unBound and Pursuing Dreams

We have gone through planning for at least 5 European trips now, so I thought this round we would talk a little more about the process. It’s simple:

1. decide to go,
2. decide when, where and who
3. decide how much you’re willing to spend
4. choose accomodations
5. decide how to get there
6. decide sites or events you want to attend
7. start over from #2 – review and adjust
8. then go
9. and end up spending at least 50% over your budget

Of course, for a Project Manager (PM), there’s so much more ……. double it if you’re into photography or graphics design. As an example …. like the last trip, we have multiple maps stitched together on the family room wall. String, sticky tabs and push pins binds it all together to show the last trip and the next ……. great visual aid! We’ll probably keep adding maps and string until there’s no wall, ceiling or time left. Either way, we live life to the fullest through travel and meeting new people.

But back to the wall – Yes, the new top map is of Holland and it does wrap up onto the ceiling.

Yes, the string (showing the trip route) goes to the Amsterdam push pin in the ceiling.

Canada is represented by the flag on the far left, above the piano, a neat metaphor for “let’s make some wonderful music” on this trip.

The maps provide a reminder (goal or objective) in PM vernacular, of where we’ve been and where we’re going. Special places and as you can clearly see, all strings pass through Paris.

It also provides constant opportunity to review and change plans every time we walk pass – perhaps too many chances! Regardless, I find it a wonderful tool. One that has helped us maximize our experience, by getting us efficiently from point A to B and beyond.

Also, it has helped me realize that each trip, for the past few years, has been a “walk” through movie scenes ….. “Under the Tuscan Sun” (Cortona), “The Tourist” (Venice), “A Good Year” (Lourmarin – north of Marseille), and of course “The Devil Wears Prada” or “Three Days to Kill” (Paris) ……. both invigorating and interesting to recreate the emotions and ambience of these entertaining movies.

First stop to start, in a few weeks (after landing in Amsterdam) – Den Ham (Holland), followed by Amsterdam reprise, Paris, Lourmarin, Venice, Lucca (side-trips to Pisa and Cinque Terre), Sorrento and Rome —- by planes, trains and automobiles (yes – another movie!).

Join us on our journey …. and maybe see the back stories on some movies (or maybe not).

 

Well ….. now that we’ve had our vacation from our vacation, it’s time to wrap-up our trip with a summary of “bests”:

Best city ….. Venice,  followed by Barcelona, Verona, Lucerne, Florence, Paris and Milan.

Best restaurant  …..  Florence “Osreria del Cinehiale Bianco”,

Best hotel …. Verona “Palazza Victoria”,

Best site …. Barcelona “Sagrada Familia”,

Best tour …. Lucerne to Pilatus, Verona wine tour,

Best new Friends …. We met so many wonderful people

Best internet …. Barcelona (we got a live feed of the Rider “Labor Day Classic” from Canada)

Best TV …. Milan

Best weather …. Venice and Verona (despite some rain)

Best “catch & release” …. Verona (scarves, etc), Lucerne (coat), Venice (watches)

Best street act …. Barcelona “New Orleans Raggamuffens”,

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Other Observations:

French internet …… this is the third trip we’ve tried to use our personal, Canada-based email in France and it hasn’t worked properly. It worked in Holland, Italy and Spain …. but not France.

Train stations ….. remember they are generally open to the elements ….. in other words if it’s cold outside, the station will be cold.

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Our wine arrived!  We bought 12 bottles of white and 12 bottles of red when we were on the wine tour near Verona, Italy. We had it shipped home, and it finally arrived ….. party time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The back label of the Amarone bottle is quite interesting ….. again a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One last thing – when we left Europe to return home, everything was lush and green. Back home the colors have already changed, with a touch of fall in the air …. several times this week I’ve had to scrape frost off my car windshield.  Mother Nature saying “Welcome home!” …….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to start planning our next adventure!

The older you get, the more precious every moment becomes, so learn to use your time wisely to clear your “bucket” list and do the good things you choose to make this world a better place.

Til next time ………..

 

I would like to thank “Kevin” for helping us safely cross this part of the Dominion of Canada (for short, think of “him” as a ‘minion’)……..

 

He’s from the Soul tribe of Kia.  Many good features and some annoying ones – like being a pain in the neck ….. no really, the headrest is positioned for someone with bad posture.

 

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Ironically we almost had to delay the trip. The morning of our departure, Brian got a call from the Royal Bank asking if he had made any purchases in the States …… “not for three years he replied. Sorry sir your card has been compromised”.  So no credit card available for 8 days (the length of the trip). Most of the reservations were made using the card …. fortunately they will accept Gerda’s card! So off we went ….. on a wing & a prayer. Glad they caught it before we left – it could have been very embarrassing!

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Bye-the-way did I tell you about the great deal we got on leasing a jet to fly to Victoria? They said it was ours if we wished, but we could reduce the price for ourselves if we found one hundred & twenty-eight friends to fly with us.  Well we told they we didn’t have that many friends wanting to fly ….. so they said no problem,  we’ll find 128 unfriends to fly with you and therefore reduce your costs! We, of course said, sold ….. and that’s how we got such a great lease on a jet.

We think we’ll do the same thing to fly back.

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25 years ago we visited Victoria when we used a soft-top camper trailer. We toured around visiting a lot of the sights. As we wandered on this trip we decided to look at Market Square and suddenly realized we had been here all those years ago …….. in “Bead World”. That’s where Gerda & Christa spent several hours stringing each other along. Still there and still an amazing amount of beads. Christa loved that place and now you know why she has “beady” eyes for work!

 

 

 

 

Well tomorrow we return home, a little more relaxed and nostalgic than last week.

 

 

Funny how distance, both location and time, can give a new perspective.

Almost 7 months since we went to Rome and enjoyed the sights, sounds, food and people. That separation has us wanting more; however we do have a curious trepidation for the next time we go. Seems while we were there an investigation was going on into money laundering. One of Canada’s national newspapers (The Globe and Mail) picked up the story and published it Nov 21, 2015. The article by Frances D’Emilio talked about how organized crime – the Mafia – were buying up restaurants and using them to clean their money.

The article mentioned our all time favourite Rome restaurant “er Faciolaro” as one being investigated.

If true, it would be such a shame, the staff were fabulous, the food great and entertainment non-stop.

We would be conflicted about going, having to weigh the positives and negatives. Most likely we would go again, but have a different perspective.

 

 

 

The other significant, sad events that drag the mind are all the terrible, senseless destruction of life and harmony …. Paris, Brussels and all the numerous non-European cities. The mind says stay away, the heart says go.

If you love something you have to protect it, share it and above all else live it.  You can’t hide in fear, or all the dreams you pursue become nightmares.

We will be going back to Europe ….. living, sharing, protecting and loving the dreams.

Time and space can change your perspective if you let it!

As the old Cree legend goes – there are two wolves fighting inside each of us. One is a vicious wolf and the other a loving one. The one that wins and shows itself is the one you feed.