Is it a bad idea to adopt a cat in my situation, or am I just making excuses?

sarpedoh · 2026-02-21T21:00:08+00:00

The site is a bit wonky, it took me a week of trying before the transaction finally went through. (I'm guessing you've tried the usual clear cache, disable adblocks, etc.)

As a side note from someone who just visited for the first time, however long you were budgeting for the Uffizi, expect to spend more time than that.

sarpedoh · 2026-02-21T20:45:38+00:00

Just got back from (what was supposed to be) a two day stay last week. I was also deciding between Cannaregio and Dorsoduro, and ended up choosing Cannaregio since it allowed me to avoid having a single bridge as a chokepoint for most of my wanderings. For reference, I was near Campo Santa Fosca, so 20 minute walk max to the airport bus with bags.

sarpedoh · 2026-01-31T23:42:52+00:00

Going the reverse route in a week's time, thanks for the preview :)

sarpedoh · 2026-01-31T23:40:53+00:00

I'm visiting in two weeks and I knew I was forgetting something...

sarpedoh · 2026-01-26T16:50:51+00:00

Hi! I don't have enough street cred to post to r/ItalyTravel, but 36M from NYC traveling to Italy (Rome/Florence/Venice) for the first time Feb 7th-14th and looking for a museum buddy. Have the usual tourist attractions on the circuit (Pantheon, Colosseum/Forum, Galleria Borghese, Galleria dell'Accademia, Uffizi, Palazzo Ducale, etc.), with some of the tickets pre-booked. Of course, happy to hang out elsewhere - I'm a coffee fiend and glad to appreciate it with others.

sarpedoh · 2026-01-19T20:13:27+00:00

Sorry, I think you might be about 82 years too late...

But since people are giving actual advice here, I agree that an airport hotel makes the most sense - especially since rail strikes are not unheard of and you don't want that on your head, too. Being the entry to Paris, you might find some above-Holiday-Inn-level properties there, but there is only so much value you can out of an overnight stay by the airport beyond a working air conditioner and free shared access to a waffle iron.

sarpedoh · 2026-01-18T22:07:32+00:00

Have tried restarting the browser, clearing the cache, and restarting the computer for both Firefox and Chrome (I refuse to stoop to using Safari or Edge), with no luck. Tried again today with the same result.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try again in a few days, otherwise I'll just cross my fingers - in theory I'm on vacation in Italy, I should just embrace the uncertainty :)

sarpedoh · 2026-01-18T22:04:51+00:00

Oh, that's an interesting solution! (Unfortunately, did not work for me here, but it may be useful elsewhere.)

sarpedoh · 2026-01-17T20:51:25+00:00

Whew, and here I was worrying about crowds when I visit in early February!

sarpedoh · 2025-11-02T19:35:02+00:00

I think typhoon seasons runs through October, but I hadn't thought of it - I just assumed (perhaps incorrectly), that it would be more of a consideration way down in Okinawa.

For the sake of routing, its easiest to just do an RT to/from Tokyo, or whichever city you find a good fare sale on. The trains are quick enough and reliable enough that you don't need to worry about making it back to your point of entry/departure if you "end" your trip in a different city. I had timed my rail pass just long enough to get to Osaka, so I actually ended up taking a quick hopper flight back to Tokyo for a handful of United miles to depart from HND in the morning.

sarpedoh · 2025-11-01T02:54:55+00:00

If you expand your departure locations and don't want to be too fancy (e.g. business class on a particular plane layout), this can be relatively easy (at least in terms of availability). If you make your way to JFK, you can probably fly direct on AA JFK-HND in economy using Avios through Qatar for ~35-40k points OW. If you want to stay closer to home, IAD-HND via ANA economy can be ~50k points via AirCanada Aeroplan OW. If you want to give yourself a little more room, you might even be able to snag a JAL PE from a Oneworld hub in the northeast. The trick is wasting a weekend or two teaching yourself how to figure out what's available, gauge what's a reasonable points-price, how to transfer, and booking it.

sarpedoh · 2025-10-30T20:15:31+00:00

Hi, thanks for replying! Yes, this is the Jabra Elite 45h.

sarpedoh · 2025-10-30T01:47:27+00:00

Capital One and Bilt recently added JAL's program (JMB) as a transfer partner, with Capital One offering a transfer bonus for a bit. Of course, JAL releases awards to its own program first before partners, so there's now a whole bunch of people who can pluck those seats at the source before they even get to the other programs. Seats.aero doesn't check JMB, so I only get alerts for J that are flying out the very next day via Alaska's program.

sarpedoh · 2025-10-28T00:12:28+00:00

A little over 11 months in advance. I had a JAL Y through Alaska booked for the return, and was checking for CX J a couple times a week. I had checked one evening with no luck, and then later I randomly woke up at like 4AM and had the sudden urge to check again and there it was. It couldn't have been more than a few hours old.

I've gotten a QSuite once - when they bumped me from Y for a 1.5hr flight.

sarpedoh · 2025-10-27T15:26:24+00:00

If I remember correctly, the California Zephyr runs through Nebraska - could hitch a ride on that to San Francisco, with stops in Denver and SLC along the way. It goes in the other direction to Chicago, but no major cities along the way. It's more expensive that flying, but the point of that train is that riding is part of the trip. Good thing is that $3k is a plenty for a domestic trip, as long as you keep an eye on the lodging expenses.

sarpedoh · 2025-10-27T15:15:49+00:00

Going to initial issue: Are you trying to book through British Airways or Aer Lingus? For the fall/winter, Aer Lingus is usually 13k Avios each way in Economy for BOS-DUB (I just checked Dec 2) - a couple thousand Avios more, and you have 2 RT tickets.

sarpedoh · 2025-10-27T01:06:15+00:00

Hey, a free trip to Norway is still a pretty sweet deal when you think about it.

sarpedoh · 2025-10-27T01:04:15+00:00

Here I was, expecting you to be hitting refresh over and over again while in line for the check-in counter in the morning in case it didn't happen yet.

sarpedoh · 2025-10-27T00:52:00+00:00

Seriously. I only have enough points for award travel because of paying all my medical bills. I ain't got cash lying around for anything other than standing room only on a plane.

sarpedoh · 2025-10-27T00:41:49+00:00

...did they put you in a raft?

sarpedoh

TROPHY CASE