My Travel Blog
Wow, have I ever been negligent with this blog! It's been on the back of my mind for weeks but I keep finding much more important things to do (like playing Words With Friends). Ha! Okay, maybe it was just writers block, or the fact that I was trying very hard not to focus too much on a trip that still seemed far away. But, this morning I was just helping a friend look for rental apartments in Paris and it made me all antsy and excited for our impending trip which is now just over 3 months away.
During my weeks of blog neglect my family traveled to the Big Island of Hawai'i. One word - beautiful. Or maybe it should be perfection. Or paradise. In any case we loved it; volcanoes and beaches, arid lava fields and rainforests... we will definitely be going back some day. For now I'll dream of the waves and soft air, and be placated with a faraway dream-like Eiffel Tower that is floating in the back of my mind. It beckons to me and in just over 3 months I can see it again for myself. Happiness!
We rented a car in Italy last summer and returned it on time and with a full tank of gas. We thought that was the end of it until a month ago when we received a letter from the rental company informing us that they used our credit card to pay a parking infraction we incurred in one of the small towns we visited. They enclosed a copy of the ticket and payment, and although annoying that we got a ticket in the first place, we were pleased that it was dealt with. (Truthfully, I remember parking somewhere and being too lazy to figure out how to use their parking ticket dispensers... live and learn.)
Yesterday I went to the post office after I was informed that there was a registered letter being held for us. After showing ID and signing for it I was handed an envelope completely covered in Italian stamps. I opened it and SURPRISE! Almost exactly 7 months later we were in possession of a speeding ticket on an Italian freeway. They have radar cameras everywhere and apparently our 107 km/hr in a 90 km/hr zone warranted a 145€ ticket! Yowzers...
So, what is the moral of the story? I guess it's that you should take a few minutes and buy a parking ticket and don't speed. Easier said than done though, right?
<--- The car that did us in... Very roomy, comfortable, and (apparently) fast!
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