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PenelopeWitherspoon

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Posts posted by PenelopeWitherspoon

  1. And this is why you should read the article rather than just the headline.

    “Teachers are our greatest asset in ensuring the future of our youth and they deserve to be well-compensated for their hard work,” Rauner wrote in his veto message. “However, minimum pay legislation is neither the most efficient nor the most effective way to compensate our teachers.

    “Things like pay-for-performance, diversified pay for teachers in hard-to-staff schools or subjects, or pay incentives for teachers with prior work experience are all viable options to provide greater compensation for teachers,” the governor wrote.

    • Like 2
  2. Mission Impossible 6 - Entertained the whole time.  Was cool seeing the scenes they shot in Paris where I had to walk through the set to get out of my hotel.  Henry Cavill is amazingly hot, would not kick him out of bed.

    Solo - Actually thought it was better than TLJ.  I thought the kid was good as Solo.  Gave off the vibe that was needed for the character.  

     

  3. Just now, utee94 said:

    I got married on Bastille Day, just so I could always remember the date.

     

    I'm kidding of course, my wife picked the date.  I just bought the wine.

    Being in Paris for Bastille Day is still one of my must do's.

  4. France has some amazing wines in all its regions.  I find that Bordeaux is a bit easier, the wines less varied amongst the major production areas.  Burgundy is complicated AF, but worth the effort to learn.  

    I have personally really started to enjoy Chinon, Gigondas, Tavel Rose, and Jura wines.  I am also a fan of Bandol.  It is amazing how many different wine production areas there are in France.

    • Like 1
  5. 12 minutes ago, G650 said:

    I'd row a boat across the Atlantic before flying cattle class.

    Depends on the route and the airline.  I flew Delta to London, and had a whole row to myself in Economy Plus.  When that situation happens, it is no big deal, because you can make a nice bed out of three seats.

  6. 1 minute ago, conVINCEd said:

    I got the card for a specific purpose (paying for my airfare for my honeymoon last summer), and it accomplished that goal.  I have since kept using it and it has probably paid for half of my travel (nothing major, all domestic trips) since then (just airfare, we normally do airbnb as well).  It is probably time for me to do another deep dive into spanky's thread and get a new card for the enrollment benefits. I haven't had any issues using the points, and if it's domestic I don't mind flying economy.

    See, I do not do a ton of domestic travel.  Most of my travel is long haul international.  And if the flight is more than 8-9 hours, I need to be in Business or Premium Economy (real premium economy, not the fake Economy Plus the US airlines trot out), otherwise I am an outright bitch when I land.  A lot of it has to do with old sports injuries that end up making the flight very, very uncomfortable for longer haul flights.  Now, if I can go Atlanta or NYC to London/BRU/AMS, it isn't bad, but that is about as long of a flight as I am willing to do in Coach.

  7. Also, Spanky, remember, you are flying out of the NYC market most times (now especially).  I fly out of Houston, which blows from an airport perspective.  Houston is the most expensive large airport in the country.  United has fucked Houston.

  8. 1 minute ago, Spankytoes said:

    I want to make sure we are talking about the same thing. It sounds like you are referring to Award travel. That's not what I'm referring to.

    Ex: https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-program/miles/redeem/award-travel/upgrade-with-miles.jsp or https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/mileageplus/awards/upgrade/mua.aspx

    I am not just talking about award travel.  I am also talking about upgrading with Miles.  The upgrades have to be available to do it.  Most the time, they are not.  I am a Star Alliance person, or Skymiles.  Hell, most Skymiles airlines are going to that auction for upgrades.

  9. 3 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

    Chase Sapphire is pretty pain-free and has paid for a lot of travel for me. 

    Which I use, but honestly, I have not found the points to be that great when looking for free or discounted travel.  I think a lot of it has to do with timing.  I am not as free to just jet off as I would like to be.

  10. Just now, G650 said:

     

    Timing is the biggest issue for not using miles. It's why I am giving away lots of my miles, I just don't have a lot of use for them. I'm not very flexible on dates anymore, so I need to go when I need to go, and many people are in various similar situations for whatever reason.

    This.  This is why I struggle with using miles.

  11. 25 minutes ago, Spankytoes said:

    I operate along the same principle, in general. But, if I can achieve an elevated trip for the same price, I might as well. My problem is not money, points or miles, it's time off work to take the trip. In my industry, there are only small windows where being out is less problematic. I have anxiety right now because I have a few work functions to close out the year and absolutely no direction of where/when I want to go. Earning a ton of points at a chain that has no presence in your final destination, or isn't a great option, is pointless. I like to take trips rather than vacations, so it's rare that I would sit still in one place. If I'm going to poke at my sciatica in an airline seat for 10 hours, I'm going to make it worth my while. 

    I've visited McDonald's, Burger King and grocery stores on more than one occasion overseas. I usually only plan one sit down meal and rarely a fancy one. Part of that is not wanting to bring the required clothing to do it. I get ants in my pants if I'm not in and out of a restaurant in 30 minutes. 

    Honestly, a lot of your travel hacks require time and effort that a lot of us do not have, or might require one to travel when it isn't convenient.

    Also, when traveling at a very busy time of the year, it is almost impossible without status (which I have now lost) to get an upgrade using miles.  So sometimes, it is worth paying for business.  Also, I AirBnB rather than hotel now, but in certain cities, like Paris, even that isn't that might cheaper.  Sometimes, you want to travel at a specific time, and that will cost more.

    At the end of the day, since I am a woman traveling alone, I prefer nicer hotels/AirBnB properties that I feel comfortable in.  I am willing to pay a bit more to have more space and a more comfy bed.  Becuase if the bed sucks, and I cannot sleep, the trip will be a complete waste.

    However, I am all about spending money on the experiences.  I will not bat an eye at dropping money for a 3 star Michelin experience or to buy things that I enjoy while abroad.  I get joy from that.  

  12. 11 minutes ago, utee94 said:

    Ever been in the area  around Burgundy/Beaujolais when they release the Beaujolais Nouveau?   It's in mid/late November, third Thursday of the month.  They go crazy, work shuts down, festivals, etc.  I was working there one year and I came out of my hotel room at 7:30 AM, and they had this big party set up in the lobby with scores of bottles of the Nouveau on the table.  They were already open and people were already drinking.  They asked me if I was going to enjoy the party and I said, "I'd love to, but I really have to go in to work."  They looked very confused, and then said simply, "But why?  No one else will be at work?"

    They were right, and so I returned to my hotel and pounded Beaujolais Nouveau all day.

    That may actually line up well with my trip to the UK either this year or next.  Definitely next year.  :D

  13. Ok, I am heading to NYC in less than two weeks, and I have a conundrum.  

    Right now, for dinner on Friday, I have a reservation at Marea.  It is close to my hotel, and after spending the evening at the Met, I thought that would be a good choice.  However, I am intrigued by Olmstead and Agern.  Both look very, very good.  Thoughts?

  14. I have found there are a couple of things that help me to explore wines.  

    First, there is a great podcast called Wine for Normal People.  They talk about different grape types, different areas, and put it plainly, which is nice.

    Second, the New York Times has the Wine School, and some other great articles.  Usually in the Wine School, they take three wines of the area or grape they are talking about, taste it, and describe.  It is a good way to educate yourself on different wines.

    Currently, I am really into women winemakers from Burgundy, wines from Languedoc-Roussillon, Sicilian wines, and wines from Jura and Gigondas.  

  15. 44 minutes ago, G650 said:

    I can barely do a weekend in Chicago for 6500 bucks, so it's all relative. Depends on what you want for flight, hotel etc...

    That is my attitude on Paris and London.  Both of those end up being incredibly expensive for me, but that tends to be due to stops at places like Goyard, Hermes, Alexander McQueen, etc... :D

  16. 10 hours ago, Spankytoes said:

    I was scratching my head on that one too. I stay at nice places, but that seems a little high.

    Because as a single female, I was going to do the Intrepid Travel Solo Traveller through Northern Morocco for 9 days.  That itself is only 1200, but the flight is about 1500, then AMS is where you spend the $$ on AirBnB.  Ultimately, that also includes a budget for spending money, which still isn't bad.  But I spent about 15k on my big trip this summer (which was for my 40th, so totally worth it, including some big purchases while abroad), so really trying to dial things back down next year.

    I have really nailed it down now.  A week in Lisbon and Porto, coming in around 1500 provided I can get a good flight deal.  So that is totally doable.  Not including spending $$ in that figure, but I imagine that 100-150 a day is probably appropriate.  That is going to happen in March.

    Then planning on a long weekend in Copenhagen around Memorial Day.  I have found a boutique hotel, that actually comes in cheaper than most AirBnBs, so I am probably going to go ahead and get my reservation locked in.  

    Then in November 2019, is the Lumiere Festival in Durham (UK, not NC), so I am going to go to that.

    That still leaves me with a trip in August/September I need to plan. Thinking Bali.  The issue with Bali is that I really would want to splurge for at least Premium Economy due to how long that flight is, but it looks like I can do that on Singapore for something like 1500-2000.  I have also thought about Colombia or Buenos Aires as well.  However, that being said, I think this trip would be all about relaxation, so a beach would make the most sense.  

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