Safe and sound in New York

Woke up this morning just before Newark, had the light breakfast, and then slowly got ready to man the phone and finish up on reservations if necessary.  As we landed and I turned on my iPhone, a flurry of messages passed in and out of email.  Pamela had verified our reservations, and it seemed as though all was secure.  We cancelled the United reservations, and proceeded to shower, head to Penn Station, eat lunch, and then off to Long Island.

Train ride was uneventful, which is good, as we were exhausted.

We got in to la Casa Spengler, unpacked a little, and then I watched my hubby take a nose dive on the bed as jet lag caught up.  After a while, he got up, and we had Dad open his birthday gifts, and then proceeded on to dinner. Lamb and end of season Long Island corn on the cob.  Color me happy.  At the end of dinner,  Pam called,  and the group arranged check in for seating on the jet taking us across the pond.  Keeping fingers crossed, but it all looks like it’s  heading for the good. 

Dad had called the American Express fraud unit, and, as he had paid the initial deposit with the Gold Card, they told him he would be reimbursed that money.  They also informed him that the trip insurance that he bought through ABC for the tours was not going to pay him back most likely.  So, two important lessons learned here:

1. Never, ever pay for your tour through a travel agency in cash, always use a credit card

2. Always get your travel insurance through a third party agency

We learned the second lesson early on while I was still in the military - we found only one agency that would insure our trip and reimburse us in the event that I was called onto active duty or deployed.  None of the ones associated with our booking agency would cover a “work related” emergency.

We did enjoy the company of two out of three Spengler cats, Carmen and Tristan.  And we enjoyed the heck out of a good night’s sleep as well.

Eagerly awaiting tomorrow!

London calling, or maybe not...

Wednesday morning at 5:00 as the day begins...ironic that a Beatles song moderately applies to that which vexes us this morning.

The day began fairly early, we never sleep well when we are about to travel, and to go from Honolulu to London takes quite a bit of travel.  I know, I know, London is a bit crazy of an effort from Hawaii, but it is Dad’s 70th birthday weekend, and we were looking forward to walking tours, a match, Harry Potter, and a musical in celebration of his birthday.

Were, you say?  Don’t you mean are?  Well, we hope so.

At 6:31 this morning, after we’d been up for a bit of a while, Dad called to tell us that he had received a call from ABC Tours saying that all the London trips had been cancelled.  I was in the midst of getting ready for practicum and school, and about to be on the way for the day, so I linked him up with Wayne.  Wayne went in and checked on flights with frequent flyer miles, and then wound up calling the hotel in London (as did Brother in Law Scott) to at least secure our reservations.  We were in luck that frequent flyer mile requirements for London were at the minimum, so I went off to court to do work on a case, and to book flights.  As I was prepping (well, primping) to go to work, the phone rang again (6:48 am), and it was some service for ABC Tours stating that they had ceased operations, and all tours heading out were cancelled.  Oy.

I headed in to the CASA offices, started the day, and 8 reservations and three frequent flyer accounts later, we were at least booked on United in the event that our Virgin Atlantic flights were cancelled.  That was multi-tasking.

Now we are at the airport waiting for our trip to NY.  Pam will be calling Virgin tomorrow morning, 2 am EDT, to find out our  status.  Hopefully we will have good news when we land in EWR in the morning.

And this from Travel Weekly:

Club ABC Tours believed to have ceased operations

By Michelle Baran

Club ABC Tours is believed to have ceased operations, according to the Better Business Bureau of New Jersey. 

"The BBB [on Oct. 3] received numerous calls from concerned consumers who had booked tours with the company and are reporting canceled tours or non-responsiveness by the company to any inquiries,” the BBB reported on its website. 

Club ABC Tours is a vacation packager owned by Crown Travel Service of Bloomfield, N.J. 

The BBB alleges that Club ABC ceased operations on Oct. 1. The Club ABC Tours website, www.clubabc.com, is down, and repeated phone calls to the company led to a message that the office is currently closed. 

Emails yield an automatic response that the company will be in touch. All websites of associated ABC businesses, including Women's Travel Club in New York (www.womenstravelclub.com) and ABC Destinations (www.abcdestinations.com) are down, as well. 

Travel Weekly spoke with at least one affected customer who had a two-week trip to Turkey canceled on Tuesday, 24 hours prior to departure. The customer had paid for the trip in cash and was awaiting word about how to get a refund. 

The BBB advises consumers who paid for their travel arrangements by credit card to contact their credit card company and alert them about the status of Club ABC’s operations. The BBB believes that if travelers paid for insurance through Club ABC, the contract does not cover refunds in the event that Club ABC ceases operations. 

Club ABC Tours is not a member of the National Tour Association or the U.S. Tour Operators Association.

Leaving Basel

Yesterday was quite nice as we walked around the city.  First, though, I really needed a nap!  Despite being on vacation, we have been up long before the sun each morning, and yesterday was no exception.  I burrowed under the marvelous duvet (I’ve enjoyed those on this trip), and grabbed a half hour’s nap.  A small snack later, and we were off on our walk.

We took public transport into town, first a bus, and then the S-bahn (short for Strassenbahn, or street car).  There were a number of walks we could have done, but I needed to get back in order to have a test conference at 9 pm.  So, we followed the blue headed man..

Dinner was at an Indian restaurant on the road leading back to the hotel.  After dinner, we walked back, and were dually entertained by and fearful of the clouds overhead.  There was an ominous cloud funneling down towards the ground, and that which appeared like lightning in front of us.  We made it in ahead of the rain, which started to pour down after we got in.  Upon checking our flight reservations (United separated our reservations for reasons unknown to me), we saw that I had been moved from my seat in economy plus next to Wayne to the second to last row in the entire plane!  We changed my seat to that right next to Wayne and then went about our normal routines.

My conference test was a success, and then it was off to bed.  I heard the conference testing on the other side at 1:30 am, and jumped up afraid that I had missed it.  I hadn’t.  I got another hour’s sleep, and then got ready for my interview, which started a little late.  I was a little anxious at first, but then warmed up and did what I think was a fairly good job.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Back to sleep until 8:30, I woke up  to a very hungry hubby who had been waiting for an hour and a half for me to get up.  We dressed, went down for breakfast, and came back up to see that I was again relegated to the second to last row.  After a frustrating call to Geneva (thank you Skype), we were seated together for our flights after being told we must have separated our reservations by mistake on the web.  Hah!  This is the second time this has happened to us with United, the first being our trip to Costa Rica.

We got to the airport, went into the Swiss lounge (very, very pleasant(, and waited for our flight.  Once we boarded, the male flight attendant henpecked one other female in the emergency exit row into leaving her seat and yielding it to a man.  He tried the same with me, telling me there was no way I would be strong enough to open the emergency exit window, and that I should give up my seat to a man in the back.  Again, hah!  I told him no way, as did Wayne, and we went on.

We got into Frankfurt, and had to navigate from B terminal to Z terminal, with no specific gate number listed.  We got there, visited the Lufthansa lounge, and got our information, and went up.  When we got to the line to board, we had to go over and get screened by security because of TSA requirements of US citizens.  I mean, goodness, TSA in Germany?  Isn’t it bad enough stateside??  Oy. 

Side note, Wayne told me that the current TSA model is built on the one established at BWI airport.  Now I understand.

On the flight, the flight attendant mostly ignored my requests, and only served Wayne until I was loud enough for him to realize I existed.  Go figure.  Here’s hoping the layover in San Francisco and tomorrow’s flight to Honolulu goes well.  And that I get the practicum position!

If this is Thursday, it must be Switzerland

Some truisms from this morning’s Daily Cruiser:

- When traveling, always say “yes” to chocolate

- On long flights always smile at parents with screaming children

- If flying, sharp objects (samurai swords, chain saws, etc) should be stored in your heavy luggage

Alas, today is marked by the “D” word - disembarkation.  We have an overnight here in Basel, and leave tomorrow afternoon from the Basel International Airport, which, curiously enough, is in France rather than Switzerland.  We are currently sitting in the AmaCello (I always think lemoncello when I hear the name) lounge, awaiting our noon pickup to go to the Basel Airport Hotel.  Once we check in, we plan to do some traveling on foot throughout the town, so I’ll probably have lots to chat about tomorrow.  It does look like Indian food is on the menu for dinner tonight, but I think I’m looking for a curry wurst and frites for lunch.  Bad for me, yes, but I’m ok with that!

We docked in a fairly industrial part of Basel, which makes sense since it is a center of commerce in Switzerland.  Basel is Switzerland’s's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany. With 830,000 inhabitants in the tri-regional area as of 2004, Basel is Switzerland's second-largest urban area. Basel functions as a major industrial center for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The Basel region, culturally extending into Germany’s Baden Wurttemberg and France’s Alsace, reflects the heritage of its three states in the modern Latin name: "Regio TriRhena". It has the oldest university of the Swiss Confederation, and is German-speaking, which leaves me in a very comfortable place.  I’m looking forward to our next 24 hours.

Watch this space for more tomorrow on our exploits today!

Wieder nach Deutschland

This morning at 4 am we released from our mooring site in Strasbourg and headed back to the German part of the Rhine.

And yes, that means we were up at 3:30 am.  Practice for my 3:00 am interview on Thursday morning for practicum.  I am hoping to do well and impress, even if it is an ungodly hour for humanity.

We were in classes this morning with Wally Cherwinski (video) and Josimar King (Tell Me a Story), where we got to learn a few new things.  The new Final Cut Pro X really looks like software in which we will invest when we get our new MacBook Airs.  Seems as though I’m going to have an Air to donate within the family some time in the not too distant future.

While we were in Wally’s class, we were passing through a very narrow lock, and we felt bumping and scraping on the boat.  Turns out that we were clearing on the starboard side, but the port side was not faring quite as well as there was not another pair of eyes there.  According to Chris Marquardt, one of our lecturers, the captain said (in a thick Bulgarian accent), “Not good.”  And that was it.  Not one for words, and not one who was happy.

We wound up delayed getting into Breisach, a city halfway between Colmar, France, and the Black Forest.  The city itself used to be in the middle of the Rhine after a flood until an engineer named Johann Gottfried straightened the Rhine.  The city was almost entirely destroyed by the Allies as they crossed the Rhine during WWII, but has largely been reconstructed.  Its main industry is wine, which is of the white Alsatian variety.

Anyway, we were delayed by two other ships in front of us, so our buses had to come and get us about 20 km outside the city.  We then went into Breisach and picked up our guide.  By the end of the day, I wished we had left her there!!!  Especially when she started talking politics, and the French ruling prohibiting burkas in public -- “we are saving these women!”  “No one forces these Muslims to go to public school, even though there are no Muslim religious schools here...” and so on.

We went to Colmar, which is on the Alsatian Wine Route, and is considered the capital of Alsatian wine by its inhabitants.  The city itself is filled with the beautifully colored houses and traditional German architecture styles.  There are many cobblestone streets, and many pedestrian walkways.  The churches have galleries (since we were late, we were not able to go in to any of them, or do any shopping =p) with some spectacular paintings, so we were told.  We went through la Petite Venise (little Venice), and visited the outside of the home of Frederic Bartholdi, the sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty.  His bronze pieces decorate the city, and are lovely.                       

From our abbreviated Colmar trip, we went to the winery Wunsch et Mann (last names, a 3 generation wine making family, with the 4th generation “in the making”) to taste wine.  We had a Petit Blanc, Riesling, and a Gewurztraminer.  All were nice, but nothing to write home about.  The vintner then brought out a bottle of his sparkling, which tasted like a fizzy candy apple.

From there, it was home to the ship for our last night.  We were treated to a farewell cocktail by the Captain, and then had a Chaine de Rotisseurs dinner - oh my goodness.  I had a vol au vent (turkey), some of Wayne’s cream of escargot soup (c’est formidable!), and lamb shank for dinner.  We were treated to a nice Alsatian burgundy (only 10% of the wines are red here).  La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is an international gastronomic society founded in Paris in 1950. The Chaîne is based on the traditions and practices of the old French royal guild of goose roaster, whose authority gradually expanded to the roasting of all poultry, meat and game. It is dedicated to fine cuisine and promoting and developing the gastronomic values while at the same time widening its focus to table art.  For over four centuries, the brotherhood of the Roasters cultivated and developed culinary art and high standards of professionalism and quality—standards befitting the splendor of the "Royal Table"—until the guild system was disbanded, together with all others, in 1793 during the French Revolution. The Rôtisseurs were almost forgotten until 1950 when Dr. Auguste Becart, Jean Valby and “Prince” Curnonsky, and chefs Louis Giraudon and Marcel Dorin resurrected the Society and created La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. Since its rebirth, the society has grown dramatically, spreading its influence and presence worldwide. Today, the Chaîne brings together professional and non-professional members from around the world who share in the "spirit" of the Society and who appreciate and enjoy wine and fine dining.

We had dinner with Sue, Ivan, Josimar and Marcia, and we are planning on some future travel with Ivan and Sue outside of MacMania.  At the very least, we are hoping we have them in Hawaii for the week prior to their next cruise, which is in Australia.  If it weren’t during a bad time of the school year, I’d wish to be with them on that, but we will already be traveling to London for Dad’s birthday and San Francisco for the AACAP conference.  Have to stay home for my last year of school at some point!!!

At the end of the dinner, we spoke with the CEO of InSight Cruises, who was really very considerate of and concerned with our displeasures.  In addition to taking in and executing on the majority of our recommendations, we were offered 25% off our next seminar, which, I’m happy to say, will be a trip down the Rhone River, starting in Lyon, and winding up in Barcelona in December 2013. 

All in all, I have to say I have really enjoyed river cruising, as has Wayne.  The ship is much smaller, only 140 passengers, and the atmosphere very intimate.  Dad would have to watch his head entering doorways, but for the most part it wasn’t too bad.  Ivan, at 6’4”, didn’t have that much difficulty in getting around.  The ports of call were nice, the food and crew were absolutely fantastic, and it was good to be with friends.  That will be the hardest part about leaving tomorrow, disappearing to the four corners of the world and hoping to meet up again in 2013.

And now it is time to try to register for fall classes, and get in enough sleep to take part in a 5:30 am conference call.  Good practice for the 3:00 am on Friday!

Schlafen gut, alle.