If you didn’t start reading on Day 1, you might want to start from the beginning …

We had to change our plans today. Instead of exploring Torino we had to start early for Barcelona because we couldn’t book a train straight through. They ticket agent suggested we go to Nice and book from there. We started traveling at 6:30 in the morning, too early for the free breakfast, and caught a bus to the train station. Little did we know that our travel day would not end until 11pm…and we would not reach Barcelona.

Our first train, to Ventimiglia, climbed up through the Alps. It was gorgeous. Everything was thick and green except where high granite peaks and cliffs cut through the vegetation. We passed over old stone bridges, through tunnels, and saw many little towns that either nestled in the deep valleys or hugged the side of the mountains. I wish we could have stopped and explored along the way because we chugged through some really neat places…and all I could do was shoot pictures through the horribly cloudy windows.

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If you didn’t start reading on Day 1, you might want to start from the beginning…

When our night sleeping in the brick oven was over and the sun came up, it cooled off a little. What is the science behind that? Today was supposed to be our day to sleep in because our train didn’t leave until noon, but it was just too hot. Taking a nice cool shower sounded too good so we got up earlier than planned and were able to spend more time walking through Venice.

We hit the shops again. I told Aubs I wanted to find a nice mask and we went to the shop we liked most. Their masks were beautiful and they were one of the only shops that didn’t have a “Thou shalt not touch” sign posted. They’d let us try them on and take pictures…so I wanted to give them our business. I found a gorgeous golden one that I think Sandi will like and will look great somewhere on the wall at home. I just needed to get it home in once piece.

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If you didn’t start reading on Day 1, you might want to start from the beginning…

My brother warned us about visiting Venice in August. I tried to talk Aubree out of it but she said it was the whole reason she wanted to come to Italy, so we skipped the expensive breakfast and caught an early train west.

We changed trains in Florence, a city I wish we could have explored if we had more time. Our train rides in and out didn’t offer much in the way of views so someday I’ll have to get back to Florence too see the most famous sculpture in the world, David. Out of Florence was passed through a lot of green hills, mountains, tunnels, and little towns. The ride was beautiful. It made me wish I had a sporty car or motorcycle so we could explore all the narrow windy roads and villages.

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If you didn’t start reading on Day 1, you might want to start from the beginning…

I always look for a hotels with a free breakfast. Most of the time they don’t cost more and it saves money on food. Eat a good breakfast, snack throughout the day (jerky and trail mix from Costco works good), and you can get away with only buying one meal a day (or less). Normally it works out pretty good…but not at the Monastery.

We ate our breakfast in the peaceful courtyard but then as we were heading out were informed our room had been charged $24 ($12 each). Apparently the Expedia line that said “all our guests enjoy a free complimentary breakfast” didn’t apply to us. I pleaded my case and lost. We had a “no breakfast room,” although nothing specified that on my reservation. I asked for a full detailed receipt knowing this fight was not over. If you tell me I’m getting a free breakfast, one way or another I’m getting a free breakfast. (After I returned home I took up the fight with Expedia and was first told they would not issue a refund but after requesting to speak to a manager, my request was granted.)

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If you didn’t start reading on Day 1, you might want to start from the beginning…

I woke up feeling normal, thank goodness my yuckiness from last night moved on. It sucks to be sick on vacation. Our original plan was to catch an early train north towards the Cinque Terre region but we had to extend our Rome stay by a half day in order to see the Vatican. It was closed on Sat because of a holiday, closed Sunday because it’s Sunday, and so we decided to hit it early Monday before the long lines formed. Then we’d go back to the hotel, check out, and catch a train north.

We arrived and the line was already halfway down the block and it didn’t take long for the sun to kick in with the heat torture. We bought some ice water from a street vendor which, for 1 euro, I thought was a great deal. I took advantage of the down time to read in the guidebook about what we would be seeing inside. I was even was a little frustrated once the line started moving and I had to keep putting down the book to move forward. It was fascinating to read about what I was about to see, the Belvedere Torsa, Laocoon and His Sons, and (of course) the Sistine Chapel. The museum sounded huge…packed with all kinds of art from the past two thousand plus years. And I was about to see it all.

We got inside and soaked up the rich history. I wanted to make sure we saw every inch and spent time on each item but as we walked and as the heat increased, I found myself walking faster and pondering less. Once I had seen the specific items on my list, I wished we could just take a shortcut to the Sistine Chapel.

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If you didn’t start reading on Day 1, you might want to start from the beginning…

We still aren’t used to the time difference. We were awake in the night for several hours again but then fell back asleep and were dog-tired when it was time to get up. It was tough to get rolling but it helped that our luggage was downstairs waiting! So with clean clothes and another yummy breakfast we hit the streets at about 7:30 for another day of walking, sweating, and exploring.

We took the metro back to the Colosseum to explore the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. We spent the morning walking though what is left of the ancient Roman Empire who ruled the earth for 1,000 years. We walked down the street where the war parties would return to parade through the town to the cheers of the Roman citizens with their slaves, stolen gold, and captured exotic beasts (probably on the short list for the Colosseum).

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If you didn’t start reading on Day 1, you might want to start from the beginning…

We both woke up at 3am and couldn’t sleep. I told her about a dream I had about a 2,000 year old love tragedy between a slave and the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat that is resolved by flashbacks that result in a modern romance. She said I should write it. Maybe some day…

We got some early morning time on the Internet, Sandi helped me with the lost luggage and made some calls while I sent useless emails. The official word just that “it’s lost.” US Air has no clue, hopefully I don’t have to write a song about it.

The hotel is nice. It only cost about $75 a night and with breakfast, was a great deal. Once we figured out how to use the metro (the station was only about 4 blocks away), we could get anywhere easily. Our room has AC, thank goodness, so that gives us an escape from the heat. The breakfast is really good, plenty of food. We gorged on it to take advantage of the free food. Chocolate croissants, ham, eggs, fruit, yogurt, cereal…it was great.

The staff helped us get oriented and explained how to use the metro. It was easy once we had the quick rundown. You can buy a one or three day pass from the machines inside (they take cash and have an English option) and then ride it all you want. We could have saved a lot of walking yesterday had we understood it better…but better late then never. I filled my daypack with water, jerky, trail mix, guidebooks, the camera, and the camcorder and we we hit the streets early before it was too hot to be miserable.

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This is day 1 of my recent two week adventure with Aubree on her trip to Europe. I told each of my kids I’d take them on a trip (Curtis was last year to South Africa) and Aubs picked Europe, primarily Italy and Spain.

Things started out a bit rough. Our flight to Philly was delayed and it was only a sprint from one end of the airport to the other that kept us on schedule. My pounding chest reminded me that I’m a 40 year old man, something that I am in constant denial about. It doesn’t even look right on paper. But at least Aubree is young and full of energy. She ran on ahead and managed to convince them to keep the door open a few more minutes. Everyone was already seated and they sealed the door behind us. We were on our way! But…unknown to us…our luggage wasn’t.

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When I was a kid, I loved to play and hated to work. I suppose I never grew up. Or maybe somewhere along the line the meanings and labels I attached to play and work got messed up.

I watch my kids now, particularly my son who gets criticized by his mom and sisters (understandably) because of the time he spends playing computer games (currently Call of Duty 4 and World of Warcraft). I love gaming myself so I’m not so quick to criticize, but I too worry about the impact of him spending so much time on the computer.

Ideally, I prefer a balance for my kids. In addition to playing Ultima on my Atari 800XL, I spent a lot of my childhood playing outside in the wilderness. But my kids are growing up surrounded by highways and houses. They don’t have the miles and miles of open land to explore that I did. And in my small town all my friends were easily reached within a 30 minute. Their friends are separated by miles of heavy traffic. I’m not home during the day to structure their time and drive them around and I don’t have the money to send them to camps and/or enroll them in programs to keep them busy all summer. So where does that leave me? Where does that leave them?

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In 4 days Aubree and I are going to be dropped off in Rome. We have 12 days to find our way to Barcelona in order to catch our ride home. Here are the conditions we are traveling by:

• We will carry moderate sized backpacks with only the essentials.
• Other than the first couple of nights in Rome, we have no reservations for lodging.
• We only speak English (well, Aubree does speak bit of Spanish and I speak Afrikaans…but doubt that is going to help much).
• We have no itinerary on where we are going.
• We have limited funds.
• We want to have fun.
• Neither of us has ever been to Italy, France, or Spain and…
• We don’t know anyone there.

Considering I normally like to have things well planned (I had South Africa planned down almost to the bathroom stops), this is going to be an adventure to say the least. Aubree still isn’t exactly sure what she wants to do, so we are going to wing it I guess. The thought causes my stomach to churn a little…but I suppose one way or another we’ll survive, have fun, and learn a thing or two.