for fun: Do/Would you still put on all your makeup and decent clothes if you are quarantined

[cruise kitty]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Hi Debbie,

 

We did a short excursion in Ketchikan to see the totem poles, then briefly walked around town before going back to the ship. Things seemed to mostly be open in town but we were not really being shoppers, just looking for some "iconic" Ketchikan views for DS's photos.

 

We didn't do any "big" excursions (whale watching, helicopter, plane, etc.) -- we were a little spooked by the floatplane accident a couple of weeks ago, and we had done whale watching on our previous Alaska cruise -- DS not too interested in reprising it. I have to say that I didn't hear that there were a lot of wild life sightings. We only saw a single whale from the ship.

 

In Juneau we had kind of a gloomy day. We'd been thinking of doing the Mt Roberts tram but decided against it, the views would not be inspiring. Also, we were there on a Monday and I can confirm that the local walking tour and museum are not offered/closed on that day. 😢

 

Skagway we did the least. It was raining all day (showery to downright pouring). We just poked around the areas closest to port and found it a bit hit or miss -- it seemed to us that fewer stores were open there than elsewhere.

 

Hope that's helpful to you!

 

thank you, very helpful!  I have zero expectation other than being pampered, not having to cook, clean, or do laundry.  To be honest, will spend a great deal of time nursing a glass of wine or processo & enjoying the scenery 🙂

[Lois R]

Hi girls, I went to the Museum in Juneau and found it really interesting!  It was an easy walk and that is really all I did. Oh, I did walk around downtown a bit too but didn't buy anything.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, cruise kitty said:

thank you, very helpful!  I have zero expectation other than being pampered, not having to cook, clean, or do laundry.  To be honest, will spend a great deal of time nursing a glass of wine or processo & enjoying the scenery 🙂

 

Good plan!  I will admit to spending a fair amount of time in Cafe al Bacio with a caramel macchiato. 😉

Edited August 30, 2021 by cruisemom42

[Riverroad]

7 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I'll share my thoughts after my stay in late September -- assuming it's a go -- on the Des Marronniers rooms and location. 

 

If you're thinking of Robuchon, be sure to make your reservation well in advance and then follow the instructions to a T.  We had reserved there and we had to actually contact them AGAIN the day before to confirm that we were still coming. Even though we did that, they sent an email the morning of our reservation canceling it. They claimed they never got our confirmation email. 

We stayed at des Marronniers a number of years ago. The location is great and the garden is lovely. I checked the website and the rooms look much updated from when we were there. The rooms are very small. My daughter had a single and managed ok. The “double” DH and I had was so small that one person had to leave so the other could get dressed. I see they now have air conditioning. When we were there, it was 96 in Paris and there was no a/c! Look forward to hearing your experience.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, Riverroad said:

We stayed at des Marronniers a number of years ago. The location is great and the garden is lovely. I checked the website and the rooms look much updated from when we were there. The rooms are very small. My daughter had a single and managed ok. The “double” DH and I had was so small that one person had to leave so the other could get dressed. I see they now have air conditioning. When we were there, it was 96 in Paris and there was no a/c! Look forward to hearing your experience.

 

Thanks for the first-hand report. I can put up with a small room if there is a lovely courtyard (let's hope for no rain). 🤞

 

When I stayed in a hotel in the heart of the Marais back in 2005, the room was so small that I could actually -- without exaggeration -- spread out my arms and touch the walls on either side. The bathroom was a marvel of engineering with the smallest sink and loo ever seen. I still remember the hotel proprietress sat at a desk in the lobby and had a very large gentle dog named Lilou who was as nice as Madame was grumpy.

 

I did like Britannique very much. I just like to try new places/locations as well. 

[awhfy]

15 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Good plan!  I will admit to spending a fair amount of time in Cafe al Bacio with a caramel macchiato. 😉

Ooh & a lemon tart???

[Lois R]

Hi girls, hoping everyone is doing well.  I got home late Sunday night....like after 1am in the door.

I did laundry yesterday and just chilled out.........

 

As I mentioned earlier I have another cruise booked for October😃sailing out of Lisbon for 12 nights.

Hoping we are able to go!!! All the ports are new for me so really excited!

 

Looks like IDA did some MAJOR damage all over Louisiana😥...... power and water out and the temps are near or over 100😟.

 

Anyway,  next week I have labs and a GP appt......hoping he says all is ok. And week after next is an appt with the Kidney Doc. (just my usual check up).

[cruisemom42]

We had windy gusts and rain all day yesterday off and on, courtesy of Ida. Also spun off a few tornados, but none near us, thank goodness. We didn't have so much rain that the pump couldn't handle it -- yay for that.

 

I'm getting a little concerned about my planned river cruise and European jaunt given the latest news on EU wanting to cut "non-essential" travel....  Going to call my agent at Viking today to ask some questions.

[Lois R]

Kat and Debbie, yes the stores were open in Port and I am guessing everyone was happy to see customers😀

[slidergirl]

Everyone - how to you choose those cool little hotels you find?  Having worked for international hotel brands and having had a husband who chose nice places, I'm more than a little naive on this.   The one  thing that always scares me is when someone's review just mentions that the place was "clean" and "good for one night".  

 

Cynthia - good to hear you didn't have water issues at your house!   My one neice is getting close - she lives in PA where Ida remnants are going through.  She has a creek behind her house.  She has sandbags around places, stuff on pallets in the basement and the sump pump ready to go.  Her place is in one of the flash flood/river flooding areas.  The creek has risen some and is into the yard, but still maybe 100 ft from the house.  Not the first time she's gone through this.  

[Lois R]

Hi Kat, I use a couple of websites for hotels.  Actually, I use CC.....I go to the board of the country I will be staying in and use the search feature or I start my own thread asking for recommendations. I also use Trip Advisor.  Both have been part of my research for a long time now.

[cruise kitty]

1 hour ago, slidergirl said:

Everyone - how to you choose those cool little hotels you find?  Having worked for international hotel brands and having had a husband who chose nice places, I'm more than a little naive on this.   The one  thing that always scares me is when someone's review just mentions that the place was "clean" and "good for one night".  

 

Cynthia - good to hear you didn't have water issues at your house!   My one neice is getting close - she lives in PA where Ida remnants are going through.  She has a creek behind her house.  She has sandbags around places, stuff on pallets in the basement and the sump pump ready to go.  Her place is in one of the flash flood/river flooding areas.  The creek has risen some and is into the yard, but still maybe 100 ft from the house.  Not the first time she's gone through this.  

 

Kat I search here on the ports board, trip advisor, & air bnb, as a lot of the smaller places list there...  I don't necessarily book thru air bnb, but they are great for detailed reviews with photos 🙂

[slidergirl]

My neice dodged a major bullet from Ida.  She said they had 9" of rain in a very short period.  Her basement flooded some, but the sump pump kept it from affecting the stuff up on the pallets.  The creek overflowed but not up to the house.  The street they live on was closed due to flooding, but she wasn't going anywhere.  Thank Goodness!   I am just stunned at all the water and flooding up and down the NorthEast.  

 

On hotels:  I always look at CC, TripAdvisor and Flyertalk for hotels.  I browse AirBnB.  I just have to get comfortable with non-branded places.  I know they have certain standards at the brands and I can adjust my expectations based on which brand I'm booking with.  Little, independent places I can only go by those recomendatios and the hotel website.  I was checking to see if there were some "secret" sites that I didn't know about.  

[cruisemom42]

20 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Everyone - how to you choose those cool little hotels you find?  Having worked for international hotel brands and having had a husband who chose nice places, I'm more than a little naive on this.   The one  thing that always scares me is when someone's review just mentions that the place was "clean" and "good for one night".

 

I use a variety of methods to identify possible hotels:  I ask friends who travel like I do for suggestions, I read newspaper and magazine articles with suggestions (I don't know why but London newspapers seem to have excellent articles on "hidden three-star gems" in various cities....) and I read a ton of reviews, not just on Tripadvisor but also on the hotel booking sites like hotels.com (where it's a bit more likely that the reviewer actually stayed there and isn't just a shill....)

 

I also have a certain "type" that I look for -- has to be extremely well located, has to have a certain level of charm, has to not have any major recurring issues with noise or cleanliness, etc. (I tend to discount "one-off" reviews as they are often someone with an axe to grind or trying to get some kind of refund or credit from the hotel for an exceptional circumstance.  My preference is for a more classic style that reflects the particular country or region but is "authentic" (not overly tarted up for tourists -- like many hotels in Venice are).

 

 

[Lois R]

I have been watching the weather since early this morning........omg........Kat, glad your niece is ok.

But some of the videos look horrific.........the rescues look pretty amazing.  It is unreal.........the fires  in Tahoe, Hurricane is New Orleans and now these flash floods all over the place (NY/NJ/PA)😟.......yes folks, climate change is REAL!!!!

[slidergirl]

On 9/2/2021 at 11:45 AM, Lois R said:

I have been watching the weather since early this morning........omg........Kat, glad your niece is ok.

But some of the videos look horrific.........the rescues look pretty amazing.  It is unreal.........the fires  in Tahoe, Hurricane is New Orleans and now these flash floods all over the place (NY/NJ/PA)😟.......yes folks, climate change is REAL!!!!

My neice has some new neighbors, though.  A few Heron decided her flooded yard was a nice place to settle in and party.   My SIL still has water coming into her basement - we think it's from her well, though.   My neice posted a little video from someone near her who saw a beaver swimming on the road!!!

 

The trip hamster wheel is spinning again.  After doing more reading about Provence, I'm thinking I want to spend some post-trip days there.  Means I have to change return flight - no issue since I have a refundable/changeable ticket.  Have to look at driving - I'm OK with driving around around country roads and such in Italy and Germany so I think I'd be OK in Provence.  Take a wine tour one day so I have a designated driver, though!!  Oh my.  It's going to be a long Winter for me with "the wheel"!!

[Lois R]

I had to go to Quest for labs today.........my viens are VERY teeney and sometimes even those techs have a hard time......well, I tell them that every time and that they can use my hand......the gal was really nice although she could not find a vein in my arm......she did find one in my hand but she was rough😟

She apologized for it but my hand is swollen now.......you can see it almost looks like a lump.......she got the vein but she got me first. I am going to be black and blue tomorrow.

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, slidergirl said:

The trip hamster wheel is spinning again.  After doing more reading about Provence, I'm thinking I want to spend some post-trip days there.  Means I have to change return flight - no issue since I have a refundable/changeable ticket.  Have to look at driving - I'm OK with driving around around country roads and such in Italy and Germany so I think I'd be OK in Provence.  Take a wine tour one day so I have a designated driver, though!!  Oh my.  It's going to be a long Winter for me with "the wheel"!!

 

I loved the several days I spent in both Avignon and Arles. I would recommend either as a place to spend a few days if you want to explore.

 

Or as a true gastronome, I can also highly recommend that you spend some time in Lyon -- there are more Michelin-starred restaurants there than anywhere else. It just so happens to be where my company's French headquarters are and I've had several opportunities to stay there. Didn't have a car but it's extremely easy to get around Lyon and environs -- great city transportation system. Also easy to take the train for some daytrips.

 

[awhfy]

12 hours ago, Lois R said:

I had to go to Quest for labs today.........my viens are VERY teeney and sometimes even those techs have a hard time......well, I tell them that every time and that they can use my hand......the gal was really nice although she could not find a vein in my arm......she did find one in my hand but she was rough😟

She apologized for it but my hand is swollen now.......you can see it almost looks like a lump.......she got the vein but she got me first. I am going to be black and blue tomorrow.

I get them everytime. Ask them to use a butterfly, only way a blood draw can be done easily on me. Alternate warm & cold packs. Hope you feel ok

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, awhfy said:

I get them everytime. Ask them to use a butterfly, only way a blood draw can be done easily on me. Alternate warm & cold packs. Hope you feel ok

Good morning🙂........she told me they did not have any butterfly needles.......which totally surprised me because they have used them before.  I feel much better today. I took 2 Tylenol PM last night and slept really well and the hand is not nearly as swollen as I thought it would be. 

[slidergirl]

4 hours ago, Lois R said:

Good morning🙂........she told me they did not have any butterfly needles.......which totally surprised me because they have used them before.  I feel much better today. I took 2 Tylenol PM last night and slept really well and the hand is not nearly as swollen as I thought it would be. 

I'm having weird issues with trying to do a reply today and last night.  Not sure what is going on with CC for me.  I was putting the entire page in the "reply" but wasn't sending just adding more each time.  Looks like they never really were sent...

 

Lois - sorry 'bout the poke issue.  I'm fortunate that I have a good "donation" vein on my right arm.  I absolutely HATE  when they stick my hand to put in IVs.

I've got 2 days in Arles with my barge, since that is where we start at.  I'm not sure about Lyon - I don't know if I could afford that much Michelin food!!!  And, Lyon hasn't been on my France radar before.   I will be in the area right when the lavender fields are getting ready to be harvested, so the photographer in me wants to go find an interesting field and tak some shots.  

 

Don't know if anyone knew - I just found this out:  if you book your flight with Delta, go to their hotel page.  It's hotels.com but you get a bit of a discount.  I tried it with a few and found it gave a few bucks off.  

 

It's another smokey day today, I think from the Calder Fire at Tahoe.  Sigh.  One of these days I'll be able to get outside and not wheeze.   OOTD:  olive green Athleta Farralon bermuda's, my grey Smokey Bear Tshirt, plain olive baseball hat.  I'd wear my "Smokey's Friend" hat but that might  be overdoing it.  

[cruise kitty]

Hi ladies, I need to play catch up again...  Lois, I'm sorry about the bad poke, I have the same problems & try to drink a ton of water before draws, it helps a bit 🙂

 

working right now doing an open house, but there's a lull between groups 😉

 

just found out they changed the testing requirements for our cruise from 3 days to 2 days... but only from cruse critic..  Celebrity emailed me this morning saying it's still 3 days, very confusing....  well, i hear a group walking up, so gotta run

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

just found out they changed the testing requirements for our cruise from 3 days to 2 days... but only from cruse critic..  Celebrity emailed me this morning saying it's still 3 days, very confusing....  well, i hear a group walking up, so gotta run

 

Those Celebrity emails are programmed way before last-minute changes are made. We had a similar confusion before our cruise where the "standardized" email told us we only had to show up with proof of vaccination.....AFTER Celebrity had changed to requiring a COVID test as well.

 

Good luck with your open house!

[slidergirl]

Good luck with the open house!  What "enticements" are you offering?  Fresh cookies, a glass of Rosé, BBQ, vaccinations???  I've seen Million Dollar Listing LA 😷

[Lois R]

Hi girls, hope everyone is having a good weekend😀

 

I fly to Lisbon in 31 days and for this trip I need to get a Covid Test. Funny how all the countries do things differently. When I flew to Athens in July they only required my vaxx card. So I have been researching covid tests......looks like it should be easy enough at multiple CVS and Walgreen's. Both are nearby.  I was reading what Portugal requires and also on the United Website it tells me in their "Travel Center"........either a PCR OR the Antigen test are allowed. Well, the Antigen is much quicker AND cheaper!   And I can do that the day before I leave or even the morning I leave......my flight from here doesn't leave till 4:00pm........goes to Newark. Fly to Lisbon from there.  I fly out on Oct 6th🙂