Here We Go Again!

Here we are, nearly two years later to the minute, planning another European vacation. Much has happened in the time since we returned from our big 2008 European adventure. Let's see...two more grandchildren, and one more in the oven; a Parkinson's Disease diagnosis for my husband; the purchase of a secondary home in Mesa, AZ; deaths, births, and weddings (and thankfully, mostly the latter two); and two birthdays apiece for my husband and me.

Since the 2008 trip really was the adventure of a lifetime, our expectations for this trip are different. We will cruise over to Europe, just as we did the last time. It will be a two-week journey, with stops in the Canary Islands, Barcelona, Nice, and Livorno (near Florence), culminating in Rome. But instead of taking off on our own and traveling to where our car and Giselle (you remember Giselle, our GPS who was our BFF) takes us, this time we will disembark in Rome, spend the day eating bombolone and pizza, and then embark again on the same ship -- in fact, the same room on the same ship. Yay! Bill doesn't have to haul suitcase after suitcase in and out of the car!

We will leave Rome and the ship will cruise for two more weeks, making stops in Naples; Greece (Rhodes and Athens); Alexandria, Egypt; Ephesus, Turkey; Messina, Italy; and back to Rome. The first cruise will be a relaxing trip across the Atlantic Ocean. The second cruise will be much busier, with the ship stopping in a port most days of the two-week period.

We had considered traveling on our own upon the first cruise’s arrival in Rome, but the idea of driving was out of the question. Bill had his fill of Italian roads the last time. And the idea of trying to catch trains and find hotel rooms didn’t appeal to us at all. So we’ll give this a try.

We will spend the next couple of weeks getting ready, and then we leave for Miami on April 9. The ship begins cruising on April 10.

As for any reluctance on the part of the reluctant traveler, I must admit I’m better than I was the last time. Here’s why: We will only be gone a month instead of many months. I can look at an itinerary and know where I will be every day of that month-long period, which gives me some comfort. No grandchildren will be born while we’re gone. I can look back and see that I survived a great adventure. And I’m more in love with my husband than ever and can’t wait to travel again with him.

Stay tuned.