The road to Pescia, Pistoia, Tuscany…Grocery finding expedition…How’s the budget?

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Our view of Boveglio from the winding road as we began our descent to Pescia.

Pescia, a larger village with a population of approximately 20,000, is located 35 minutes south of Boveglio, our destination today. Less on a mission to explore historic villages, we chose Pescia to find a larger grocery shopping that may have offer some of  the items we’d yet to find at the medium sized grocery store in Collodi or at Vivienne’s tiny store in Benabbio.

Dining out only twice in the 11 days since we arrived on June 16th, with few restaurants in the immediate area, we’ve cooked the remainder of our meals.Delighted with the quality of ingredients we’ve purchases, the use of our own herb garden on the patio, cooking has been relatively easy. It helps that I love to cook.  Its also helps that Tom is an enthusiastic stirrer, chopper and dicer.

Food is a big deal when traveling. As our dear friends Peggy and Lane mentioned in an email to us in the past few days, the food was a motivating factor in their visit to Tuscany some time ago…the pasta, the bread…and of course the wine, none of which we consume.

We took this photo when we found a spot to stop as we maneuvered the winding road.  This is the little village, Boveglio where we’ll live for the summer that we can see on the ascent back up the mountain after grocery shopping in Pescia.

Why would we choose such a place to visit in light of the fact that we exclude these wonderful items from our diets?  The areas we’ve chosen to visit provided an appeal for us in their rich history, their people, the overall beauty, its abundant wildlife and prolific vegetation.

Years ago, I gave up drinking alcohol for health reasons although on a rare occasion I may have a “taste.”  Sadly, the taste of a good red wine sends my taste buds on a holiday, often inspiring me to drink two or three glasses in a sitting. 

The end result? A horrifying hangover, starting in the middle of the night, keeping me awake, plaguing me during the day with thirst, general malaise and constant discomfort, only to dissipate after the second night’s sleep. 

 Zooming in Boveglio from the winding road.  Its interesting how many of the single homes in Tuscany actually share a common wall and yet they are considered single family homes.

It’s just not worth it to me to lose a day of my life feeling out of sorts from drinking a few glasses of wine.  For this reason, I said goodbye to wine years ago. Occasionally, I may consume a light beer when not the designated driver. There again, if I have two beers as opposed to one, I’m a mess the next day.

Tom doesn’t care for wine although he has the tough he-man constitution to handle it well. Instead, he prefers a good beer or cocktail on occasion, never suffering from a hangover. His preferred drink of choice is odd:  Courvoisier and Sprite on the rocks, lots of rocks. The questioning look from bartenders is amusing as he tries to explain this peculiar concoction.

Food, as opposed to wine, with its necessity of sustaining life, becomes a huge factor in most of our lives not only for sustenance but for pleasure, for interacting, for celebration and for many, for reward.

Driving around Pescia for a restaurant that served breakfast was fruitless. Italians drink espresso or a coffee concoctions with a small pastry for breakfast.  One won’t find bacon, eggs and pancakes at any Italian restaurant unless staying at an “Americanized” hotel.

Perhaps, our distance from the larger city restaurants may prove to have made my restrictive diet easier to maintain in our two and a half months in Tuscany. With our limited experience in dining out so far, we’ve realized the difficultly of my having an opportunity to partake of the foods indigenous to the area. 

Cooking our own meals adapting recipes to fit the array of special meats, cheeses, sauces, produce and spices one finds in Italy, provides us both with a sense of the true flavor of the region, although certainly not as rich and fulfilling as one may experience in local restaurants.

Giving up on the idea of breakfast, we decided to take advantage of our proximity to a grocery store in Pescia, the largest we’ve found so far stocked full of fabulous produce, meats, deli and general merchandise. 

This is the nature of our lives, our chosen path to travel the world with these limitations, adapting in the best ways we can and, above all, not complaining in the process. 

We’ve done this well, not making food our main area of focus. Any yet, we shop, chop, dice and stir with the same enthusiasm as a cook with less restrictions. Dinner time for us is as enjoyable as  for others dining in a local restaurant with the freedom of choice. 

Amid all the charming old buildings there are abandoned apartments and commercial buildings.

Last night, as the smell of our chicken with homemade pesto topped with the finest cheeses and fresh herbs filled our senses with anticipation, leaving us heady and anxious for the first (and last) bite.  r hearty plates of fresh organic vegetables and salad added perfectly to the mix. Do we miss pasta, bread and wine? Not at all.  It never enters our minds.

So today, off to the big grocery store in Pescia, we were content. The only items we couldn’t find… Tom’s preferred powdered non-dairy creamer for his coffee (I use real cream, here non-pasteurized, spoils quickly) and Crystal Lite Ice Tea.

Many of the villages, such as neighboring Colognora are imbedded into the hillside have a clock tower, many of which continue to chime centuries later. 

Tom also warned me about an article he’d read that clearly stated that grocery shoppers don’t mess with the produce:  no squeezing, no holding it in one’s hand spending time checking out it’s quality and viability.  

“Put on a plastic glove, place the item in a plastic bag provided, weigh the item(s) on the scale which prints a price sticker after selecting the item from a list and carefully place the sticker on the plastic bag ensuring it won’t fall off.” OK.  I did this!

Many simpler less decorous homes are adorned with flowers of the season.

Today, we purchased a small bottle to try of the Italian version of Crystal Lite, already prepared lemon flavored iced tea. We’ll see if we like it. We’re fast running out of the Crystal Lite packets we brought with us.

With a backup plan in place, we may end up ordering the Iced Tea online and having it shipped to us while we’re here, not the worst solution, albeit pricey.  But there again, it leaves us more to pack. Our rationale? We don’t have to give up everything we like! This life we’ve chosen is not punishment or banishment from all familiar products.  We feel we’ve adapted quite well without most of our “creature comforts.”

Apparently, a devastating storm had an effect on vegetation in the area. Piles of wood indicate it may have occurred in the past few years.

Shopping in a totally non-English speaking environment is challenging especially for the few packaged or bottled items we may use, although we’ve be able to decipher many of the verbiage on the labels. Buying meat, dairy and produce is a breeze. 

Tom recently read that there are strict etiquette rules in Italy. For some of these in regard to dining out click here.

The big challenge today was determining which coin we had to place in the lock of the grocery store cart to free it from the bunch in the parking lot for our use. The amount wasn’t posted. A kindly woman stopped by (no English), giving me the single Euro required when I handed her two Euro $.50 in its place. 

With the warmer weather and the long ride back, Tom drove fast on the long stretches making it difficult for me to take photos.  On the narrow winding stretches of road, there was no safe way to stop.

When bagging our plethora of groceries, for which they took a credit card (yeah!), the checker counted the plastic bags we used, charging us Euro $.35 for the seven plastic bags which translate to about US $.45. 

Yes, it cost about US $2 right out of the chute for the cart and the bags. A consolation is that the cost of food is about 20% less from the US which certainly makes up for the difference. 

Even the less appealing is appealing in its own way.

Our average food bill is running at approximately $200 per week including dining out twice.  We’re satisfied with that as it falls in line with the $2400 we’ve budgeting for food, eating in or out, for the 12 weeks we’ll be here.

I should mention that we only eat twice a day, a hearty breakfast and dinner. Neither of us are hungry again until dinner. Our way of eating has a propensity to kill the appetite for hours after eating with nary a thought about a “snack.” Plus, we no longer have any dessert after dinner, especially now that we dine around 7:00 PM most nights, preferring not to retire on a full belly.

One’s reactions must be quick when encountering a batch of road signs such as this.  The winding road often prevents turning around for another look.

With all the groceries put away in our tiny refrigerator and freezer, we’re content to spend what remains of the day, taking care of necessary business matters, prepping for tonight’s dinner, reading our books and catching up on US news. Tom found an English speaking news channel on the now working old fashioned TV! We’re so out of the loop these days!

A walk around the hilly neighborhood…My new form of exercise…Maintaining health while in Tuscany…The simple things…

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Lisa and Luca presented us with this basket of cherries from the tree growing in our yard, after they’d seen us admiring the tree.  Lisa, speaking no English and us, no Italian, it was impossible to explain my restrictive diet that forbids any fruit sugars. Tom, fortunately, may have a few each day, while I’ve merely enjoyed their beauty.We thanked them profusely, impressed by the thoughtfulness they have shown each day since we’ve arrived.  For more information on Lisa and Luca and their properties, visit them at their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/casasottolatorre.villabasilica?fref=ts
It appeared that this house may be occupied, one of few dilapidated entrances in the area.

Without a health club within an hour’s drive from Boveglio and certainly not carrying any exercise equipment in our limited space for packing, I was in a quandary arriving here 10 days ago.

This hill is much steeper in person than it appears here.
Many individual houses are attached, a common occurrence we’ve observed in certain areas of the world, such as Dubrovnik and Mykonos.

Having worked out most of my adult life, the thought of not having access to a facility and equipment for my twice-weekly High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) worried me. Some time ago, I changed my workout routine, as I’ve mentioned here in the past to concur with the research presented in Jonathan Bailor’s Smarter Science of Slim, a profound life-changing book of both healthful diet and exercise.

Rushing by this flowering plant to avoid the hovering bees, I caught a whiff of pure heaven.
Obviously, no cars fit between these narrow pathways to the houses. Its no wonder that the Italian people appear slim and fit.  The parking area, as for us, is a bit of a hike from the house.  Add the hills to the walk and it becomes quite a workout on a regular basis.

With a medical condition that has since been resolved after almost two years of a strict adherence to my diet, combined with exercise, not being able to do so, is a big deal to me. After days of becoming familiar with our house and the neighborhood, a solution to this dilemma presented itself. 

More blooming flowers.  In a few days, the many lavender bushes in our yard begin to bloom.  Photos to follow.  I wish we could do online “scratch and sniff” for the sweet smells in Tuscany.

HIIT required excruciating workouts at the maximum possible energy expenditure for 10 minutes twice a week, utilizing as many muscles as possible, working to the point of exhaustion. This has been easily accomplished at a health club by performing a series of specific exercises, working for the major muscle groups. 

Ah, a flat stretch on which I can catch my breath.

In conjunction with HIIT’s strenuous short bursts of exercise is combined with a commitment to expending approximately 10,000 steps per day, one can maintain an excellent level of fitness.  The steps per day, in part, are accomplished by walking in this lengthy house along with going up and down the many flights of steps indoors and outside all day.  

Add a daily walk in the steepest neighborhood I’ve ever seen, walking briskly up the hills, twice a week, while on a more normal walk the remaining days and I’ll almost be where I need to be. 

This is my favorite hill (yea, right!)

I recently found two identical weight logs for the fireplace in the wood pile which I’m using for my twice-weekly HIIT arm exercises. And, I’ve instituted the dreaded lunges twice a week.

The weight lifting logs, the perfect weight, considering my bum shoulder which seems to be improving.
Maintaining a sure footing on this walk is more important than the exercise factor.  The stone walkways are rugged and uneven inspiring me to keep my eyes down as much as possible.

The hills? The most difficult of my routine. Walking down is easy. It’s the trip back up that pushes me to my limit, exactly what I need.  Tom prefers to lounge at home while I’m on this twice-weekly mission. But, he will walk with me on the less strenuous days. 

Good grief. He’s walking, something he swore he’d never do. I’m thrilled about that! He’s now back down to his 45-pound weight loss after dining-at-will on each of our eight cruises and now eating mostly what I do for the past 10 days.

Nothing like stopping for a sniff along the way.

Yesterday afternoon, alone on my strenuous day walk, I took these photos on the way down, many of which don’t fully illustrate the intensity of the walkways. On the way back up I stay focused and stop only for a moment to catch my breath if necessary.  My goal is to be able to make it back up without a single breath-catching stop which I should be able to accomplish within a week or two. 

Tom quit smoking for hopefully the final time shortly before we left Minnesota in October. He now walks several times a week, mostly when we are exploring. He’s rid of 45 pounds of belly fat. He’s relaxed and relatively stress-free (except for hauling luggage on moving days) and most of all, like me, happy. 

This old tracker and trailer occupies a spot in the shared parking area.

Perhaps, we’ll be lucky that all of this attention to health will ultimately pay off with long and healthy lives. All of our efforts are, by no means, a guarantee that we’ll avoid illness or injury, not for us, not for anyone. But, somehow, it may prove to be instrumental in our continued enjoyment of the quality of our lives into our old (older) age.

An inviting doorway.  Wonder what’s on the other side?

Also, when a basket of cherries can offer so much joy, even if they are “to look,” not “to touch,” it must have a positive effect on our well being. It’s the simple things in life, isn’t it?

Soon, I’ll climb up to our “terrazzo” on the dangerous steps over the stone stairway, hang a batch of laundry that is currently in the washer and pick a big batch of basil for tonight’s dinner of boneless chicken breasts topped with the finest locally made mozzarella cheese and my own homemade pesto, a huge side salad with homemade dressing and a platter of steamed veggies.  Yes, it is, the simple things…

Here’s the inside of our new home…plus details of our trip to Collodi…

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My bathroom.  Tom took the smaller bathroom in our master bedroom. There’s no tub, the shower is small but it serves its purpose.
The authentic Tuscan kitchen; no dishwasher, no microwave, no small appliances, no electric coffee pot but otherwise well-stocked kitchen with items used for making pasta, bread and sauces.  We’re improving.
The TV wasn’t working again until today when the owner’s parents stopped by to install a new cable box.  However, we’ve yet to find a single English speaking channel.  In Belize, we were able to get all US networks.  Here we’ll watch movies and shows.
The master bedroom has a comfortable bed, good pillows, and blankets.  With no AC or fans in the entire house and no screens on the windows, we still open the windows at night for some cooler air. However, surprisingly, we are comfortable in the heat of Italy’s summer.  The thick stone walls keep the house cool.
Yes, there are some basic amenities we are living without as described in yesterday’s post. But, after today’s trip to Collodi, a half-hour drive through narrow winding mountain roads, we are much more at ease.

Walking onto the patio required serious maneuvering over the side of a flight of stone steps, not for the faint of heart.

As we commenced the long drive to Collodi from Boveglio.


Narrow roads.

Me and Pinocchio outside the children’s park.

A sign on a stone wall advertising Pinocchio.

Metal sculpture of the author, Carlo Lorenzini 1826-1890, aka Carlo Collodi, and his Pinocchio.

Another sculpture of Pinocchio.

On our long drive from Venice to Boveglio, Tom was worried about not having enough euros with us when our credit cards didn’t work at a few unattended gas stations, forcing us to use part of our few remaining euros.
Collodi is a popular tourist attraction as the home of the author of the favorite children’s story, Pinocchio.
 

 Much of the town’s activity centers around the story of Pinocchio.
Today on the way to Collodi, we purchased gas at a station in Bottocini with an attendant who had no trouble getting the card to work for gas at which proved to be approximately $6 a gallon. 

Botticino, the little town where we purchased gas for $6 a gallon.

Once we reached Collodi traveling along the treacherous guardrail free road, we had a few goals in mind: exchange US cash into euros at a bank, buy enough groceries to last for two weeks and find a drugstore, yet again, to purchase contact lens solution, a rare commodity in certain parts of the world. 
One of the main streets in Collodi.
At the bank, we walked into a single person glass round bulletproof tube, opening as one enters after pushing a button.  Then the door closed behind me while scanning for possession of any metal, such as a gun. Then for 30 seconds, I was locked in the tube. 
 
Outside the entrance to a small hotel in Collodi. 

Tom had prepared me as to the procedure that he’d read about many years ago. These tubes were installed in all Italian banks due to rampant bank robberies in Italy. With the installation of these tubes, bank robberies are now non-existent.

 
 Driving around Collodi on one-way streets.
Once inside the bank, with no other customers in sight, I stood at the teller’s window for no less than 30 minutes, while the manager of the bank and the teller ran some types of reports for me, all the while chattering in Italian, after taking my passport. All I wanted was US $800 converted to euros. 

 The road as we were leaving Collodi.
Good thing I was the one doing this since Tom’s temper was about to flare with frustration. When I realized this was going to be a lengthy process, I suggested Tom sit in the waiting area and read and Italian newspaper which he did.
 The road back “home.”
Fin toally, walking out the bank with our euros, we sauntered to a coffee shop next door, hoping for a plain cup of coffee with cream. Apparently, no such coffee was available, only espresso, too strong for our liking. Also at US $4 a cup, we decided to pass on the coffee and head to the grocery store next door. 

Enchanting villages line the narrow road to the top, where we live in Boveglio.

The grocery store proved to be exactly what we needed.  Although small they carried almost all the items on our list except coconut oil, coconut flour, diet 7 Up for Tom’s occasional cocktails, and the equivalent of US bacon. 

A semi-truck was in front of us, part of the way on the return drive.  Tom got a kick out of seeing it maneuver the narrow winding roads. 

Instead, we purchased Prosciutto, wonderful grass-fed meats, locally made cheeses, and organic vegetables all grown in the area. Our two-week grocery purchase was US $326 for which we were pleased.

 Wonder how it works out when two semis, meet on this road.  Fortunately, we didn’t have to witness that.  Finally, this semi turned off into a paper recycling plant.

We purchased prime rib; the best looking two night’s of short ribs I’ve ever seen; two night’s of grass-fed chicken, two nights of pork roast;  three night’s grass-fed ground beef for making meatballs, about five pounds of various cheeses and all of the ingredients necessary to make our favorite staple, homemade cheese crust pizza along with a batch of ten Italian sausages attached by strings. 

More houses high in the hills.
We also included four dozen eggs, real cream, laundry soap, dish soap, regular 7 UP for Tom’s drinks, bar soap, toilet paper, and paper towels. All in all, we actually have enough to last us over two weeks with a plan to dine out in Benabbio twice a week at that cozy Italian restaurant we loved Il Cavallino, having already made an online reservation for this upcoming Saturday night.
Continuing on the road.  There’s no spot where one can stop to take photos.  It’s way too dangerous to stop along these roads.

After the grocery shopping, we stopped at a pharmacy where we found contact lens solution, leaving me stocked up for the two and a half remaining months we’ll be in Boveglio, Tuscany.

 Apparently, a storm washed out these trees along the road.

Greatly relieved to be well-stocked with groceries, euros, and gas, we’re feeling more at ease, able to embrace this peaceful area, its smells, sights and sounds knowing that, for a time, this is home.  Not too bad, really.

Boveglio, Lucca. Tuscany, Italy…Visit to Collodi, home of Pinocchio…

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Tom in the doorway that walks out to the garden.
Only a portion of the gardens in the yard.

Remove the running water, the electricity, and the wireless Internet, we’d feel as if it were the were now living in the 1800’s on a hillside in an old stone farmhouse in Boveglio, Lucca, built in the 17th century.

View of the road near our new home.

The gardens, prepared for an early harvest and the flowers blooming in the warmth of the sun, await our awe inspiring picking to enjoy their full beauty in our hands. 

Sign in the yard.

Many of the neighborhood roads are narrow, befitting a horse and buggy, never a modern day automobile. The main roads, also narrow and winding, are not for the faint of heart as one hairpin turn appears after another, as each guardrail- free curve suddenly looms before us.

The back of the property.

At night, the darkness is almost startling with nary a light in view in these vast mountains and rolling hills. In the morning, the melodic sounds of birds, new to our ears ,wafts through the fresh, clean air, inviting us to awaken early to partake in yet another blissful day of Mother Nature’s bounty.

Play and outdoor dining area.
Flowers are planted everywhere for our enjoyment while here.
Can you picture this table filled with friends drinking wine, talking loudly and dining on homemade Italian food?

Four times each hour, at odd intervals, we hear the clanging sounds of a clock tower, only steps for our door.  Within hours of falling asleep on the first night, we quickly adapted to the comforting sounds, allowing us to sleep deeply without disturbance. And yet, throughout the day, we stop each time we hear the clang, giggling over its peculiar patterns, ringing one and three minutes before the hour and one and three minutes before the half hour.

This is the clock tower that chimes at odd times, next door to our home.

Our screen-less shuttered windows freely opened to the day and night, invite an array of flying insects that mostly and oddly find their way back outside before we turn in for the night, often buzzing around our heads during the day, an annoyance we are quickly becoming accustomed to.

As we walked in the yard, we encountered many trees unfamiliar to us. 

With no working television, service lost some time ago to a storm, with no microwave or electric coffee pot, we rummaged through the Tuscan style few cabinets to find alternatives. Alas, an old fashioned stove top percolator, caught our eye with a smaller version to boil water for tea. Without a single small electric kitchen appliance in sight, we are fast learning to do it the “old way” whatever that may be. Without complaint.

Continuation of the walk on the property where there are other homes.

And again, a small front loading washing machine with no clothes dryer, directions in Italian, and again, a folding rack as we used in Dubai. 

An old wishing well in the yard.  No bucket.
Of course, there’s no dishwasher other than Tom and no garbage disposal. I’ll do all the cooking with a simple but clean newer “old fashioned” gas stove. The refrigerator is clean, small and antiquated with a tiny freezer with one ice cube tray. I dumped my earrings into a soup bowl using the ice cube tray I’d brought along to hold them.
Another fountain in the yard.

Not surprisingly, there are many utensils available for making and serving pasta, bread and wine which unfortunately, we won’t be enjoying while here, other than for Tom when dining out. We’d purchased a peeler and sharp knife in Dubai that luckily wasn’t confiscated in our checked luggage, although they took two of our power strips. Go figure.

The road outside our new home.

In order to get a decent WiFi signal we have no alternative but to sit on the upper level veranda. Our own MiFi doesn’t work here with the altitude and the three foot thick rock walls. Here is our view as we write each day.

Yes, we fit all of our luggage in this tiny Fiat we’ve rented for the summer.

Inspired by the calm of our surroundings after many months on the move, we both are finding the quiet and serenity of this magical place to have as profound an effect as any place we may have visited in our journey thus far. 

The  outdoor dining area of the house next door.

After a trip partially down the mountain yesterday to stop at Vivienne’s tiny market in Benabbio, five kilometers away, for enough food to last us for a few nights, she extended “credit” to us, as did Alessandro at his restaurant Sunday night, until we are ready to make the longer drive to a bank to get Euros. 

The spaces between the houses are too narrow for cars, but were suitable for horses and buggies many years ago.  Photos of our walks in the area will continue as we explore.

Credit cards are not used in this area. They only accept cash and credit accounts only. Today, we’ll venture out to the town of Collodi, a half hour drive to a larger grocery store. (Vivienne’s store was the size of a small bedroom with but a few items we need to cook our meals. 

View from our veranda and the best spot to get a signal.

Although we appreciate her setting up an account for us, we must go to a larger grocer. This Saturday we’ll go out to dinner again, hoping to make some new friends and to pay both our restaurant and grocery bills with our new stash of Euros.

The view to a part of our yard from the veranda.

In Collodi, the home of the Carlo Lorenzini (November 24, 1826 – October 26, 1890), better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi, was an Italian children’s writer known for the world-renowned fairy tale novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio, we’ll head to the bank to get Euros, buy groceries, fill the tiny tank in the Fiat and hopefully find more contact lens solution, my nemesis. There’s no pharmacy nearby. 

For Euros $23, US $30, we purchased enough food for a few days: four pork chops, one bag jumbo shrimp, four pieces swordfish, one pound of sliced ham, two heads of Bibb lettuce, one pound of carrots, eighteen eggs and one tube of mayonnaise (yellow box on the right).  The villa has seasonings, olive oil red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar.

Tomorrow, we’ll post photos of the interior of our new home and our visit to Collidi which hopefully will fulfill today’s errands. If not, tomorrow’s another day. We have all the time in the world.

A travel day from hell in parts…A travel day in heaven for the balance….

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The menu we were each handed after taking our seats on the Emirates Airlines flight from Dubai to Barcelona.

We live and learn. 

In our “old lives” we assumed we had a moderate amount travel experience as a result of various vacations over many years, seldom if ever, encountering the trials and tribulations that we now encounter as nomads. This is especially the case for those of us who don’t go “home” to repack subsequently hauling everything we own with us every single day.

It’s somewhat similar to the turtle carrying his “house” on his back. If he/she flips over, his/her whole world is literally and figuratively upside down. That was us yesterday morning as we left Dubai, United Arab Emirates to fly to Barcelona, Spain, to stay overnight in a hotel, leaving today to board our 8th cruise since January 3, 2013.

Actually, it will be our final cruise over the next 15 to 16 months with us staying on land through July 2014:  Tuscany, Italy (beginning in less than two weeks); Diani Beach, Kenya; Kruger Park, South Africa;  Marrakesh, Morocco and Madeira, Portugal, all of which we’ll be living in single family homes from two to three months.  

Photos were taken with my phone.  Our cameras were too hard to get to when on the plane. Who knew I’d want photos of the inside of the plane anyway? This is the removable remote control that is tethered with a retractable cord, in each of our personal command stations.  The button on the right releases it from the console.
As much as we loved our two and a half months in Placencia, Belize, we also look forward to settling in to our new locations savoring the unique and varied cultural differences we will behold and cherish in our hearts, in our minds, in our photos and our writing.

Yesterday,we took our first flight since we left Minnesota on Halloween, 2012. All other transportation since leaving the US has been by way of car and cruise ship. 

This is Al Pacino playing Phil Specter in the HBO movie of the same name we both watch simultaneously on our own screens.  I watched two scary movies after this and Tom watched Lincoln, failing to remember the second of the three. 
The limitations of refusing to fly could invariably prevent us from the opportunity to experience many parts of the world. 

Thus, we booked this first flight to Barcelona, to “get our feet wet” with the realities of baggage restrictions, one way fares, time constraints, tiny airplane seats and in most cases, no meal on board.

Let’s get the yucky part over with first. The property manager arranged for our ride to the Dubai airport. With our flight at 8:15 am, Ignacio picked us up at our Dubai condo at 6:00 am sharp. If I slept three hours Sunday night, I’d be stretching it. 

Our remote in place, revealing the many options on the screen.

My phone’s alarm was set for 5:00 am. I still didn’t fall asleep until after 2:00 am having the usual “moving anxiety” that Tom and I both seem to struggle with. 

After an excruciating day on Sunday, tossing yet more “stuff” to further shrink the load, we knew our baggage was overweight. Our one large bag and carry-on bag each were stuffed to the gills, now down to one large suitcase each for clothing.

I don’t know why we got such a kick out of the remote, taking so many photos, but here it is again outside the console.  Quite nifty.  Then again, its the small things….
Our menu for the flight on Emirates Airlines. 
With the intent of facing the excess baggage reality after weighing our bags on our portable travel scale Sunday afternoon, we prepaid $415 which allowed us an included 30% discount for paying online in advance. This allowed us an extra 20 kg, which translated to 44 pounds. Our checked bags included two large suitcases and one duffel bag.
 

We knew this wasn’t enough, but hoped as we’ve done on flights in our “old lives” that perhaps we might skate through at this airport.

Ha!  No skating in Dubai!  We were required to place all of our checked luggage on a scale only to discover that we still were short, resulting in yet another payment for $240.Ouch!  Now we were in for US $655 for excess baggage fees. If we’d left the two carry on bags we’d hoped to check, we’d have had to pay yet another US $300. Tom stacked them on the wheelie cart.

If you can see this clearly, notice the verbiage at the bottom of the page where it mentions the free drinks.
Exhausted from the trying experience, including a little diplomatic pleading, we allowed ourselves a moment to sit down to catch our breath, only to look at each other simultaneously, standing knowing full well that we had better be on our way. It was already 7:10 am. We had to keep moving with the looming security check facing us. 
 

After removing our bulky boots, jackets, watches and all the carry on luggage on our carts, multiple gray plastic bins began going through the x-ray machines.  After our awful experience with the knife placed in our bin in Barcelona, we kept a watchful eye as it all went through the conveyor.

Confident that we had nothing to worry about, we stood by prepared to gather our stuff and be on our way.

No such luck.  Showing us an x-ray of one of the carry on bags, the security guard insisted we remove everything in one of the orange carry on bags to find an object that appeared to be a pair of pliers or large tweezers.   Neither of us recognized the item. 

This was Tom’s lunch.  I was so hungry I started eating my deli plate before remembering
to take the photos.  Tom ate twice, me only once, still full from breakfast. Real silverware, food wasn’t bad at all. 
One by one, still in our compression stocking feet, we started pulling every carefully packed item out the overly stuffed bag. I kept asking to see the x-ray again and again. It looked as if the item was located in the upper right hand corner of the bag. As Tom and I reviewed the x-ray over and over, we both realized simultaneously, that this wasn’t an x-ray of our bag! It was an x-ray of someone else’s bag who was now long gone.

Embarrassed by their error, needing to justify the delay, they ended up confiscating one of our extension cords and an old surge protector, leaving us with two smaller items, neither of which were in the bag in question. What? At this point, we had little energy left to argue as we repacked up our bag, put on our boots and began to make our way to Gate 36.

It was now 7:32 am. Our plane was scheduled to depart at 8:15. All we had to do was get to the gate and somehow convince the flight attendants to allow us to bring on the six carry-on items in our possession, as opposed to the allowable one item per person.

We walked and walked, seemingly to no end, with our arms loaded with stuff while Tom
amazingly wheeled the precariously stacked cart. Following sign after sign all pointing
to Gates C 1-50, we wondered when we’d ever get close to the gate. First, we had to maneuver past Concourse A 1-50, then Concourse B 1-50 to find our way toward Concourse C. 

In dire frustration, twice we stopped asking uniformed employees if we were going the right direction.They assured us that we were. Time was marching on.  Were we going to miss our flight? Our cruise ship is leaving tomorrow. No refunds. What about our checked bags? Yikes.

Finally, we saw a sign that clearly stated “Gate 36.”  Following a narrow hallway, we ended up at a bus station. Oh, no! A bus to the tarmac? 

Sitting on the bus, still not moving at 8:15, in a near panic, Tom reassured me saying, “There are over 20 passengers on this bus going on this same flight. The plane won’t take off before we get there.” 

Once again, Tom was right. Once the bus started moving it took a full 10 minutes to arrive at the tarmac while the plane waited, cabin attendants eagerly waiting at the open doors beyond movable stairway.
“Oh, no,” I thought, “This bus has taken us to a steep stairway to climb to get into the plane?  How in the world will Tom haul that 100 plus pounds of stuff up such a steep set of steps in the unsteady wheelie cart. Everyone was rushing.
Waiting to be the last getting off, we were hoping that the flight attendants, in a desperate attempt to avoid any further delays, would push our bags through.  Perhaps, that was a good decision. 

In any case, in a matter of minutes, the nature of our day totally flipped when Tom somehow maneuvered the two flights of steep steps, puffing and panting in the 90 degree heat, all the way to the plane, all without a landing to enter the rear door of the plane.  Immediately the gracious flight attendants began to help with our bags with nary a complaint or comment, showing us to our assigned seats and then…the fun began.

Much to our delight, our two assigned seats were in a grouping of three seats with the third seat unoccupied. Keep in mind, we were the last passengers to board the plane thus we felt confident that the extra seat was ours to use. 

In a matter of minutes glasses of cold water were handed to us along with our dining menus.  Tom’s face was pale. It worried me. (Having both been sick for weeks, the strain of the morning wore thin in our weakened condition). Minutes later, we discovered the remotes to our personal monitors, the free current movies and TV shows, our comfy pillows and blankets, the complimentary headset, the complimentary cocktails, beer, wine and beverages.

We looked at each other with the same thought in mind…good thing we had yet to book our future flights yet. At all costs and efforts, we plan to try to fly Emirates Airlines.

 
For the first time ever, we both felt as if we were in first class when in fact it was “coach” which proved to be a pure luxury on Emirates Airlines. Gone was our frustration over the cost of our
excess baggage, gone was the angst over the security error, gone was the tension of the late bus ride to the plane and the fear of missing the flight.
In its place was a profound feeling of pure comfort, the pleasures of impeccable friendly service, cameras shown to us from the perspective of plane’s current views from the cockpit with detailed navigational information, multiple universal plug-ins for our digital equipment, perfect lighting, air-
conditioning and a bonus of spacious restrooms.

For almost seven full hours, we had fun. We talked. We laughed. We watched three movies each.  We recharged our phones in our own universal plug ins.We were served two full meals, breakfast and four hours later, a full lunch with dessert.  They accommodated my way of eating with ease, already on the menu, not too bad tasting.  What an experience!

If we can fly the many hours to Africa on Emirates, we’ll be thrilled. That’s our next challenge.

Exiting the plane in the telescopic tube at the modern Barcelona airport was uneventful. Exchanging US $ to Euros was time consuming but at this point we weren’t rushed.  

For the second time, I’d failed to bring the address to the hotel. When we came to Hotel Grums on May 5th, I hadn’t brought it assuming the cab driver would know the location of this popular boutique hotel, often booked by cruise passengers. When he didn’t know it he only had to plug it into his navigation system with ease. 

This second time as we headed back at the same hotel, I’d let it slip my mind to bring along the
address on my phone. When the cab driver didn’t have a clue where it was, nor did he have a navigation system, he pulled out a map asking our help.  Oh, yeah. A map was going to help us. Duh?

Pulling out my laptop from the tightly packed bag, I looked up the email confirmation that I’d received from Expedia with our hotel confirmation, telling his the address. He then looked on the map locating it and asking me for confirmation. 

Twenty minutes and US $50 later we reached our hotel, checked in and found our way to our room, figured out the plug ins on our own and plopped on the bed to relax until dinner at 7:00 pm.  

With the two hour time loss, sleep would come easily after a light dinner in the dining room and an episode of Downton Abbey on my laptop in  our room.

We’d made a decision to wear the same clothes yesterday and today with only fresh underwear to avoid opening our sucked Space Bags and suitcases at all. With not an inch anywhere in our luggage, it was a wise decision. In my “old life” I’d never wear a shirt more than once with my propensity to spill food on myself. 

This morning after dressing and looking in the mirror, a quarter sized spot adorned the center of my fitted tee shirt.  A little soap and water on a washcloth, a gentle rub, a resulting big wet spot and a while later, before we left the room for coffee, the spot was gone.
The only bags we opened were the computer bags and the single duffel bags filled with our year’s worth of toiletries, cosmetics, and miscellaneous items, some required to shower and freshen up. All we’ll need to repack before we leave the hotel at 10:30 am on our way to the pier, is the duffel and the computer bags.
This morning the reality dawned on me that I’d tossed (to make room) the remainders of my 12 ounce bottle of body lotion and an 8 ounce bottle of facial wash, two brand name items I’ve used for years.  Soap for two weeks won’t kill me plus I’m hoping our cabin steward can roust up a few little bottles of lotion.
Improvise, I remind myself. As long as we’re healthy and safe, the stuff doesn’t matter. Improvise.

More on Dubai…Great deals and not so great deals…

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This AED $282.45 translates to US $76.91. For details on everything we’d purchased today, see the list of items on at the end of this post.

Still laying low while I recover, we must admit to being a little “housebound.”  Add to it the massive amount of road construction around our building, making a casual walk nearly impossible, we’re looking forward to getting out.

Currently, we’re in the process of making arrangements with our newly found cab driver, Umer, to take us on a few excursions to see the highlights of this amazing city next week.  By Monday, I should be close to back to normal and ready to explore.  After a full 10 days of this illness, I’m ready to get back in the groove. 

How Tom ever made that excruciating three-hour walk to Petra while he was sick baffles me. Must be a “tough guy” thing. He never complained.

Staying in these past four days since we arrived in Dubai, except for dining out, a few short walks and a several trips to the grocery store, has not been unlike our old life when one of us was under the weather, low key with simple tasks and minimal expectations.

In the short time we’ve been here and been out, we’ve observed a few astounding aspects of Dubai. It is the cleanest, safest, most friendly city we’ve visited. The attention to detail in very way is beyond description.

Our building, Elite Residence, is a newer building, mostly occupied by sophisticated young professionals with what appear to be few tourists. We’ve yet to speak to an American, not surprising, being half way around the world.

Today, we ventured out to the pool to soak up the warm sun for our usual one hour.  Surprisingly, all the padded chaise lounges were taken.  The tall buildings prevent sun by the pool until afternoon, not an uncommon scenario with the tall buildings shrouding the sun, block after block, in this highly developed city.

Our only choice was to select two of the wicker chaise lounges without pads and cover them with our two beach towels. After plopping down, we discovered the chaises weren’t particularly uncomfortable, so we settled in, content to enjoy the hot air diminished by the strong winds. 

Within minutes, two pool attendants having noticed our dilemma, appeared beside us carrying a stack of pads anxious to place them on our chairs.  That, is indicative of the quality of service not only in our building, but in the restaurants, the stores and at the port as we waited for transportation.

To say there isn’t a piece of trash on the streets, is no exaggeration.  Our condo, is literally perfect, everything works flawlessly and is in impeccable condition.  In the bathroom, there is a spray hose, beautifully plumbed, to spray the toilet bowl after each use.  I don’t recall ever seeing such an item. 

In the grocery store, attendants are everywhere, quick to answer questions and find products, bag our groceries.  Nothing is spared.  In the restaurants, no less than three servers attend to our needs, gracefully without hovering.  At each table, we found a perfectly wrapped special logo envelope containing a floss pick. 

A few have asked us if Dubai is as expensive as they’ve heard.  In many aspects, we see that it is.  Dining out in a nice restaurant for dinner, may cost as much a $300 for two. We looked online for the menus for nearby restaurants only to confirm this fact. Instead, we choose to cook our dinners, dining out for breakfast or lunch.

Today, as indicated above, we made a trip to the grocery store next door to our building, purchasing the following items for only US $76.91!

  • 1 pound fillet Mignon
  • 1 pound sirloin steak
  • 1 pound mussels
  • 1 pound cleaned calamari
  • 1 pound shrimp
  • 1 pound beef bacon
  • 2 pounds shredded cabbage
  • 1 pound sliced carrots
  • 2 pounds sliced cheddar cheese
  • 1 package imported blue cheese
  • 2 organic peppers
  • 1 organic Japanese eggplant
  • 5 organic yellow onions
  • 1 shaker garlic powder
  • 30 organic free range eggs
  • 1 jar mayonnaise
  • 2 pounds organic fresh green beans
  • 1 organic avocado
  • 2 liters diet 7 up (for Tom’s cocktails)
  • 1 4 pk. paper towels
  • 1 14 oz bag raw cashews

This amount of food will feed us both for no less than three full days at an average cost of $25.64 per day.  For us, dining in has always been preferred, especially now with my restricted diet of “fresh, organic food, in its natural state.”

Traveling the world is costly. Keeping our foods costs reasonable, allows us to continue traveling over the long haul. 

This coming week, we’ll visit the observation deck of the tallest building in the world, the Buj Khalifa, 124 stories.  The cost for a ticket is US $50 per person.  I guess we’d rather spend $100 for such an experience, as opposed to devouring a meal in a restaurant, which is literally consumed in less than 10 minutes, that may cost from US $100-$300.

Cooking and enjoying a seafood stir fry, based on the above ingredients, for one night’s dinner, grass fed filet Mignon for another and sirloin steak for yet another is not too shabby by our standards, especially when the company is so enjoyable, we’re dressed in comfy clothes and “the Flying Nun” is playing on the TV in Arabic.

Check out our updated travel map on the right side of today’s post…Plus more photos…

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Our building, Elite Residence, a new building, is among this grouping of other residential buildings, is the tan colored structure.
The entire city must have restrictions on the coloration of the building’s exteriors, all of which are variations of beige, tan, cream, off white and lighter shades of blue, resulting in an attractive skyline.

During another day of recovering health, we updated our map on Traveler’s Point, a free website to keep track of one’s travels on a map.  Well, I should say Tom updated the map, covering every country that we’ve visited thus far.

During our outing today, we stumbled across this upscale market.  It was a feast for the eyes with prices almost twice as much as the grocery store next door to our building where we shopped a few days ago. There are four grocery stores within a two block radius, which are the most expensive and the most visually stimulating.

Also, we had to call all of our credit card companies to update our travel itinerary.  To prevent fraud, they require that we “call” every 60 days with a list of countries we’ll be visiting over the same time period. 

Check out these cherry tomatoes, still on the vines!  It was a pleasure just looking at them!

Not wanting to incur outrageous long distance charges and also by not having cell service, our only option is to use Skype, calling the toll free numbers on the back of the credit cards at no cost to us. Connecting the call is quick and easy, but the time spent on the call with the representative is a slow and tedious process. It’s a necessary evil of constant travel.

In Dubai, meats are weighed by kilograms.  For example, these king crab legs are AED $212 per kilogram. There are 2.2 pounds in a kilogram resulting in these crab legs at US $26.24 per pound, not much more than the US pricing. Other seafood was more reasonably priced, often less than US pricing.

In speaking with other world travelers, some  have mentioned that on occasion their credit cards are declined, due to the fact that they’re using the card outside their home country where the card was issued. 

This normally is not an issue when one goes on a two week vacation to a foreign land. But, in our case, jumping from country to country over an extended period, triggers an alert that the card may have been stolen. 

These organic asparagus proved to be US $4.95 a pound, not too bad for organic.

By calling the companies in advance, we’ve avoided the time consuming embarrassment of a decline for one of our cards while out and about.  As of our recent inquiry yesterday, a few of our credit card companies have streamlined the process, making it possible to update this information online, as opposed to making the phone call, much preferred by us. 

As we travel, reviewing our mail every few days via our online mailing service in Nevada, Maillinkplus, is another necessary task. At this point, we receive very little mail since we previously had generated most of our mail to be sent via email.  However, a few companies remain in the dark ages insisting on sending a paper bill.

The shelves were lined with appetizing selections.

A week ago while cruising we received a snail mail bill from our Minnesota medical clinic stating that our insurance company didn’t pay our last bill for $294 while we were still covered. 

Last night at 9:00 pm, our time here in Dubai (11 hour time difference with California), we called the insurance company’s toll free number again on Skype (no charge) to discover that “it fell through the cracks” on their end and that they’ll pay it immediately. 

Olives and dates thrive in the desert, abundantly available. We can enjoy the olives, but must forego on the sugary dates.

I explained that we are out of the country for an extended period and would kindly expect that we won’t have to call again if this isn’t addressed promptly.  They promised it would be resolved.  These types of incompetent incidents happen to all of us from time to time.  While living in the US, they were much easier to resolve.

Banking, paying bills online, accounting, updating the budget, handling payments for future rentals and the ongoing process of continually planning our next move, whether it be days, weeks or months away, in itself is a lofty job requiring hours of diligent work each month. 

This boxed grouping of liter bottles of imported olive oils was priced at US $216.47.

Divided between us, each with our unique expertise, we diligently strive to stay on top of every task by utilizing my Outlook calendar with reminders popping up over a period of several days before the due date.  Once completed, we mark it as done, retaining the information in the calendar for future reference.

So, here we are in Dubai, doing laundry without a dryer, cooking dinner on a stove that has confusing unfamiliar settings, having only five hangers in the closet, the single knife in the drawer is dull (we had to go out to purchase a new knife) and there are only a few English speaking TV channels showing old reruns, a few horror movies and international news. 

For me, fun to see, forbidden to eat, baked fresh daily, priced at US $2 each.

There are no dish towels, no top sheet (they use duvets instead), outlets that don’t work with our digital equipment (we brought  adapters and converters with us but still find it confusing) and two tiny ice cube trays.  (We had to ditch our inventory of ice cube trays when we lightened our load).

With the massive amount of road construction around our building, we are very limited on where we can walk.  At certain points, we’re locked in, unable to get from one location to another on foot. This is disappointing, as we’d hope to spend a substantial part of our time here on foot. 

(At this point we’re planning outings on our own on which we’ll report later. We’re waiting to ensure I am feeling well enough).

The delectable appearing desserts ranged from a low of US $3.26 to a high of US $5.17.  I could have eaten one of each!

Thankfully, the property is otherwise fabulous, much more to our liking than a suite in a fancy hotel where we wouldn’t be able to cook or do laundry at all.  Also, with the cost of most hotels in Dubai in the $300 – $400 per night range, we are delighted with our rate of $135 a night including all taxes and fees. The additional $300 cash deposit we paid upon arrival will be returned to us in cash on the day of our departure.

For some, the perception is that we’re out sightseeing everyday without a care in the world.  But, we’re like you.  We have everyday tasks and responsibilities, aches and pains, colds and flu, financial matters to handle and the daily tasks of keeping our environment clean and clutter free plus, grocery shopping, cooking many of our meals and doing dishes. I cook. Tom does the dishes and helps with the chopping and dicing.

We could have used one of these fine knives, although too pricey and not easy to take along on a flight.

In reality, having a handle on these mundane tasks adds a comforting and familiar sense to our otherwise unusual lives of traveling without a home to return to; to see family and friends, to repack, to read the mail, to restock and to recover.

In any case, we take it all in our stride as part of the experience, the good and not so good and the perils and annoyances of travel. In return, we wallow in the joy of exploration, the bliss of discovery and  the sense of awe of the world around us. 

At lunch today we were served these miniature bottles of ketchup and mayonnaise that were fresh, never opened, a nice touch. We imagined that once opened, they are all thrown out, indicative of the Dubai-way, excesses of everything, one of many aspects resulting in very high prices when dining out.  Our lunch, at US $49 did not include any alcoholic beverages, appetizers or desserts. A 10% tip was included but we added an additional 10% for the exemplary service and attention to detail.

Feeling a little better today, we ventured out for lunch (US $49.00) and another trip to the grocery store for yet another box of tissues to tend to my continuing sinus problems, remaining from the ship-borne illness.

An outing in Dubai…Short and pleasant…Still sick…

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The smog and sand are evident in this photo we took from our rental of Atlantis at Palm Jumeriah.  Again today, the air is thick and the sky overcast.
Venturing out onto the street we wondered if the huge number of towering buildings are actually occupied. New construction continues in Dubai in light of the world’s tough economic conditions.

In a perfect world, we’d already be buzzing around Dubai checking out the sights and sounds of this unique city. 

In my “old life” I squirmed in elevators.  No more!  We can’t wait to go to Burj Khalifa to the observation deck on the 124th floor.  Our current “home” is on the 47th floor, taking about 30 seconds.  The entire elevator is mirrored.  Our building is newer, conveniently located with the finest décor and amenities.  We’re content here for yet another 11 days until we fly back to Barcelona (our first flight since departing Minnesota 7 months ago).

Alas, the virus I contracted on the ship has left me too weak to get out much as I recover a little each day. It finally has turned the corner after an entire week of uncomfortable symptoms. So we ventured out for a short time taking these few photos. More will follow in the days to come.

Can’t wait to feel well enough to use the well equipped gym in our building.
This is one of several pools at our building.  There’s a full-sized private pool in each of the locker rooms with lifeguards on duty at all time.  The guy in this photo is the outdoor pool lifeguard.
The pool in the ladies locker room with yet another in the men’s.
Walking through the construction zone, we found this restaurant located in the Tamani Hotel where we had an elegant breakfast and reasonably good coffee.
Tom busily perused the menu, doing the math in his head to convert prices from dirhams to US.  Yes, it was pricier than Denny’s but well worth the $35 we spent for our breakfast.
US $1 is $.37 AED, thus a $30 appetizer is US $8.17.  With an app on our phone, it’s convenient to calculate the difference.
We both had the same breakfast, omelet with cheese (mine also with veggies), beef bacon, turkey sausages, sautéed mushroom and roasted tomatoes.  Those little green sticks are the tiniest baby asparagus I’ve ever seen.  I ate Tom’s, of course.
Le Meridian Hotel across the road from our building.

Hopefully, the sun comes out today encouraging us to spend an hour at the pool. Perhaps, the warm air, cool pool water and some power lounging will return me to my usual energetic self. 

Still under the weather…Sharing a published story about us…

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While we were still living in Belize up until April 9, 2013, I wrote this new article upon the request of successful best selling author and health advocate, Jonathan Bailor.  

Retired Minnesota Couple’s “Living SANE, traveling the world”

By Jess Lyman (pictured above)
As we sit on our veranda  less than 25 feet from the Caribbean Sea, the constant calming sound of the sea as background music to our ears, we remember when  we were no different  from  average baby boomers; content to stay home, cook  great meals, visit  with family and friends, and  spend  our requisite lounging time in front of the TV.

We left it all.  On January 3, 2013, we boarded the Celebrity Century in San Diego  on our way through the Panama Canal, to begin a five to ten year long journey we’ll continue  until we don’t want to travel an more, until we tire of hauling our luggage, or until we feel a compelling desire to stay put.

Nineteen months ago,  we began another journey of drastically changing our diet.We no longer eat wheat or other grain,  processed gluten free foods,  starch ( corn or corn based products, no beans)  soy or soy based products, no sugar ( agave or other purported safe sugars all of which raise blood glucose levels),  or  fruit other than a few berries. We now eat grass fed meat,  wild caught fish  free range chicken and eggs,  non-starchy vegetables, coconut, almond and hazelnut flour, raw nuts, hard cheeses, cream cheese, unsweetened coconut milk, real butter and coconut oil.

Here’s my story.  From the time I was a teenager, my life revolved around limited portions, denying myself favorite foods and constantly being on a diet.  With a family history of severe diabetes, morbid obesity, debilitating  joint and spine disease, and rampant heart disease,  I began my adult life on a mission to stay slim, frequently going up and down in weight, often as much as 50 pounds, to eventually lose it all on some radical “diet of the month.” I exercised rigorously most of my life.   I tried it all.  I was determined.

I was always hungry, always looking at other people’s plates, wondering why I couldn’t eat that burger, those fries, that triple-decker sandwich on toasted white bread or that lofty piece of gooey chocolate cake topped with a large dollop of ice cream.

Was I eating more “calories” than I needed,  consuming  recommended amounts of carb-laden foods?  What I had perceived to be “healthy” foods packed on the weight;  whole grain breads and pasta,  lentils, brown rice, oatmeal, dried fruit, beans, whole wheat pitas and bagels, yogurt with fruit,  corn on the cob, winter squash and sweet potatoes.   Wasn’t I eating exactly what the medical profession described as a healthy diet?

Over the past 20 years, no manner how hard I tried to be healthy and escape the ravages of my “genes” I suffered with high blood sugar, high blood pressure, chronic debilitating pain and had already had one heart surgery.  I was told a total spinal fusion, from C1 to L5, was the only way to reduce the pain.  My life was going downhill fast.  A wheelchair was imminent.

I refused the surgery instead going on a mission to save my life.  I started with Dr. William Davis’s book, Wheat Belly, 19 months ago, beginning the radical changes in diet  After three months on the diet, I awoke one morning, for the first time in over 20 years, pain free.  I thought it was a fluke.
Then Jonathan Bailor’s book, The Smarter Science of Slim hit the market.  I devoured every word from cover to cover in one day and sent the Amazon link to no less than 10 of my family members and friends.

Prior to reading the book, I worked out six times a week at a local health club, an hour and a half a day, compared to a gerbil  running on a wheel, running into oblivion, performing the same mundane protocol and seeing little results.

After reading Jonathan’s book we changed  our diet to include more protein, from 60 grams a day to around 125 grams, upping our non-starchy vegetable consumption four fold.  The day after reading the book, I couldn’t wait to go to the health club to try my new protocol, instructions on my smart phone in hand, learning high intensity interval training.

It was hard to believe that two  ten- minute  sessions a week plus an active lifestyle of about 10,000 steps per day would dramatically change my health,  body composition, strength and endurance. The eight pounds I was carrying around my mid-section literally fell away. I am full for the first time in my life!  So satisfied that I  forget to eat.  So satisfied that I don’t  go rummaging around the kitchen at night craving something sweet. So satisfied that my waistline has shrunk by 3 inches and I don’t have to lay on the bed to zip my otherwise well-fitting jeans.

The pain is gone, the sleepless nights are a thing of the past, my muscles have grown  into noticeable definition, my strength has increased and I have more energy.

Why, if calories do count, can I now consume 1800 calories a day, 400 more than in the past while desperately trying to maintain my weight?  If calories do count, by now, I should have gained 66 pounds!  Instead, I’ve lost 8!

But most of all, the pain is gone. Yes, gone. After the first year, my lipids are normal for the first time in my adult life!  My blood sugar is normal.

My dear husband Tom has lost 45 pounds since we read Jonathan’s book, 45 pounds of pure and simple toxic belly fat.  Also, months ago, he was able to quit taking seven prescription pills a day, no longer has irritable bowel disease, acid reflux and constant abdominal bloating and pain.  Months ago, he quit smoking and hasn’t gained back a single pound!

Combined, we are a team to be reckoned with!

Twice a week, we walk to a resort next door that has a little health club where I spend 10 minutes, lifting weights, the HIIT way, surprised that I can do it, invigorated by the results and still in awe as to how little time it actually takes.

Currently, we’re living in Placenica Belize, departing soon after a 2 1/2 month stay in a villa on the Caribbean Sea. The cows here are skinny. Yes, skinny. They eat grass and wild vegetation, not grain. They use no pesticides or chemicals here to grow their produce or livestock. Chicken, the main protein source,  roaming free in the farms. Their eggs are all organic, brown and $2 a dozen. This has been a heavenly experience.

Every few days early in the morning, we walk to the adjoining town to buy fresh organic at the outdoor vegetable stand.  The cauliflower is not perfectly shaped, the broccoli is sparse in places, the carrots are uneven shapes and the cabbage,  not as dense as I recall.  Why?  No chemicals. The produce grows unencumbered, a product of clean, non chlorinated spring water, a soil free from “Round-Up Ready” modified seeds and merely subject to varying weather conditions and the loving hands of the local people who  pick it.

Now, as we travel to our next adventures–  Dubai this spring;  Tuscany, Italy this summer; Kenya in the fall;  South Africa in the winter;  Morocco the next spring and on and on, we’ll continue to seek out the simple foods we choose to eat, a safe place to walk, a little corner to exercise and we’re home free… albeit, we don’t have a home… but, in any case, we are free.
For more about our story, please visit us at:
www.WorldWideWaftage.com

Enjoy the new Smarter Science of Slim podcast on iTunes

The Slim Is Simple.org Non-Profit Nutrition Education Effort


 

 

We made it to Dubai…Few comments about disembarking Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas…Final cruise bill…

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The Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world which we’ll visit soon.  Our cab driver showed us a video on his phone of the 40 second elevator ride to the observation deck on the 124th floor. 

Our final bill for this last cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas, a comprehensive 15 day cruise touring the Middle East, over and above the basic fare for a balcony cabin was $1284.95. This included $300 for Internet while out to sea, $780 in excursions, $42 in cough medicine and sun screen, with the balance for Tom’s cocktails. Actually, we were under budget.

Waiting until the last passengers disembarked the ship, made way for a quick exit by us, leaving us to wait at the ship terminal air conditioned waiting area while we watched the outdoor cab line grow smaller and smaller (while departing passengers stood in the 97 degree sun). 

At the perfect moment, Tom lugged out two rolling carts outside, one at a time, while I, still sick, held up the rear. No more than one minute after hitting the sunlight, a well dressed dapper Arab man, Umer approached us offering a cab ride in his new upscale SUV. We couldn’t say “yes” quickly enough.

Off we went on the 20-minute educational ride to our condo hotel which ended up at 40 minutes when we couldn’t find a way to get to the front entrance to the property. The cost of the cab was US $50 including a 30% tip we added.

We could see the entrance to our 91 story building, Elite Residence, but couldn’t seem to get to it due to construction on all sides.

Road construction for a new high speed train system, blocked access to the building preventing Umer (who will officially be our Dubai cab driver) from depositing us and our luggage at the front entry. Luckily, we had printed the email message from the property manager, enabling Umer to call to find out how we’d get in. 

A short time later we were in the underground garage while our bags were loaded onto a cart by the property manager’s assistant who brought the bags up to our suite.

Waiting in the lobby proved to be for only 20 minutes as our condo at Elite Residence was being cleaned for our early arrival. The marble and granite lobby with its new contemporary furnishings was scattered with a number of well dressed staff members moving about attending to guests. We felt relatively at ease even after the confusing arrival at the property.

It’s now 6:00 pm Dubai time, a full 9 hours later than Minneapolis, 11 hours later than LA. It’s hard to believe that we are almost half way around the world after leaving Minnesota nearly seven months ago.

Whizzing by in busy traffic, it was challenging to get good photos.  Our cab driver, Umer, offered us a 8 hour outing to take us to see many of Dubai’s best attractions at a cost of $250 for both of us.  Guess we’ll be taking him up on his offer!

The simple, contemporary décor is suited to our needs with ample amenities, excellent air conditioning, great views, free WiFi and a reasonably stocked kitchen. It’s impeccable condition has nary a scratch, dent or fleck of dust. The veranda in our bedroom has a good view of the Dubai Marina although not as expansive as we’d hoped of Palm Island. We’ll have to walk around the corner for a better view which we hope to do very soon.

In many ways a regular hotel would have been easier, dining out for all meals, daily maid service, its own restaurants, coffee shops and services.  But for us, cooking our own meals is vital to staying on our budget as well as our goal of eating healthy homemade meal.  We had begun to long for some quiet time “at home” much needed after cruising for six weeks, less one night in Barcelona.

Normally, big cities don’t appeal to us.  This city is unique with its opulence, its wealth, its excess, and its clean safe streets.

After getting a few items unpacked, emptying a wheeling duffel bag, we took off for the local grocery store.  And, much to our delight, the full service grocery is next door, a mere 300 foot walk!  We hadn’t been in a “regular” grocery store in five months!!!

What a store it is!  I was in heaven, shopping the freshest organic vegetables, fresh caught local fish and shellfish, the biggest tiger shrimp I’ve ever laid eyes on.  Of course, there was no bacon, sausage or any pork related items.  We knew better than to ask. 

The prices were excellent!  We purchased enough food for three nights dinner and breakfasts for a week for US $45!  (We exchanged US money at the terminal for AED, taking a bit of a hit for the convenience).  At the grocery store we used a “no exchange fee” credit card, hoping to hang onto the cash for now.

Look at that cleaned calamari and those mussels!  Love these in a stir fry! Dinner is sounding better every minute with such fine fresh ingredients at the grocery store next to our building.

I’m still under the weather, not feeling up to making a big meal or, in going out to dine. After wiping my nose no less than 100 times in the past few hours, resulting in my Rudolph-like appearance along with constant sniffling leave me spent and exhausted, totally uninterested in going out. There are dozens of restaurants within walking distance. 

Umer explained that walking at night in Dubai is totally safe plus a feast for the eyes with the lights “1000 times brighter than Las Vegas minus the gambling” as Tom explains after talking to a former sailor with whom we shared our table in Scottsdale last November. I think he’s correct. Tonight we shall see!

In a few days, we’ll purchased a number of these fresh seafood items to make a buttery seafood platter with steamed veggies and Caesar Salad (minus the croutons).

Our first batch of laundry is spinning in the tiny front loading washer. But, there’s no dryer, which we found more common than not, outside the US.  Thank goodness for the balcony!

No dryer? No problem!  This portable clothesline was in the broom closet.  That works for us!  When this batch dries, we’ll wash the rest of our  accumulated laundry from 15 days at sea.

Our goofy dinner is simple tonight; our long-missed low carb, sugar free coleslaw along with free range organic egg salad.  Easy.  Chilling at the moment, soon to be devoured.

Photos will be coming soon as we venture out to the sights of this amazing city, visiting its many attractions, all of which we’ll share here over the next few weeks.