I almost forgot to add this post about the dogs. The dogs were our first babies and while Josh and I disagree a little bit on this and I don't think he wants to leave them in the US, he's more flexible about the possibility than I am. They are our family and like the say in Lilo & Stitch "Ohana means family and family means no one gets left behind". I agree 100%. If we make this move, Jake & Sailor come too and by no means do I expect it to be easy to have 2 dogs in the city. But I didn't sign up to be their "mom" to just say when the going gets tough, let's have someone else take them. So I'll take this one (along with everything else) and find a way to get them to Spain and keep them happy.
I know that part of the reason we took the townhome was the ease with the dogs. Right now we let them out the slider and they do their thing in the yard and they come back. No muss, no fuss. In Spain we were anticipating having to actually walk them outside to do their business. Sounds even more like fun if you are on the 8th floor and need to wait for a miniscule elevator, doesn't it? BTW, these elevators are like 1/2 the size of the ones in the US -it's crowded with 2 people!! Good luck trying an adult, 2 kids and 2 dogs! Anyways, this place is on the first floor with a huge patio area - perfect for the dogs and the kids!!
So once again I digress, a bad habit of mine I know. Well, so we knew that we had to go thru some vet things and get sign offs from the USDA to have them transported to Spain. What we didn't know was the cost associated with doing all of this. Last Monday I had a call from our relocation people who for the most part seem to have their shit together. Bob is super nice and I liked him right off the bat. He asked me some questions about the dogs, age, size, breed, etc. Anyways, late that day he sends me this email - it's a quote to have the dogs shipped to Spain. It's $5000 per dog. No, I didn't accidentally put in too many zeros. It's five THOUSAND. Yes, I almost cried too. Wouldn't you? This just didn't seem realistic - too many people fly with their pets for it to be this cost prohibitive. So how do I respond? I put a post on Facebook - of course! Thankfully my new friend Paul who lives in Switzerland and knows lots of ex-pats emailed a friend of his who said she brought her dog to Switzerland from Canada and paid about the same but that it's for a FULL SERVICE rather than just the flight. These people take care of last minute vaccinations, forms, crates, pick up and drop off, etc. Whew!!! Of course a full day went by of me having a heart attack before I found out this info. In the meantime Josh found out we can fly them Continental for around $1500 each - still expensive but significantly less, wouldn't you agree? We're still trying to figure out which way we are going to go because of the timing of the vaccinations and forms and appointments and we got a few more quotes, one of which was closer to $4500 for both dogs, so about $1500 more than Continental but covers all those other items which would help. Only then she added in that it could cost up to $1500 per dog for the entry fee into Spain. If only there was some clear way to know the exact costs in doing this it would be so much easier! So when I get back home this week, my latest addition to my to do list is to find out exactly how much it will cost, what is involved as far as forms and appointments and when I need to do them.
Right now what I know is that the dogs need to be microchipped...check!! We have those already. Are they compatible with Spain's? Yup, checked that too after an hour on the Home Again website. Ok, one item down. They need to be up to date on their regular vaccinations - ok, we're due for physicals Dec 1 - need to move that closer to mid Nov as they need to be done no less than 4 weeks before flight and that's cutting it close. Check... appt set. Now the timing issuue - I need to figure out when to make the appt with the USDA vet and they need forms completed no more than 10-15 days before our flight. Not having our flight booked, I'm at a bit of an impasse here. But it's all on my list... my ever growing, super long list. Did I mention I still work??? And still plan to work? I'll just give up my sleep...sleep is for wimps anyways ;)
Do yourself a favor, before you move abroad, talk to me... I can tell you every snafu you will run into, trust me...
Got to get ready for dinner and will try to add Day 3 later...
Julie
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Discovery trip - day 2
Well you know how day 1 ended, with me almost puking my guts out the window of the cab. Thankfully day 2 went quite a bit smoother!! While I woke up after 12 hrs of sleeping still with that hangover type feeling I definitely felt significantly better than I did on Mon.
We met up with Mele around 10AM to start the viewing of the next 10 apartments. I'll upload pics probably when we get back because for some reason I can't get the photo upload on Facebook to work and this program only allows me to upload one image at a time and it takes a good 10 mins per image - I just don't have that kind of patience at the moment!
Anyways, we have been pleasantly surprised so far with what we have seen. We had looked online at many apartments and they were just ok. Maybe their photos weren't doing them justice but I have to say, and I think Josh agrees, that every single apartment except for 1 had the potential to be a winner. They all met just about all of our criteria which I have to give kudos to our realtor, Mele, she really knew us well!! Thanks Mele!!
I'd love to describe the ones that we saw to everyone but you know what, you'd probably be bored out of your mind by the third one. The general gist of it is, we looked close to the water which is also by Josh's work (means an hr commute to school for Aidan across the city) and we looked close to Aidan's school (again, an hr commute but this time for Josh). And we also looked in the middle of the city. We finally went with the one that was our 4th one of the day. There was just something about it...ok it was the outdoor space. As you can imagine in a city, outdoor space comes at a premium. Every place we saw had a balcony or terrace - it was a requirement of ours. We're going from an acre and a half, dammit, we need to be able to at least have a little table or something outside to eat on! So anyways, all had some small outdoor space, and I want to reiterate...small. I think the balconies here are probably comparable to the ones in the US that you would see in a city - enough to put a small table and that's about it. Maybe a little more. So this place that we went with had all we wanted - it's right in the middle of Josh and Aidan's destinations. It's close to shopping (as in grocery, you all know I will be devastated by lack of target, gap and toys r us!) which is essential since I won't have a car (I'll tell you about the driving in a bit). There is a park and dog park nearby. And honestly, while we saw places in much nicer areas, this place gave us the best feel for city life - we are on a side street so it's not loud by any means but we are truly in the center of the city. What is the point of moving to the city unless we are going to be near the hubbub of city life right?? Though I have to say, it was hard to pass up the 8th floor huge apartment with 2 balconies overseeing the Mediterranean (you'll see those pics once I upload) but again, must think of family... that was a tough one to give up though!!! So back to the apartment, it's more of a townhome since it's 2 floors. It's newly renovated so everything is new. But like I mentioned before, everything is MUCH smaller here in Europe. We will have approximately 115 square meters, which is something we anticipated (though we saw some closer to 135 sq meters) but equates to approx 1200 square feet. Our house now is close to 1900 sq feet plus a finished basement so we are losing A LOT of space. But the plus to this place beyond all these other features that met our criteria - it has an outdoor space of approximately 60 sq meters - almost 650 square feet! Now it's all concrete and stone but I'll put some pics up of what a normal terrace looks like and what this one is like and you'll see a BIG difference. A HUGE difference. This space was worth the sacrifice of space inside. We won't have to walk the dogs to go to the bathroom (obviously will need to improve on our poop pickup though since we kind of slack in that area), we can just let them out. The kids will have an area that's contained and private that they can play in (wish there was grass but beggars can't be choosers) which is a huge relief as well. Not that I wasn't looking forward to the park but it's nice to know there is another alternative if I don't want to hit the park every day (which I don't). So anyways, after much back and forth (and there was a lot of back and forth making a decision), we chose this one. Oh and it's in the neighborhood called Eixample (pronounced E champ le which is nice sounding. Almost sounds french to me). Just to give a price comparison - these spaces we saw were all in the city borders of Barcelona though some were closer to the outskirts than others. They were all in the range of 100 - 150 square meters. And their prices ranged from 1600 - 2000 euros per month. With the exchange rate for dollars, this equates to $2300 to $2900 USD per month. A big chunk of change for a small place. I'm not sure how Boston proper compares, but my guess is it's probably relatively close???
So we made our decision last night around 6ish - after we saw our last apartment with Mele. She knew we had it narrowed down to 2 but we made our decision and sent her an email to find out what is next. We had a vague idea. She emailed us that we would meet at 10AM the next day and to get some rest. Hopefully at the end of day 3 we would have a place to live!!
So that night we went to dinner with Josh's co-worker, Nick and his wife Brenda at a fabulous restaurant called El Greco. Best Italian food (josh disagrees). It was to me what European life is all about. It was a family owned restaurant, everything made fresh on the premises. And at the end of the night we walked out and the family and head chef (obviously part of the family) were all sitting down to their own dinner together at the front table in the restaurant. Very cool experience. What is interesting about dining in Spain (I can't say if the rest of europe is like this or not because I haven't been) but restaurants here don't open until 8 for the most part and they only have one seating per table - so there is relatively no turnover in a good restaurant. If you book that table, it is yours for the night. I have no idea how these people make money. They do not push you to order and you actually have to ask for the check at the end of the night. It was a wonderful experience and one I look forward to having again. Got in from dinner around 11:30 BCN time - LONG day.
In addition to going to dinner, it was great seeing Nick and Brenda. Brenda and I have been emailing for months yet had never met in person. She's been my inside guide to BCN since she's been here a year now. Their kids (4 of them) are ages 10-14 and all attend the same school that Aidan will be going to in January. They live just outside the city so they have a car unlike us - it was kind of fun to watch Nick drive in the city.
Driving in Barcelona is like NOTHING I have ever seen in my entire life. I LOVE to drive as you know. And rarely am I intimidated by anything related to a vehicle. But man, I will NEVER drive in Barcelona - I can promise you that! First of all the lanes here are significantly more narrow than lanes anywhere else I've been. I've heard that is typical of Europe but again I have personally nothing to compare against. These people drive within centimeters of each other and drive fast - yes Michele, Tracie and Deb - faster than me. I don't think I've ever seen anyone drive this fast on inner city streets and not constantly slam the breaks. To use a comparison of Josh's they were like a bead of water just flowing along a river and moving around the rocks (other cars) with ease. I am amazed there are not more accidents. I kid you not, we were going 50 at times. Can you imagine driving 50 down Newbury Street or Atlantic Ave? With the traffic lights and cross walks? These people can do it! And you have to add in the scooters. Never in my life have I seen this many scooters - I have a pic or two of that as well. Mele told us that Barcelona actually has the highest percent of scooters compared to any city in the world, even more than Rome (I wasn't aware of Rome's population of scooters so I will take her word on this one). And the scooters drive like absolute manics weaving and bobbing in between the cars.
But interestingly, it seems that both cars and scooters are very respectful of pedestrians unlike many cities. The crosswalks are all automated and you would have major guts to try to cross when there is a red little man there - wait for the green man, trust me. Mele also said it is a sign of respect to use the crosswalks and they are everywhere so we really had no need to jaywalk like we normally would. But she did advise to still look twice because the occassional scooter will still try to fly thru a crosswalk. Good to know!!!
A few more Barcelona / Spain traditions and then I'm done with Day 2 recap! First of all, they take their siestas very seriously here still. The majority of places, especially the mom and pop shops, close down between 2 and 4 (some even 4:30) every day. Their hours are extended at the end of the day til around 7. But it's very odd to walk along the streets and see all of these metal doors that close off the store fronts (like you would see in any city but usually it means the place is out of business) in the middle of the day. I keep thinking wow, these must all be out of business, but nope, just closed for siesta. Apparently they all go home for their big meal of the day, must be how they all stay skinny because they are eating big meals early. Mele said there are very few fat people in barcelona, they are very concerned with their appearances and that many will have plastic surgery and tummy tucks because they are so concerned with their weight! Anyways, I digress... back to traditions. Get all your errands done during the week because most stores close on Saturday by noon or so. And they aren't closed on Sunday. I'm not sure about the big congolomorates on some of these things and some of them stay open during siesta but I'm pretty sure they close early Sat and all day Sun too. It is supposed to truly be a day of relaxation here! I look forward to one of those someday soon!!!
Julie
We met up with Mele around 10AM to start the viewing of the next 10 apartments. I'll upload pics probably when we get back because for some reason I can't get the photo upload on Facebook to work and this program only allows me to upload one image at a time and it takes a good 10 mins per image - I just don't have that kind of patience at the moment!
Anyways, we have been pleasantly surprised so far with what we have seen. We had looked online at many apartments and they were just ok. Maybe their photos weren't doing them justice but I have to say, and I think Josh agrees, that every single apartment except for 1 had the potential to be a winner. They all met just about all of our criteria which I have to give kudos to our realtor, Mele, she really knew us well!! Thanks Mele!!
I'd love to describe the ones that we saw to everyone but you know what, you'd probably be bored out of your mind by the third one. The general gist of it is, we looked close to the water which is also by Josh's work (means an hr commute to school for Aidan across the city) and we looked close to Aidan's school (again, an hr commute but this time for Josh). And we also looked in the middle of the city. We finally went with the one that was our 4th one of the day. There was just something about it...ok it was the outdoor space. As you can imagine in a city, outdoor space comes at a premium. Every place we saw had a balcony or terrace - it was a requirement of ours. We're going from an acre and a half, dammit, we need to be able to at least have a little table or something outside to eat on! So anyways, all had some small outdoor space, and I want to reiterate...small. I think the balconies here are probably comparable to the ones in the US that you would see in a city - enough to put a small table and that's about it. Maybe a little more. So this place that we went with had all we wanted - it's right in the middle of Josh and Aidan's destinations. It's close to shopping (as in grocery, you all know I will be devastated by lack of target, gap and toys r us!) which is essential since I won't have a car (I'll tell you about the driving in a bit). There is a park and dog park nearby. And honestly, while we saw places in much nicer areas, this place gave us the best feel for city life - we are on a side street so it's not loud by any means but we are truly in the center of the city. What is the point of moving to the city unless we are going to be near the hubbub of city life right?? Though I have to say, it was hard to pass up the 8th floor huge apartment with 2 balconies overseeing the Mediterranean (you'll see those pics once I upload) but again, must think of family... that was a tough one to give up though!!! So back to the apartment, it's more of a townhome since it's 2 floors. It's newly renovated so everything is new. But like I mentioned before, everything is MUCH smaller here in Europe. We will have approximately 115 square meters, which is something we anticipated (though we saw some closer to 135 sq meters) but equates to approx 1200 square feet. Our house now is close to 1900 sq feet plus a finished basement so we are losing A LOT of space. But the plus to this place beyond all these other features that met our criteria - it has an outdoor space of approximately 60 sq meters - almost 650 square feet! Now it's all concrete and stone but I'll put some pics up of what a normal terrace looks like and what this one is like and you'll see a BIG difference. A HUGE difference. This space was worth the sacrifice of space inside. We won't have to walk the dogs to go to the bathroom (obviously will need to improve on our poop pickup though since we kind of slack in that area), we can just let them out. The kids will have an area that's contained and private that they can play in (wish there was grass but beggars can't be choosers) which is a huge relief as well. Not that I wasn't looking forward to the park but it's nice to know there is another alternative if I don't want to hit the park every day (which I don't). So anyways, after much back and forth (and there was a lot of back and forth making a decision), we chose this one. Oh and it's in the neighborhood called Eixample (pronounced E champ le which is nice sounding. Almost sounds french to me). Just to give a price comparison - these spaces we saw were all in the city borders of Barcelona though some were closer to the outskirts than others. They were all in the range of 100 - 150 square meters. And their prices ranged from 1600 - 2000 euros per month. With the exchange rate for dollars, this equates to $2300 to $2900 USD per month. A big chunk of change for a small place. I'm not sure how Boston proper compares, but my guess is it's probably relatively close???
So we made our decision last night around 6ish - after we saw our last apartment with Mele. She knew we had it narrowed down to 2 but we made our decision and sent her an email to find out what is next. We had a vague idea. She emailed us that we would meet at 10AM the next day and to get some rest. Hopefully at the end of day 3 we would have a place to live!!
The outside of our building
Kitchen view #1 - that is pretty much my one lonely cabinet at the top.
Kitchen view #2 - that is my washing machine that holds about 3 shirts. Above that is not a cabinet but a door that hides the hot water heater.
Patio view #1 (notice my dryer on the left...insert sarcasm here)
Patio view #2
Family room / dining room (most of this furniture is going)
Upstairs bath (there is one downstairs too but this one is nicer)
Aidan and Josh are very excited about the bidet!
View of our street. It's a small side street with pretty much no traffic or noise. There are pics of the bedrooms but they were kind of messy when we were there. I'll add them once I've added my own touch!
So that night we went to dinner with Josh's co-worker, Nick and his wife Brenda at a fabulous restaurant called El Greco. Best Italian food (josh disagrees). It was to me what European life is all about. It was a family owned restaurant, everything made fresh on the premises. And at the end of the night we walked out and the family and head chef (obviously part of the family) were all sitting down to their own dinner together at the front table in the restaurant. Very cool experience. What is interesting about dining in Spain (I can't say if the rest of europe is like this or not because I haven't been) but restaurants here don't open until 8 for the most part and they only have one seating per table - so there is relatively no turnover in a good restaurant. If you book that table, it is yours for the night. I have no idea how these people make money. They do not push you to order and you actually have to ask for the check at the end of the night. It was a wonderful experience and one I look forward to having again. Got in from dinner around 11:30 BCN time - LONG day.
In addition to going to dinner, it was great seeing Nick and Brenda. Brenda and I have been emailing for months yet had never met in person. She's been my inside guide to BCN since she's been here a year now. Their kids (4 of them) are ages 10-14 and all attend the same school that Aidan will be going to in January. They live just outside the city so they have a car unlike us - it was kind of fun to watch Nick drive in the city.
Driving in Barcelona is like NOTHING I have ever seen in my entire life. I LOVE to drive as you know. And rarely am I intimidated by anything related to a vehicle. But man, I will NEVER drive in Barcelona - I can promise you that! First of all the lanes here are significantly more narrow than lanes anywhere else I've been. I've heard that is typical of Europe but again I have personally nothing to compare against. These people drive within centimeters of each other and drive fast - yes Michele, Tracie and Deb - faster than me. I don't think I've ever seen anyone drive this fast on inner city streets and not constantly slam the breaks. To use a comparison of Josh's they were like a bead of water just flowing along a river and moving around the rocks (other cars) with ease. I am amazed there are not more accidents. I kid you not, we were going 50 at times. Can you imagine driving 50 down Newbury Street or Atlantic Ave? With the traffic lights and cross walks? These people can do it! And you have to add in the scooters. Never in my life have I seen this many scooters - I have a pic or two of that as well. Mele told us that Barcelona actually has the highest percent of scooters compared to any city in the world, even more than Rome (I wasn't aware of Rome's population of scooters so I will take her word on this one). And the scooters drive like absolute manics weaving and bobbing in between the cars.
But interestingly, it seems that both cars and scooters are very respectful of pedestrians unlike many cities. The crosswalks are all automated and you would have major guts to try to cross when there is a red little man there - wait for the green man, trust me. Mele also said it is a sign of respect to use the crosswalks and they are everywhere so we really had no need to jaywalk like we normally would. But she did advise to still look twice because the occassional scooter will still try to fly thru a crosswalk. Good to know!!!
A few more Barcelona / Spain traditions and then I'm done with Day 2 recap! First of all, they take their siestas very seriously here still. The majority of places, especially the mom and pop shops, close down between 2 and 4 (some even 4:30) every day. Their hours are extended at the end of the day til around 7. But it's very odd to walk along the streets and see all of these metal doors that close off the store fronts (like you would see in any city but usually it means the place is out of business) in the middle of the day. I keep thinking wow, these must all be out of business, but nope, just closed for siesta. Apparently they all go home for their big meal of the day, must be how they all stay skinny because they are eating big meals early. Mele said there are very few fat people in barcelona, they are very concerned with their appearances and that many will have plastic surgery and tummy tucks because they are so concerned with their weight! Anyways, I digress... back to traditions. Get all your errands done during the week because most stores close on Saturday by noon or so. And they aren't closed on Sunday. I'm not sure about the big congolomorates on some of these things and some of them stay open during siesta but I'm pretty sure they close early Sat and all day Sun too. It is supposed to truly be a day of relaxation here! I look forward to one of those someday soon!!!
Julie
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Discovery Trip - Day 1
And we're off!! It's an emotional and physical rollercoaster we are riding for the next few days. Our goal in the next oh, day and a half, is to find ourselves a place to live in the next few days. We'll be going from our acre and a half in Attleboro with 1900 square feet to NO yard and maybe 1000 square feet if we are lucky. So we already know this is going to be a tough job ahead of us.
We got to Logan way too early...not quite sure why Josh had the car come at 2:30 when our flight wasn't til 6:40. Oh well! So we figured we'd stop at Houlihan's in the airport for a last bite of american food and a drink or two. Not a great idea. We really should know better since everyone knows airport food and service sucks. Josh's soup was cold and finally came back at the end of the meal (of course, that was his meal) and my sandwich was just ok. We didn't bother with drinks. There was a cute english family next to us - why can't we move somewhere where my kids will come back with cute little english accents?? So we're hoping that the cold soup is the worst of what is going to happen and moving along...
We get on our plane, on time, and are excited about the journey ahead of us. Unfortunately that luck was following us, or should I say bad stinky luck. The guy on the other side of me had really bad B.O. Yuck!!! I'm nauseuous and we haven't even left yet. Thankfully we caught some really fast tailwinds and cut more than an hour off our regular 6 hr time to get to Dublin. Dublin!!! My first time in Europe, albeit in an airport! I've been in many airports in my time but never one with this many hallways!! The directions were good for everywhere you needed to go, but you took narrow hallways everywhere it seemed.
As with all bad luck, it continues to follow... I'm thankful that these were all small issues. But in preparation for my trip and knowing how picky of an eater I am, I put a caramello bar in my pocketbook. Maybe the caramel part was a bad idea. Well, all the heavy stuff in my pocketbook squished it and when I went to remove something from my purse, I thought...hmmnm....what is so sticky all over this?? Good thing we got into Ireland early because I ended up spending 20 mins in the bathroom washing all my possessions down from their caramel bath! I suppose worse things could happen right? Sue, you will be happy to know that we saw a starbucks while in the Dublin airport - $8 for a coffee though!! We also saw a Burger King, so Aidan will be happy for a touch of the US when he comes. Aww.... just like home!! Was hoping my luck would change - I found an Irish / Euro penny on the seat next to me as we were waiting for our connection to Barcelona.
So off we go to meet our connection to Barcelona. We were exhausted and actually slept the entire flight - very much typical of Josh but not so typical for me. So far so good...no more problems (yet, a little foreshadowing). Once again, the tailwinds were in our favor and we arrived safely to Barcelona, our home away from home! First off, let me say that the view of the city from the airplane was breathtaking! If we weren't meeting our realtor in 1/2 hr, I'd upload the photos but I haven't even downloaded them from the camera yet (actually I'm on Josh's computer so not even sure he has the software to do it). The view was just stunning and it made me really excited about the next few days to come. The mountains were in the background with the city nestled between that and the Mediterranean Sea - just gorgeous!!
We made it thru customs just find and found a cab. Using our very poor Spanish and pointing a finger at the address we wanted to go to, we were off!!! Wow, we're in Spain!!!! All this planning and we are actually here! We're very excited and are looking all around at the sites as we drive. Old mixed in with new. Many places had what they were actually labeled as their store names - Farmacia or pharmacy - we saw the same sign in all different colors and fonts. It was very interesting because it seems that they didn't have brand names for things like that but we're guessing that the different colors and fonts meant they were different companies. As we are driving we go past this giant building that will forever be known to Josh and I as the penis building - you'll have to wait for the picture but the name should say it all. I believe they are actually apartments, but it will be known as Penis building from now on! Sue, you will be happy to know I've seen a Starbucks here too...Lisa, I haven't found the Dunkin Donuts yet but we haven't made it to Las Ramblas which I believe is where it is located.
So anyways, we're in the cab heading to our hotel, the Hotel Gran Silken on Ave Diagonal. The hotel is gorgeous and very modern. We go to check in, but wait!!! We don't have a reservation under Marcus. What?????? Josh's company made the reservations. So now we are in a foreign country with no hotel. I personally begin to panic while Josh being level headed asks, do you have any rooms available?? Ah, my common sense husband, god I love him. But in the end, I showed him where we were supposed to be. He looked at it and said, "well you have the right address but the wrong hotel". So he calls up the other hotel, their sister hotel, and yup, they have us there. The braintrusts at Vistaprint gave us the wrong address!!! Oh well... off we go in another cab (he tried to give us directions via metro but we weren't ready to tackle the train system quite yet).
So we make it to the correct hotel, the Gran Silken Havana. Still a beautiful hotel but perhaps not quite as fancy - fine by us. This one is actuallly a little more our style. And actually, we have a cute little private veranda as well which is nice. Not that we've really had a chance to use it. So now that we are checked in, our first priority is to finish setting up our bank account. We had done some of it online but the rest had to be done in person. We take yet another cab to La Caixa, our bank. It's not like banks here where you have a reception area with tellers and then some offices to the side. This place had 3 cubes, not teller area and then 2 offices in the back. There was no line, just a row of chairs. Not knowing what to do, we just sat down. Thankfully the guy next to us spoke English and told us we just wait our turn and it's first come, first serve. That was great until some other guy cut us off and we couldn't tell him! So we sat there for close to an hour. By now it's after 1 and you need to keep in mind that in Barcelona, and most of Spain, they take their siesta very seriously and most places close down between the hours of 2 and 4/4:30. We knew that this bank was one of them. So hopefully they don't kick people out that have been waiting if you haven't been served by then. Thankfully it never came to that. It was finally our turn and we asked for our contact that we had been emailing with. Her English was a little broken but still much better than our Spanish (which we obviously need to work on). We got everything set up and all of our bank cards. You actually get different pin numbers for your internet banking and your ATM banking which was interesting. That and a card to use if you are doing transfers - they may contact you, ask for 3 numbers, then you looking for your corresponding numbers and give them the next 4 in the sequence. It was very spy-like!!!
After the bank we took a stroll down the road to the Vistaprint office. It was in a very modern building right by the ocean. Nice Josh!! You have the life!! Josh knew most everyone there and it was nice for me to meet some people too. Everyone spoke English - so that was a nice change from the day! It was a quick visit to the office because we had to meet up with Mele, our realtor.
We decided to try the metro which was rather daunting to us. We walked the 3 blocks from vistaprint to the Metro station. We knew we were heading for the Villa Olimpica so we knew what direction based on the map. The tough part was the automated ticket dispenser. We were unsure of which ticket to buy and only wanted a one way token. We were just about on the verge of giving up when we figured it out. Victory!!!! This was a huge barrier to us, taking the public transportation on our own. It may not seem like a big deal but we could have ended up in Madrid for all we knew was going to happen! Everything was labeled very well (in Spanish but we do know some!) and we got off at our stop with no problem. Holding our tourist map, we tried to figure out where we were meeting Mele. We went in the wrong direction, of course, but we had some time to kill and figured, let's head towards the water. The Mediterranean is GORGEOUS! It was a little cloudy out but the sea was still blue and the beach looked amazing and it stretched on forever. There was a nice boardwalk to walk along though at that point we didn't had time because now we needed to backtrack and find Mele. The streets are labeled ok - they are great about crosswalks and even the craziest (you thought Boston or NY was bad!) drivers would stop for a crosswalk.
Speaking of crazy driving - these drivers are insane! The roads, even highways, are much more narrow and I don't know how more cars don't crash into each other. Most of the roads are VERY curvy as well. During our house hunt I actually became so nauseous that I had to lean my head out the window in fear I was going to puke (and came very close).
So we meet Mele, and she kicks ass! She's high energy, perfect English (she's actually from Puerto Rico and spent a lot of time in the states too) and knows her stuff. So off and running we go! We had 6 places to see between 4PM and 6:30... not a lot of time.
The first place was nice - right in the Villa Olimpica... there was a courtyard with a pool and play area for the kids. They weren't thrilled about the dog thing which I thought Mele had confirmed was ok with all the places we were seeing. It was 3 stories, kind of like a townhome and a bit on the rustic side. But the views were great and the space inside was good although a little awkward. The 2nd and 3rd were in the same building, far from parks which sucks, but brand new. One furnished, the other was not. We really need it to be furnished because we don't plan to bring anything over from the US for just 2 years and don't want to spend the $$ on furnishing a place that we won't bring back with us. The 4th place was a 1970s kind of place with amazing view in the Sarria area. But unfurnished and a bit dark for us. We LOVED the rustic feel, yet updated amenities of the 5th place - if only it weren't a 3rd floor walk up. I was winded by the time we got to the top and still not feeling so great from the cab rides. Actually I was feeling pretty crappy from the 3rd place on - and had to stop for a quick snack because the apple I had at 10AM, just not cutting it any more. Finally the 6th place we loved. By the school and park, though a bit of a commute for Josh. We'd have to negotiate some furniture in there because it supposedly comes unfurnished but we will see. It felt the most homey of all of them and was on the 8th floor with a beautiful terrace. By now, I'm ready to puke and can barely stand straight. So I didn't take any pics. But if we decide this is the one we will go back for another visit.
Ok, we're off to see 10 more places today. Got to jump because Josh needs the computer too. More updates later!
We got to Logan way too early...not quite sure why Josh had the car come at 2:30 when our flight wasn't til 6:40. Oh well! So we figured we'd stop at Houlihan's in the airport for a last bite of american food and a drink or two. Not a great idea. We really should know better since everyone knows airport food and service sucks. Josh's soup was cold and finally came back at the end of the meal (of course, that was his meal) and my sandwich was just ok. We didn't bother with drinks. There was a cute english family next to us - why can't we move somewhere where my kids will come back with cute little english accents?? So we're hoping that the cold soup is the worst of what is going to happen and moving along...
We get on our plane, on time, and are excited about the journey ahead of us. Unfortunately that luck was following us, or should I say bad stinky luck. The guy on the other side of me had really bad B.O. Yuck!!! I'm nauseuous and we haven't even left yet. Thankfully we caught some really fast tailwinds and cut more than an hour off our regular 6 hr time to get to Dublin. Dublin!!! My first time in Europe, albeit in an airport! I've been in many airports in my time but never one with this many hallways!! The directions were good for everywhere you needed to go, but you took narrow hallways everywhere it seemed.
As with all bad luck, it continues to follow... I'm thankful that these were all small issues. But in preparation for my trip and knowing how picky of an eater I am, I put a caramello bar in my pocketbook. Maybe the caramel part was a bad idea. Well, all the heavy stuff in my pocketbook squished it and when I went to remove something from my purse, I thought...hmmnm....what is so sticky all over this?? Good thing we got into Ireland early because I ended up spending 20 mins in the bathroom washing all my possessions down from their caramel bath! I suppose worse things could happen right? Sue, you will be happy to know that we saw a starbucks while in the Dublin airport - $8 for a coffee though!! We also saw a Burger King, so Aidan will be happy for a touch of the US when he comes. Aww.... just like home!! Was hoping my luck would change - I found an Irish / Euro penny on the seat next to me as we were waiting for our connection to Barcelona.
So off we go to meet our connection to Barcelona. We were exhausted and actually slept the entire flight - very much typical of Josh but not so typical for me. So far so good...no more problems (yet, a little foreshadowing). Once again, the tailwinds were in our favor and we arrived safely to Barcelona, our home away from home! First off, let me say that the view of the city from the airplane was breathtaking! If we weren't meeting our realtor in 1/2 hr, I'd upload the photos but I haven't even downloaded them from the camera yet (actually I'm on Josh's computer so not even sure he has the software to do it). The view was just stunning and it made me really excited about the next few days to come. The mountains were in the background with the city nestled between that and the Mediterranean Sea - just gorgeous!!
We made it thru customs just find and found a cab. Using our very poor Spanish and pointing a finger at the address we wanted to go to, we were off!!! Wow, we're in Spain!!!! All this planning and we are actually here! We're very excited and are looking all around at the sites as we drive. Old mixed in with new. Many places had what they were actually labeled as their store names - Farmacia or pharmacy - we saw the same sign in all different colors and fonts. It was very interesting because it seems that they didn't have brand names for things like that but we're guessing that the different colors and fonts meant they were different companies. As we are driving we go past this giant building that will forever be known to Josh and I as the penis building - you'll have to wait for the picture but the name should say it all. I believe they are actually apartments, but it will be known as Penis building from now on! Sue, you will be happy to know I've seen a Starbucks here too...Lisa, I haven't found the Dunkin Donuts yet but we haven't made it to Las Ramblas which I believe is where it is located.
So anyways, we're in the cab heading to our hotel, the Hotel Gran Silken on Ave Diagonal. The hotel is gorgeous and very modern. We go to check in, but wait!!! We don't have a reservation under Marcus. What?????? Josh's company made the reservations. So now we are in a foreign country with no hotel. I personally begin to panic while Josh being level headed asks, do you have any rooms available?? Ah, my common sense husband, god I love him. But in the end, I showed him where we were supposed to be. He looked at it and said, "well you have the right address but the wrong hotel". So he calls up the other hotel, their sister hotel, and yup, they have us there. The braintrusts at Vistaprint gave us the wrong address!!! Oh well... off we go in another cab (he tried to give us directions via metro but we weren't ready to tackle the train system quite yet).
So we make it to the correct hotel, the Gran Silken Havana. Still a beautiful hotel but perhaps not quite as fancy - fine by us. This one is actuallly a little more our style. And actually, we have a cute little private veranda as well which is nice. Not that we've really had a chance to use it. So now that we are checked in, our first priority is to finish setting up our bank account. We had done some of it online but the rest had to be done in person. We take yet another cab to La Caixa, our bank. It's not like banks here where you have a reception area with tellers and then some offices to the side. This place had 3 cubes, not teller area and then 2 offices in the back. There was no line, just a row of chairs. Not knowing what to do, we just sat down. Thankfully the guy next to us spoke English and told us we just wait our turn and it's first come, first serve. That was great until some other guy cut us off and we couldn't tell him! So we sat there for close to an hour. By now it's after 1 and you need to keep in mind that in Barcelona, and most of Spain, they take their siesta very seriously and most places close down between the hours of 2 and 4/4:30. We knew that this bank was one of them. So hopefully they don't kick people out that have been waiting if you haven't been served by then. Thankfully it never came to that. It was finally our turn and we asked for our contact that we had been emailing with. Her English was a little broken but still much better than our Spanish (which we obviously need to work on). We got everything set up and all of our bank cards. You actually get different pin numbers for your internet banking and your ATM banking which was interesting. That and a card to use if you are doing transfers - they may contact you, ask for 3 numbers, then you looking for your corresponding numbers and give them the next 4 in the sequence. It was very spy-like!!!
After the bank we took a stroll down the road to the Vistaprint office. It was in a very modern building right by the ocean. Nice Josh!! You have the life!! Josh knew most everyone there and it was nice for me to meet some people too. Everyone spoke English - so that was a nice change from the day! It was a quick visit to the office because we had to meet up with Mele, our realtor.
We decided to try the metro which was rather daunting to us. We walked the 3 blocks from vistaprint to the Metro station. We knew we were heading for the Villa Olimpica so we knew what direction based on the map. The tough part was the automated ticket dispenser. We were unsure of which ticket to buy and only wanted a one way token. We were just about on the verge of giving up when we figured it out. Victory!!!! This was a huge barrier to us, taking the public transportation on our own. It may not seem like a big deal but we could have ended up in Madrid for all we knew was going to happen! Everything was labeled very well (in Spanish but we do know some!) and we got off at our stop with no problem. Holding our tourist map, we tried to figure out where we were meeting Mele. We went in the wrong direction, of course, but we had some time to kill and figured, let's head towards the water. The Mediterranean is GORGEOUS! It was a little cloudy out but the sea was still blue and the beach looked amazing and it stretched on forever. There was a nice boardwalk to walk along though at that point we didn't had time because now we needed to backtrack and find Mele. The streets are labeled ok - they are great about crosswalks and even the craziest (you thought Boston or NY was bad!) drivers would stop for a crosswalk.
Speaking of crazy driving - these drivers are insane! The roads, even highways, are much more narrow and I don't know how more cars don't crash into each other. Most of the roads are VERY curvy as well. During our house hunt I actually became so nauseous that I had to lean my head out the window in fear I was going to puke (and came very close).
So we meet Mele, and she kicks ass! She's high energy, perfect English (she's actually from Puerto Rico and spent a lot of time in the states too) and knows her stuff. So off and running we go! We had 6 places to see between 4PM and 6:30... not a lot of time.
The first place was nice - right in the Villa Olimpica... there was a courtyard with a pool and play area for the kids. They weren't thrilled about the dog thing which I thought Mele had confirmed was ok with all the places we were seeing. It was 3 stories, kind of like a townhome and a bit on the rustic side. But the views were great and the space inside was good although a little awkward. The 2nd and 3rd were in the same building, far from parks which sucks, but brand new. One furnished, the other was not. We really need it to be furnished because we don't plan to bring anything over from the US for just 2 years and don't want to spend the $$ on furnishing a place that we won't bring back with us. The 4th place was a 1970s kind of place with amazing view in the Sarria area. But unfurnished and a bit dark for us. We LOVED the rustic feel, yet updated amenities of the 5th place - if only it weren't a 3rd floor walk up. I was winded by the time we got to the top and still not feeling so great from the cab rides. Actually I was feeling pretty crappy from the 3rd place on - and had to stop for a quick snack because the apple I had at 10AM, just not cutting it any more. Finally the 6th place we loved. By the school and park, though a bit of a commute for Josh. We'd have to negotiate some furniture in there because it supposedly comes unfurnished but we will see. It felt the most homey of all of them and was on the 8th floor with a beautiful terrace. By now, I'm ready to puke and can barely stand straight. So I didn't take any pics. But if we decide this is the one we will go back for another visit.
Ok, we're off to see 10 more places today. Got to jump because Josh needs the computer too. More updates later!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Off to Spain we go!
We're heading out for our Discovery Trip this Sunday. I'm excited, anxious and just a tiny bit terrified. If anything makes this move a reality, this will be it. I've been searching the real estate websites pretty much daily to find something I love. Haven't found it yet. I think I'm in for a harsh reality when I get there. Our realtor, Mele, has been guiding us but hasn't actually sent me a link to anything yet - my hope is she's just waiting til it's closer so she can make sure it's still available when we go there. That's my hope. She seems to be on top of things and has been great about educating us about life in Spain.
Apparently she's not educating me enough though. As I said, I've been doing some research on my own and last week I found this fantastic website http://www.johntaylorspain.com/barcelona.html that I was taking a look at. I found a few great properties like this one http://www.johntaylorspain.com/930ba.html that I sent over to Josh. "Hey Josh, aren't these great? Why do you think they are so cheap? This one is only 1.250 euros per month. Do you think it's the area?" He tells me these are fantastic properties (seriously, you should see the crap I've been finding on the other websites) compared to what I had been finding. Here is an example of one of the ones that I had seen before that before I saw this website was at the top of my list. http://www.idealista.com/pagina/inmueble?codigoinmueble=VP0000002796826&secc_inm=fotos So anyways, I send my link of my fabulous apartment to Mele with a note similar to the one I sent to Josh and seeing if at all possible, can we see one of these places?
That night as I sit on the couch I go back to the website. There I notice there is a tab for both rentals and apartments. Hmmm... which one was I on earlier and what is the difference? I click on rentals. Nope, this isn't where I was earlier. These ones are small, crappy and expensive! What's going on here???? I click on apartments and light dawns on marble head. These aren't apartments (well they are as far as Europeans are considered), these are condos!!! And they aren't 1.250 euro per month. This place is SELLING for 1.250.000. Notice my use of decimals. That's what tricked me. Yes, this isn't 1,250.00 (with an extra zero because I just figured that maybe in europe they go to the thousandth instead of the hundreth). This is 1.25 MILLION. Hmmm... just slightly out of my budget. Now embarrassed that I've sent these suggestions on to my realtor, I now must send her an email explaining my faux pas. Thankfully she gets a kick out of it and probably now thinks I'm quite the airhead. Oh well. For just a few hours I thought I was going to be living in the lap of luxury. That bubble has most definitely been burst!!
So off Josh and I go to explore at the very least, the neighborhood we are going to end up in. It would be great if we can find a place too (otherwise he will have to do this in Dec), but we need to first figure out what part of Barcelona we want to be in. Right now we are torn - Eixample and Sant Gervasi are both in between Aidan's school and Josh's work...however, the Vila Olimpica (where the 1992 olympics were held) is close to Josh's work, in a family oriented area and by the ocean. Can't get much better than that. Only it's very likely (we don't know for sure) an hr commute for Aidan to school. We probably wouldn't do the bus for him if that's the case and one of us would need to bring him to and from school. The decision we need to make is do we sacrifice lifestyle for a commute to school? If there are more kids in this area to play with, more parks, a boardwalk and the ocean, do we have him do a longer commute rather than be in an area where there are less kids and few parks to play in? Keep in mind we are not going to have a yard so a park is essential and a boardwalk would be nice for the kids to bikeride on. And we are beach people. I keep finding myself pulling to the Vila Olimpica neighborhood but until I see it and the others, no decision is final. We need to decide where we are going to be happy as a family. http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/albums-en/port-olimpico/index.html
In addition to this, we finally heard from the relocation company this week. Since speaking to them I've received several emails with forms. I've chosen to ignore the emails for the past two days because if I don't open them, then the forms I need to fill out just don't exist. I suppose I should fill them out before our discovery trip. Fun stuff. We also talked about our container for our goods and that it can take 4-6 weeks to ship and get thru customs. So in order for us to have our goods waiting for us when we get there, we will probably need to ship at the end of November. Keep in mind we are gone almost the entire first week of Nov (next week already!) which means that I will have less than 3 weeks to determine what is staying and what is going. How in the world did I go from 3 months to 3 weeks? It's like a blink of an eye. Every day I do something related to this move and yet I feel like I've made minimal progress and now I have to have it all done in about 3 weeks? Just shoot me and put me out of my misery!!
There will definitely be a lot of updates and pictures in the coming week. I'm looking forward to the pictures - I can't wait to see what the city looks like in person.
Post again soon!!
Julie
Apparently she's not educating me enough though. As I said, I've been doing some research on my own and last week I found this fantastic website http://www.johntaylorspain.com/barcelona.html that I was taking a look at. I found a few great properties like this one http://www.johntaylorspain.com/930ba.html that I sent over to Josh. "Hey Josh, aren't these great? Why do you think they are so cheap? This one is only 1.250 euros per month. Do you think it's the area?" He tells me these are fantastic properties (seriously, you should see the crap I've been finding on the other websites) compared to what I had been finding. Here is an example of one of the ones that I had seen before that before I saw this website was at the top of my list. http://www.idealista.com/pagina/inmueble?codigoinmueble=VP0000002796826&secc_inm=fotos So anyways, I send my link of my fabulous apartment to Mele with a note similar to the one I sent to Josh and seeing if at all possible, can we see one of these places?
That night as I sit on the couch I go back to the website. There I notice there is a tab for both rentals and apartments. Hmmm... which one was I on earlier and what is the difference? I click on rentals. Nope, this isn't where I was earlier. These ones are small, crappy and expensive! What's going on here???? I click on apartments and light dawns on marble head. These aren't apartments (well they are as far as Europeans are considered), these are condos!!! And they aren't 1.250 euro per month. This place is SELLING for 1.250.000. Notice my use of decimals. That's what tricked me. Yes, this isn't 1,250.00 (with an extra zero because I just figured that maybe in europe they go to the thousandth instead of the hundreth). This is 1.25 MILLION. Hmmm... just slightly out of my budget. Now embarrassed that I've sent these suggestions on to my realtor, I now must send her an email explaining my faux pas. Thankfully she gets a kick out of it and probably now thinks I'm quite the airhead. Oh well. For just a few hours I thought I was going to be living in the lap of luxury. That bubble has most definitely been burst!!
So off Josh and I go to explore at the very least, the neighborhood we are going to end up in. It would be great if we can find a place too (otherwise he will have to do this in Dec), but we need to first figure out what part of Barcelona we want to be in. Right now we are torn - Eixample and Sant Gervasi are both in between Aidan's school and Josh's work...however, the Vila Olimpica (where the 1992 olympics were held) is close to Josh's work, in a family oriented area and by the ocean. Can't get much better than that. Only it's very likely (we don't know for sure) an hr commute for Aidan to school. We probably wouldn't do the bus for him if that's the case and one of us would need to bring him to and from school. The decision we need to make is do we sacrifice lifestyle for a commute to school? If there are more kids in this area to play with, more parks, a boardwalk and the ocean, do we have him do a longer commute rather than be in an area where there are less kids and few parks to play in? Keep in mind we are not going to have a yard so a park is essential and a boardwalk would be nice for the kids to bikeride on. And we are beach people. I keep finding myself pulling to the Vila Olimpica neighborhood but until I see it and the others, no decision is final. We need to decide where we are going to be happy as a family. http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/albums-en/port-olimpico/index.html
In addition to this, we finally heard from the relocation company this week. Since speaking to them I've received several emails with forms. I've chosen to ignore the emails for the past two days because if I don't open them, then the forms I need to fill out just don't exist. I suppose I should fill them out before our discovery trip. Fun stuff. We also talked about our container for our goods and that it can take 4-6 weeks to ship and get thru customs. So in order for us to have our goods waiting for us when we get there, we will probably need to ship at the end of November. Keep in mind we are gone almost the entire first week of Nov (next week already!) which means that I will have less than 3 weeks to determine what is staying and what is going. How in the world did I go from 3 months to 3 weeks? It's like a blink of an eye. Every day I do something related to this move and yet I feel like I've made minimal progress and now I have to have it all done in about 3 weeks? Just shoot me and put me out of my misery!!
There will definitely be a lot of updates and pictures in the coming week. I'm looking forward to the pictures - I can't wait to see what the city looks like in person.
Post again soon!!
Julie
Craigslist is the best thing ever... Hertz is NOT!
On the long list of things to do for our move is to sell my car. It's something I've been dreading because the last time I tried to sell a car (my camry) it sat outside my garage for months. I was anxious about what happens if we're suddenly in the middle of December and I still haven't sold my car. You see, we still owed money on it so it didn't make sense to keep making payments on a car that we can't drive for 2 years. So I made the decision to put the minivan up for sale in the middle of October in the hopes that in 3 months I could sell the car. Just one more piece of stress to add to the ever growing pile.
So the weekend before Columbus Day I decided what the heck, today is the day. It's beautiful out and the bright blue sky will make a nice backdrop to the car. I hadn't had it detailed or anything at this point figuring that I'll just do a quick car wash and then vacuum out the inside so it doesn't look filthy (2 kids, 2 dogs and a husband - the car is rarely close to clean). I figured I'd just throw a few pics up on Craigslist to see what happens. I've only posted to craigslist once before and didn't have any luck with it but I figured a car had a bit more value than some old toys.
Well, wouldn't you know it - it only took 2 days to sell the car!! Absolutely crazy! Of course we then had to rush to pay it off. And you know that wasn't going to be easy either. We sold the car on Saturday and then called Toyota on Mon to see how we proceeded with the payoff. They told me the best way to get the title quickly was to send a cashiers check because electronic payments get held for up to 10 business days. Ok, so where do I send it? A PO Box? Do you have a physical address I can send it to Ms Toyota Service Person?? What do you mean they will just then forward it to the PO Box? Are you serious? Ok, so Josh goes to the bank the next day (it was closed that day for Columbus Day) and gets a cashiers check and mails it off to an obscure PO Box in Illinois. We wait and wait. Friday - call and the check hasn't cleared yet. I call again on Mon. You have my check? Yes!!!! Ok, so when can I get my title? The woman says, "we've sent you out a form to authorize us to send the title to DCU (our bank)". Ok, why would you send it to DCU? "Because that's who paid off the vehicle" she replies. Um...no. We paid it off with the cashiers check you told us to send. Seriously are you that dumb?? So I ask her if she can overnight the title. Sure!! Just give us your fedex number. Thankfully I have one. So the next day I call to get tracking. "What do you mean you haven't sent it out?" Ugh... these poor people have now been waiting over a week for this car that they can't take possession of until we have the title. So one more day goes by and we finally have it. Now off to get my rental car!
Not so surprisingly, the rental car process wasn't so easy either. Ok, it was easy to begin with. I went to AAA to see if they had any good discounts since I needed the car for over a month til I get Josh's car when he leaves in Dec. They ended up booking me with Hertz saving me a few hundred dollars over Enterprise. Don't forget, you get what you pay for... just remember that as we go along here. My friend Bill takes me to get my oh so cute Toyota Matrix (which they somehow define as a midsize car - not really sure how they got that definition - it's as small as Josh's A3 hatchback). Great car for a family of 4 ... not. Anyways, I get the car and all goes smoothly until he asks about insurance. I tell him that I have insurance. He says, "well didn't you sell your car". Well, yes, but I haven't cancelled my policy. Turns out when you turn in the plates (which I hadn't yet) you also cancel your policy. He wanted to charge me an additional $600-1200 just for insurance on the car. Being oh so smart, I tell him... I'll forgo the insurance for now and just take the car. Surprisingly, he lets me off the lot insurance free...
That night I call my insurance company and yup, the guy is right, they won't cover me. I call again the next morning because maybe that first guy misunderstood me and though I meant would they pay for the rental not would they cover me in an accident. Nope, they understood and no they won't cover me. Will you cover me under Josh's policy? "Is his car in the driveway disabled?" No... "then no we won't". Thankfully this guy was helpful and suggested that I try one of my credit cards. Apparently some card will actually give you rental car insurance - who knew????
So I call my credit card that I used to hold the car. Nope, only for gold and platinum members (Josh we need to become gold or platinum members - apparently they have all the fun!). So I call my business card's number and yes, they will cover me for no extra charge as long as the car is paid for with that card. So I'm in the car at this point with Liam, driving without insurance, heading to Norwood to pick up my computer that was being repaired. So I call Hertz and sit on hold for a good half hour before I get someone - all I want to do is change my credit card number. "Sorry we can't do that on the phone - you have to go to a location for that." Well there is a 1/2 hr of my life I won't get back. Ok, well, I've got my trusty GPS and need to go from Norwood to Braintree to drop off my license plates. So let's see if there is a Hertz on the way. Oh and Liam is already in meltdown mode at this point. He's a grump and is making it clear to me that he's not a happy child. We go about 15 mins out of our way to get to the Hertz and he is in full meltdown mode at this point screaming and throwing himself all over the place. I tell the guy that I would like to change over my credit card number for my rental. Again, thinking this should be a simple process. He looks at my one page contract very seriously and tells me he will need to go out back (there is a phone in front of him) to make a call to see if he can do it. Liam is screaming bloody murder at this point and after my 1/2 hr on the phone, I'm starting to lose my patience.
He comes back all apologetic a few minutes later. "Sorry, we can't do that - we could get in trouble because it would then become our reservation and North Attleboro would lose it". In sales speak that is "we can't steal their commission". Honestly I don't give a rats ass if you steal their commission, do you not see my screaming child??? Ok, I didn't say that but I was thinking it. But I did ask him if he was serious that I now need to go to N.A. to change a stupid f**ing credit card number. "Yes, you do. Oh and by the way, the $200 AAA discount you got - you may want to check with your credit card company because some cc companies won't cover you in an accident if you don't pay the full amount billed". Ok, are you serious???? Now I'm getting punished for being a saavy shopper?? I'm just about in meltdown with Liam. I grab him up like a football under my arm and just walk out the door, him screaming and all.
Thankfully the DMV took my plates and I was in and out of there in under 5 mins with a little mini meltdown from Liam. It was not one of his best days. I finally work my way back to North Attleboro. I've been on the road for about 2 1/2 hrs at this point so I can kind of understand Liam's crankiness. I'm cranky too. I get to Hertz where I got the car and guess what? They are expecting me. And yet, it still takes 20 mins to change over the order to a new credit card. Moral of the story. DON'T USE HERTZ!!!! EVER!!!!!
However, I don't like to end a story on an angry note. My new car is bright bright blue and very zippy. The kids like it and it will suffice until I take on Josh's zippy car in a month. At least the minivan is sold and I can check one more thing off on my ever growing list.
Julie
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
I will never do another yard sale for as long as I live!!
So we had the infamous yard sale this weekend. I think I spent a better part of a month prepping for this yard sale. I feel like I was giving away our worldly possessions. Part of me liked the idea that this stuff was no longer in my house taking up space but the other part of me nearly cried when I sold Liam's cozy coupe for $5 and his golf clubs (that he loves) for $3 amongst many other things. Aidan did well up until the very end when I gave his scooby doo chair to Lindsey (and no Michele, we do NOT need it back). He had a little bit of a breakdown and I think finally understood some of the impact of this move. So I gave in and told him that we could use some of the money that we made to buy him a little something like a game for his DS. He wanted a Funkey (these little computer guys that you plug in and they create a virtual world - I told him no until he can read but after he literally sobbed in my lap I gave in on this one).
Anyways, so why won't I do another yard sale again? Aside from it being a major pain in my ass for very little money? Well, for one, I actually got yelled at for my pricing (note to anyone who has not done a yard sale - do not bother with pricing anything, every single person will ask you how much an item is in the hopes that it is not the price you actually posted) and that I would never sell a thing because of it. Ha ha lady... I sold a good chunk of stuff so screw you. Sorry had to put that in there. Secondly, I felt absolutely abused by how little people wanted to pay for my very good stuff - almost everything was in perfect condition, some things weren't even opened!! I'd rather give my things away for free to those who will appreciate it. And finally, the yard sale is going to cost me more than I made. I made $250 to sit outside from 6AM - 4PM (my time is definitely worth more than that) and in the process I managed to damage Josh's garage door, get rid of our wall unit that I HATED (but didn't manage to sell so I had to leave it on the sidewalk for free), but in the process of moving the tv out of the wall unit, the tv broke (Mike Patkin, if you are reading this, it was the tv you sold to us oh 10 years or more ago...). So I had to not only go out and buy a new tv stand, but I almost had to go buy a new tv (thanks for the tv Sue, you are a lifesaver) AND I still need to repair Josh's garage door.
So in hindsight...no yard sales!! Not worth the aggravation. I think I'm going to wait on more of the purging til we get back from Barcelona in Nov and I have a real feel for what it is that we are bringing or not bringing with us. Not to mention, I'm just sick of purging stuff at this point and need a break. It's not like I can't pull together this move in 6 weeks once I know where we are living. It's more about the details like dog vaccinations, opening bank accounts, selling my car, etc etc that I'm worried about getting done!!!
Ok, I'm off to work on more Rosetta Stone - I've become obsessed with it. Not sure if that's good or bad. And I'm posting my first pic - it's of the yard sale. Wasn't planning to post til we were actually moving but at least it will give you an idea of the scope of how much crap I was trying to get rid of!
Julie
Friday, September 11, 2009
Packing, purging, packing, purging and more!
So I changed my mind on the yard sale - just too much stuff to get rid of and that is the most economical way. I was planning to do one in Oct but didn't think my garage could take it that long. Fortunately Matty Flynn said he's doing one next week so I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and sell what I've got ready to sell. So everyday I purge just a little bit. I've also become obsessed with Space Bags. These are the coolest bags EVER!! I can fit so much clothes and bedding in them it's ridiculous!!! So far the only place I can actually see an impact in my purging is my office. I can kind of see an impact in my closet and based on the garage, I must be doing something!!!
Josh and I are diligently working on our Rosetta Stone as well. I'm a little nervous about it because so far I'm at high school level stuff which I've done before and am essentially just refreshing upon. But people swear by this software so I'm going to go with the assumption that once I get past the first group of lessons I'll see more improvement beyond what I already knew. I definitely swear at the software a lot - I'm not so good at trilling my "r"'s and the voice recognition doesn't particularly like that and tells me I'm wrong all the time. I don't like to be wrong! So it's kind of nice because I compete with the software - I'm determined that it's not going to tell me I'm wrong!!
In the meantime we got our travel plans for our Discovery trip today. We leave Sun, Nov 1 (they originally planned to have us leave on Halloween...um, no way!!!!) and return home on the 5th. So it will be a whirlwind trip. I expect we will be talking more to the real estate people in the next few weeks so I'm sure there will be an update related to this soon. But just knowing the trip is booked makes this more and more real!! I can't believe in a matter of months we'll be living in a new country, meeting new people and experiencing so many different things.
Julie & Josh
Josh and I are diligently working on our Rosetta Stone as well. I'm a little nervous about it because so far I'm at high school level stuff which I've done before and am essentially just refreshing upon. But people swear by this software so I'm going to go with the assumption that once I get past the first group of lessons I'll see more improvement beyond what I already knew. I definitely swear at the software a lot - I'm not so good at trilling my "r"'s and the voice recognition doesn't particularly like that and tells me I'm wrong all the time. I don't like to be wrong! So it's kind of nice because I compete with the software - I'm determined that it's not going to tell me I'm wrong!!
In the meantime we got our travel plans for our Discovery trip today. We leave Sun, Nov 1 (they originally planned to have us leave on Halloween...um, no way!!!!) and return home on the 5th. So it will be a whirlwind trip. I expect we will be talking more to the real estate people in the next few weeks so I'm sure there will be an update related to this soon. But just knowing the trip is booked makes this more and more real!! I can't believe in a matter of months we'll be living in a new country, meeting new people and experiencing so many different things.
Julie & Josh
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