Posted by Nancy D. Brown

Shure SE115 EarphonesAs soon as the package arrived on the front porch my 17-year-old was all over it like a curious toddler.

"What's in the box? Can I open it? Oh, earphones. I need new earphones. The ones that came with my iPhone suck. Okay if I try them out?"

Mistake #1, letting your teenage daughter test Shure's newest earphones. The SE 115 Sound Isolating Earphones are going to engage any music lover. The fact that they come in shades of pink, red, blue and black appealed to the iPhone and iPod users in the house. Matching accessories for their gadgets; sure.

Initially, I felt the custom ear sleeves that cam pre-installed on the earphone were too big for my ear canal. I tried in vain to remove the sleeve to install a smaller one. The sleeve squished and morphed into silly putty, yet it would not budge from the metal piece. Fearing that I'd ruined the $119.99 earphones, I gave up.  Fortunately for me, the sleeve bounced right back to shape.

I brought the earphones to my daughter for assistance with the ear sleeves and she promptly put me in my place.

"They fit perfect and sound perfect. In fact, I can't even hear you. Give them to me and I'll write your review," she said as she walked into her room and closed the door.

The sound quality on the earphones is concert quality. No surprise, as Shure is the pioneer in microphone technology. The company began as a radio parts wholesaler back in 1925 and now leads the way in audio electronics. By the way, Sure earphones are NOT worn in the same manner as headphones and require a proper fit. Is the $120 price tag worth the sound quality? It is if you travel often and want to block out 90 percent of ambient noise. I tested the earphones on a recent trip to Switzerland and was very happy with the performance of the product.

Would I purchase these earphones for my 13-year-old who might  misplace them? No, I would not. Would I split the cost with my 17-year-old? Yes, as she is very careful with her music gadgets and would use the Fit Kit and carrying case that comes with the earphones. The earphones also come with a two-year limited warranty.

 Shure Contact Information 1 (800) 25-SHURE

Posted by Nancy D. Brown

Manolo Blahnik Sandals Were Not Designed for Wide Feet

I can relate to how Goldilocks felt when she was picking out her bed at the Three Bear’s house. This one’s too hard, this one’s too soft, this one’s just right. I have a wide foot and a high arch. Not a lot of shoes fit my feet. And while I don’t have a fettish for Manolo Blahnik strappy sandals, it bums me out that my feet will never look good in sexy shoes.

Travel Writer’s Need Comfortable Walking Shoes

Fortunately, I’m not interviewing for a walk on part with Sex in the City. I’m going to Lucerne, Switzerland in May and I need some serious, comfortable walking shoes for this trip. With that in mind, I visited my local European shoe store and mentally prepared myself to spend some serious coin.

If The Shoe Fits

I tried on the German-made Finn Comfort Shoe, but it was too narrow. I didn’t even bother with the Ecco brand. Finally, I had success with the Naot Cliff sandal in Java Nubuk. These Israel-made shoes are composed of natural Italian leather uppers and have a shock resistant, anatomical footbed, while the sole is made of rubber, polyurathaine and latex. I paid $189. for my new shoes. I also bought a pair of New Balance walking shoes that set me back $139.

Naot Sandals – Comfort Trumps Sexy

My teenager says that my new shoes, ” are really not attractive.” Yet beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  And while my walking shoes may not be coveted by my fasion-conscious daughter, they make my wide feet happy and THAT is the new sexy for me.  Do you have wide feet? What are your favorite walking shoes or sandals?

Posted by Nancy D. Brown

Canton Zuerich SwitzerlandI'll be traveling to Switzerland in May for a ten day trip and have already started thinking about my packing list. My last European adventure was a trip via Eurail to Portugal and Spain. I decided to carry my duffle bag and laptop with me on that trip and the duffle bag was a mistake. A soft-sided duffle is ideal for stashing in the pontoons of an Alaskan float plane, but not so great when you are schlepping from train platform to platform. At the end of that ten day trip, I made a mental note to myself to bring a rolling suitcase on my next trip.

ROLLING SUITCASES

I'm open to your suitcase suggestions. I've read good reviews about Helen Rae Luggage,or perhaps I should consider the Delsey Helium Breeze 26" Expandable Upright.

DIGITAL MEDIA

I'm not a professional photographer, but my Canon Power Shot SD 750 with 7.1 Megapixel takes great pictures for the money.Canon has since moved on to the SD850 with eight Megapixel. I bring along an extra camera battery and charger, as well as a cable so that I can download my pictures to my laptop computer each night. My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1520. Don't forget to pack the AC Adapter and the Adaptor Plug. Of course, I can't leave home without my iPhone. Not only will be the iPhone's camera work as a backup should anything happen to my Canon digital camera, I also like it as a back up for my laptop. This will be my first time taking the iPhone overseas, so I'll need to remember to turn off network data roaming and turn on the airplane mode to stop text and phone messages or I could be hit with some hugeservice fees.

530 Shure EarphonesWhen it comes to sound isolating earphones, I'm considering the Shure earphones. I've heard that the Shure earphones block out more real-world noise (think droning jet engines and screaming babies) than noise cancelling headphones. The isolating earphones were originally developed as Personal Monitor Systems to allow musicians to hear their own performances in loud onstage environments. I don't claim to be a rock star, but I don't see any harm in traveling like one.

TRAVEL APPAREL

The joys and challenges of traveling to Switzerland in the spring time will be the weather. Being the California girl that I am, I tend to dress casual and wear cotton. I like to dress comfortably on the long plane ride. This May I'll be wearing my Joe's Jeans and a lot of clothes from Coldwater Creek. My 17 year-old daughter calls Coldwater Creek the old lady clothing store, but they fit my 5'4" frame and I don't have to spend a small fortune in alteration fees.

I was reading a fellow travel writer's glowing review of Merrell's Mary Jane shoe, but alas, they didn't fit my wide foot. Same goes for the Keen shoes. I'm going to check out Clark's Privo Floats. Anyone have suggestions for cute, comfortable yet durable shoes that can be worn in the Swiss Alps?

AIRPLANE FOOD

The final question relates to food. Do I bring something on the plane to eat, eat at the SFO international airport food court or sample the food offered on the airplane? After a recent food extravaganza at the San Francisco Fancy Food Show, the folks at Pizza Hut asked me to try their new Natural Rustica Pizza. Once I gave up on the on-line ordering, I called directly to my closest Pizza Hut and ordered the Natural Rustica with sausage and one with pepperoni. Both pizzas featured a multi-grain crust, all-natural sauce from vine ripened tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese and meat without filler. The medium-sized pizzas retailed for $11.99 and were quite tasty. How would you feel if a fellow passenger walked on the plane carrying a fresh-baked pizza pie?

Swiss photo Copyright by: Switzerland Tourism By-Line: swiss-image.ch/Max Schmid. Earphone photo courtesy Shure. Luggage photo courtesy Delsey.