Month: March 2022

3 Tips for Traveling Long Distance By Car

There’s nothing like taking a road trip across the U.S. or whatever country you live in. Of course, it’s easier if you have more than one person with you to share the driving. If you’re taking a road trip by yourself, make sure you stop at rest stops or stay over at a hotel or motel. You don’t want to drive while you’re tired because you’ll put yourself and other drivers in jeopardy. Hanging out at rest stops can be an adventure in and of itself — you never know who you’ll meet!

3 Tips for Traveling Long Distance By Car

Get your car inspected before you leave. Make sure your car is safe to drive. How are the brakes? What about the shocks, struts, and absorbers? Does the heater and air conditioner work? If you have a convertible, can you put the top up and down? How’s the oil? How old is the battery? What about the brake and power steering fluid? How old are the spark plugs? What about the belts? Your car needs to be in ‘tip top’ shape if you want to travel long distance. Take it to a reputable auto mechanic and make sure you ask to see the ‘old parts’ if parts are to be replaced.

Buy snacks and water before you leave. Not only will you need to put fuel in your car, you’ll need to put fuel aka food into your body. Bring healthy snacks like fruits and vegetables, peanuts, power bars (make sure they’re healthy), granola, trail mix, and other nutritious foods to eat. Buy jugs of bottled water and reusable water bottles. Avoid energy drinks and sodas because they’re filled with sugar and you may ‘crash’ if you drink too much. You need to be alert when you travel for a long distance but you don’t want to be jittery! Consider bringing flavored water that doesn’t contain a lot of sugar and other chemicals. Of course, plain H2O is always the best option.

Bring extra oil, windshield washer solution, anti-freeze, jumper cables, and other important resources for your car. Buy a crate or two and fill them with the following items: oil, power steering fluid, brake fluid, windshield washer solution, anti-freeze, jumper cables, a funnel, rags, snow scraper, and fix-a-flat. It’s important to have these items in case you need them. You’ll also want to have a tire gauge to make sure you have enough air in your tires. In fact, it’s not a bad idea to have these items in your car when you drive in general.

Traveling long distance by car can be quite an adventure — make sure you’re prepared for it. Buy a couple of maps and a GPS if you’re not too good at reading a map. However, it’s a good idea to know how to read maps. If you’re traveling by yourself, take plenty of breaks and stretch your legs. Traveling a long distance can put wear and tear on your body. Allow yourself the proper amount of rest. Remember, it’s about the journey not about the destination. Have fun and be safe!…

The Jk Place Hotel in Florence Italy – My Personal Palazzo

Imagine, having your own place in Florence, Italy. That’s always been a dream for Kim and I. So, when we went to Florence last week we tried to find a place that felt like home, but, because we’re on vacation, also feel like a 5 star hotel. With just a little research, we found it. It’s called the JK Place Hotel. After our stay, it was obvious why Travel and Leisure voted it one of the best hotels in 2010.

I don’t often go nuts over hotels, because I spend a lot of time in them and frankly it takes a lot to impress me, but the JK Place Hotel, completely, above and beyond, impressed me. It impressed me so much that I asked that manager, Claudio Meli, if he’s was willing to go on camera to talk about it.

So, what’s the big deal, why is this place so unbelievable? Oh, let me count the ways. I generally make my decisions about a hotel before I arrive. I judge them based upon what my ‘pre-trip phone calls’ are like. I sometimes call a hotel, a half dozen times before I arrive, to sort through restaurants, night life and cool things to do. Crazy, I know, but remember we are creating videos and guidebooks and our info just has to be right. This pre-trip research is my first step. Needless to say, I’m kind of a pain in the ass about these things.

When I called the JK in Florence, I was greeted by a warm friendly voice (Lorenzo) who knew who I was (and it wasn’t a jet set life thing) and who was genuinely expecting me. He really was. It was kind of like having a very cool friend in Florence, who totally ‘gets’ the vibe you’re looking for and has all the connections to make it happen.

Within 24 hours I had the perfect list of restaurants, night life and cool things to do that were broken down by specific categories (like once in a lifetime, stylish, see and be seen and cozy). The list was very tight and came with website urls and the name of the people that would be expecting us if we selected it.

After I made my picks from Lorenzo’s list, I called the hotel to book everything. I spoke with Angela, a lovely soft spoken Italian woman who was totally aware of what Lorenzo sent me and was sitting ‘on ready’ for me to green light our choices. Twenty-four hours later, I had every detail of my trip handled exactly the way I wanted. No begging. No repeated phone calls like ” who are you again”. I felt like I was Bruce Springsteen coming to stay with them. Realize, I haven’t even left America yet!

Now, for the moment of truth. After the long transatlantic flight from the states, I had to know if this place was for real or did I just get lucky with some really cool people on the phone? We arrived to one of the most beautiful squares in Florence, Piazza Santa Maria Novella, to a building with no ‘obvious’ hotel sign on it (later I noticed a small nameplate on the wall to the side). In the JK Place, the only way to gain entry, is to ring a bell.

Within seconds, Lorenzo (in Gucci from head to toe) lets us in. His first words are “you must be Rob and Kim”, second words were “can I get you a glass of wine and some lunch”? I was like, this isn’t a dream and there really is a Lorenzo! He brought us in to a sitting room that was totally hip, sexy and baroque all at the same time. He didn’t ask for a credit card, or for us to sign anything. He sincerely wanted us to relax and enjoy our first few moments in our new home in Florence.

Out from nowhere comes what can only be described as an apparition. A young 20 something, in a butler’s apron, with a silver platter of wine goblets and a light amazing lunch. I asked Lorenzo to join us so we could go over his itinerary. He stopped everything he was doing and explained every single restaurant, club and event that we had scheduled, with the intellect of a historian and the warmth of a best friend.

After lunch, he brought us into what can only be called the non-check in area. Imagine a private library, like Batman had, but was totally hip and historical all at the same time. He gave us a brief tour of the hotel and gave us the keys to our room. Kim and I were escorted in the hidden elevator …