The Million Euro Get Rich Quick Scheme

We finally found it! How can you get rich quick? Read on and you will find out.

This story started a few years ago when we moved to Everett, WA and a girlfriend of mine came out so spend a few days and help me decorate.

Both Johnnie and I are totally worthless when it comes to home decor; it's just not our thing. So we need all the help we can get.

So my girlfriend was suggesting I take some of the shells and polished rocks and beach glass and display them on pretty plates on the coffee table. Scatter a little sand, and, voila! you have a nice coffee table conversation piece (after all what else do you do with the flotsam you collect while roaming the world?!)

Johnnie laughed and gave my girlfriend a hard time about decorating our house with rocks. He offered to go into the garden and get her all the rocks she wants to decorate the whole house with rocks.

Well, this is for you Charna! I know you are smiling now when you see what has happened with your idea.

Selling bags of rocks at Ikea, Napoli

Shelves full of rocks in pretty containers

 So now, guess what? I am not going to bother painting rocks like we did in the 70's. Or putting them in little boxes or naming them. Remember that? Pet Rocks? No, no, why bother?

Now I will just collect rocks to sell, plain old ordinary rocks. And I will market them as "Rocks from Italy". What do you think of that? Now I can retire early in style and own my apartment on the Amalfi coast as a business write off so I can go and replenish my collection of rocks!


Remember the movie The Long, Long Trailer with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez? Well if you haven't seen it I won't spoil the movie for you except to say, I am going to be like Lucy with my rocks!

The Long, Long Trailer (1953)

Iron fences and railings of Italy - Part 1

Think of a country with very little wood and building materials that are usually concrete, stone and tile.
When wood is used, it is very beautiful and for decorative purposes. What amazes me is the wonderful things done with wrought iron here: Fences, gates, railings and window grates -- all manner of decorative ironwork. I am going to show you what I see here.

Front fence of the Hotel Caterina, Mercogliano

Front entrance, Hotel Caterina, now closed

Another fine example of ironwork is the Park Hotel San Michele in Martina Franca. I love staying at this hotel as it is a grand old place with elegance you don't find in modern hotels, and beautiful gardens.

Stair railing with marble stairs

Originally closed over the exterior dining room doors, now just left open for decoration

Sights of Southern Italy - Trulli

One of the most interesting type of residence is the trullo. They were originally rural houses in the Puglia and Murgia regions of Italy. Today, most have been modernized on the inside to look like any other home. They fascinate me as they are scattered all around Martina Franca, Locorotondo, and Alberobello which I pass by every time I go to Grottaglie to work.

The original trullo is round although sometimes several are connected with modern day room additions

The room is characteristic and there are still craftsmen to repair them when needed

Saga of the Spare Tire - when will I really get a spare tire?

Driving between the locations in Italy puts me in desolate areas where even cell phone service is sparse. It could be miles in between rest stops. I have a continual concern about car trouble along these remote stretches since I tend to be driving in the early morning or evening. Also, not having very good Italian fluency, I dread the prospect of having to call for help.

In the back of my new 2011 Audi A3 is an air pump and a few tools with instructions all written in Italian, of course but in a pinch I could figure it out. Hopefully, it will not be dark, raining, or me in my dress clothes when this happens and I have to use it.

Even with the air pump, that doesn't help a blow out situation, so I decided to request a spare tire. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Well, let me tell you, nothing is easy in Italy! Especially working through the leasing company that my employer has hired, their local servicing company in Napoli, and  my company's International business office in Rome.

I first requested the spare tire a couple weeks ago and had to provide the vehicle license number and the numbers off the tire. Not too hard. Then they needed to know what kind of wheel well my car has since they vary a bit by year and model. So I took photos.

Spare tire well in back

Close up of the foam "plug" and tools

 Turns out there is a place for a spare when you remove the molded foam "plug" that is back there. So I went for a week and did not hear any more.

Johnnie was washing my car and discovered I have a bulge on the right front tire. He is very concerned this can lead to a blow out and so I contact my Rome office and request that the leasing company replace/repair the tire.

Bulge in right front tire

 At this point, I request my DSP (Destination Service Provider) to help me get the tire changed as it involves taking the car during business hours. So he is on the phone all day long back and forth between Rome and the local service shop and finally about 4:30pm he takes my keys to go get the tire replaced. Four hours later, he returns with a tire on the right front. It is not the same make and model as the other tire, but at the time it is late and I am ready to go home. So I do.

Two days later, I get a note from the Rome office that says my spare tire is available. So again I ask my DSP go get it for me since it involves a trip into the service location in Napoli during business hours. So he takes my keys and three hours later returns, this time all hot and sweaty and exasperated.

Now I will tell you he is a native of Napoli and should be very familiar with dealing with car repair shops. Even this situation frustrated him. Turns out, they did not have a spare tire for me; they had two new tires for the front of my car. The one they put on the front two days ago was a temporary tire and new ones were ordered that matched. Apparently this is very critical to have matching tires and part of the reason it took four hours the previous time was because they could not get the new temporary tire to balance correctly with the other original tire in front. Johnnie verified this is true, especially on these type cars running at high speeds on the autostrade. He thought it was odd the other day when they put on the mismatched tire in the first place, but this is Italy, so we have learned to just shrug and go on.

Hm, then after it is all done and they put on the new tires,  but they will not give me the original good one as a spare. This is because my wheel well in back is only big enough for a "donut" size tire, not a regular tire. I said "I don't care!!! Just put the tire in back. It is better to have a spare than no spare". But they won't do it, not even temporarily until my donut tire arrives. My DSP argued with them, with Rome and with the leasing company but they wouldn't budge. So now I am still driving around with no spare tire. Mama Mia! I guess the good thing is I have two new tires on the front for my next 300 KM trip on Monday.