The Making of an Excellent Adventure 2005 – Part 2

As they say in the film industry: “it’s in the can”.

As of a few weeks ago, we have received all of our confirmations for the destinations that the four of us will be staying on our fall trip to Italy. Of course when I say “we” have received confirmations, I really mean Barb and my sister-in-law Liz and not me or my brother Peter. This is a slight distinction but important nonetheless as Barb and Liz will be quick to tell anyone that they are doing the trip planning and Peter and I have, how shall we say, a less involved role. This role generally involves listening to the travel recommendations that Barb or Liz have done and nodding approvingly. All things considered, I think that we’re doing our part.

Some of you will know that the four of us planned on going to Italy in 2002 and were in exactly the same stage as we are now with flight tickets in hand and accommodations booked. Unfortunately we ended up cancelling the whole thing as Barb went in for surgery in August. Barb and I ended up going to France that year (see our Excellent French Adventures) and we have tried to rebook the Italy trip with Liz and Peter every year since. Hopefully, two times a charm in booking this Excellent Italian Adventure.

Our three week agenda will start us off in Rome then move down to Sorrento (just south of Naples) for a few days. We will then move north for our stay in a Tuscany villa near the town of Barberino Val D’Elsa. We will end our trip in the city of Milan where we will use that location as a base to tour the surrounding lakes region.

The only remaining part of our trip planning will be to do some research on what we will want to do and see in each of the four locations that we will be staying in. The day to day details. In the last few trips that Barb and I have made to Europe, I have always tried to arrange to do something a bit different and non touristy to get a taste of the real culture of a city or country. Be it either attending a Réal Madrid football match in Spain or scouring the sewers under the streets of Paris, there is always something unique to be done in every country – one just has to discover it.

For those of you who have been living without electricity for the past few months, you probably are aware that the Pope died recently and a new Pope chosen. This whole process was of great interest for us not so much from a religious perspective but from a travel one. You see we were really worried that if the Pope John Paul hung on until September that when we were going to go to Rome we might have been met with the same million extra visitors there at the same time we would be there.

Yes, sadly the timing of the death of the spiritual leader for a billion or so Catholics ended up being good for our travel plans.

Until next time…

Baden

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