Work/School/Basketball all done - nearly there
Yep, I'm exhausted.
Never did say it was a great idea to leave for a nearly 3-week vacation right after school lets out for the summer, two days after Maria's basketball season ends and just about 6 weeks before Alyssa's first comp soccer tournament of the season.
Nope...not the way you'd line this up... but life can budge once in a while and if ever there was a time to do that... a big trip to Europe would be it.
The excitement was electric tonight around the house - literally as a thunderstorm rolled through and knocked out power for about 3 minutes. That was interesting. Just a prelude to the likely weather we'll see in parts of France, Switzerland, and Italy perhaps.
It will be a fascinating time while we are away. We arrive in Europe a day removed from the French Open finals as well as the Champion's League Final (Juventus vs Barcelona - for once I cheer for Juve). The Women's World Cup launches in neighboring Canada and will surely capture the nation's attention at least on the days team USA plays. Go Ladies! Not to be outdone on the men's side is the ongoing U-20 World Cup and starting while we are in France - the Copa America hosted by Chile. Forza La Roja! Also, we leave Europe right as Wimbeldon begins in London and will be in Europe while several Euro '16 qualifiers and friendlies are taking place. I will need to find sports pages often. (or wifi).
So soon we'll be waking up at the most obscene hours, picking up mom and dad, and heading down to SFO for our flights oversees. I'm pretty sure it will all hit me somewhere over the midwest that vacation has begun - the long haul at work this winter, drought response, new hires, and the drama around other things means I am ready for a break - it just has not yet hit me.
Enough reflection - what lies ahead?
I hope you can check in from time to time. I'll be sure to rant when I can, but hopefully I can capture some unique fun, crazy times, special moments and even sneak in some thoughts from the girls along the way. Heck, maybe even Jule will be a guest blogger again.
We'll start by landing in Dublin, Ireland - just long enough to snack on some stew and take a pint of stout - and then hopping over to London for a couple of days. There we'll pay visits to the Queen, the PM, and cousin Anna Rizzardo.
Next we'll take the train through the Channel Tunnel (the chunnel!) to Marne la Vallee, France (better known as Disneyland Paris). We'll hang with Le Mickey and La Minnie for a few days, take in the sights and grandeur of Paris for a day, and visit the Normandy Coast.
Following our sacre bleu time in Paris (oui) - we'll jaunt over on rail to Switzerland - spending the night in Chur where we will board the world famous Bernina Express scenic railway which will take us over the Swiss Alps into Italy. This should be a fabulous trip but we won't be in Switzerland long enough to give a Franc.
Arrival by train to Milan means we've made it back to bella Italia - and being in Milan means a visit to Casa Milan is essential. Not sure what else we'll do there but one cannot ignore the Rossoneri.
Finally we'll take the train to Veneto and spend nearly a full week visiting our family.
This will truly be a magical time and I cannot wait to hang out and get to know more cousins.
After spending a day in Dublin - we'll hop back on the long flight and bring us home. 18 days, thousands of miles, and a million memories.
I'm truly blessed.
Never did say it was a great idea to leave for a nearly 3-week vacation right after school lets out for the summer, two days after Maria's basketball season ends and just about 6 weeks before Alyssa's first comp soccer tournament of the season.
Nope...not the way you'd line this up... but life can budge once in a while and if ever there was a time to do that... a big trip to Europe would be it.
The excitement was electric tonight around the house - literally as a thunderstorm rolled through and knocked out power for about 3 minutes. That was interesting. Just a prelude to the likely weather we'll see in parts of France, Switzerland, and Italy perhaps.
It will be a fascinating time while we are away. We arrive in Europe a day removed from the French Open finals as well as the Champion's League Final (Juventus vs Barcelona - for once I cheer for Juve). The Women's World Cup launches in neighboring Canada and will surely capture the nation's attention at least on the days team USA plays. Go Ladies! Not to be outdone on the men's side is the ongoing U-20 World Cup and starting while we are in France - the Copa America hosted by Chile. Forza La Roja! Also, we leave Europe right as Wimbeldon begins in London and will be in Europe while several Euro '16 qualifiers and friendlies are taking place. I will need to find sports pages often. (or wifi).
So soon we'll be waking up at the most obscene hours, picking up mom and dad, and heading down to SFO for our flights oversees. I'm pretty sure it will all hit me somewhere over the midwest that vacation has begun - the long haul at work this winter, drought response, new hires, and the drama around other things means I am ready for a break - it just has not yet hit me.
Enough reflection - what lies ahead?
I hope you can check in from time to time. I'll be sure to rant when I can, but hopefully I can capture some unique fun, crazy times, special moments and even sneak in some thoughts from the girls along the way. Heck, maybe even Jule will be a guest blogger again.
We'll start by landing in Dublin, Ireland - just long enough to snack on some stew and take a pint of stout - and then hopping over to London for a couple of days. There we'll pay visits to the Queen, the PM, and cousin Anna Rizzardo.
Next we'll take the train through the Channel Tunnel (the chunnel!) to Marne la Vallee, France (better known as Disneyland Paris). We'll hang with Le Mickey and La Minnie for a few days, take in the sights and grandeur of Paris for a day, and visit the Normandy Coast.
Following our sacre bleu time in Paris (oui) - we'll jaunt over on rail to Switzerland - spending the night in Chur where we will board the world famous Bernina Express scenic railway which will take us over the Swiss Alps into Italy. This should be a fabulous trip but we won't be in Switzerland long enough to give a Franc.
Arrival by train to Milan means we've made it back to bella Italia - and being in Milan means a visit to Casa Milan is essential. Not sure what else we'll do there but one cannot ignore the Rossoneri.
Finally we'll take the train to Veneto and spend nearly a full week visiting our family.
This will truly be a magical time and I cannot wait to hang out and get to know more cousins.
After spending a day in Dublin - we'll hop back on the long flight and bring us home. 18 days, thousands of miles, and a million memories.
I'm truly blessed.
Comments
Post a Comment