When it’s a really good meal, you don’t notice the time. We went to Providence in West Hollywood (three Michelin stars) for my birthday several years ago. We were also there for over three hours, and we were shocked when we realized how long we’d been sitting there. Great experience. Incredible food and top notch service – neither slavish nor snobbish.
Yeah. 'Zactly.
You make a habit of living that way on a regular basis and then ordinary fancy comfy-class (sub-) urban restaurants are so … meh.
Pretty quickly Outback and McDonalds become indistinguishable … shudder.
This is why you’d be wise to mostly stick to a diet of twinkies, slim jims and pasta w/ketchup. Keeps you from getting spoiled by the finer (pricier) things in life. If your world is Southern Comfort, you’ll never have to worry about that Oban 14 Year 
.
He says as he contemplates buying another $100 ham.
Traveling by RV is luxurious (to us anyway). We prefer road trips and mainly visit US parks and monuments on vacations.
Instead of cramped seats and limited bags, we have a huge seating area, near infinite luggage capacity (we load closets, not suitcases) and almost total control over schedules and meals. Weather delays? Road closures? Change in our plans? No big deal. We just hang out, or change routes – we’re driving a small house around so we can just go in the back and grab something from the fridge, or watch TV. We’re self-contained, and can run the air conditioners, cook, shower, and sleep in a resort, or a Walmart parking lot if necessary.
To each their own of course, but I definitely view this as a luxury.
I used to rent Lincoln Town cars. But I was sort of trolling my very penny pinching BIL and SIL.
But the thing is we often had a number of people that we would cart around.
Heh, I ‘peeled out’ in one of those once. Now that surprised me. I think it surprised everyone else around us too.
This is my thing as well, though I tend to get the lower levels of good, known manufacturers. Also, cycling accessories. I was initially using fairly inexpensive panniers for my commutes and they always came with a host of problems and they didn’t last. Then, in the late '90s, I bought a set of Ortlieb panniers, which aren’t cheap. I used them a lot and year 'round in all weather, and they just started to wear out after 25 years. They are wonderful products.
Love my Ortliebs! Not sure what is wearing out on yours, but they will ship you replacement parts (straps, button, buckles, etc) and they have always been free for me. I do have one pannier that has some patch tape after it, my bike and I slid along the pavement, but I believe I have heard they can even repair that.
I have a pair of Ortilebs for my commuter and touring bike, another large pair for my dual-sport moto, and my wife has a pair for her touring bike. Probably getting a front fork pair as we start doing more bikepacking
We’re currently doing a hiking Tour Du Mount Blanc, so it’s a combination of suffer and luxury, but mostly the latter. Lie flat biz clas to Geneva. Nice refugios and hotels. My first Michelin started restaurant in a few days. Never been to Europe before!
I’m off to Barcelona tomorrow w GF. Nonstop lie flat biz class as well. We have a few days there in a great hotel in the center of the city. Then a 12 night cruise along the northern Med. Then non-stop home from Rome.
Should be a very pleasant time.
One or two bottom corners started wearing through, to the extent that there were a couple of holes a few mm wide for each hole. I really wasn’t surprised as they’ll obviously wear through at some point, and 25 years isn’t bad. I actually did contact Ortlieb and they were very helpful but it was simply simpler for me to replace them. So my new ones will probably outlast me.
Those things are bomb-proof and I was carrying a shitload of weight in mine daily. They are truly excellent pieces of kit.
I think that mine are the back-rollers and the one frustrating thing was they started to wear one year before I retired.
I think my main pair that I use nearly daily (I use them for bike commuting to work year round, along with fun trips), is about 18 years old. That’s great value for something that gets that much usage and lives a rough life. I wouldn’t get anything else.
My cat has decided that fishie eggs are AMAZING and has been gifted a few globes of salmon roe.
Seeing the eclipse while you’re there?
Absolutely. That particular cruise (itinerary + date) was chosen entirely because it will sit out in the Med right on the centerline of totality so we can all watch the show. A bunch of different cruise lines are doing something similar as just a small tweak to their basic [hopscotch along the northern Med coast] cruise.
Ought to be an interesting experience as Virgin does a wee bit of science-y / expedition-y stuff that’s out of their wheelhouse, plus an amazing party that’s right in their wheelhouse.
A bit more discussion here in the eclipse thread if you’re interested:
Ooh, have fun! 90 seconds is plenty. I traveled to Vermont with a group of friend recently for an eclipse (long story). We agreed that we wanted to get at least 60 seconds of totality. We ended up with just a little more than that, and we all agreed it was awesome.
Had one in Colorado. In the high mountains. So we had very bright days and deep blue skys.
I took my welding helmet to work so I could look at it.
Overall, it was kind of a strange dusk.
Speaking of eclipses, in 2024 Mrs. Cardigan and I drove 3 hours or so to VanWert, OH to see the total eclipse. We packed a picnic basket which included a bottle of champagne (okay, sparkling wine) and hors d’oeuvres. I think the totality lasted something like 3 minutes. We simply pulled off the road next to some big farm field about 25 minutes before the eclipse and waited. During the time we stopped a couple of other cars pulled off the road near the same open field to await the eclipse. There was a sort of carnival atmosphere in the air.
So I really enjoy the luxury of living on planet earth where we can occasionally experience cool celestial events like that. Folks on Venus or Neptune sure can’t do that.
I love how the category of “luxuries you do enjoy” has stretched to include solar eclipses. 
(Yes, I get that the actual “luxury” part is being able to make special trips to view them.)
Now now, Neptune has moons and consequently has solar eclipses, although because of the comparatively tiny size of the sun’s disk viewed from there, they’re over much quicker.
A few years ago I decided to start spending the extra money for business/first class seats on airlines. My knees have never liked having to sidle sideways, and with the way the airlines space the rows in the main cabin I also have to lean backwards as I sidle out. In addition to the priority boarding and other amenities previously mentioned, I like being served a beverage before the plane takes off and being given a choice of snacks instead of the take-it-or-leave-it in main cabin.