Any of yall ever been to Santa Rosa, NM?
I’m not gonna lie, it’s kinda nice watching the games without someone telling you what’s going to happen next inning.
4 Likes
Greetings from the Muweti Bush Lodge in South Africa! I’m with @HudsonHawk , the Astros are kicking a$$ while I am away.
Let me know if you want to see any pics of anything in particular. Here’s one to whet yer whistle, a giraffe from this morning. This is what we’ve seen so far:
Baboons
Kudu
Impala
Termite hill
Monkey (unknown type)
Elephant
Giraffe
Bushbuck
Cape buffalo
Jackal
Lion
Bunny
Brown snake eagle
Guinea foul
Dika
Springbok
Warthog
Zebra
Hippo
Painted Dogs
Water Back Vulture
Waterbuck
9 Likes
Not victim blaming here, but…wear your seat belts people.
Not sure why blaming is wrong when the “victims” ignore safety instructions.
It’s always possible that some/all just happened to have their seat belt off or loosened for normal reasons, or were doing things like going to/from or in the bathroom, or been hit by shit flying around the cabin.
The injuries were unbelted passengers hitting their heads that report said. Every flight I have been on includes multiple “keep your seat belts fastened while seated” instructions. Folks headed to the bathroom are exempted.
3 Likes
Just returned from my first ever visit to Italy. Which is why the Astros were winning, apparently. You can all buy me a beer for your gratitude. A not-so quick summary:
Transportation:
British Airways was…ok. The flight from IAH to LTR was pretty good. We were in business class, and it was pretty good. A 1-2-1 configuration, and the seats were typical business class, with all the standard stuff. LHR is a busy airport, but easy enough to find your way around. They don’t assign a departure gate until about 20 minutes before takeoff, which is about 30 minutes after your scheduled boarding time, but as long as you’re in the correct terminal, it’s not a problem. The flight from LHR to FCO was on the dirtiest, rattiest, most beat up plane I have ever been on, and I have been on some rattle traps in third world places. The floors were covered in stains of God knows what, all the seats were torn, the plastic seat backs were gouged and scarred, and the whole thing looked like it spent the last three years on the deck of an oil rig. It was as if someone just went to the airplane boneyard in Moscow and cobbled together an interior. I had to laugh that they would actually allow paying customers to see such a sight. But I assume it was mechanically sound, as it made it to Rome without any parts falling off, which is more than you can say about some of the brand new planes on United. It was also business class, but that was just a standard 3-3, and they didn’t sell the middle seat. It was actually smaller and tighter than SWA. The return from VCE to LHR was better, but the same configuration. The flight from LHR to IAH was on a different 777, however, and the seats were…odd. It was a 2-3-2 configuration, with all seats alternating facing each other. You’d better like person you’re sitting next to. But the weird thing was just the design of the seats. Though they were incredibly comfortable, there was nothing other than the seat and a footrest. And to get out of the window or middle aisle seat, you had to step over your neighbor. Not like step over their ankles, but at an angle so you had to sort of start at the ankles and step over their waist. If you’re under about 6’5”, there’s no way you could, so you’d have to ask them to sit up and raise their footrest. And when I say there was nothing else at the seat, there was nothing else, aside from the fold down tray. There was no pocket, there was no storage compartment, there was no place to set your drink or water, there was not even a hook to hang your headphones. It had to be in your hand or in the overhead compartment. If I wanted to take my glasses off and take a snooze, I had to get up, put them in my bag in the overhead, as there was nowhere to just set them. There was one power plug, which was at your feet, so unless you had a cord at least 8-ft it was useless. Everything was nice, it was just odd how little thought went into the design. I’m not complaining, mind you, first world problems and all that, just giving a description for anyone considering BA vs another airline.
Trenitalia:
The trains pretty much run on time. The terminals were easy to navigate, and the rides were great. I wish we had something like that here. I understand why we don’t, but I wish we did.
Places:
I loved Rome, which was again, my first time there. There is so much to see, and the history is incredible. Saw all the standard tourist stuff…the Coliseum, the Forum, the Pantheon, the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, churches, museums, yadda yadda yadda…and everywhere in between. The city center is very walkable. It’s busy and crowded, but easy to navigate. We had a golf cart tour one day, and our guide was very knowledgeable. He made a very clear distinction about the city. There is “Ancient Rome”, there is “Renaissance Rome”, and then there everything from the last 250 years, which he said the locals call “Ugly Rome”. We also had a wonderful guide for the Coliseum/Forum and the Vatican. He is an archeologist by training, and worked at many of the ancient locations. Incredibly knowledgeable. I could have easily spent more time there. Mrs Hawk was done, however.
Florence/Tuscany
Did all the standard touristy stuff…lots of churches, statues, and of course, the Academy. Saw Michelangelo’s David, and got an overly detailed explanation of his genitalia and Michelangelo’s…”preferences”, shall we say. I really didn’t need that much info. But it was also interesting to hear about the history of the statue, and our guide pointed out interesting things about it, such as how different it is when viewing from the back. I would have liked to have spent more time at the Academy, such as in their music collection where they have the first ever (allegedly) piano, and several Stradivarius instruments, but onward we went.
The next day we cooked with a local. She took us to the market, where we bought a bunch of fresh ingredients, then went back to her apartment and cooked and ate. Fresh pasta, eggplant, pesto, some braised beef thing, and tiramisu. Wine and limoncello were also in the mix as we worked/ate. She was incredibly gracious and you just felt like you’d known her your whole life.
The next day off to Chianti. Went to the town of Greve and hung out for a while, then went to two small wineries, one was Casaloste, and one was in Lamole, a very small village of about 80 people. We were the only people at either. Had a nice traditional Tuscan lunch at the one in Lamole, which I think was also the winemaker’s house.
Siena and San Gimignano
Siena was really cool. San Gimignano…meh. It was a beautiful drive though, and the weather was fantastic at both places.
Finally…Venice
I’ve heard differing opinions about Venice, but I actually really liked it. There really is no other place like it on the world. Did the usual stuff…gondola ride, Doge’s Palace, walked through the Bridge of Sighs, St Mark’s Basilica…it was all cool. Venice was easily the least crowded, and you easily just get lost wandering the streets and alleys by yourself. Went to Murano, which I loved and wished we could have spent more time there. Like a lot of people, I don’t know if I’d make a special trip back to Venice, but I enjoyed it very much and highly recommend it.
The Food
It was fabulous, as I expected. Lots of fresh pasta dishes, but tons of fresh fruits and veggies, and the tomatoes in Rome were to die for. Prosciutto, salami, lots of cheeses…even the street pizza, which I had to have at least once was, really food. The gelato was, of course, terrific too. The seafood in Venice is the way to go, but it’s expensive, as is everything in Venice. Our archeologist guide in Rome was very helpful on places to eat there, even reminding is that the best place to eat near the Vatican is McDonald’s. Don’t eat near the Vatican, he warned us. He gave us a recommendation for a place in the Jewish Ghetto, where we went our last night. It was easily the best meal of the trip. We even got front row seats to a good old Italian domestic argument in the street. She was madder’n hell about something, yelling, waving her arms, hand gestures…he was like “what?, what’d I do?” It was hysterical. The waiter said, “yeah, that’s pretty common around here”.
Wine
The reason we stay alive. It was all very good. Brunello di Montalcino is the king of wines, at least in Tuscany, and has long been a favorite of mine. What surprised me though was how much I liked the Chianti Classico. We got all the lessons on the difference between “Chianti” and “Chianti Classico”, which has strict guidelines, and various different types. It was very good. I also loved most of the Pinot Grigio. Really too much to go on about. It was really good everywhere.
A fantastic trip we’d been planning for 20 years. Thank you for letting me ramble.
14 Likes
Sounds amazing, thanks for sharing. Italy has been on our list for a long time.
Also, I hope one day to achieve a station in life where I have standards in air travel.
Didn’t mean to come across as haughty or entitled, just wanted to give an honest description.
1 Like
Those yin-yang BA seats are horrific and were designed by the people who went on to write the Saw movies…probably.
Rail travel is awesome. There is no good reason why we don’t have it here (there are reasons, but they’re all bad).
Produce in Europe is awesome because they don’t try to make it have a shelf-life of 6 months.
I’ve been on planes with this format. It interjects a random degree of uncomfortability to the experience.
Thanks for sharing! I spent about ten days in my college years doing the Venice-Florence-Rome triangle. The Forum reminded me of the Grand Canyon in that, no matter how hyped I was to see it and how lofty my expectations, they were far exceeded.
An engrossed Italy trip is at the top of batgirl’s list. We’ll make it one day.
I’ve flown business class on BA and it is terrible. In some ways it’s worse than United’s product, and you probably (and reasonably) thought that was impossible.
We’ve been to Rome twice and Capri once and it’s worth the effort and expense to go to Italy just to eat.
And the history in Rome is, as you imply, almost overwhelming. The ancient Roman Rome is really small and walkable (as you said) much like London in the Victoria/West End area.
BA’s economy class is vastly superior to United’s: bigger seats, more legroom, better food, free booze and bags. I don’t get to fly business these days and, to be honest, I don’t miss it…on BA (or Singapore).
Oh, not at all. Didn’t mean to imply that—and I do plan to get there myself one day. Knock on wood.
United used to have a 2-4-2 format, with that yin-yang, but the other person’s feet were at your head. This had the other person’s head right at yours. Imagine sitting next to someone on an airplane, but you’re facing each other, your face inches away from theirs. It’s one thing if it’s a hot Italiana (on a side note, I found that Italian women just aren’t all that worked up about wearing a bra), but when it’s Bubba from Nacogdoches… It’s just weird, man.
1 Like
Ramble? I just read it as Noe’s trip to Italy
7 Likes
We’ve been to Europe once and I enjoyed Rome tremendously and Florence a little less but my wife really enjoyed Florence more. I got a kick out of Venice but probably wouldn’t include it on a future trip.
Would like to see more Tuscany countryside if there is a next time.
Have any of y’all been to Mackinac Island? Looking for somewhere to escape the summer heat and wondering if this is worth the trip.