One More Sleep

  Well it is 11:30 PM and we are just about to go to sleep.  Well at least try!  We have all the bags packed and set out beside the door. You would think that with all the planning that we did that we would not have to run around all day. Who am I kidding.  I ran around and Graziella went for a bike ride. She had everything under control. She is the best! 
  Good Night All.  I hope you stop by as we blog our way on our 25th Anniversary European Vacation.

One Week to Go

  With only a week to go, Graziella and I went out shopping yesterday to get some last minute items for our trip.   Is it ever hard to find a good looking Speedo in Thunder Bay!  We did manage to find a few pairs of comfortable walking sandals.
  While shopping it was nice that we bumped into our friend Valerie.  About three months ago, we had talked to Valerie and her husband Blake about our up coming trip. They had both gone to Italy last year for their 25th Anniversary. We spent the night taking about their trip highlights while drinking cappuccino, Italian liqueurs and eating homemade almond biscotti. When we return, we hope to meet again to discuss our 25th Anniversary trip highlights with them.

Two Weeks to Go

  With only two weeks before the departure date, the planning for the second leg of our 25th Honeymoon journey has come to a complete halt.  Graziella has been doing some research into going to the Lake Garda area after we leave the Italian Riviera. We have sent out some requests for B&B reservations, but have not received any responses?  We may end up sleeping in the car like our first honeymoon!  Sometimes life just works out like it is suppose to!
  Last night we met up with my very good friend Lise, her husband Dave and their youngest daughter Rebecca at Starbucks.  I had not seen Lise for quite awhile but it is always a pleasure when I do get to connect with her.
  Earlier Graziella and I went to see "The Hunger Games" at the Cineplex and because we saw the 6:30 show; we had enough time to go out for a coffee after the movie. (Graziella had to work the next day)   As we left the Cineplex, we were deciding on which Starbucks we should go to.  We drove past the one near the Intercity Canadian Tire store.  I told Graziella that it would be nicer to go to the Starbucks next to Chapters, because it seemed bigger and brighter. Even though it was further, we kept on going.
 As Graziella was purchasing the coffee (with the Starbucks card we won in a draw at the hospital) she thought she saw Lise in the line in front of her. I am not sure who made the connection but it ended up with Lise coming over and inviting us to sit with them.  We picked up our chairs and made room around their little table.
  It was so nice to catch up on all the daily events that filled both of our lives.  It is no wonder that we never get to meet anyone, because everyone is so busy with their own lives.  But we did take the time to enjoy each others company.  As we were leaving, I commented to Lise on how it came about that we chose to go to that Starbucks, at that particular time.  Sometimes life just works out like it is suppose to!

Three Weeks to Go

With only three weeks to go before our trip, we have emailed quite a few Bed & Breakfast trying to secure a place to lay our heads when we are tired.  We have planned almost half of our trip so far.  It is hard to believe that the first time we travelled in Europe, we just jumped in a car and drove.  We made no arrangements or plans.  We just took our Big Book of Europe and drove.  The Joys of Youth .

The first half of our trip will have a little bit more driving than the second half.  This will carry us from our start in Milan, Italy  through the Italian/ French Alps, down towards the French and Italian Riviera that boards the Ligurian Sea. 

We have booked just a few of the places that we visited on our first Honeymoon.  When Graziella asked me where I wanted to travel to this time, the first place that I thought of was Aosta, Italy.

 

You see, as I told you we did not pre-book any lodging on our first honeymoon.  These two young newlyweds landed in Rome and proceeded to drive north along the major autostradas. All was going well until we tried to get to Genoa.  We miscalculated the time and arrived just past dark.  We did not want to try to find a place to stay in this large city at night, so we decided to keep on travelling hoping to find a place further north.  We we did not.  We had to stop, tired and exhausted on a small truck stop in the middle of the Italian Alps.  I told Graziella that I needed some rest.  We decided to sleep in the car.  Yes in the car... on our Honeymoon.  During the middle of the night, while both of us were very much asleep, we were awoken by a very loud rapping on the window and a very bright light in out eyes.  I very cautiously inched the window open to see a uniform of an Italian Police Officer.  I was glad Graziella could communicate with him, but I did not like what was been translated.  The officer told us that he thought that the both of us were dead, because the location where we were parked was famous for thieves cutting the throats of stranded tourists and stealing all of their belongings. I don't have to tell you that we did not sleep the rest of the night.

In the morning, we continued our honeymoon trip, but this time we started to take the small and quieter highways.  The first small town that we arrived at was Aosta.  After that terrible night our honeymoon had a much slower and memorable feel.  I guess it is true that you are given what you can handle and help when you can't.

One Month to Go

Graziella has been wearing out her library card taking out travel books from Brodie Street this past year. I am sure that she is on a first name bases with all the librarians. She has been researching our proposed route so intensely that I keep telling her that she should be working as a travel agent.

We have a very good understanding of each other. Graziella likes to research everything about everything that we may come across. I, on the other hand, like to be surprised and leave things to chance. So she will study for the next month about our European Vacation and I will be completely surprised when I get there. I guess that is why we made it work for the last 25 years.