Trouble in paradise

Kevin and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary this July and decided to go somewhere we'd never been - Hawaii! We flew from Pittsburgh to Honolulu via Phoenix on US Airways. Eleven hours and twenty minutes is a terribly long time to spend on an airplane, but when we saw the approach to Honolulu, we knew it would be worth it.

Our first week would be spent on the island of Kauai, "The Garden Isle", so we needed to switch planes and airlines.

The first challenge we met was in Honolulu. The pilot aced the landing and taxi to the gate, but the jetway did not cooperate. After an hour of waiting for maintenance to attempt repairs, they finally decided to move to another gate. This meant we now had thirty minutes to get to our next flight.

We headed to Hawaiian Airlines to check in, which meant we had to exit the terminal. Sigh. We really hadn't thought this through. We just thought that 90 minutes would be plenty of time to get to our next flight. We didn't realize we had to go back through security to claim our bag and check in with Hawaiian.

We tried checking in at the Hawaiian Airlines self-service kiosk, but were too late.  We got in line to get reassigned. We found out that we could have checked our bags to our final destination, even if the final leg of the trip was with a different airline.

My travel tip today? Ask the airline on which you travel first to check your bags to your final destination.

It all turned out for the better, though. We were put on standby for the next flight, which was beautiful. The clouds were a luminous blanket with the sun reflecting on them. Beautiful as it was, I imagined that it wouldn't even come close to the glory of our Lord at His second coming. What an awesome moment!

Travel Tip by Theresa: Where in the world did I take this photo?!

If you're like me, you come home from a trip with hundreds of photos on your camera. I enjoy making photo books on Shutterfly, but they are admittedly time-consuming, so I often end up working on a book literally a couple of years after my return from the trip. It's difficult to remember where every single photo was taken and cumbersome to carry pen and paper to jot everything down each time that shutter clicks. A lot of new cameras have GPS capabilities for tagging the location of a shot, but if yours doesn't, here are some pointers. 


1. Take photos of signs as you go along. If you're hiking, take a photo of the trailhead sign.Take photos of informational signs so you can use them in captioning your photo album/book. If you're entering a park, snap a shot of the entry sign. You can either crop these images for use as captions or just use them for informational purposes.


2. If you have a smartphone with map capabilities, do a screen shot of the map. Set your camera's time to local time and synchronize it with your smartphone's time. Then you can match up the photos' times and determine the location of the photo. This helps a lot when you're trying to figure out where in the world that photo was taken. 


Now, back to my photo book production....

Travel Tips by Theresa: shaving for ladies

We have so.many.products available to us today. I often have trouble trying to stuff all my toiletries into my travel case. And is shaving cream a liquid or not?!

Here is your solution.

Skip the shaving cream. Hair conditioner works just as well! It softens the hair and makes shaving a breeze.

Travel Tips by Theresa: protecting credit information

When you make a reservation for overseas lodging, it is often done via email to avoid paying international calling rates. Short-term apartment rental companies and small B&Bs generally require a credit card hold.

image courtesy Wikimedia

Send your information over several emails to dodge the information farmers who lurk online. Split your card number into two sections and expiration into another.

e.g.
Email 1:
This is Theresa, who made reservations for your apartment Lotus Blossom  in Rome for the dates April 1-5, 2012. I will be sending you my card information in emails following.

Email 2:
1234 4321

Email 3:
4578 8765

Email 4:
November 2020

It is wise to spell out the month name in any date references to avoid confusion. European countries use the day/month/year format as opposed to our month/day/year format here in the States.

I also avoid contractions and colloquialisms in my correspondence, in case the recipient does not read English well.

Airport Mailers

Following up on my earlier post about treasured items you forgot you had in your pocket....I suggested that you bring a self-addressed stamped envelope for the purpose of mailing from the airport.

I asked this question on the Fodor's forum and received some interesting answers. One user has successfully used an airport service called Airport Mailers. I was really glad to see someone has provided this service. Let's hope they expand to more airports! They are currently in 28.

Travel Tips by Theresa: prevent suitcase messes

I can hear you groaning, you know. You just opened your suitcase and everything is coated with a thick, sticky mess. Your shampoo is everywhere.

You can prevent these messes by replacing the pump or flip-top cap of containers that hold shampoo, conditioner, lotion, sunscreen, or the like. Use a screw top lid from a 20 oz. soda bottle. For extra protection, place the bottle in a reclosable plastic bag.

And if you forgot to do this, hopefully you remembered your laundry detergent. Fill a disposable spice container that has a shaker top with powdered detergent. Shake a small amount into the bathroom sink, fill, and wash away!

The French Connection

Our connection involves a French Woman and her Dog, although The Dog does not have a speaking part. They were both very classy, she dressed to the nines and The Dog wearing a beautiful Pomeranian coat.

We flew from Dulles to Paris on an overnighter, arriving at about 6 a.m. Paris time (noon for us). While traveling on an overnight flight sounds ideal, it means that one arrives at their destination when not many people are awake yet at that destination.

We purchased our train tickets from a grumpy, half-asleep ticket agent at Charles de Gaulle airport and boarded the train into the city. The ride was ugly. I felt as if I were going through a typical inner city in the States. Graffiti splattered the buildings everywhere. The train itself was smooth and pleasant, at least.

The challenge was that we could not check into our apartment until noon. The rental agency assured us that there were plenty of sidewalk cafés in the area where we could sit and relax...surrounded by our suitcases. It sounded reasonable at the time.

We found our way to the neighborhood in which our apartment was situated, Le Marais, and stood on the corner near the Metro exit, examining the map and trying to determine which way to go. Enter French Woman with The Dog.

She spoke French beautifully. But no English. I took French in college, but that was a long time ago! Daniel took French in high school. We were hoping that between the two of us, we'd make out okay.

Despite the fact that there was a language barrier, it was apparent that French Woman with a Dog was endeavoring to help us find our way. She spoke French and I tried to answer in French. I couldn't remember all my numbers, so I wrote down the street number for which we were searching.

Honestly, I think she was just as lost as we were, but I certainly give her credit for trying!

She finally determined that we should go left, which was away from all the cafes which would open shortly. After many exclamations of "Merci!" and "D'accord!", we set off. It only took a few minutes to find it.


Determined that we knew where to go when noon rolled around, we headed back to the cafe area.

"Allo! Allo! Ici! Ici!" (Hello! Hello! Here! Here!)

It was French Woman with a Dog, waving us back in the "correct" direction. Apparently, she thought that we had completely missed the apartment. Oh, how to say "We can't check in until noon"?!

More gestures and pointing to our watches, and yes, we see the apartment.

Satisfied that the Americans knew where they were going, she continued her stroll.

See? The French are wonderful people.
Put aside all those preconceived notions and the fears that result.

Live like the locals

While hotel stays are comfortable and convenient, if you really want to live like a local in a European city, consider a short-term apartment rental. It is usually more economical in most cases.

We did this in Paris and in Rome. We were far from the madding crowds so actually had peace and quiet when we needed it....and after a long day of museums, ancient ruins, or "just one more work of art", it was a huge relief to spread out, prop up our tired feet, and relax -  in chairs or on a couch, which you often don't have in a hotel.

Each morning, my husband and son would go downstairs and visit the local grocer for breakfast items. This was often a simple continental breakfast.

In Paris that consisted of a freshly baked French baguette with butter, apples, bananas, and orange juice. We didn't want to spend a great deal of time preparing breakfast, so this worked perfectly for us.

Our street in Paris, which has both a grocer and a bakery

 Apartment entrance

 Looking up from the courtyard

 Apartment courtyard

 spiral staircase to our apartment

 local crepe stand where we bought lunch many times

apartment kitchen

In Rome, we discovered Italian Cheerios at the local grocer. Different name, of course, but just as tasty as at home.

We also enjoyed the privacy of an apartment. When we stay in hotels, I worry about the security of our valuables and often put the "Do Not Disturb" sign up so housekeeping leaves the room alone. While we didn't return to our apartment to made beds, we really didn't care. It's our vacation!

Our apartment in Rome

The view from our balcony

There are links in the sidebar for the rental agencies we used.

The drawbacks to apartment dwelling just contribute to the adventure of the trip. The language barrier can be an issue, but there's usually someone around who can interpret your broken attempts at their language - or at least enthusiastic hand motions! Some apartments are in the midst of the hustle and bustle of city life and make getting to your daily tourist destination a little easier. But not always.

Tomorrow: getting around in Paris

Thursday's travel tip

We all complain about the security policies that are being implemented, particularly at airports. I hear story after story of favorite things being confiscated by the TSA.

To avoid this, bring a self-addressed stamped envelope to the airport with you so that you can place those items in it to mail home to yourself. Bring several stamps if you tend to forget that your Swiss Army knife is in your pocket!