J.D. here with a quick update from my European vacation. Our housesitter reports that everything is fine (and she’s made friends with our cats), while Kris and I are enjoying the best of Italy.
Last Sunday, we landed in Venice, the floating city:
Mid-week we moved to Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance — and home to Galileo’s fingers (or a few of them, anyhow):
And now we’ve arrived in Rome.
As those who follow my personal Twitter feed know, the trip has been filled with lots of wine and walking. It’s great! We’ll move into France mid-week, and I’ll try to provide another update from Paris.
I wrote out a bunch of personal-finance observations, but I’m skeptical I’ll actually get to them before I get home in a couple of weeks. Blogging from the iPad is tough, so they’ll have to wait. For now, I’m following everyone’s advice and treating my vacation as a gasp! vacation. Fancy that…
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Enjoy you vacations. Paris is so beautiful and the champ elysée are awesome to see. I’ve been to italy when I was young so I don’t remember everything but I do remember that the food is great. Enjoy! Bon voyage !
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Pretty!
and… eww… (not so big on severed body parts)
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“It’s not the floating city, it’s the sinking city.” Ha! Quote from my husband when he looked over my shoulder at your post. Oh, we’re cracking ourselves up over here.
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The colors in that canal shot are stunning. Wish my neighborhood looked that pretty.
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Wait…why is it hard to blog from an iPad? I want one but not if I can’t use it like I use my laptop. I thought you could. Someone ‘splain plz?
I am jealous of your vacation! I was only in Venice for overnight, but I liked it a lot (oddly, I liked the part on the mainland where my hotel was better…I think it actually has another name, but I don’t know what it is). Anyway, I really want to go back someday! I would love to go to Rome next time.
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Hai imparato un po’ di italiano?
Have fun in your vacation! I hope you’re enjoying the variety of foods here and not just pasta+pizza (à la Eat Pray Love), hehe.
@SkepticalHousewife: on the iPad it’s hard to type with more than one finger, in my experience.
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I thought of you all when I saw the warnings for American tourists yesterday–esp. for France. Will be praying for a wonderful, uneventful trip for you both!
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@The Skeptical Housewife:
Have you tried typing on an iPhone? Imagine writing a whole blog post on that keyboard.
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The sights are simply stunning!
Enjoy your wonderful vacation, J.D.! You earned it!
To the other GRS readers: I strongly feel that J.D. is providing a solid-concrete example of the fruits of your labour when you plan and execute a most frugal lifestyle.
I aspire to see both of these beautiful regions in the near-future, but until then, I’ve learned via GRS that contentment can be derived from even the most simplest of daily experiences we take for granted, such as a stroll in the local park: it’s all about discovering and solidifying your personal values and priorities.
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@Lily: Thanks. I don’t know much about it.
@Tyler: Nope, I have a crappy old-fashioned cell phone and am too cheap to buy a smartphone.
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Enjoy Rome! When of my favorite European cities!
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The keyboard on the iPad is wider! But not as practical as a computer one.
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What an awesome experience you must be having!
I’m thinking of trying to go for a European tour in either 2011 or the beginning of 2012. Unless my family decides they would rather go to Hawaii first
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Enjoy you vacations. Paris is so beautiful and the champ elysée are awesome to see. I’ve been to italy when I was young so I don’t remember everything but I do remember that the food is great. Enjoy! Bon voyage !
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Get the iPad keyboard — it rocks. I used it on a recent trip and it made all the difference. I was able to write documents, e-mails, etc. without a hitch. Not quite as convenient as a computer, but close enough to make it well, well worth the money!
Enjoy Europe. If you get down to the Normandy area, you REALLY need to visit the D-Day Museum. It’s beyond outstanding.
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