Instead of substitute teaching today — my typical Thursday activity — I spent money.
We had a 7:45am appointment with our contractor, who is going to gut two of our bathrooms, which are no longer operational. One has pink tile dating back to 1958. Neither have plumbing fixtures that reliably regulate the temperature of the water. The window in the boys’ bathroom has a gaping hole from rot. It’s time. I’ll post pictures of the job on Instagram as we’re going along.
At 11:00am, we had a zoom call with a friend of a friend, who’s a travel agent. Have we used a travel agent in 30 years? No. But he hooked us up with various deals, so we’re staying in some rather intimidating hotels in Florence and Tuscany for a very reasonable figure. This trip will be less spontaneous and adventurous that we prefer, but we’re traveling with the autistic kid, who needs excellent wifi and a free breakfast buffet.
All those decisions have fried my circuitry. But I’m okay with some links.
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“we’re traveling with the autistic kid, who needs excellent wifi and a free breakfast buffet”
I never stay in a hotel without excellent wifi and a free breakfast buffet unless I am on Long Island, where I just go out for bagels or egg sandwiches.
Favorite all-time breakfast buffet? Our hotel in Barcelona in February 2020 (sob). They had 4 buffets in one: an American buffet, a French buffet, a German buffet, and a Spanish buffet. Wild.
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Which hotel in Barcelona? We went to Barcelona after staying in a vrbo apartment in Paris, stayed in a hotel across from the cathedral, and loved the breakfast buffet. I don’t think that it was 4 in 1, but, it was perfect to be able to eat (potentially at different times) before heading out for the day. We haven’t been committed to buffets in the US, but in Europe, where they are more standard, I love them.
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Hotel Turin, off La Rambla. I have 2 students from Barcelona this semester, and I told them I loved Barcelona and was very proud I made it through our trip without being pickpocketed on La Rambla and they laughed.
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Looked up ours, and it was the Catalonia Catedral in 2017! We also loved Barcelona.
The hotels Laura is planning seem similarly impressive.
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Your trip sounds fabulous and I do think part of the fun of trips like this is the anticipation. I like to read, especially light fluff before travelling. I enjoyed the first two books of Camilla Trinchieri’s ex-NYPD detective Nico Doyle in the Chianti region of Tuscany. Lots of food descriptions because Nico’s friends run a restaurant and he develops new dishes for them.
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That article title about not being dead because you are in New Jersey made me laugh because in Desperately Seeking Susan someone says to Madonna/Susan “we thought you were dead!” She replies “Nah, just in New Jersey.”
I might consider a travel agent now.
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