Pre-Payment Pompeii

 

My parents loved to play cards. They loved to travel. They had a piggy bank where whoever lost at gin rummy had to put a dime in the bank.

They saved so much that they used the money to almost completely fund a trip to Hawaii.

On a more modest scale, when my daughter was looking for work in Geneva after university and living with me, we put 50 centimes in a jar whoever lost at gin rummy but for a modest expenditure--hot chocolate at Auer's café.

Last July, I wanted for my birthday to go see Pompeii. July between heat waves and tourist waves did not seem like a great idea so we decided to go later.

I said let's go in January, Rick said March.

The saying, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans, held true. Our landlords decided to sell their house. We needed to find a new flat, no easy task in the Geneva's beyond tight rental market. Pompeii was postponed.

Luck was with us and we are happily settled so our thoughts can once again turn to eating our way down one of the Italian coasts and back up the other with a stop in Pompeii ala Stanley Tucci. Next January.

In our new flat, we had an idea. We found ourselves saying, "Do you know where...? over and over and over.

Like my parents we created a money jar (see photos at the top of the blog). When either of us were to ask, "Where is...?" or Where did you put ...?"we would put in two francs ($2.12 US which shows the inflation of the many years between my parents system and ours.)

We have a new Parcheesi game and the loser will add 2CHF to the jar. 

The jar has been in service for a few hours. We have 4CHF toward the trip.

Pompeii here we come.