How to use a Bidet.....

First,

I must confess....

I did not write the instructions.

AND

I have absolutely no experience with a bidet.

BUT

I know someone....

Her name is Nada,

she leads clumsy Americans on tours of Italy.

She is a saint.
(and pretty too!)

I came to know Nada over 10 years ago,

when she offered free,

that's right FREE

conversational Italian classes

(now get this...)

at a Gelato store!

Well,

that sold me....

FREE and cold creamy goodness!

Anywho...

I have followed Nada's rise to tour guide supreme

over the years and today on her 

FB page she enlightened me....

Instructions for a bidet!

So here goes;

The Five Lessons of the "Bidet" for Americans:

Lesson 1. The Bidet is for both men and women. Believe it, Italian men love it as much as women do.
Lesson 2. The Bidet is a time-saver. Think about it, you are ready to leave the house but..wait! You have a moment... So do you take a shower and start all over now? That's why we have a bidet.
Lesson 3. Always sit down on the Bidet facing the faucet (it would be hard to operate the hot/cold water knobs otherwise).
Lesson 4. The Bidet is multi-functional. Sit on the covered toilet or a stool and you can also use it to soak your feet after a long day.
Lesson 5. Don't be afraid of the Bidet, it cannot harm you. Try it!

smiles....

A travel tip that will save your life...

Sometimes...

I kid, but not about your life, my dear...

Seriously,

if you plan to travel great distances

(an what travel isn't great?)

you have to learn to be responsible for yourself.

One of the tidbits I learned 

"on the jumpseat"

in my previous life as a flight attendant,
was that you take care of your legs.

That meant wearing support hose for years before

I even hit the ol' 30 yr mark.

Please don't ask me to explain the 

scientific reasons, (remember, I have a degree in History)

I only know that if you don't take care of your legs,

you will at the very least end up with 

road maps for "gams".

Then if you are super stupid and ignore this advice for
TOO long, you will endanger your life....
because as we age (can you believe I said that?)
our circulatory system becomes....let's just say "tired"
and when you sit in one place for long periods of time
your feet and legs collect all the blood that should
be in your brain helping you to think.....

This brings me to today's tip...
Wear these

I know...
these are men's socks...
(my sweetie just came home from China, so they were handy)
BUT 
most importantly, they are travel socks...
Compression socks to be 
more precise. 
They are like support hose, but are knee socks.
I don't know about you, but I haven't put on a pair of support hose
since I stopped flying for a living. 
But, I will wear travel socks to save my life.


Travel socks help in the prevention of deep vein thrombosis, or DVT.
Blood clots that is.....painful, ugly, even death.
So...
there you have it,
my travel tip of the day... 
smiles...

The Trevi Fountain.....people watching

If you have never been there....go!

If you don't want to....go anyway...

There is simply no place like Rome...

Really.

The Trevi Fountain is a very famous landmark,

and it seems that everyone who visits 

feels the need to document with a photo of the fountain.

But as I stood there a few years ago,

what I noticed is the people,

lots of people,

all doing just about the same thing.

A quiet crowd 

having fun....

enjoy!

smiles.....

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen.....

I love this....

I can still recite the "talk"....

once memorized I am not sure you would ever

forget it.

I have been "retired" 

for over 15 years,

but there are still nights that I dream 

about being late to the airport.....

sheer terror.

It was not a job for the perpetually 

late......

or for those who need hours to dress.....

or for those with OCD.....

But it was (and is!) a fabulous job 

for the young person afflicted with wanderlust...

smiles.

DUDE!.....where's my car!

That's what we were all thinkin'.....

them, sweetie and me....

all wishin', hopin', dreamin', scheemin'....

that the crowding would stop...

Nine hours plus

in the same 24 square feet

(no, I didn't measure, just guessin)

bored (them)

tired (us)

When was the last time you traveled with your 

children, of any age,

and if they were of driving age,

did you let them drive?

We couldn't....the car was borrowed...

and besides,

we are fighting the grey hairs

with all we got anyway.....

smiles.

Goin' on a Road Trip....

Yes,

we are headed out of town for a couple of days....

a long couple of days....

very long...

really long...

This will be the scenery....

for a lot of hours...

But I can dream...

of this...

And this...

Even this....

And these are the men I would choose to be with...

Because they are....

My buds....

and...

Like to go where I like to go.....

like here....

and most of the time,

 when I am here,

I look up at this...

Fun times...

I am missing me some

 beach time this year....

and don't see a way

 to get there anytime soon.

But this weekend,

I will be able to see 

a Cin-City Reds game

in person!

Yeah!

And eat cheese conies....

and visit some sweet in-laws...

so life is sweet....

smiles

You know that feeling...

when you are so happy to have someone in your arms....

and you really don't want to let go?

Well,

that feeling is coming on strong...

In approximately 90 minutes

(not that I'm counting...)

I will get in the car,

drive to he airport,

sit in the "cell phone lot"

(where you wait for your someone to call and say they are ready)

and wait for my sweetie....

Yeah!

Don't get me wrong...

I have not been sitting around 

pining for some company...

or even wishing the days away...

nope,

I've been busy as a bee...

doing the things

 that you simply cannot do

 when there is someone else

in the house.

But now that the 12 days are

coming to a close....

I am ready to see my baby...

sweetie...

honey-pie...

(sweet enough for you?)

The Bradford pear trees out front 

are full of blooms...

The daffodils are past their peak,

the hydrangeas are budding out like crazy.

And

my sweetie is on a plane..

heading south.

smiles.

A walk in the woods...

sometimes turns into something else....

sometimes...

it can alter your perception...

sometimes...

it can rock your world...

sometimes...

it simply makes you grateful....

this day did all that

for me.

I am in awe of live oaks.....

centuries...they live.

They see hundreds of us...

and are unfazed..

we are so small.

Grateful.

I may have already told you....

About this wonderful place on the Eastern Shore of

Maryland....

in the locale of Public Landing, MD....

The Mansion House

is where we booked the

Sunset Cottage....

a sweet intimate place....

perfect for a private getaway.

View from the dock, toward the east....

the dining room, a delightful Hodge-podge of chairs and a large table,
with an old map of the Eastern Shore
on the wall...

Crabbin' cage, if you are feelin' crabby...

and neighbors in the distance...

The front of the cottage, which I didn't even see until

morning, as we were so enamored with the sunset from the dock the

night before, that we didn't even venture out....

The back side of the house, complete with fish cleanin' station...

Leading up to this visit,

we had been with family constantly for several days,

talking till our mouths hurt...

we had driven from

Cape Cod down the DelMarVa peninsula

to Public Landing,

all in this one day,

so we were

tired,

bone tired.

This place

restored our souls...

Maybe it was the 14 and a half Diet Cokes......

Or maybe it was the 14 and a half hours in the car.....

Looking at this..

Heck, I don't know for sure....

it is all a blurrrrrrrr at this point.

But I know one thing,

I was terribly road weary....

I had driven, ridden, ate, drank, daydreamed,

pottyed, laughed, yawned, mapped,

and consumed interesting views....

We had been in the car....forever.

I had begun to get really scared,

as I had been the one who insisted that we not stay in an

ordinary place. I had insisted that we should cruise down the

Delmarva peninsula, because I had not seen it in over

20 years.

What if this place was a pit (as in arm).

What if the "Psycho-dude" met us at the door of the

quaint little inn?

What if there were bugs in the cottage we had paid

extra for......

What if we were in fact lost...

14 and a half hours of driving will do that to a person.

A storm was threatening as we drove down the 5 mile long approach

road, I was envisioning unpacking the car in a lightening riddled downpour.

The middle-aged woman who met us in the entry hall was distracted, and busy...

waiting for another couple (crazy enough to pick the same place, maybe?)

Finally, she led us around the corner to the cottage.

The rain was holding off...

We hurried to get our bags in.....

took off our shoes....

and went out onto the screened in porch.......

and this is what we saw.....

It was golden...

surreal....

other worldly...

thick as honey...

humid as a steam shower....

and

it appeared to suspend reality...

we watched from the porch for a few minutes,

and then walked to the end of the freshly made dock...

I captured as much as my tired soul could handle...

I will post more,

but it was life changing for us both...

we had trusted at one point that it would be worth

the effort.

It was..

Trips thrill me....

We are going on a trip this weekend.
Where isn't so important, what is vital is that we have time together with out distractions. I am so glad to have an excuse to do nothing. I plan to take magazines, a book and some writing I have been meaning to do. I am so excited to be with my soul mate, to travel means the world, and together is best. A nice place to go is wonderful to.....photos to follow.
Yippee!