Preparation Continues

It is one day before departure and I am finishing the last load of laundry, downloading a course on The Italian Renaissance into my iPod, and preparing to pack. There always seems to be so much to do at the last minute, but by 11 AM tomorrow, all will be done and I will be heading to the Tampa airport for the first of three flights on my way to Bologna. I have some extended layovers in Dulles and Madrid, all in the name of saving a few (or few hundred) dollars. And speaking of the dollar; it is in the tank compared to the Euro, so the credit card will be on fire while I am in Italy.

I will miss my children while I am gone. Paolo and Lucia will have the interior to themselves, while the outdoor interlopers, who have taken up residence under my house, Spot, Uno, Due, and Tre, will have to share their food with whatever else shows up. But all of them will be well cared for by my nice neighbor Kristi and by Frank. Hopefully they will all remember me when I return. (The cats, not Kristi and Frank).

Trip Trim

The preparation has begun. I got my pre-trip haircut tonight. OK, who is laughing out there? This is important stuff. I am sure someone is thinking, "what hair?" Very funny.

This post is also a test of my typing ability on my phone, and the process of emailing a post to the blog. If you are reading this, the test was successful.

Itinerary

My itinerary:
June 2 - 5: Bologna
June 5 - 7: Ravenna
June 7 - 14: A lovely villa overlooking Firenze (Florence)
June 14: Parma
June 15: (Last night): Bologna

I will be traveling alone to Bologna, Ravenna and Parma. I am meeting 9 others for the week in the villa, 2 others from Florida, 5 from Australia, and 2 from Sweden who now live in Austria.