The Big Cashew European Travels - Final Entry 10/29/18
Well, I guess I stated that there would be one more entry in my last update and the people are clamoring for said posting. I wonder how true that is, but here goes nothing!
That final day.
This is travel day and we get to return home. Its been really good here and Chiara got to see more of her extended family than we would have guessed. She has held up fairly well, with just a few issues popping up. The biggest issue was sleeping in the bed. She needs to be elevated and it was not easy to make this happen. Still, it was workable for her.
Our flight was at 11:30 AM. We got up around 6:30, had breakfast at the hotel, finished packing and headed to the airport (Leonardo DaVinci). The hotel was about 6 KM from the airport so we were there in no time. It is a fairly large airport, with 3 terminals and hundreds of international flights. American is in Terminal 3, but is located at the end. You drive up to the unloading zone and it is more at the beginning of the terminal. You are allowed to park for about 10 minutes. They have some means of tracking you so you need to keep to a schedule. I drop Chiara off with all the luggage and leave her there. It was in the mid 60s so it was not uncomfortable. I headed to the rental car return. I handle this myself, without any interpreting required. I have done this the last two or three times we traveled and it is fairly easy. However, you want to get it right or you will end up on the main road out and it is not easy to turn around.
You drive to the parking facility building and look for the sign for your rental company. Pretty easy although there are about 16 rental companies and you have to find the correct one on the signs which are not very large as they all must fit on the main signage. You then drive into the garage and up to the proper floor and follow the sign for returns. One thing to remember, in Italy, the main floor, or the ground floor is not floor #1. It is floor #0. This can be confusing, but I have it down pat now. I hand in the keys, get my receipt and head back to where I left Chiara. I get my hands on a luggage cart and away we go to the other end of the terminal. You have to pass through a gateway were they check to be sure you headed in the right direction. The main three American airlines are located together. That is American, United and Delta. You head to the AA section and wait in line. Since I have a priority standing, we get severed quickly. I ask if there is any chance of an upgrade. I am first in line for that, but we have to wait until we get to the gate itself. I know that there are two seats open in first class so we have hope.
Once checked in, you head to security. It is a bit of a walk as you head back to the middle of the terminal, but you are now behind the check in area. Again, you pass through doors to get to the security section. You cannot get past these doors unless you have a ticket that has to be scanned to open. Once in, you are immediately in line for security and bag check. That went fairly quickly although it was busy. Once through security you move to immigration check of your passport. There was different lines to account for people from all over so they direct you to the correct section. We have to go to one for Europeans as Chiara is Italian. I must follow her since we are together. But, no issue. We are through in 5 minutes or so and then we start the next long walk. Once passed the passport review you immediately walk into the shopping center. You actually have to go through one of the stores as there is no way around it. This its like a mall with rather high priced businesses. There is a separate food area up one floor, but it is open to the bottom floor so you can see everything. You keep walking and following signs. We have to get to gate 41. This requires a tram ride. They run every 2-3 minutes so no real wait there. You arrive at the correct set of gates on the tram and then head upstairs to find your specific gate. Fortunately, we have passes to the lounge. There you can get coffee, tea, soda, wine or spirits. They also provide food and pastries. It is all complimentary and we indulge ourselves. Another breakfast and some juices. Not a bad snack.
As the time for boarding drew near, we headed up to the gate. Since the desk was open and no one was waiting, I asked about the upgrade. At that moment, I knew it would not be the same ride as it was when we came over. The two seats were no longer available and no other options were open. This did not make total sense to me as I had noted they were available 2 hours earlier. In addition, there were multiple premium coach seats available too at that time. And to top it all off, I was supposedly first in line for such upgrades. Something smelled fishy but I had little recourse. So as we boarded, we took a right in stead of a left turn and headed to seats F and G in row 25. You win some and lose some.
The seats were not really that bad. They were no pods, but I was not uncomfortable. The worse part of the flight was just the length, as it was 9 1/2 hours in the air. It just seemed like a very long time. The meal was plain airline food and I had some wine and juice along with my own snacks. So we settled in and watched as many movies as we could. We did get some ice cream and the flight was basically smooth all the way. At the end of the day, we arrived, passed through immigration without incident, except for one issue with Chiara. Since she is a non-citizen, she gets fingerprinted each time she comes back to the states. The problem is the machine cannot read her prints. They do not standout in any way. I takes multiple times, wetting of the fingers, then putting lotion on them and pressing down hard to get a workable set. This usually adds about 5 minutes to our exit time. They finally got the prints to be read, they stamped our passports and we were on our way. We got our luggage, and out we went. The end of the travel day, except for the ride home.
The trip was successful and very rewarding to Chiara. The family was happy to see her and tolerated me. I had my octopus meal and Gelato multiple times. We might even have set up things for some of them to come to the States in the spring of next year. Chiara'a sister and hubby, Angela and Pietro, and possibly their friends, Gigi and Andreina. We will see. I let them know we have the room to put them up.
Until then, arrivederci!!!!!.
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
October 17, 2018
Big Cashew's European Travels
The days are winding down and we are left with the final two. Today is a travel day, as we will be headed to Rome, or should I say the Rome airport in Fumicino, to prepare for our flight tomorrow. We still have packing to complete, as we have bottles of wine, candies, cookies and a few other odds and ends to stuff into the suitcases. We hope to leave before noon, hopefully by 11, but that will remain to be seen. Once we get to our hotel, we will park the car, drop off our luggage and try to get a shuttle to the airport where we will then take the train into central Rome, hope on the subway and go visit a few sights before we head back to the hotel. The flight tomorrow is at 11:15. Still holding out hope we can get the upgrade to first, but that is for another day. Its time to tell the tale of yesterday.
As usual, the day was off to a slow start. Up at 7:30 , making my tea and then catching up on the news of the day. Chiara is always a little later in rising but that is to be expected. We do get our sh#t together and head out around 10 or so. We are going to the supermarket to look for the cookies and candies to bring back, along with wine as that is where it is sold. Supermarkets here come in all shapes and sizes. Some are like large 7/11's with the main staples only while others have all the bells and whistles. They have large produce areas, although there seems more veggies than fruits. There are bakery sections, a butcher shop, plenty of seafood and fish, both fresh and frozen, eggs, milks and creams, along with cereals, candies, pastries, snacks and such. They also sell wines and some liquors. Jameson seems to be the one whiskey most carry. Well, anyway, we go in and pick up a few things, and look for the wines. This time around. most of the wine will be sweet. I am the main drinker so I get what I want. Besides, almost everyone likes a little sweet wine after a meal.
So we finish up and head back to the house. Chiara starts arranging things for packing while also chatting with Rosaria. This is really just sorting things out for the main effort today. We have to do some laundry so Rosaria gets that taken care of and once completed, we put it on the line to dry. No dryers here, or at least, very few. The rest of the morning and early afternoon is really just hanging around, having a lite lunch and passing the time until about 2:30. That is when we head to Angela's to start our goodbyes. Angela and Pietro have done some shopping to present us with stuff to take back. They also give us wine and cookies. They were giving us 3 bottles of wine, but we would not have the room so we picked one that we know we can drink. We are there for about an hour. Then we say more goodbyes and head to Bacoli. Chiara is meeting her old school mates again, this time at a coffee shop/bar in the center of town just up from my favorite gelato place. I drop her off and head right to it. My last gelato goes down really smooth and sweet. It is a difficult parting, but I have to move on. I find a spot near the water and park for the next 2 1/2 hours and just watch the ships go by while listening to my book on tape.
This is my third one on the trip and I might finish it before we get back, but I cant be sure. It is entertaining though.
Chiara calls me near 7 to pick her up. I wait a few minutes and then head off back to the gelato place. We then head to Genaro's for dinner.
It is another glorious meal. We are there with Genaro, Salatina, Rosaria, Lello and Danny. There is a large party coming in around 9 or so, so we have a slightly early dinner time. The first course is brochette, which is better than we make at home. Then we get lobster and pasta in an olive oil, tomato and spices sauce.
I can't believe how great this tastes. Now I am pretty much full, having 2 pieces of brochette and two pieces of bread along with the lobster, but that is never enough for these people. We are then served a hugh plate of various fried fishes, calamari, octopus and conch. Now I am over stuffed. But don't forget dessert. Someone made homemade donuts so I have to have that also. It is a wonderful meal and a great time. As usual, they are so giving with everything. It is always a great experience.
We always try to talk the family into coming to the States. We are hoping that Pietro and Angela will return, perhaps in February or March, they say. They travel a lot with their friends so we cant be sure. During our stay, Adriena and Gigi also say they want to come over. The same for Rosaria and Louisa, their cousin. I say we have room for everyone and we will make it so. But I also say I will believe it when I see it. Rosaria doesn't fly (nor does Lello) and Gigi is not in the best of health. I don't see Adriena going without him so that's a big question mark. However, they do travel together, as I noted, so you never know. I just wish they could so we could start to repay everyone for their generosity, treating us like family all the time. I could show them a couple of my fancy dinners, although it might be prudent to hire the Big Dog and fly him in, to cook up a couple of his specialties. Plus he would be great for crowd control in case these Italian try to take over the kitchen!
So, anther two plus weeks have come and gone. It has been a bit tough at times for Chiara but I hope this has lightened her heart just a little and that she could forget, for a few minutes, the other issues in our lives. There will be one more installment for the Blog once we get back. Catch you on the return.
Big Cashew's European Travels
The days are winding down and we are left with the final two. Today is a travel day, as we will be headed to Rome, or should I say the Rome airport in Fumicino, to prepare for our flight tomorrow. We still have packing to complete, as we have bottles of wine, candies, cookies and a few other odds and ends to stuff into the suitcases. We hope to leave before noon, hopefully by 11, but that will remain to be seen. Once we get to our hotel, we will park the car, drop off our luggage and try to get a shuttle to the airport where we will then take the train into central Rome, hope on the subway and go visit a few sights before we head back to the hotel. The flight tomorrow is at 11:15. Still holding out hope we can get the upgrade to first, but that is for another day. Its time to tell the tale of yesterday.
As usual, the day was off to a slow start. Up at 7:30 , making my tea and then catching up on the news of the day. Chiara is always a little later in rising but that is to be expected. We do get our sh#t together and head out around 10 or so. We are going to the supermarket to look for the cookies and candies to bring back, along with wine as that is where it is sold. Supermarkets here come in all shapes and sizes. Some are like large 7/11's with the main staples only while others have all the bells and whistles. They have large produce areas, although there seems more veggies than fruits. There are bakery sections, a butcher shop, plenty of seafood and fish, both fresh and frozen, eggs, milks and creams, along with cereals, candies, pastries, snacks and such. They also sell wines and some liquors. Jameson seems to be the one whiskey most carry. Well, anyway, we go in and pick up a few things, and look for the wines. This time around. most of the wine will be sweet. I am the main drinker so I get what I want. Besides, almost everyone likes a little sweet wine after a meal.
So we finish up and head back to the house. Chiara starts arranging things for packing while also chatting with Rosaria. This is really just sorting things out for the main effort today. We have to do some laundry so Rosaria gets that taken care of and once completed, we put it on the line to dry. No dryers here, or at least, very few. The rest of the morning and early afternoon is really just hanging around, having a lite lunch and passing the time until about 2:30. That is when we head to Angela's to start our goodbyes. Angela and Pietro have done some shopping to present us with stuff to take back. They also give us wine and cookies. They were giving us 3 bottles of wine, but we would not have the room so we picked one that we know we can drink. We are there for about an hour. Then we say more goodbyes and head to Bacoli. Chiara is meeting her old school mates again, this time at a coffee shop/bar in the center of town just up from my favorite gelato place. I drop her off and head right to it. My last gelato goes down really smooth and sweet. It is a difficult parting, but I have to move on. I find a spot near the water and park for the next 2 1/2 hours and just watch the ships go by while listening to my book on tape.
This is my third one on the trip and I might finish it before we get back, but I cant be sure. It is entertaining though.
Chiara calls me near 7 to pick her up. I wait a few minutes and then head off back to the gelato place. We then head to Genaro's for dinner.
We always try to talk the family into coming to the States. We are hoping that Pietro and Angela will return, perhaps in February or March, they say. They travel a lot with their friends so we cant be sure. During our stay, Adriena and Gigi also say they want to come over. The same for Rosaria and Louisa, their cousin. I say we have room for everyone and we will make it so. But I also say I will believe it when I see it. Rosaria doesn't fly (nor does Lello) and Gigi is not in the best of health. I don't see Adriena going without him so that's a big question mark. However, they do travel together, as I noted, so you never know. I just wish they could so we could start to repay everyone for their generosity, treating us like family all the time. I could show them a couple of my fancy dinners, although it might be prudent to hire the Big Dog and fly him in, to cook up a couple of his specialties. Plus he would be great for crowd control in case these Italian try to take over the kitchen!
So, anther two plus weeks have come and gone. It has been a bit tough at times for Chiara but I hope this has lightened her heart just a little and that she could forget, for a few minutes, the other issues in our lives. There will be one more installment for the Blog once we get back. Catch you on the return.
Monday, October 15, 2018
October 15, 2018
Big Cashew's continuing European Travels
Well, another couple of days have flown by. I guess its time to fill my fans in the exciting actions of the last two days as I am sure you are all starving for more. OK, I am sure reality is you have had your fill and that there are plenty of left overs to be had but they are just rotting away at this point. Still, there is somethings to blog about (notice I did not say good things) so let's get to it.
Yesterday (Sunday) was not really much to talk about, but we did do a couple of things so I will tell you about them. First, the home owners were out for most of the day. Rosario goes to her mothers for Sunday morning and then to her mother-in-laws for the afternoon. Lello takes here to both places and either runs errands or hangs with her. The kids are both out early too, so when we got up, we had the house to ourselves. We had our cups of tea and then went for a walk down the street into the neighborhood. This neighborhood, like just about all of them, are "gated" communities. By gated I mean that every house has gates all around the perimeter. Some also have gates around the whole neighborhood. I don't know why, but this really bothers me as I wonder how safe is it here when everyone lives behind these gates and all the windows in the house have metal shutters that close and cover those windows. They are always shut at night and sometimes they are not even opened during the day. Again, just a point that rubs me the wrong way. I guess is my hangup.
After our walk, we took the car out for a spin. Chiara wanted to find a church for mass. We were busy Saturday evening so we did not go to an earlier mass. Anyway, we pass one church and I miss the turn, so I have to go a little farther and do a U turn. We come back and I drive into the parking lot. There are some people there so she asks about the mass. They must have completed the masses there and we were directed down a side street towards the "New" church just recently built. We look for it but go the wrong direction at a turn. We have to make a loop as the road is one way. We come back and I suggest instead of turning, we go straight. after about 1/4 mile, we see a steeple in the distance. We drive almost a mile and there it is. It is a "New" church, especially when compared to the majority in the country. You can see a couple of pictures I took.
The mass took about an hour. I would say at least 20 minutes or so were from the sermon. Apparently some Italian priests were canonized as Saints and the story was all about them. I could barely contain myself. And I could barely stay awake. So that was our first "highlight" of the day.
The second activity was going back to Gigi's and Adriena's. This was in late afternoon. Angela and Pietro are there quite a lot. They all seem to enjoy each others company. We were invited to have some dessert. I was bit tired, but Chiara wanted to go so off we went. As I have noted before, no one speaks English. I sat at the table, had some of the pastries and some lime soda. Its not and issue that no one speaks English. They treat me very well, like one of the family. Its just that there is minimal conversations we can have. Occasionally, Chiara will translate to get an answer from me, but not too often. This trip I brought books on tape so I will turn on the CD player and listen when they talk.
As far as I am concerned, I am here to take Chiara to visit whom she wants to, and I have fulfilled that task quite thoroughly these past two weeks. No complaints. If it makes her happy, then that is what I do. And that was it for Sunday.
Monday was filled with one goal. Chiara wanted to get to Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral in Pompeii. She pretty much wants to go here every trip and attend mass. This time, she also wanted to visit with her first husbands Aunt who lives about half way to the church. As it turned out, when it was understood that she was going to the church and added the visit, both her sister, Rosaria and her cousin, Louisa, both wanted to come. So a two person trip turned into a 5 person (four women and me) trip and all went to the church. The trip itself was mostly non-eventful until we reach Pompeii. Then things got a little nasty. We went as far as we could with the back streets that GPS took us. We finally got to the main street that takes you to the square, except that the end section is only open to resident's cars. We had to turn off, and it appears we turned off to soon and in the wrong direction. I took a left, as my navigator directed and we went done this side street. We got to the end and I was directed right. We, or really I, drove down this street and noticed something peculiar. The street was supposedly two way but it was getting narrower. We finally come to the end section, which first required us to cross railroad tracks. The thing was, the tracks were a small hill that made me concerned about bottoming out. I also had two pedestrians walking toward us in the middle of this narrow opening. Now I seldom brag, but there's a statement in the Bible that states "it is easier to fit a camel through the eye of a needle than it is for rich man to go to heaven". I now need to usurp this one. It is harder to do anything you can think of with a camel then it is for the Big Cashew to drive his car through any size opening these Italians throw at me with no scratches or dings! Just bring it on. This street had a rock wall on one side and metal posts on the other to protect pedestrians and it was barely wider than the car. But to top it off, it had a 90 degree turn in the middle of all this. I am not sure how I did it, but I came through unscathed and ready for bear. Then to top it off, I was shortly faced with another 90 degree turn on a two way street just wide enough to fit through moving in a straight line. There was a car parked on both sides and I had inches at most to make this turn. I have seen the enemy and I have pushed him back in his hole. No problem.
We arrived at the square and needed to find parking. The church is supposed to have parking but it is not easy to find. I dropped the women off before parking, and I was forced to circle once to wait for an opening. One came up and we parked the car, then walked into the church. The goal was for the ladies to be there for the noon mass. We entered around 11:50 and the mass started a 12. It turned out to be a wedding mass, so we stayed and watched, and even clapped for the bride and groom. After the mass, I went around and took these pictures:
And here are few pics of the crew that was with me.
After the mass, the ladies went to the intentions office and wrote out mass intentions for family members who have passed on. I went around to take more pictures. Once finished, they came back into the church and then walked to the entrance to step into the front courtyard. The wedding party was completing pictures and these ladies wanted a picture of them with the car, as you see above. We then walked to a local restaurant and had lunch. The special was pasta with mussels in a tomato sauce, then fried calamari and shrimp, and finally fresh fruit. All this for $18 Euros/person. It was very filling.
After lunch I drove everyone back, dropped off the Aunt and the cousin, then headed to Villa Chiara to say hello to Biagio. We only stayed about 20 minutes, no food, and then headed back to Rosaria's.
We were tired and not too hungry at that point. It was good to get back.
Tomorrow is our last day here, so we will see what it holds for us. Signing off for now!
Big Cashew's continuing European Travels
Well, another couple of days have flown by. I guess its time to fill my fans in the exciting actions of the last two days as I am sure you are all starving for more. OK, I am sure reality is you have had your fill and that there are plenty of left overs to be had but they are just rotting away at this point. Still, there is somethings to blog about (notice I did not say good things) so let's get to it.
Yesterday (Sunday) was not really much to talk about, but we did do a couple of things so I will tell you about them. First, the home owners were out for most of the day. Rosario goes to her mothers for Sunday morning and then to her mother-in-laws for the afternoon. Lello takes here to both places and either runs errands or hangs with her. The kids are both out early too, so when we got up, we had the house to ourselves. We had our cups of tea and then went for a walk down the street into the neighborhood. This neighborhood, like just about all of them, are "gated" communities. By gated I mean that every house has gates all around the perimeter. Some also have gates around the whole neighborhood. I don't know why, but this really bothers me as I wonder how safe is it here when everyone lives behind these gates and all the windows in the house have metal shutters that close and cover those windows. They are always shut at night and sometimes they are not even opened during the day. Again, just a point that rubs me the wrong way. I guess is my hangup.
After our walk, we took the car out for a spin. Chiara wanted to find a church for mass. We were busy Saturday evening so we did not go to an earlier mass. Anyway, we pass one church and I miss the turn, so I have to go a little farther and do a U turn. We come back and I drive into the parking lot. There are some people there so she asks about the mass. They must have completed the masses there and we were directed down a side street towards the "New" church just recently built. We look for it but go the wrong direction at a turn. We have to make a loop as the road is one way. We come back and I suggest instead of turning, we go straight. after about 1/4 mile, we see a steeple in the distance. We drive almost a mile and there it is. It is a "New" church, especially when compared to the majority in the country. You can see a couple of pictures I took.
The mass took about an hour. I would say at least 20 minutes or so were from the sermon. Apparently some Italian priests were canonized as Saints and the story was all about them. I could barely contain myself. And I could barely stay awake. So that was our first "highlight" of the day.
The second activity was going back to Gigi's and Adriena's. This was in late afternoon. Angela and Pietro are there quite a lot. They all seem to enjoy each others company. We were invited to have some dessert. I was bit tired, but Chiara wanted to go so off we went. As I have noted before, no one speaks English. I sat at the table, had some of the pastries and some lime soda. Its not and issue that no one speaks English. They treat me very well, like one of the family. Its just that there is minimal conversations we can have. Occasionally, Chiara will translate to get an answer from me, but not too often. This trip I brought books on tape so I will turn on the CD player and listen when they talk.
As far as I am concerned, I am here to take Chiara to visit whom she wants to, and I have fulfilled that task quite thoroughly these past two weeks. No complaints. If it makes her happy, then that is what I do. And that was it for Sunday.
Monday was filled with one goal. Chiara wanted to get to Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral in Pompeii. She pretty much wants to go here every trip and attend mass. This time, she also wanted to visit with her first husbands Aunt who lives about half way to the church. As it turned out, when it was understood that she was going to the church and added the visit, both her sister, Rosaria and her cousin, Louisa, both wanted to come. So a two person trip turned into a 5 person (four women and me) trip and all went to the church. The trip itself was mostly non-eventful until we reach Pompeii. Then things got a little nasty. We went as far as we could with the back streets that GPS took us. We finally got to the main street that takes you to the square, except that the end section is only open to resident's cars. We had to turn off, and it appears we turned off to soon and in the wrong direction. I took a left, as my navigator directed and we went done this side street. We got to the end and I was directed right. We, or really I, drove down this street and noticed something peculiar. The street was supposedly two way but it was getting narrower. We finally come to the end section, which first required us to cross railroad tracks. The thing was, the tracks were a small hill that made me concerned about bottoming out. I also had two pedestrians walking toward us in the middle of this narrow opening. Now I seldom brag, but there's a statement in the Bible that states "it is easier to fit a camel through the eye of a needle than it is for rich man to go to heaven". I now need to usurp this one. It is harder to do anything you can think of with a camel then it is for the Big Cashew to drive his car through any size opening these Italians throw at me with no scratches or dings! Just bring it on. This street had a rock wall on one side and metal posts on the other to protect pedestrians and it was barely wider than the car. But to top it off, it had a 90 degree turn in the middle of all this. I am not sure how I did it, but I came through unscathed and ready for bear. Then to top it off, I was shortly faced with another 90 degree turn on a two way street just wide enough to fit through moving in a straight line. There was a car parked on both sides and I had inches at most to make this turn. I have seen the enemy and I have pushed him back in his hole. No problem.
We arrived at the square and needed to find parking. The church is supposed to have parking but it is not easy to find. I dropped the women off before parking, and I was forced to circle once to wait for an opening. One came up and we parked the car, then walked into the church. The goal was for the ladies to be there for the noon mass. We entered around 11:50 and the mass started a 12. It turned out to be a wedding mass, so we stayed and watched, and even clapped for the bride and groom. After the mass, I went around and took these pictures:
The car is for the wedding couple.
And here are few pics of the crew that was with me.
After the mass, the ladies went to the intentions office and wrote out mass intentions for family members who have passed on. I went around to take more pictures. Once finished, they came back into the church and then walked to the entrance to step into the front courtyard. The wedding party was completing pictures and these ladies wanted a picture of them with the car, as you see above. We then walked to a local restaurant and had lunch. The special was pasta with mussels in a tomato sauce, then fried calamari and shrimp, and finally fresh fruit. All this for $18 Euros/person. It was very filling.
After lunch I drove everyone back, dropped off the Aunt and the cousin, then headed to Villa Chiara to say hello to Biagio. We only stayed about 20 minutes, no food, and then headed back to Rosaria's.
We were tired and not too hungry at that point. It was good to get back.
Tomorrow is our last day here, so we will see what it holds for us. Signing off for now!
Sunday, October 14, 2018
October 14, 2018
Big Cashews European Adventure (continued)
OK, OK. So I skipped a day again. What can I tell you. Everyday we do not have the
"Greatest Story Ever Told". I think God has that one patented. And I am just the chauffeur for the "Queen". I don't set agenda's, I just drive to them and remind her of what is still to be done. Such is the life of an underling!
Well, the last two days were not filled with constant activities. I would say that would be too much for Chiara anyway. They were used as time to accomplish a few important points so we did not wast time. These points included resolving a financial situation, visiting one of her cousins, looking for some wines to bring back to the States, visiting her other Aunt and Uncle, and spending more time with her sister, Rosaria. She wants to spend some time with Angela, also, but Angela has been busy herself so it remains to be seen what can be done over the next three days. So, back to the last two days.
The financial situation is complicated because this is Italy and they work very hard on making things difficult for people with their rules and self determined regulations. Chiara has an account that her father set up years ago for a small next egg he wanted her to have. This goes back 20 years or more. She started withdrawing money the last couple of visits, as she wants the money for Maria and Nello. All seems simple enough but as I said that is never the case over here. First, this money is not in a bank. It is held in an account at the Post Office. Yes, that is correct, the Post Office. They act as a bank (there are plenty of banks here also, but they have their own quirks), although this account is more like a CD that matures on a specific date. Unlike a bank, once you reach that date, the account is basically frozen, meaning it no longer gains any interest. There were two accounts and they have both matured in the last two years. She wanted to take the money out in the simplest way but the PO only allows a certain amount to be withdrawn at a time. This amount seems to depend on the day of the week and who the teller is. Sometimes its $2,000, sometimes its $5,000 or it could be $500. In addition, they do not do transfers, such as sending it electronically to a bank here or in the states. You basically have to drain it as cash based on what they allow, or you can have them write a check. Over the last couple of visits, she took cash out and brought it back to the States. This was not the best since you could only take so much each trip she took to Italy. It is also in Euros, so it has to be exchanged at our bank, and they charge for that service. At this point, taking her situation into account, she wants to get all the money out and back to the States. Last year she took some but most was still here. She visited the PO on Friday and asked about the transfer, which they said was a no-go for her. So she wanted to use a check. The director of all people came out and wanted to know why she wanted the money, as it was more than they usually allow per visit and just why take it out as it was "safe" in the PO. They are very nosy! She explained her health condition and when they looked at her last name, they asked if she was the sister of Onofrio. Well, of course she is and then all of a sudden, the wheels were greased and they agreed to empty, but not close the account. I don't understand the Onofrio aura, but this is not the first time I have seem his name open doors that were locked. Just the other day, his girlfriends car was some how left in the middle of a street, semi blocking traffic. Actually, she must have not put the emergency brake on fully, so it rolled out of it parking space. The police came upon it, looked up the registration and saw it was under Onofrio's name. They called him to let him know and asked him to come down to move. No ticket, no tow. Just a friendly notice to him. Thank god for Onofrio, and he can cook to! As an added note, we were at the Post Office for an hour and a half just trying to handle this transaction. They are quick!
That evening, we were invited to her cousins for dinner. As usual, dinner was not scheduled until after 8 PM. Such is life for the car driver. The dinner was good, as they all seem to be, consisting of mussels, pasta, salad, fish and such. There was also home made wine, which you get in every house along with either coke or Pepsi. Here cousins house is right in Bacoli, just across the street from the lake. It is on the top of the building, although they own the building and they have an open balcony that allows for a very nice view of the lake area and provides a nice breeze.
The main drawback here is that they do no have a garage and there is no parking. You can park in the street, if you find a space, but you have to pay and you are limited on how much time as only residents with a sticker can park after a certain time. I had to park about two blocks away, but it was nice evening and comfortably warm.
The next day was even less eventful. We relaxed most of the morning. At near noon, we took a walk to the supermarket to pickup some chicken wings and chips (I wanted to try the wings). They were OK although a little bland. Rosaria made a lasagna, yes for lunch, and we all sat down and ate it along with the wings. As I have noted before, they do heavy lunches and supposedly lighter dinners. Can't say I have seen the lighter dinners yet. We hung out most of the afternoon until about 4 and then went off to find a wine store that Genaro had told Chiara about. We could not find it as I wandered back and forth in the supposed general area. I was directed down a side street to continue to look for it when all of a sudden we pass a women and Chiara yells that is another cousin of mine. So we stop, she gets out and they chat. Then they head off to the cousin's mother's house to pay a visit. I am left basically in the middle of the road so I pull over and park and wait patiently for 42 minutes. I read the news on my phone and watch the surroundings. At one point, I nice looking blond walks by so its not all boring. Anyway, she gets back into the car and her now head for her aunt and uncle's house. They live near the commuter train station and there are restaurants galore there also, so you have to work your way through the crowd and hope to find a space. There was space in their driveway so we are directed there, park and then walk up. We are there for about 4 hours. Again, everyone only speaks Italian. They order pizza and we all get our own.
I can barely eat half of mine. The rest of the crew devours theirs (including Chiara) and they bought one extra one so that one goes to. They tend not to eat much of the surrounding crust, which I always eat, but still, they make me look like and amateur and they are all champion power eaters. The pizzas came from Villa Chiara.
So that is really the gist of the past two days. Things are winding down a little. Chiara is a bit tired so we try not to over do it. Today is rather open. We still have a trip to Pompeii tomorrow with her cousin, Louisa, her sister Rosaria and an in-law I have not yet met. Of course, I am the driver. Tuesday is still under discussion. The weather has been spectacular, with only a bit of rain overnight earlier this week and in the upper 70's during the day. On Wednesday, we head back to Rome for a hotel near the airport. We might take the train into Rome and visit another cathedral, but that is also under discussion.
Just a few more days of this blog and life will return to normal for all you avid readers.
Big Cashews European Adventure (continued)
OK, OK. So I skipped a day again. What can I tell you. Everyday we do not have the
"Greatest Story Ever Told". I think God has that one patented. And I am just the chauffeur for the "Queen". I don't set agenda's, I just drive to them and remind her of what is still to be done. Such is the life of an underling!
Well, the last two days were not filled with constant activities. I would say that would be too much for Chiara anyway. They were used as time to accomplish a few important points so we did not wast time. These points included resolving a financial situation, visiting one of her cousins, looking for some wines to bring back to the States, visiting her other Aunt and Uncle, and spending more time with her sister, Rosaria. She wants to spend some time with Angela, also, but Angela has been busy herself so it remains to be seen what can be done over the next three days. So, back to the last two days.
The financial situation is complicated because this is Italy and they work very hard on making things difficult for people with their rules and self determined regulations. Chiara has an account that her father set up years ago for a small next egg he wanted her to have. This goes back 20 years or more. She started withdrawing money the last couple of visits, as she wants the money for Maria and Nello. All seems simple enough but as I said that is never the case over here. First, this money is not in a bank. It is held in an account at the Post Office. Yes, that is correct, the Post Office. They act as a bank (there are plenty of banks here also, but they have their own quirks), although this account is more like a CD that matures on a specific date. Unlike a bank, once you reach that date, the account is basically frozen, meaning it no longer gains any interest. There were two accounts and they have both matured in the last two years. She wanted to take the money out in the simplest way but the PO only allows a certain amount to be withdrawn at a time. This amount seems to depend on the day of the week and who the teller is. Sometimes its $2,000, sometimes its $5,000 or it could be $500. In addition, they do not do transfers, such as sending it electronically to a bank here or in the states. You basically have to drain it as cash based on what they allow, or you can have them write a check. Over the last couple of visits, she took cash out and brought it back to the States. This was not the best since you could only take so much each trip she took to Italy. It is also in Euros, so it has to be exchanged at our bank, and they charge for that service. At this point, taking her situation into account, she wants to get all the money out and back to the States. Last year she took some but most was still here. She visited the PO on Friday and asked about the transfer, which they said was a no-go for her. So she wanted to use a check. The director of all people came out and wanted to know why she wanted the money, as it was more than they usually allow per visit and just why take it out as it was "safe" in the PO. They are very nosy! She explained her health condition and when they looked at her last name, they asked if she was the sister of Onofrio. Well, of course she is and then all of a sudden, the wheels were greased and they agreed to empty, but not close the account. I don't understand the Onofrio aura, but this is not the first time I have seem his name open doors that were locked. Just the other day, his girlfriends car was some how left in the middle of a street, semi blocking traffic. Actually, she must have not put the emergency brake on fully, so it rolled out of it parking space. The police came upon it, looked up the registration and saw it was under Onofrio's name. They called him to let him know and asked him to come down to move. No ticket, no tow. Just a friendly notice to him. Thank god for Onofrio, and he can cook to! As an added note, we were at the Post Office for an hour and a half just trying to handle this transaction. They are quick!
That evening, we were invited to her cousins for dinner. As usual, dinner was not scheduled until after 8 PM. Such is life for the car driver. The dinner was good, as they all seem to be, consisting of mussels, pasta, salad, fish and such. There was also home made wine, which you get in every house along with either coke or Pepsi. Here cousins house is right in Bacoli, just across the street from the lake. It is on the top of the building, although they own the building and they have an open balcony that allows for a very nice view of the lake area and provides a nice breeze.
The main drawback here is that they do no have a garage and there is no parking. You can park in the street, if you find a space, but you have to pay and you are limited on how much time as only residents with a sticker can park after a certain time. I had to park about two blocks away, but it was nice evening and comfortably warm.
The next day was even less eventful. We relaxed most of the morning. At near noon, we took a walk to the supermarket to pickup some chicken wings and chips (I wanted to try the wings). They were OK although a little bland. Rosaria made a lasagna, yes for lunch, and we all sat down and ate it along with the wings. As I have noted before, they do heavy lunches and supposedly lighter dinners. Can't say I have seen the lighter dinners yet. We hung out most of the afternoon until about 4 and then went off to find a wine store that Genaro had told Chiara about. We could not find it as I wandered back and forth in the supposed general area. I was directed down a side street to continue to look for it when all of a sudden we pass a women and Chiara yells that is another cousin of mine. So we stop, she gets out and they chat. Then they head off to the cousin's mother's house to pay a visit. I am left basically in the middle of the road so I pull over and park and wait patiently for 42 minutes. I read the news on my phone and watch the surroundings. At one point, I nice looking blond walks by so its not all boring. Anyway, she gets back into the car and her now head for her aunt and uncle's house. They live near the commuter train station and there are restaurants galore there also, so you have to work your way through the crowd and hope to find a space. There was space in their driveway so we are directed there, park and then walk up. We are there for about 4 hours. Again, everyone only speaks Italian. They order pizza and we all get our own.
I can barely eat half of mine. The rest of the crew devours theirs (including Chiara) and they bought one extra one so that one goes to. They tend not to eat much of the surrounding crust, which I always eat, but still, they make me look like and amateur and they are all champion power eaters. The pizzas came from Villa Chiara.
So that is really the gist of the past two days. Things are winding down a little. Chiara is a bit tired so we try not to over do it. Today is rather open. We still have a trip to Pompeii tomorrow with her cousin, Louisa, her sister Rosaria and an in-law I have not yet met. Of course, I am the driver. Tuesday is still under discussion. The weather has been spectacular, with only a bit of rain overnight earlier this week and in the upper 70's during the day. On Wednesday, we head back to Rome for a hotel near the airport. We might take the train into Rome and visit another cathedral, but that is also under discussion.
Just a few more days of this blog and life will return to normal for all you avid readers.
Friday, October 12, 2018
10/12/2018
Big Cashews European Adventure
Back on the blog again after a couple days break. There really hasn't been much to bore you all with. The last two days were rather uneventful except for a visit or two, a trip to a farmers/flea market and the dinners we enjoyed. So I will get right to it.
Wednesday, Chiara wanted to see Carmelina, who is one of her sister-in-laws from her first marriage. She lives in a town called Monte di Procida, which is a typical old Italian town, but in this general area. It has narrow winding and hilly streets that can confuse and confound you as you try to make your way to a particular address. Numerous streets are one way and others can be blocked off except for local residents. We drove around, and sometimes I was ordered to stop to wait for her to figure out the next turn. Mind you, I am in the middle of the street blocking traffic while she is figuring things out. The turns can be very tight and you have the locals zipping around and past me since I go too slow for the drivers here. It is a fun time. We finally find the building and I park half way on the sidewalk. Her sister-in-law invites us in and we have a lovely chat, well they have the chat in Italian and I just sit there smiling occasionally. Quite a recurring theme here, but I knew it coming in.
After the visit they decide to go down to the beach for a stroll. You get a decent view of the water and off shore islands and the face of the escarpment that this town is built on. It is interesting since they build houses right on the edge. Here are a few pictures from one of the viewing areas on the mount.
That evening we were off to Genaro's restaurant as we had not seen him since we arrived in Italy. They were both happy to see each other and we were joined by Genaro's wife, Salatina.
They chatted away for a couple of hours and we had dinner. Due to the time and the fact that neither one of us could pack it away, we had a slightly reduced menu of sorts. There was an octopus salad, bruschetta with mussels, some fried cod, some minnow like fish severed similar to french fries and then a whole fish, something like a Grouper, that was first covered with a small mountain of salt and steamed. The salt does not impact the fish meat but keeps the moisture and flavors in. The waiter brings it out on a large platter, removes the crusted salt layer, removes the scales and outer skin, and then all the bones in one fell swoop so you are left with just the meat of the fish. You dab a little lemon and have at it.
It was not the whole package, as I noted, since we could not eat much more, but it was another enjoyable meal. We will try to get back for a lunch get-together before we leave.
Yesterday was another easy going day. After my usual cup of tea, I settled into just relaxing reading my IPhone. That lovely time was shattered by the women stating they was to go to the farmers market. Since I had nothing really planned, I was volunteered to drive them there. Its just a couple of miles to the site and very popular. We drive in down a long narrow driveway or street fully lined with cars and basically packed. I wonder where I will park when a person starts directing me towards him and then has me fit diagonally in a small but adequate spot. Adequate except that I am 20 inches from the parked car on the drivers side. They also have a car in front of them so it could be interesting to see them get out of their space and to see if my car survives undented. Well, that is my problem as the ladies take off and leave me there. They are gone for over 2 hours but I entertain myself with another book on tape. I also watch the people as they go by and work out the parking situation. Most of the cars are small and look like it would be a squeeze to get four people in one. They park in every direction, in every slightly open space or they just park in the street blocking those who are parked at an angle. Its anything goes apparently. After two hours, the crowd has thinned out and there is no problem turning around and driving back out. And that was about it for the rest of the morning and afternoon. However, it was not the end of the day's activities.
We were invited to a friend of Angela's, Adriena, for dinner. It turns out a lot of people were invited to the dinner. 12 people in all. And there was much more food then they could all eat. I will get to that shortly. All guests were expected to be there around 7 to 7:30. The most important guest (this time it was not me), was Onofrio. He held this title as he was the main chef for the evening. He did not show up until about 8. But to his credit, he brought the food, mostly already prepared, with him. Since I had originally figured it would be another hour plus to cook things from scratch, I was relieved. It still took about 40 minutes to get things in place and finished cooking, so dinner did not start until near 8:30. Another late time for me. I needed to be cool and eat sparingly. Yeah, right! This was not a dinner to try that tactic on.
The table used expands to hold the 12 people (barely) but there was food from one end to the other as you see in the pictures. The dinner consisted of the following: Smoked Salmon on toasted/buttered bread, Octopus in tomato sauce, fried calamari in a creamy tomato sauce, potatoes with cuddle fish, potatoes with broiled fish, beans in a sauce with cuddle fish, roasted peppers with octopus, large whole body shrimp lightly covered in breadcrumbs, and steamed mussels followed by pasta fagioli with mussels, mixed fried fish and assorted mozzarellas. Wow, that was a mouthful just to type. But you cant get the who picture without a picture, so here it is:
Just a lite snack as you can see. The guy in the black shirt is the cook, Onofrio. He really knows his stuff. Everything was delicious, but I especially liked the octopus, calamari and the roasted peppers. I do not eat peas with any sort of accompaniment, and I was too full for the pasta. But as you can see, I did not go hungry. I seemed to get treated rather well, although at these type gatherings, you take you life in your hands, or should I say stomach. They are not interested in what you already ate, they are interested in feeding you more. You almost need an armed guard to keep them at bay with more and more food! I guess its a dangerous job (the eating that is), but someone has to do it! No wonder I am the hero in these situations!
That kinda wraps it up for today. We still have places to go, people to visit, beaches to try to get to meals to consume. So forward we go rushing into the valley of food. Lets see if we come out the other side.
Big Cashews European Adventure
Back on the blog again after a couple days break. There really hasn't been much to bore you all with. The last two days were rather uneventful except for a visit or two, a trip to a farmers/flea market and the dinners we enjoyed. So I will get right to it.
Wednesday, Chiara wanted to see Carmelina, who is one of her sister-in-laws from her first marriage. She lives in a town called Monte di Procida, which is a typical old Italian town, but in this general area. It has narrow winding and hilly streets that can confuse and confound you as you try to make your way to a particular address. Numerous streets are one way and others can be blocked off except for local residents. We drove around, and sometimes I was ordered to stop to wait for her to figure out the next turn. Mind you, I am in the middle of the street blocking traffic while she is figuring things out. The turns can be very tight and you have the locals zipping around and past me since I go too slow for the drivers here. It is a fun time. We finally find the building and I park half way on the sidewalk. Her sister-in-law invites us in and we have a lovely chat, well they have the chat in Italian and I just sit there smiling occasionally. Quite a recurring theme here, but I knew it coming in.
After the visit they decide to go down to the beach for a stroll. You get a decent view of the water and off shore islands and the face of the escarpment that this town is built on. It is interesting since they build houses right on the edge. Here are a few pictures from one of the viewing areas on the mount.
That evening we were off to Genaro's restaurant as we had not seen him since we arrived in Italy. They were both happy to see each other and we were joined by Genaro's wife, Salatina.
They chatted away for a couple of hours and we had dinner. Due to the time and the fact that neither one of us could pack it away, we had a slightly reduced menu of sorts. There was an octopus salad, bruschetta with mussels, some fried cod, some minnow like fish severed similar to french fries and then a whole fish, something like a Grouper, that was first covered with a small mountain of salt and steamed. The salt does not impact the fish meat but keeps the moisture and flavors in. The waiter brings it out on a large platter, removes the crusted salt layer, removes the scales and outer skin, and then all the bones in one fell swoop so you are left with just the meat of the fish. You dab a little lemon and have at it.
It was not the whole package, as I noted, since we could not eat much more, but it was another enjoyable meal. We will try to get back for a lunch get-together before we leave.
Yesterday was another easy going day. After my usual cup of tea, I settled into just relaxing reading my IPhone. That lovely time was shattered by the women stating they was to go to the farmers market. Since I had nothing really planned, I was volunteered to drive them there. Its just a couple of miles to the site and very popular. We drive in down a long narrow driveway or street fully lined with cars and basically packed. I wonder where I will park when a person starts directing me towards him and then has me fit diagonally in a small but adequate spot. Adequate except that I am 20 inches from the parked car on the drivers side. They also have a car in front of them so it could be interesting to see them get out of their space and to see if my car survives undented. Well, that is my problem as the ladies take off and leave me there. They are gone for over 2 hours but I entertain myself with another book on tape. I also watch the people as they go by and work out the parking situation. Most of the cars are small and look like it would be a squeeze to get four people in one. They park in every direction, in every slightly open space or they just park in the street blocking those who are parked at an angle. Its anything goes apparently. After two hours, the crowd has thinned out and there is no problem turning around and driving back out. And that was about it for the rest of the morning and afternoon. However, it was not the end of the day's activities.
We were invited to a friend of Angela's, Adriena, for dinner. It turns out a lot of people were invited to the dinner. 12 people in all. And there was much more food then they could all eat. I will get to that shortly. All guests were expected to be there around 7 to 7:30. The most important guest (this time it was not me), was Onofrio. He held this title as he was the main chef for the evening. He did not show up until about 8. But to his credit, he brought the food, mostly already prepared, with him. Since I had originally figured it would be another hour plus to cook things from scratch, I was relieved. It still took about 40 minutes to get things in place and finished cooking, so dinner did not start until near 8:30. Another late time for me. I needed to be cool and eat sparingly. Yeah, right! This was not a dinner to try that tactic on.
The table used expands to hold the 12 people (barely) but there was food from one end to the other as you see in the pictures. The dinner consisted of the following: Smoked Salmon on toasted/buttered bread, Octopus in tomato sauce, fried calamari in a creamy tomato sauce, potatoes with cuddle fish, potatoes with broiled fish, beans in a sauce with cuddle fish, roasted peppers with octopus, large whole body shrimp lightly covered in breadcrumbs, and steamed mussels followed by pasta fagioli with mussels, mixed fried fish and assorted mozzarellas. Wow, that was a mouthful just to type. But you cant get the who picture without a picture, so here it is:
Just a lite snack as you can see. The guy in the black shirt is the cook, Onofrio. He really knows his stuff. Everything was delicious, but I especially liked the octopus, calamari and the roasted peppers. I do not eat peas with any sort of accompaniment, and I was too full for the pasta. But as you can see, I did not go hungry. I seemed to get treated rather well, although at these type gatherings, you take you life in your hands, or should I say stomach. They are not interested in what you already ate, they are interested in feeding you more. You almost need an armed guard to keep them at bay with more and more food! I guess its a dangerous job (the eating that is), but someone has to do it! No wonder I am the hero in these situations!
That kinda wraps it up for today. We still have places to go, people to visit, beaches to try to get to meals to consume. So forward we go rushing into the valley of food. Lets see if we come out the other side.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
October 10, 2018
The Big Cashew's European Adventure
Today proved to be a bit less involved than the previous ones and the blog will follow that script. Today was a slow starter. I was up early, at 6:30, as I had trouble sleeping. The meal I had the night before at Angela's was way over my limit of food intake at that late a time. I just can't sleep well on a full stomach. So I got up early and made my very hot cup of tea. Chiara stayed in bed until about 9 AM. For the morning, I basically sat in the shade and listened to my books on tape. Chiara spent the time chatting with her sister. So it was an easy going morning. One accomplishment was to loosely map out the rest of the time here and make a schedule of who she will see when and what tasks might need to be completed. At least this was done.
So, the main activity today is for Chiara to meet this group of friends for lunch. This was started last year and the group is trying to keep it a yearly thing, to coincide with Chiara's travel. There are about 15 in the group and they go back to grade school as to when they met and started spending time together. Today's luncheon is being held at the restaurant La Fortezza, which is owned and run by Chiara's brother, Genaro. They are meeting at 1:30, the usual lunch time over here and could go 3 to 4 hours. I am to drop her off. She said I was invited, but most do not speak English and I do not speak Italian. The follow pictures are from the restaurant which is on a hill and provides a nice view of area
I decide to spend the day with my books on tape and park somewhere that offers a view of the Mediterranean Sea, since we are within a mile of it where ever her family's houses are. I found an overlook stop so I pulled over and parked, rolled down the windows and started my audio book. I did this for 4 hours and for me, it was a good way to spend the day. I did break up the time with a trip to the Gelato place in Bacoli. I was a little disappointed as they did not have my favorite flavor, but what they had was more than adequate so I had a two scoop cone. It was delicious.
Here are a few pictures from the viewing area I parked at.
The Big Cashew's European Adventure
Today proved to be a bit less involved than the previous ones and the blog will follow that script. Today was a slow starter. I was up early, at 6:30, as I had trouble sleeping. The meal I had the night before at Angela's was way over my limit of food intake at that late a time. I just can't sleep well on a full stomach. So I got up early and made my very hot cup of tea. Chiara stayed in bed until about 9 AM. For the morning, I basically sat in the shade and listened to my books on tape. Chiara spent the time chatting with her sister. So it was an easy going morning. One accomplishment was to loosely map out the rest of the time here and make a schedule of who she will see when and what tasks might need to be completed. At least this was done.
So, the main activity today is for Chiara to meet this group of friends for lunch. This was started last year and the group is trying to keep it a yearly thing, to coincide with Chiara's travel. There are about 15 in the group and they go back to grade school as to when they met and started spending time together. Today's luncheon is being held at the restaurant La Fortezza, which is owned and run by Chiara's brother, Genaro. They are meeting at 1:30, the usual lunch time over here and could go 3 to 4 hours. I am to drop her off. She said I was invited, but most do not speak English and I do not speak Italian. The follow pictures are from the restaurant which is on a hill and provides a nice view of area
I decide to spend the day with my books on tape and park somewhere that offers a view of the Mediterranean Sea, since we are within a mile of it where ever her family's houses are. I found an overlook stop so I pulled over and parked, rolled down the windows and started my audio book. I did this for 4 hours and for me, it was a good way to spend the day. I did break up the time with a trip to the Gelato place in Bacoli. I was a little disappointed as they did not have my favorite flavor, but what they had was more than adequate so I had a two scoop cone. It was delicious.
Here are a few pictures from the viewing area I parked at.
We headed back to her sister's house around 6 PM. Dinner was planned for 8 as we were awaiting the daughter's boyfriend at that time. Dinner was comprised of Italian sausage, grilled on the barbecue, french fries, cut and then fried in oil on the stove and a little wine. I guess I could live with that. I did my best not to overeat so I could get a half way decent sleep that night.
This was pretty much the extent of my day. I am just the driver for the lady and I will take it as she gets to see all her friends and family. Tomorrow might be my dinner at Genaro's so I will again be over eating at a time later than I prefer. However, there will probably be about 6 or 8 different seafood options so I won't complain. I am sure something else will pop up and another visit will be scheduled at the last minute or an existing one moved up. Just as long as they feed me, I will continue to be Mr nice guy!
This was pretty much the extent of my day. I am just the driver for the lady and I will take it as she gets to see all her friends and family. Tomorrow might be my dinner at Genaro's so I will again be over eating at a time later than I prefer. However, there will probably be about 6 or 8 different seafood options so I won't complain. I am sure something else will pop up and another visit will be scheduled at the last minute or an existing one moved up. Just as long as they feed me, I will continue to be Mr nice guy!
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