Sue_xx_yy

Oh AP, it IS too early. I am confusing Sophia with Catherine Deneuve in "8 Femmes" - Ms. Deneuve is, of course, a mere spring chicken of 62.....

Delldee, good for you! And I'm glad you agree with me about Sophia (who is great, even if I did momentarily confuse her with Catherine Deneuve.)

You mustn't worry that this tale is meant to be typical of anyone, Italian or American. And now I must stop editing, because I'm confusing people.

NYCTravelSnob

<i>&quot;NYtravelsnob - I'm not faulting Barb, but not many people can make a good decision after 3 glasses of wine. That's why they should not be allowed to drive.&quot;</i>

I consume entire bottles without getting drunk. What are some of you girls drinking?

Well, all tongue-in-cheek commentary aside (every young-Italian-man/older-American-woman pun intended), I do NOT condone giving prescription medication to anyone who doesn't already have the prescription. And ADULT common-sense should dictate the decisions regarding alcohol use with prescription drugs. I'm no doctor, I'm no judge, and I don't tell friends what they should and should not do. That's how I define a friend.

Am I guilty of sharing my scripts with friends? You bet. I wouldn't have discovered Allegra had it not been for a friend who leant me one during a bad allergy attack while on location in some awful field. That single pill saved the job, took away my allergic reaction, and introduced me to an allergy medication with no side effects. (Granted, wine wasn't part of this discovery.)

I know nothing about Ambien. I'm a Xanax girl, and half-a-pill of the lowest dosage available does me just fine when I really need to get to sleep. If any friend asks me for one while we're traveling, I don't hesitate to give them one. However, I've never asked any of my friends if they want one. They have to ask first.

I've asked my doctor about drinking alcohol before my tiny dosage of Xanax. He said as long as I'm near a bed, I should expect no disaster to occur. I only take Xanax when I know I'll be in bed within 20 minutes of taking the pill.

LLindaC

...was that 5 or 10 mg of Ambien? I have such a high tolerance to drugs/alcohol, it takes twice as much to knock me out. The dentist gives me a whopping dose of gas and it barely phases me. One teeny ambien with a little alcohol won't kill her, make her addicted or anything else. These are not the narcotic pills of yesteryear..yep, alcohol and opiates/barbituates can be toxic.

GoTravel

delldee, life isn't much fun without drugs and booze.

ira

Hi Barb,

Terrific read.

&gt;...even though Eiffel had had a breakthrough with her fear of heights on Ischia and was somewhat cocky to start , it quickly vanished as soon as we started down the Amalfi Coast on our way to Positano. Let’s just say, we had to practically pry her fingers from the back of the seat in front of her to get her off at Positano ...&lt;

My Lady Wife and I sympathize with both of you. She developed vertigo on the bus to Positano and could not take the bus again - even sitting on the landward side. We saw the AC from the water.

NYCTravelSnob

<i>&quot;To the one who said you will punch me in the face, I think you are showing more about yourself than about me or what I said. Are you so violent with all who disagree with you? ...Well I am not afraid of you&quot;</i>

Oh, sweetie, get over your bad self. I was poking a little fun at your dull, controlling, judgmental and puritan presumptions. I'm a black-belt, dear, so...be <i>very</i> afraid, 'cause this Xanax-poppin'-Sangiovese-guzzlin'-biatch can kick yo' azz. O

SuzieC

I come to a travel forum for advice on where to stay, restaurant suggestions, sneaker/birkenstock arguments; layering v. down filled coats; recommendations regarding what others think as beautiful sights, cultural exchanges, etc. I enjoy the humor of most of the posters, get teary eyed at some of their kindnesses, enjoy the pretensiousness of some, the forcefulness of some, the ironic smart-a$$ answers of some...
Holier-than-thou, self-righteous moralisms, I sure can do without!
Older women, younger men...sheesh.
&quot;Never in Italy&quot; Jjjjeeeeessss....
Is it younger man (green-with-envy are you?)...or the fact he was a waiter? W hich is it that was so annoying?
Barb!?? Good for you! Bless you in all sincerity.

cfc

1. I'm thinking Felicity Huffman to play Barb.

2. Boy oh boy, there are for sure a whole second crew of Divas right here, aren't there?! People, get OFF the nattering and second-guessing about drugs, alcohol, food, weight, charming waiters, etc. Talk about judgmental! Just READ and knock off the superiority sniping! Do you really think you are required (or even entitled) to instruct Barb at this point? Do you really think she's required to hear it after going to the trouble of posting this long report? JUST NOT THE POINT!

3. We're lucky to be getting all this from Barb -- and what would you say if this all turned out to be fiction? It's still a HOOT! Repeat: just READ and enjoy or go somewhere else.

NikkiRose

Since there are literally thousands of official group travel agencies out there, I wonder why Barb didn't just refer the Divas to one of them. She did not mention if the Divas were paying her for her services...hmmm...but since she took on the task of dealing with the Divas...and planning and re-planning itineraries, she definitely should have considered making herself the official, salaried Diva Tour Guide, or recommending them to a tour operator. Why plan a trip for a couple of friends...and 3 strangers?

I personally love to travel alone...and would be happy to disappear for months if I ever had money and time, without talking to anyone I know. That's travel to me!

But I have traveled to Greece with my big Greek-American family and a few close friends on several occasions and they were the most memorable journeys of my life. We are a very flexible and fun loving group...so it was usually easy. I'm sure we have a different view of Greece...as a wonderful homeland our parents had to leave behind for an anticipated better life. My oldest brother did &quot;take charge&quot; of the domestic travel and rooms...since he's in the business. But since he insisted that we visit together again when we can...I guess we were not too bothersome! I ended up just moving to Crete a few years later...easier commute to family reunions.

But many people don't even want to fly from LA to NYC alone. There are different people out there...many people want to travel alone but they are afraid to...it's the fear of the unknown. Which is the exciting part when I travel...to just get off the train if a village looks interesting...but can be the reverse for many. Why people are afraid to get a little exercise if they are fit to do so is a also a dreary sign of our times...climbing a few hills or flights of stairs is a fact of life in Europe...if anyone in Europe wants to visit historic monuments or take the metro...there aren't many elevators and escalators. Paris is a good example...a great walking city! And there are few shopping malls with escalators...but people are still shopping, shopping, shopping.

But since the Divas indicated early on that they might (hopefully) unintentionally make everyone else they travel with miserable...by bringing with them their fears about everything and anything, that was a big red light for our dear Barb. SMALL group travel (10 people or less), if arranged by local experts who are also working closely with the local community, can be a much more wonderful and rewarding experience...especially if it's bona fide ecotravel or educational travel...travel that gives back to the local community...not talking about Coco's latest line of pink suits with black trim here.

Poor Barb...hope she's recovered by now! Good news is that she will probably recover financially by publishing her story in the )))) Monthly.

Cheers,
Nikki Rose

ira

This thread is now listed on the home page as number 1 under &quot;Current Hot Topics&quot;.

Go, Barb.

kakalena

I'm packing for Italy so no time to catch up!! God Bless with the baby and your daughter Barb!!

No disrespect to people who have posted their own adventures in this thread but I'd like to see it purged of all comments both positive and negative and reposted as a stand alone narrative of one person's trip.

Well, I'm off to guide a KIA, a smoker and a smoke detester. : D Wish me luck!!

kakalena

LisaMS

LOL! I've been giggling and chuckling out loud all morning; after having chanced upon this thread. HUGELY entertaining. LOL!

I don't know, Barb. If you go solo from now on will the trip reports be near as interesting?!

I'm personally hoping for sequels! &lt;grin&gt;

bellastar

kakalena-
You can do that easily.
I'm a Mac user but I'm sure you can do the same on a PC.
Just click drag and copy the whole thing into a text editing program like MS Word or what ever you use, and go through it deleting all the other messages.

aschie30

NYC Travel Snob- if you don't stop your posting, I won't stop laughing and I won't get any work done today!

No one could have let delldee have it better! =D&gt;

From a fellow one-bottle of wine guzzler.

SB_Travlr

One more post to a record thread! This is a very compelling read, Barb -- bit like having to peek at a road accident as you pass...

Have to add a note to the Ambien sidebar. I discussed with my doctor (great guy) whether or not to take it as a sleep aid on a long flight. In response, he told me about a red-eye flight he took from CA to NY. A number of passengers popped an Ambien or something like it on take-off, and promptly dozed off. Unfortunately, the plane had mechanical problems and had to return to LA. And back on the ground, they were still sound asleep... I think the crew had to scoop some folks out and plunk them down in the terminal to sleep it off. (Which is why you won't find me taking anything like that! If I can't sleep on the flight with my mask and earplugs, well, I'll be tired the next day. Won't kill me.)

Okay, now back to the subject at hand. ;-)

aschie30

SB_Trvlr- I don't believe that story for a minute. How does your doctor know that all these people took Ambien? And how does he know how MUCH Ambien they took? I mean sure if you pop half a bottle you may be that knocked out depending upon your metabolism and tolerance for such drugs.

Gimme a break about the Ambien, people. Most anti- or alarmist comments I've heard about Ambien, especially on this board, are from people who have never taken it.

For me, I usually take two Ambien at the beginning of a long flight and proceed to drink two mini-bottles of wine throughout the duration of the flight. I'm still here. At most, it relaxes me, dulls the senses a tad, but my no means am I knocked out senseless. Obviously, it has different effects on everyone, but this is not a sleeping pill of the old time, Marilyn Monroe variety.

NYCTravelSnob

Except with words, I couldn't hurt a fly. I'm just jealous that Barb gets to have all the fun. Thank goodness she's so generous.

ps I, too, prefer reading her story without all the interruptions. Typically, I shut the phone/answering machine off when I anticipate a good bang. Thank goodness for cut-n-paste because this story deserves to be read TIVO-style.

Barb

NYFS - Bravo - now I know you and I could travel together! Simpatico. Come on people, do you really think I would force drugs on unsuspecting people!! I've used 5 mg Ambian for years now when I travel. Do I have a few glasses of wine over the course of an evening, yes, did I talk to my doc about this many years ago, yes. I made sure the first time I traveled to do a &quot;test run&quot; with it before I left the safety of my home. And if I take one, it's when I'm turning out the lights for the evening. FYI, D never took it. That's why I was tip toeing around. I would never presume to tell anyone else what they can and can't take and I think those of you who have a problem with my report, to either stop reading, or get off your f--king judgmental high horses and get a grip. Whew, that felt good!

BTW, I didn't flaunt NHF around Sorrento, we enjoyed some time together, why not??? This is 2005, I am single, certainly over the age of consent and even my 94 yr. Mom gave me a pat on the back, so there - put the claws back in and try to relax. Breath, breath.

Barb

NYFS - of course that should be &quot;we&quot; could travel together. Saying the f word got me all excited.

Cassandra

<b> LET THERE BE NOT ONE MORE WORD ABOUT AMBIEN! PLEASE!</b>