Dubrovnik...a Traveler's Dilemma

After an extraordinary amount of time, energy, frustration, and anger, I finally have an itinerary to and from Dubrovnik. It's expensive and annoying. If only I could start an airline!

First, I had to get round trip tickets from Boston. For some reason, going to Dubrovnik from Boston is much cheaper than going from Dallas, New York, Atlanta, Minneapolis...I tried them all. So, I got tickets (finally) leaving from Boston on a Sunday night. I fly to Amsterdam and then scramble to catch a flight about an hour later to Frankfurt. I wait for several hours in Frankfurt for a flight that will get me to Dubrovnik late in the day. Returning, I leave Dubrovnik very, very early in the morning on flight to Frankfurt. I wait a few hours, then leave for Boston, arriving there at 8:30 pm.

The Dallas-Boston flights are annoying, too. I will fly up on a Saturday morning (my beautiful wife finally agreed to go with me as far as Boston...but not to Dubrovnik...and stay until Monday morning). Then, I leave late in the day on Sunday for Amsterdam (as I mentioned). My return gets me back to Boston so late in the day I cannot get a flight back to Dallas. So, I stay overnight and return to Dallas the next day.

The cost for this series of flights is just about $2,000. Maybe a bit more. Plus, I pay $260 for Boston hotel, probably $1500 for hotel in Dubrovnik, etc. This is EXPENSIVE! Fortunately, it's not my money. Well, my wife's travel is our expense, but everthing else is not. SOOOO thankful for that!

It would be nice to be able to get to Dubrovnik, which I understand is a wonderful destination, without the hassles!

More Odds, Some Ends, Friday Night

Mexico Real Estate
Today, I spoke to a real estate agent from Mexico about a condo my wife and I have been considering. The agent was in a huge rush to get us to submit a contract for the place, but I am leery of the pressure, even if he's right about saying another bid was being submitted and we needed to act quickly. I was leery, too, about submitting a bid at the asking price...and without any mention in the contract of the place being furnished. Maybe it's just the way things are done in Mexico, but it made me uncomfortable. I did learn, after asking the agent for the information (information that would be provided without special request in the US), that the homeowner/condo owner dues are $850 per year, which to me seems to be a good deal...but then, again, I know nothing about what they cover. And I still know nothing about what insurance I would need, where I would buy it, etc., etc. Maybe I need to do more homework before launching into a pretty pricey purchase. But, then, I want to buy before prices outprice me.

Eating (with) a Prospective Client
I heard back from a potential client today...the president of the organization (I provide association management services through my company) wants to meet me for an early lunch next Friday (with two of her fellow board members), then go to my office for an interview. She asked me to identify places to eat that are near my office. I offered a variety of places, from upscale Italian to utterly unpretentious Mexican to steakhouses to continental cuisine. I actually offered two Italian places...one upscale, the other not so much. She responded that I should pick the place, but Italian and Mexican are good for her. I'm inclined to pick the down-home Italian place, because its prices are very good and I like its schmaltzy look...chianti bottles hanging from the ceilings amid plastic grape vines. I would not take a group of doctors there, but then I probably wouldn't take a group of doctors anywhere...we live in different dimensions.

Gale Norton Resigned
Interior Secretary Gale Norton resigned today, five years after she took office and proceeded to wreck the accomplishments of her predecessors who made great strides in protecting the environment. Norton is a proponent of drilling in ANWR...she claimed recently that drilling in ANWR would supply every drop of oil needed by Florida for 29 years. Oh...then we should do it. Idiot! I'm expecting Bush to select a replacement who is a big proponent of seal hunting and polar bear cub killing.

Friday Night
It's Friday night, for god's sake! I shouldn't be blogging, I should be doing something completely different. And so I shall!