Returning to Florida

 On the 23rd of June George and I left the castle in the good hands of the Cerboni family and headed out to Rome.  We spent the night at the Airport Mercure.  Thank goodness it was only one night.  It was loud!

The next morning, we drove over to the airport to drop off the car for long-term parking (we will have 8 suitcases on our way back so I'm not schlepping those on the train).  The night before I lost sleep over how I was to achieve this hand over of the car, but as it turns out, it is super easy. They have a valet parking area just for these drop offs!  They even had luggage carts waiting for us when we arrived.  Problem solved.

We headed in to the airport and checked in very quickly.  No lines at 7:30 in the morning.  Next up immigration.  Thanks to George being a bit older, this too was rapid.  Less than 5 minutes and we were on our way to the lounge.  We stayed long enough for me to have a bowl of bean soup and George an OJ and banana.  Interesting breakfast no?  You see, we've been juicing since we got back from our bike trip. The ill ness we picked up was so bad, we decided we needed to clean our systems to get back to normal. No solid food for us since the 15th. Bean soup and a banana were cheating a bit I guess, but it was the closest we could do.

Our first flight was to Paris.  Uneventful is an understatement.  They didn't even offer champaign as we sat down.  There was a nice lunch served, but due to allergies, I only had a bite or two of cheese.  No one does vegetable juices on flights.  

We landed, cleared immigration and headed to the lounge.  Here we sat for about 30 minutes when dummy here realized that the 2:05 flight time was the time the plane was LEAVING the runway.  We ran to the boarding gate and got there 10 minutes before it closed!  Thank goodness I got my act together.  In fairness though, our recent travels have all been on a ship.  

We got on board and of course they came around with champaign.  I had that and George was good and went with OJ. We settled in he with a movie, and me with my Patente studies. I managed to get through 1/2 of the first chapter.  So many more pages to go.... After an hour or so, my brain hurt so I opted for a movie.  Of course they brought around lunch, but we both said no to all but a salad.  (Travel is so dull isn't it!)

Ok. ok.  I get it.  Move on.  I don't know how many hours later, we arrived in Miami.  Kat was there at the airport waiting on us and we all piled into the Tesla for the drive to her house.  

For the first time in my adult life, I left the airport and DROVE.  This juicing and not drinking allowed me to be completely sober.  I had no fear of driving.  Such a strange thing to have happen.

We got to her house and immediately fell asleep.  Bad move!  That meant I was up at 3 am.  And what do I do when that happens?  Clean!  And that is all I have to report on for the next 4 days really.  

On Tuesday I cleaned her kitchen, I threw out stuff, and I made lentil chips.  You see, when we moved her into her apartment, we had dishes and kitchen appliances for her.  Later when we sold the museum, the kitchen wares were of higher quality so we gave her those.  She simply moved the old stuff to the back of the cupboard.  Then when we moved to Italy, we gave her the kitchen ware from the big house as I couldn't use 110 volt appliances in Italy.  Again the quality was better so she moved the old stuff to the back of her cupboards.  If you are counting, you now realize that she can kit out 3 kitchens!  This was a disaster.  Mom to the rescue.  We got rid of the lower end items and kept the better stuff (that still worked-she burned out a few motors but didn't realize she should throw them away).

Wednesday was nothing short of a miracle.  We went to two banks, sorted out checks, credit cards, and wire transfer services.  Then we went to the club to get a refund check on our initial equity.  After that we visited with Karen and Sarah for an hour before heading over to DMV where we only waited 1 1/2 hours to get our drivers licenses changed over!  Back to Kat's to make some more juice and to clean up a bit more before heading to the coolest hotel we have found yet in our travels.  

We are staying at the Chateau Mar in Lauderhill.  In its hay-day, I'm sure it was a real hopping place.  The room is massive, the lobby is simply amazing.  I just love it. The decorations are very retro.  

When you walk into the lobby, there are two console  televisions playing, one shows I love Lucy, and the other is the Honeymooners.  

You see, back in the 70's Inverarry Country Club was built and a few years later Jackie Gleason moved in and started the Jackie Gleason Inverarry Classic PGA tournament.  When he died in 1987, sadly so too did the tournament.  It was later renamed the Honda Classic.  And in 2020, completely closed down. I just read that FDOT purchased 60 of the 300 acres to build roads on. What a waste. No wonder it is getting hotter in South Florida.  Too much concrete and asphalt. 

The room we have is larger than Kat's apartment with a balcony that overlooks the greens.  There is a tiny frigidaire and an old record player that still works!  So retro.  The lobby houses not only those tv's, but a piano frequently played by old blue eyes, and a pool table belonging to Gleason.  The photos around show many of the celebrities and past presidents that stayed here. They even have Gleason's car parked out front! It's a real hidden gem.  I think next time we come we will camp out here again.  

On Thursday George and Kat went back to DMV to transfer the title of the VW to her so she can sell it.   Sadly, they said no walk-ins so back they went to the hotel.  I was out shopping and running more errands.  Cashing that check we got yesterday, getting apostillated marriage licenses....the usual things. When I finished, I went back to Kat's and tackled some more of her house.  

Friday I gave George the Tesla and he headed to his brothers in Miami while Kat and I finished her bedroom and living room.  Her home is almost finished.  I'd give it another day and I'll have it spic and span and fully organized, but sadly, I will only have about 4 hours on Saturday morning before we head out to Texas for the puzzle party of the year.  We headed up to the Farmer's Table to have dinner with our friends Stu and Donna.  Like us, they too are leaving Boca. The club is not what it was when we moved in.  It's time to pack it in.  I'm glad our house sold and that we are done with it. 

Saturday morning I woke at 3:30 (Jet-lag again) did the mini crossword, packed some stuff in the car an headed to Kat's around 7.  True to my word, I did some more cleaning and organizing.  I made breakfast for her for the first time in a long time and just got to be a mom again this past few days.  I truly loved spending time with my daughter.  Through all of our cleaning and shopping over the past few days she told me of all that is happening in her life.  I'm so very proud of that kid. I wish I could say I finished it all, but sadly, there was so much makeup to toss out that I simply couldn't finish.  The kid has the last bit to do on her own (which of course means I'll finish it next time I visit).  At 10 I left her to go pick up George so we could head out.

We finished packing the car and headed up to Jupiter to have lunch with Bill and Scarlet.  It was so nice to see them again. It's been almost a year.  If you see them at IPP, congratulate them.  No need to know why, Just trust me.    (Ding dong Bill!  Well done!)

On Thursday George got the upgrade on the Tesla and we now have full self driving!  I love it.  With one catch; It redirected us back to Yeehaw Junction  which is 1/2 hour south of where we charged in Canoe Creek. Then it had us do a u-turn and head back North again!  I was a bit miffed because of the jet lag.  We eventually made Lake city by 8:45 and by 9:30 I was out.  Our hotel for the night was called the Guest Inn.  Dodgy looking at best from the outside, but the bed was so comfortable and the water is super hot.  Not a bad place after all.  I would have slept through but my sister called and said something about my car being broken into and I needed to call the police.  When I looked out the window my car was fine so I went back to bed.  I'm pleased to write that I have now slept 8 hours through. I declare Jet-lag to be officially over.

A long hiatus a short post: IPP Pre-trip

 When I last left off, I showed some overdue photos of a trip our non-puzzling friends made here. Now I give you puzzling friends.  

Tanner came to us in late July. I picked him up from the airport amongst many gaffs on my part and a few laughs from us both.  I had a few errands to run and thought I'd do that before picking up Tanner.  His flight was delayed so I had about 4 extra hours.  I forgot how slowly I shop and ended up getting him almost 45 minutes late. Fine by him, he had a chance to walk around for a while and he was able to have a cigarette before we left for home. 

I had this stupid gas coupon I needed to use and that turned into a real laugh but problem solved in the end.  We had purchased gas when returning our last rental car and the company doesn't return the overage to your credit card, they give you a coupon that needs to be used in the same station.  I had to drive around for what felt like forever to be able to get the gas.  Mission accomplished. The moral of that story: Never use Q8! 

Tanner settled in nicely in an upstairs guest room and we all had a nice dinner and long overdue chat.  George very nicely laid out a bunch of puzzles on the table in the upstairs room for him to go through and I'm sure he did.  

He is a perfect guest. He does his own laundry,  makes his own lunch.  Actually, we have eaten out quite a bit since he's been here.  But that's ok, we'll keep him. 

He was amazing in helping me go through some old puzzles we have acquired that we still hadn't looked at.  He brought over the "good wood" and we started to populate cabinets. He also set up the puzzle box room and started to install puzzles there for me as well.  

Bill an Scarlet came in for a day or two, but I had them take the train as I was just too busy with 'castle issues'.  We had a lovely dinner at Gallo again.  I just love that place.  The food is amazing!  If  you are ever in Panicale, that is THE PLACE to eat.  Great food, fantastic staff.  You just can't go wrong.  

We also had a pretty decent steak and truffle dinner in the castle.

Sadly our time in the castle was short lived. Jerusalem called.  Hopefully they all got to puzzle a bit.  

We took a train to the airport, and flew out the next morning.  That night for dinner we had a fish tasting menu dinner.  That was something new for me.  Sadly, I didn't take photos of each course. 

Bill and Scarlet are quite the foodies and it's so much fun to hear them talk about it.  The next morning we woke early, hopped in a shuttle and flew off.  

First stop Tel Aviv!  We arrived 3 days early.  Why?  I wanted to hit Gala Games and the market before everything disappeared.  We unpacked and the next morning headed out for the market. It was a short walk.  Only about a 1/2 mile.  There we wandered the market, ate some wonderful figs and bargained for some mangos.  We turned around and headed to Gaya Games. There we found George and Henry Strout sitting in the air conditioned building playing with puzzles and chatting with the shop keep.  We had met him last time we were in Israel and he remembered us.  We bought a few puzzles, but there simply wasn't that much new stuff available.  

Everyone went to an escape room, George took a nap and I took a hike to a miniso for a pillow.  Crazy broad!  On my return, I stopped by the lego store and had a few custom lego people made for George and I.  That night we had a meeting of puzzlers and had a nice dinner and drinks with friends. After we ran into a few old friends in the lobby and stayed up late just chatting. IPP has officially begun. 

The next day was a tour of Tel Aviv.  It was interesting, but hot and we had actually done it the year we took our world cruise.  Not to worry.  In the market I managed to purchase the puzzles I hadn't bought previously. There were some interesting buildings we saw and we got a lot of history. For me it is very interesting to listen to the locals tell the stories differently than written in the history books by the 'victors'.  The world is a wonderful place and traveling it really is enlightening.  

I love the graffiti and signs in this city.

Our next day was in Jaffe.  Here ws got a tour of the harbour and saw a pretty amazing castle.  George and I opted to stop and have some lunch rather than finish the tour.  We later met up with the group at Gaya Games, but called it an early day and headed back to the hotel for a nap and some cooler air. 

They told us at the end of the tour that all roads lead to Jaffe. They were wrong.  I fixed the problem though.  

Next post: IPP proper.