Inlaws, Outlaws and Planning Sessions!

Hours spent reviewing various tours on the web!

All that are familiar with Dick & I know that we have five million family members!  And we just love getting together with every last one of them! 

Because Dick's sister M.J. and her husband Joe have always lived within 5 hours driving distance, and because each of us had four children around the same age we often got together through the years!  They were some of our favorite times, particularly in Spring  when we got to head to their home just outside the Washington D.C. city limits. 'Dickle’ is as docile as a dog that rolls over to get a belly rub.  His sister M.J. is the same.  They are two of the sweetest, most vulnerable people that ever walked the face of this earth…and that scenario is pretty much the way most of their wonderful unique Sarine family was, and still continues to be.

Joe and I?…We are but two of the outgoing, verbal, sometimes uncouth "outlaws"… (Yes, there are more of us…)  He & I band together to overpower those sweet Sarine genes.  We tease our respective spouses… those two loveable siblings… unmercifully. And we typically can manipulate the course of events to get & be exactly where we want! In short, opposites have married and it’s made for some fabulous laughs and weekend getaways thru the years....we love to get together! Good thing because there was lots of planning to do for this European trip! 

...Back to the trip....Our destinations include Paris (Dick & I alone); then hooking up with them to see Sicily, Venice, Florence and Rome…. An energetic itinerary for young at hearts! So where do you start? The immediate no-brainer was just to book a tour that would encompass the last three cities.  Rick Steeves…. renowned for his books, tours and travel hints was MJ’s first go-to travel guru! … But his three-city excursion for Venice, Florence and Rome cost $3700 per person.  It included bus transportation between cities and hotels and, of course tours during the day. In general, food was additional excepting for one or two meals during the ten days. It didn’t take us long to convince MJ that she needed to cancel her RS tour but she then dutifully entrusted Dick and I with the herculean job of finding lodging for our three-day stays in each of those cities! I think the additional concern D & I had about the RS tour was for her knees…tons of walking and it was categorized as ‘strenuous’, something we weren’t sure that her aging knees could handle.

So there were several planning sessions…some took place here in Greensboro; others in their Chevy Chase, MD location.  Hours…we spent HOURS…searching the web for the right tours; the right methods of transportation; the right hotels/private apartment stays (lots more about that in another post); hours spent pouring over travel books; previewing Rick’s mobile iPod downloads; TONS of time spent
researching websites for the best tours to take; the ‘not-to-be-missed’ highlights to see in each city; and the smartest way to get from here to there.  All of a sudden we knew why Rick’s tours cost $3700 per person… This was work!   But we had the greatest time planning it!

MJ & I have compared notes on the best wrinkle-free clothing (www.travelsmith.com); the easiest & best spinner suitcases. We've spent time in REI figuring about the best  & most compact packing accessories that you can get... (We are each taking just ONE 21” carry-on suitcase only with one additional-under the seat-type of bag). We visited Mori Luggage (www.moriluggage.com) who probably has the greatest assortment of travel necessities and accessories anywhere. And we have purchased some of the most pick-pocket-proof bags available thru www.magellan.com . 

In short, I think the four of us would have to admit that we are glad that we didn't opt for the easy way out….for the expensive ‘canned’  tour.  While the agenda is set our days are loosely scheduled.  We are traveling by train from Venice to Florence, and Florence to Rome.  Europe has a fine rail system and we thought it silly to take a bus when we could see more than highways when traveling by train. If we are exhausted one day we don’t have to catch up with the group & a tour guide…we can lazily enjoy an espresso on a piazza and people-watch. All in all, we are much happier with this arrangement and have enjoyed this planning experience; saved a ton of money and would highly recommend it as an alternative but only if you can devote several months to the planning phase.

Coming Next: Where we are staying....