Walk with our carry ons only 5 minutes on the uneven and narrow lane to the nearest waterbus station. Wait for it in the freezing cold. 30 minutes later we're at the Bus Station. 10 mins walk to the airport bus. Wait for it in the freezing cold for 20 mins. Travel to the airport - 70 mins. Arriving the required 3 hours before. One hour before boarding, at the low cost gate -- a very long line, no seats. Then you wait OUTSIDE the gate, to be herded, walking, to the plane, climbing the stairs with our luggage. Mercifully, they were on time. Almost 4 hours flight, not even a glass of water was offered free of charge... First time ever I was so happy that our trip was over and I'm finally at home....

Tomorrow morning… Today was another foggy day, so we had 50% good weather… The 1st day the visibility was fantastic. Told hubby “let’s do the Bell Tower”… him, being a manana guy, said… So, of course, “manana” didn’t “materialize… . At least the cooking went without a hitch, 100%. I don’t like to use air bnb since they charge immediately. Not for us, even though this apt is advertised there too. It was through booking dot com, with free cancellation up to 3 days before arrival. I’ve asked the owner about booking direct, and she said “so long as it goes through you”, meaning friends and family, so Sue, whenever you want 😉

DH insist I should add those too…

Carnival in Venice. 2 birds with one strike … gourmet cooking being the other. More fog “promised” for the next 2 days. Suddenly, I just want home….

We were lucky with the weather for the first 2 days… Today the fog was so dense that some of the vaporetto lines were cancelled (which quite worries me, since we’re supposed to board one of those in order to catch the airport bus…). It was very cold, with an humidity straight to the bones. Not pleasant at all and not “conducive” to pics….😪 At least DH shot so many until today, plenty to keep u entertained 😃 A tour of Venice’s Opera. When DH decided that’s how he’d like to spend our anniversaries, he asked to go to the Opera. I was also curious, since one of the books of Donna Leon takes place there (Death at La Fenice). He asked for a “happy opera” and I found The Barber of Seville. Once he agreed, I thoroughly researched seats, read every comment and advices. Told him the price of good seats. He was shocked. I mentioned that this is the right time to “splurge”. OK. I’m in the process of pushing the button “reserve seats” on the last 2 excellent seats (~300$), when he turns around from his computer and asks: “how much time the opera”?? I said: “let me check….. 3.30 hours”. DH: “forget it, we’ll just take a tour”….😉 Dinner tonight, DH even drank a whole glass of Chianti 😉 More costumes. Amazing the amount of money invested and how they pose so eagerly for everyone. I drew the line in posing with them, but most of the tourists did. I found it tiresome, waiting for “object” to be “free”…

@Momof3gurlz Deb, Meantime, pls. check out hotel Jazz in Barcelona (Graham recs this one too. @grapau27) and Argentina Residenza in Rome. Some pics from today —

The best part of the itinerary is the overnight in Livorno. We’re still reeling from our runs all over the airports, but when I’ll be back I’ll be “all in” for you 😘

Right about the pasta. Coquille St. Jacques bought this morning at the Rialto market. Had never eaten them fresh before…. The kitchen is really well equipped, even though it seems we’re the first ones actually using it. There is an excellent pizza place round the corner, took away for lunch…. Dessert — the Texan fruit cake which finally materialized after 3 (three) months on the road, in excellent condition, so it traveled again, with us to Venice 😁

Me in the narrow lane — the first meal by the personal “chef” and the serenity of gondolas — IMG_7448.MOV

As usual when I’m abroad/cruise I can only type and attach pics from my Iphone — The apartment is amazing and as advertised. Imagine getting in this “trim” lane, in the dark, with the carry ons, exhausted… The owner, after telling us that chec in after 6pm will cost additional for every hour, took pity on me after calling her from Athens, waived the fees snd waited for us outside — IMG_7449.MOV IMG_7450.MOV

@DaniDanielle Marietta, glad we’re not talking about the Big C. @NHProud Judy, thanks for your well wishes via email. Got it on our way to the airport and I have a bug in my phone — I can only send emails when I’m at home, not in the car or abroad… Yesterday — flying from Tel Aviv to Venice via Athens — I’ve never felt so helpless in my entire life to the point of wanting to sit down near the boarding gate and cry myself senseless…. Originally I’ve booked a DIRECT flight for today, due to land in Venice early afternoon. 2 weeks after I got an email, that the flight will depart instead at 5pm, landing almost at 9pm. The apartment was already booked for February 14 to 18. The only available flight was a day earlier and via Athens, with the same company. Whenever we had no choice but to book a connecting flight, we always booked with the same company, and all was OK. Booked another night at a hotel, since the apt. wasn’t free. Not the best situation, but I took it in a stride. So yesterday morning the flight departed late. Along with 2 other couples, we asked the crew what are our options, should the connection be too tight. She told us “there is no other flight today to Venice. The plane will wait for you, along with a “connection agent” who will take care of you. No worries…” Turns out buses are used and we sat in the bus until the last passenger got in, along with a mom of twins, who needed 5 hands + help. All this time “the connection agent (CA)” is with us, telling us that boarding has begun, but…. you guessed “no worries”. Finally at the terminal CA started to rush us, practically running ahead. The 2 young couples keep up with him, I ran with the carry on and the hand bag somewhere in between and hubby barely makes it in the back. After turning one two many corners, I yell at CA that we can’t keep with him…. Somehow I “catch” him at…. border control, he’s “negotiating” that all 6 of us will skip the line… I ask “we’re in TRANSIT”, why should we pass border control when we don’t stay in Greece?” He just says “that’s it”, you’re on your own and leaves… We pass b.c., then security, and, then, of course is gate 27 out of 30… We run and run, and find at the end the 2 couples deceived… the bus to the plane left. When asked about “no worries” the agent at the closed boarding said “we don’t wait for anybody”, go to the service desk and they’ll put you in another flight…. So, in the end, it took 3 flights to reach Venice (via Belgrade, with Air Serbia) and we got there… you guessed, at 9PM (left home at 5am).

Good morning from freezing Venice, Yesterday was the worst travel day we’ve ever experienced in our long life…. I just want to congratulate Sue @sgmn and Lisa’s Andrew @A&L_Ont on their b’days today 🌺🥂🎂

Right when you disembark from Bella's 😉 I'll have the whole week living vicariously through all of you, lucky, lucky bunch 😘 As of today 😉 - 4. It was "traumatic" enough for me to revert to Kindle, instead of actually turning the pages... Besides, listening to English will be very hard for me to understand. Very cold and I hate it. The main reason we don't travel to Europe in the winter. But hubby wanted to "combine" the cooking and the Carnival, and I was naive enough to agree, thinking that if there is a carnival, it will not be too cold...☹️ Big, HUGE mistake on my part. We found some warm clothes from the time we lived in Brussels, I borrowed gloves from my neighbor, but drew the line when girlfriends offered "thermal undies"...😁 Thanks. I've checked this one, not available on Kindle until July, and I like to start series at the very beginning. I also have a very favorite author writing about Venice -- Donna Leon. Since I've started to read her many years ago, I'm looking at Venice like an old acquaintance 😎 + 6 @Ocean Boy

Any MRI good news 🙏?

Oh, just to soak up the atmosphere of being in an Arab country, which, until no long ago, was off limits for individual travel. Which reminds me that DH will need a visa, while I'll use my Romanian passport... This time we booked a room for 3 days in a traditional guesting house, and I'll get to take my French "out of storage"....😉

4 full days. The original plan was 3 days, but we couldn't find another direct flight instead of the one which was delayed... and the apt we rented wasn't available for the additional night, so we booked a night in a hotel, planning to move the next day. But we need some luck with all that goes around here, and yesterday afternoon the proprietor sent us a text, saying that he had a cancellation and we can get the additional night 😁 Since we always book with free cancellation, I immediately cancelled the one night hotel. No more moving with our carry ons from one place to another 😎 I couldn't be happier.

My lips are sealed... thinking that Ian Ventham is 2 persons was just an example of the difficulty of translating from English into Hebrew [where usually the vowels do not appear, with names being the worst...] Peaceful days -- I'm happy to "report" that, as part of our golden wedding celebrations, each of us got to chose a "city break".... So my DH will be fulfilling a dream of actually living in Venice and going to the [Rialto] market every day to buy fresh products and cook them in our rented apt 😉. We're flying out early Monday morning via Athens, since our original direct flight was moved to late afternoon, and the proprietor wasn't ready to check us in at 9PM.... Direct flights to Venice are very scarce. We have a very short layover in Athens, luckily we travel only with carry ons. What did I chose, you ask? I've chosen Marrakesh, also fulfilling a dream.... No cooking involved this time....

@aussielozzie18, aussie, I took your rec. about Richard Osman's "The Thursday Murder Club" and enjoyed it very much, so much so that I'm in the process of reading the 2nd sequel, "The man who died twice". And what a huge difference it makes between reading the first [translated] in Hebrew (DH's book, I really struggled with it, it just didn't "flow"... besides "Ve" in Hebrew means "and" - there was this character Ian Ventham, and for some pages I thought there were 2 of them -- Ian and Ntham ☹️ - which didn't make sense..., that's what happens when you want to save buying the same book in English....) and now the 2nd one in English - such a joy. Humor and dry wit. To sum it up -- highly recommended 😎

I wish... I've only done the short one -- Geiranger, Stavanger, Olden and Bergen. My other half thinks that's enough to get the "gist", but I dream of the Artic Circle....

You're paying for an amazing itinerary, not offered very often and which tends to be sold out very quickly. Pre-Covid Royal offered it only once in the season.

Dave, I find your insights very educational, and I'm sure the others will concur. We've almost all on this thread had Covid, at least once, and would like to know how it manifests on "repeat customers", like you and Andrew. Please continue to "sully" by all means, thank you 👍

Thank you, Sue. Two days without tremors on the good side. A terrorist attack in Jerusalem with 2 dead -- on the bad side... And a very special rainbow to cheer us some. Best wishes to those with health issues. Taken from our balcony this morning --

I see her black and white fur just in the middle of the road, between the trees. + 7 🙏