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Welcome to 2015 everyone!

I have sporadically been looking up some properties in the New Orleans and New England areas the previous few months, though it is hard to judge property size versus rents without having a clear(ish) idea of what we are expecting this year. Generally, the southern properties are a bit less in the rent department than the north-east, but both have good places that I believe are within reach.

So who is in? It seems like we haven't quite settled on a location as of yet. Anyone have any new ideas since the previous post?

July or August is my personal preference, though as per usual I am rather flexible with dates.

Audio clips from Mittens Portugal are ready for your ears!

kennethhyde.me/mittens2014

I still have yet to get my photos developed, and I'm afraid it will be a little while longer before they are scanned as well, so they will just have to be a surprise bonus sometime in the future

It is a shame that the post-Mittens synopsis and chatter kind of fizzled out, unlike most years (though I am just as guilty of not posting my thoughts).

While attendance was on the low side, this year was still a great time and kept pace with most other Mittens trips.

Super Bock, Fado, omelettes, chickens, the pool, Moors...how can I ever forget them...

New England would be great fun, have good flight connections and short distances to attractions, but would maybe cost a bit more to rent properties. It would be easier for Grundy, Dave and Janet to attend. Eric and Jess? I think Trapezoid also lives in Massachusetts, would be neat if he came.

New Orleans definitely has an exotic appeal to it that I would like to investigate. I could also easily get there by train (over 20 hours though). Violetnotpurple and I were looking up some properties and it looked like there were many good options in all price ranges.

To answer Grundy's question, I put forth two ideas for next year that were not discussed much, pending more research (Kitty Hawk, North Carolina or somewhere in the Northern-Lower Peninsula of Michigan).

After the group split, Kayla and I were talking about it with Gunnar and he had an even better proposal that would be closer to international airports that I will let him post about.


What did you have in mind, Grundy?

Kayla and I made it to Madrid a few hours ago. At the hostel now waiting for our room. Will do a proper post mortem soon since we are quite wrecked from the trip

Hello from Lisbon!

I have made a small update to the sekrit document regarding the metro system.

Bring starblock if you have any tubes small enough to be brought on an airplane. We should have enough to go around for a while, but I believe we bought the only one in Lisbon that was less than 15-20 euros. From what I can tell, it isn't generally available in supermarkets...pharmacies only.

Greetings from Toronto Pearson airport! The first leg of our travel is complete. Now waiting to board our flight to Lisbon via Brussels.

We will get a hands-on overview of Lisboa during the next two days and report any potential day trip ideas beyond those already expressed in the thread.

See you all soonly

Check your PMs!

[Edit:]

Splitting up could work, but I am usually fine in the most adverse food situations, unless we end up at a seafood-only restaurant.

I keep finding conflicting reports on good vegetarian options in Portugal or Spain, but most of the newer and therefore relevant information points out that it isn't difficult at all, or at least has greatly improved in recent years.

Most of the information I found saying it is a harsh climate for vegetarians seems somewhat out of date.


Edit: Is anyone besides myself an actual full-on vegetarian this Mittens?. I don't want to split up if possible if that is the only reason to outside of practicality.

Woo! we're leaving in about 72 hours

Kayla (violetnotpurple) and I plan to be at the airport to greet the first wave of Mitteners. Between 10:10 and 13:45, we have Esseb, Snarky, AGA, Arj0n and Tamara arriving. Since check-in is at 16:00, I recommend the seven of us make the initial expedition to Sintra.  Arj0n and Tamara: You are renting a car from the airport? If so, the remaining five can get a head start on the train. We will have an hour to kill upon arrival, or just leave a bit later.

Since we have some late arrivals, may I suggest that the first wave do some basic drink stocking and perhaps get some takeaway or pizza for the first night? That takes some pressure off and allows for a more relaxing first evening. We can do some more serious shopping the following morning when most are present.

I'll be collecting numbers via PM and making list which will include the address and other relevant information. Please send me your number(s) and I will compile them by Monday!

When will you be arriving in Lisbon? From the looks of the flight times, there may be an earlier group and a later group travelling to Sintra together, so not necessary to go it alone.

Don't worry Kayla. I will find the DVD from 2009 and give you a crash course in Mittens before we leave.

Afraid not, but I can't do the bank transfer anyways. My bank doesn't have some of the required numbers associated with EU transfers. I found that out in the worst way while hosting the Ireland Mittens.

I have been in contact with cat to see if she would be up for the transfer. If there is a small delay, I will let them know when to expect it.

Just edited my most recent post. I woke up to a response from my email describing our preference for a bank transfer, in which the manager says the payment is now due by July 4 if we pay in advance. This due date for bank transfers was never told to me until just now, and seems to be just enough time if we send in payments straight away.

Is this fine with everyone?

[EDIT:]

Three weeks!! (as of tomorrow )

I have received the updated cost of the rental. With 13 persons now, the rent is â,¬3,000. Each person's share is about â,¬231.

The remaining balance is â,¬2,320. The owner's stated that they prefer cash on arrival, but I made it clear that we prefer another bank transfer (which they certainly accept).

EDIT: There is no firm due date between now and arrival, but we should start gathering our resources soon as the final payment is due July 4th.

I can cover it. Just let me know about the details for making the transfer.

Thank you Gunnar!

---

I emailed with another update on our numbers, now at 13. She asked me to make absolutely sure before reconfirming, citing fees for each successive change to our reservation:

Hello Kenneth,

Thank you for your email.

Are you sure that there will only be 13 people in your party?

I will have to change you reservation and adjust the price.

Therefore, please note that this close to your arrival, each time you change your reservation, there is a surcharge of â,¬100.00.

Please confirm before we proceed to the alterations.

Looking forward to hear from you.

Kind regards,

Pippa

So this is LAST CALL for Mittens 2014. Any last minute adds or drops?

Hello everyone.

I just got an email from the manager asking for the 500 euro security deposit to be paid soon. This took me a bit by surprise as earlier emails seemed to indicate it could be paid and returned in person. With 13 people, it will come to almost 40 euros each. I am unable to cover that on my own this year, but can accept payments via Paypal (they prefer bank transfer, but allow Paypal since this will be paid in one lump sum).

Another option is if anyone else is able to cover it for the time being, it may simplify things.

Would anyone be willing to do such a thing this year? Otherwise, I will post my Paypal address in the next day or so in order to get things going.

In other news, my sister and I booked our flights this morning. We arrive on the 17th and will depart from the train station in Lisbon on the 26th around 21:00, en route to Madrid.

Bad news...I injured my knee...

Sorry Mills! I was looking forward to seeing you again and your listening to your jokes :S Hope you get better soon. Did you manage to at least get a good story out of the injury if I may ask?

We can do it whichever way, but if it is by bank transfer, as with the deposit I won't be able to do it myself, so probably best for Cat to make the final payment again? There isn't a time limit either, just sometime prior to arrival.

As I recall, the way we usually handle it is that one person is responsible for paying the landlord, and everyone else sends that person their share either in advance or afterwards.

That is correct, but we've not really had the option before until now. Bank transfer does seem better when you mention the benefits. It was just a thought.

When do we need to pay the money, and how much is it each?

I emailed the managers this morning with an update on numbers, but going by their guidelines it should be 200 EUR each at 14 people.

GSpot Gastronomia, the quirky-named restaurant that was 100m from the house, is now closed as of February 2014