London:
Our itinerary calls for a long stop over in London on our way to Florence. We're going to take advantage of that time and hop on the Heathrow Express and zip into the city. We hope to have tea, chat with the queen (we have a few issues we need to discuss), ride in a black taxi or two, pop into a few markets, and then back on the express to Heathrow to catch our flight to Bologna, Italy.
We won't spend time in Bologna, unless we are distracted by lovely, Italian men. I am traveling with two very pretty ladies, one who is 18! I'm on alert, don't worry. We will catch a bus to the train station for a quick train ride to Florence. This is where we will call home for the next 4 days.
Apparently Rome is going to be a bit of a challenge due to the Pope retiring. A few of the sightseeing staples that Rome offers might be closed when we arrive. Oh well, more the reason to drink Italian wine and sit on the Spanish Steps and look at the people go by.
5...4....3....2
It's count down time! It's 5 days before we leave for Itahlee, Dahling. The bags are not packed...yet. But the clothes are ready to be packed. I have a good idea of what I'm taking so that is not going to take much bandwidth. It's more like .....the Passport? Debit Card? Credit Cards? Sterling (English money)? Euros (Rest of Europe)? Apartment confirmations? Car service booked? Train tickets for London? and 50 other little things that I need to sort out before I can leave and not worry about things.
Last year I tried a little experiment with Lindsey regarding money and traveling on a budget. I put X amount of $ in her account and said "You pay for your share of everything, meals, apartment, train tickets, etc." When we go to dinner, pull out your card to pay your portion of the bill. When train tickets are needed, use your card to purchase your tickets. Well.....that did not last long. As soon as she went shopping and ran short of money, I had to take over and pay whatever was needed.
I was trying to get her to learn how to manage money on trips for times when I'm not there to pick up the financial slack. So when we planned this trip I said I'm not going to do that again. She was so upset over that decision and PROMISES that she will do better and she really wants to be in control of her expenses and not be 18yrs old in Europe with mommy paying the bill. I understand her position but she needs to remind herself, I'm still paying the bill, It's just going through her hands! Kids. After several conversations and threats like "You will be eating bread and water if you run out of money!" she promises that she will manage her money and not over spend on shopping. I hope she is successful this trip, for all our sakes!
In order for the average person (that would be me!) to go on a trip outside of the United States, there needs to be quite a bit of preparation. Especially when you are on a budget (once again,that would be me!). Spreading out the costs works well and it gets things off my plate and allows me to arrive with no debt and money in my pocket.
I'm traveling with a couple of great ladies - Cindi and Lindsey. Lindsey just happens to be my lovely daughter. She has been the best travel buddy over the years. She embraces every bit of the experience and comes home with loads of life changing experiences. Cindi is great to travel with as well. She goes with the flow and loves to explore the arts and culture of each destination. And she is a great friend!
Our first goal was to determine our European destination. That became more of a hurdle once we learned that going to the Amalfi coast in Italy was not an option for early March. Then it was down to - Still Italy? but where in Italy? Or Spain? Madrid? Barcelona? Then there was Austria? too cold in March. Germany? too cold in March. England? too cold in March...so you get the idea.
After a few dinners that included libations, we determined that Itahlee (Italy) was the best choice. So here we come Italy Dahling!
