Payback is a Beach!

I received my Foreign Currency Fee Litigation Settlement check today. Yeah, it's a mouthful. And yes, they are real! Apparently us travelers were ripped off a few years back on currency conversion fees by credit card companies. I know, shocking right?
I have no idea how much I was actually overcharged, the trip is long gone and paid for. But I did receive my $18.04 in the mail today. I'm pretty sure it was from my 2005 Italy trip. I doubt it covers all that I was overcharged, but it is like someone just put a little cappuccino and cannoli in my mailbox. A good reminder to always be aware of the fees and charges associated with using credit cards and ATMs while overseas. When it comes to ATMs, I always try to make as few withdrawals as possible to avoid the fees. Yes, this means traveling with more cash on me, but that's also why I keep it in a money belt in my underwear.  As for the check, I'll be putting it in the kitty for a 2012 vacation. Payback's a beach!

New Year, Fresh Start!

Well what can I say. 2011 was a year I did not write a single post for this blog. OOPS! I've actually been spending more time with another blog. I'm sorry, Bella Terra, don't hate!

During the holiday season I took stock of my year and got a little nostalgic for Bella Terra. I thought I should at least write a new year's post wishing a little peace on this beautiful earth. Ok truthfully, Shutterfly offered me $10 if I embedded my holiday card to this blog. So here it is!

Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year! And lots of fun travel to boot!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Taking a Trip Back in Time

My Facebook profile is littered with horror stories from my subway commute. In fact, the "My Top Status Words of 2010" app returned the word "Subway" at Number 1, and believe me, they were all rants, not raves. So imagine my surprise when this Sunday the MTA delivered this delightful holiday surprise: a vintage train from the 1930's running on the M track. It turned a dreaded Queens-to-Brooklyn trek, usually spent waiting and cursing, into a magical trip back in time. I had no idea that the MTA has been doing this for years, calling it the "Nostalgia Shoppers’ Special Train."

Let me emphasize this is not a reproduction, it's the real deal - a working antique train complete with vintage ads, wicker seats and ceiling fans, and it makes all the stops on the M line from Queens Plaza to 2nd Ave. Knowing that the best camera is the one you have with you, I snapped some pics with my iPhone that you can see here. New Yorkers, you have one last chance to catch the nostalgic train this year - on Sunday, Dec. 26. Don't miss it! Oh, and as for MTA, I'll take a little holiday sabbatical and then continue ripping them a new one on January 2. Until then, Happy Holidays! Choo-choo!

Mt. Fuji Miracle

In April 2004, I spent some time traveling in Japan — visiting Nara, Kyoto, Tokyo, and Nikko. It was an incredible trip, but as I sat on the plane departing Tokyo, I couldn't help feeling disappointed that I didn't manage to see Mt. Fuji. I realized I had missed an opportunity, and wondered if I would ever make it back to Japan again to see it. As the plane took off, the reality set in - it was over, I didn't see it, and there was nothing I could do about it. The best I could tell myself is that it just wasn't meant to be.

I leaned back in my seat, put my headphones on and closed my eyes. After we were in the air for a little while I just happened to glance out the window - and couldn't believe what I saw. We were flying right past Mt. Fuji! It's beautiful snow-capped peak was breaking right through the clouds, and I had a direct view of it, clear as day. My jaw practically hit the floor. I fumbled for my camera, managed to snap a quick photo, and just sat there and stared at it in amazement until it moved out of sight.

This is the luckiest photo I have ever taken in my life. I didn't do anything special other than have a loaded camera with me, zoom and snap. Sometimes the scenery really does do all the work.

Fortunately for me I was on the right side of the plane (technically, the left) and looked out the window at just the right moment to see it. And the way the clouds broke to reveal the mountain as we passed, well, I couldn't help but feel that Mt. Fuji was winking at me.

Note: I chose this picture to be the cover of the 2011 Calendar to Cure Sanfilippo. Here's wishing for a cure for Jonah Wood Weishaar and all the Sanfilippo kids.

Rome If You Want To...

The following is an e-mail I sent to family and friends during my May 2005 trip to Italy and Sicily.

Ciao Amici!

Warm - make that hot, very hot - greetings from Italy, where the Atkins diet has not quite caught on yet. I swear, trying to find a salad here is like a detour challenge straight out of The Amazing Race. I can just hear host Phil Keoghan say: "Teams must now navigate the hot, narrow streets of Rome in search of fresh lettuce... the last team to find it will be eliminated."

Here is my interpretation of the Italian food pyramid:

                                                      Gelato
                                           Espresso/Cappuccino
                                      B r e a d / R o l l s / P i z z a
                                  P          A          S          T          A

As for the transportation, since we've been here, there has been a train strike, a vaporetto strike (those are the water buses in Venice) and believe it or not, they discovered a WW2 bomb under the train tracks between Rome and Naples which forced us to take a different train - the slowest train in the world. It made Muni (SF) seem like Nascar. After sitting still on the tracks for most of the day, we finally started moving... backwards. Ah, all in a day's travel in Italy!

Anyway, I'm probably making it sound much worse than it's actually been. Highlights of the trip so far include flying over the Dolomites and having an aerial view of Venice before landing at Marco Polo airport, being invited into the home of a little old Italian woman for a cold drink in Burano, being flashed by a young man in the very same Burano, driving through Rome at night listening to Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time", and seeing the new Pope, Papa Benedetto, in St. Peter's Square.

I didn't think I would be that excited to see him because he isn't John Paul II, but for one thing, from where we were standing they look exactly the same! And besides, when he came out and zoomed around the square in his Pope-mobile, organ music blasting and people going crazy - it was like being at a rock concert. Popestock, I guess.

The very next night my Mom was driving around Rome with a friend when they were stuck in a traffic jam caused by the Pope's procession. Looking out the window she saw a bunch of people standing around by the car waiting for the jam to clear, and one of them was actor Willem Dafoe! So she rolled down the window and said, "Se grande!" - "You're great!" and he shook her hand. So there you go, she saw the Pope AND Jesus while in Rome.

Anyway, I didn't think that could be topped, but it was - two nights later in Capua, an area outside of Naples where part of my family comes from. We have been staying with a friend of my Mom's, and we actually had the chance to chat with my Dad via webcam from here to Ontario, NY. I'll bet my ancestors could have never imagined that happening in their wildest dreams! (And props to my Dad for handling those Mary Kay orders while my Mom is out of the country.)

This just in... I just got back from dinner where I finally managed to get a salad... of course it was on top of a pizza, but one can't be picky. The girl next to me got a pizza that was COVERED in french fries. South Beach it ain't.

Alright, I have to get going... I'm exhausted, I have mosquito bites on my face and cappuccino stains on my jeans. Tomorrow we're off to Capri and after that it's on to Sicily! I'll see if I can find a copy of the Sicilian food pyramid, but I have a feeling it looks something like a bunch of stacked cannoli.

As I used to say in the 4th grade,
Ciao for now!
Love,
Tootsie

Which is Rich?

I had been traveling solo through China for almost a week and had barely spoken to anyone due to the language barrier. I was beginning to feel very isolated and alone. As I was sitting by myself in a park in Guilin, a man walked by and gave me the most cheerful "hello" in a British accent. He completely surprised me! We had a wonderful conversation that must have lasted an hour. The part I remember most is when he asked me where I was from, and I said The United States. He responded, "Oh, a very rich country!" That surprised me too. I was just a backpacker, living with 3 other roommates in an old, run down flat in San Francisco. I hardly considered myself rich. But his comment, and other experiences I had on that trip, made me realize that compared to much of the world, I am rich. It really humbled me to think that I was born into resources and opportunities that so many people on this earth don't have. I told myself I should never take my circumstances for granted again. I can't say that has always been the case, but I have never forgotten this man or the lesson he gave me. The thing is, I believe he is truly rich. Every once in a while I think of him and wonder how he is. I hope he's still smiling!

99 and Still Ahead of Time

Had an amazing experience at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema on Thursday night. I was there for a screening of "Ahead of Time" a documentary on the extraordinary life of journalist, author, photographer and all-around trailblazer, Ruth Gruber. It also happened to be Ruth's 99th birthday, and she was in attendance to do a Q&A following the film.

As a young, restless Brooklynite, Ruth dreamed of the big world beyond and couldn't wait to get out of New York. Her writing talent landed her a fellowship from the University of Cologne in 1931, where she obtained her Ph.D in one year (and became the youngest Ph.D in the world in the process). Her unquenchable thirst for adventure combined with a fiercely independent spirit and a level of courage seldom seen by women in her day (or even today for that matter) took her on dangerous and exhilarating journeys to the Soviet Arctic, Alaska, Nazi Germany and the Middle East. Along the way she married (but didn't change her name) and rubbed elbows with President Harry S. Truman, Virginia Woolf and Israeli Prime Ministers David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir. To get an idea of the fearlessness and tenacity this woman possessed - she hid her passport, removed the American flag pin from her lapel and posed as a German citizen to attend a Nazi rally. She witnessed first hand Hitler's racist and hysterical rants against Jews and Americans, of which she is both. Those are just a few of the remarkable stories you will hear Ruth tell in "Ahead of Time."



When the movie ended, the lights came on, and a tiny woman entered the theater from the back exit, accompanied by her walker and a few aides. She received a standing ovation. It was hard to believe that such strength, grit and fearlessness could come in such a delicate and beautiful package. Then again, who better to embody CHUTZPAH than a Jewish girl from Brooklyn? She was charming, delightful, and at 99, still witty and sharp as a tack.

As someone with a love of travel, but not without my own fears and hesitations, I asked if she was ever afraid to go forth on those adventures, and if so, where did she find the courage? She answered that "every now and then I was close to death, and I was afraid." She proceeded to tell the story of how while on her honeymoon (a working honeymoon, of course) she was visiting an area of Libya where Jews were living in caves, when an Arab man pushed her against the wall and stuck a gun in her back. She thought her life was over, and was resentful that her honeymoon was ruined! Ultimately, they were rescued by the French Legion. You can listen to her tell the full story here.

When the Q&A was finished, the audience sang her "Happy Birthday." Then everyone began to exit the front as the crowd for the next movie filed in. While her assistants were lost in the shuffle up front somewhere, a woman in a wheelchair was trying to get past Ruth's chair and out the side exit. Her aide was stuck behind her and there was no one else around to help, so I reached out my hands, and helped her to her feet. I told her it was an honor, and that if I lived only half as an exciting life as her I would be satisfied. As she put on her coat and was helped back out the same side door that she entered, a funny thing happened. The theater dimmed and began to play a preview before the next movie. It was the trailer for "Ahead of Time." In the foreground I watched the slow but graceful exit of this 99-year old pioneer, while the background flashed the accomplishments of her youth and remarkable life. It was inspiring to witness. L'Chaim, Ruth!