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Well, here it is. August 5 and we're getting ready already ! Belinda is packed. Alan is thinking about it. He has decided not to get a netbook for the trip. He looks at enough porn as it is. Now we just have to wait a month to actually leave. We found someone to house sit. Belinda is hoping they will paint the bathroom while we're gone. Probably be good if she would just happen to have the paint sitting around.
Our itinerary is as follows:
Sept. 4 - fly out of Portland at 9:20 pm !!! Who the hell chose this time?? We get into Newark at 5:17 AM !!! AND then we don't fly out to Milan until 6:40 PM !!! 13 HOURS IN NEWARK !! I know, lots of exclamation points here but how else do I make a point about this stupid schedule.
Sept. 6 - Arrive in Milan at 8:50 am. We'll catch a train to Venice and hook up with Belinda's Aunt Alice. The same Alice we traveled around with in Peru. Then on to Udine, Italy, and one night at Hotel Principe (http://www.principe-hotel.it/). Yes, just Alan and two women. We will drive him crazy !
Sept. 7 - We'll catch a train to Ljubljana, Slovenia and spend the next three days visiting Lake Bled and the surrounding area. We stay at Hotel Center (http://www.hotelcenter.si/HotelCenterWeb/default.aspx)
Sept. 10 - We catch a train to Pula, Croatia, where we will rent a car and drive to the hill town of Motovun and check in to the Apartamenti-Motovun (http://www.apartmani-motovun.com/eng/bella_vista.html) for three nights. Lots to see in this area.
Sept. 13 - We drive to Plitvice National Park for a night at Knezevic Guest House (http://knezevic.hr/home_uk.htm).
Sept. 14 - We leave early to drive to Split and check into Sobe Base (http://www.base-rooms.com/eng/about.htm) for three nights and leave the car at this point.
Sept. 17 - We catch a ferry to HVAR and Korcula and spend the night at Apartments Lenni (http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/croatia/island-of-korcula/20331/) on Korcula.
Sept. 18 - We leave on the ferry for Dubrovnik and meet up with our German high school exchange student Thomas Mutzke. Alan will have to share us. We will stay at Peline 21 apartments (http://www.peline21.com/index.html). We plan to take a day trip to Mostar, Bosnia to see what the war did to this area. We will probably hire a local to drive us there.
Sept. 21 - A sad day. Thomas and Alice both leave in the morning and we catch a night ferry to Bari, Italy, where we will catch a train to Lecce, where Belinda's dad was stationed during WWII. He was a tail gunner on a B-24. We will stay one night at B&B Centro Storico Lecce (http://www.bedandbreakfast.lecce.it/italy/home.asp)
Sept. 23 - We will catch a train to Rome and meet up with half of our Taco Tuesday group at Hotel American Nardizzi (http://www.nardizzihotel.com/index.asp?lang=eng). We'll spend two nights here.
Sept. 25 - We leave Rome for Siena and stay at our favorite nunnery Hotel Alma Domus (http://www.hotelalmadomus.it/inglese/paginaprincipale.php) for three nights. We'll visit Assisi, Cortona, and San Gimingnano, among other places.
Sept. 28 - We take the train to Santa Margherita on the Italian Riviera where we will stay at the Hotel Jolanda (http://www.hoteljolanda.it/index.htm) for two nights.
Sept. 30 - We take the train to Nice, France, where we will stay for three nights at the Le Royal Hotel (http://le-royal-hotel-nice.h-rsv.com/index.htm). We'll visit Cannes, St. Tropez, Monte Carlo, Eze, and all the casinos, of course.
Oct. 3 - We leave on the train for Milan and on to Bellagio for three nights while we visit Lake Como and the surrounding area. We'll stay at the Il Borgo Belaggio Apts (http://www.borgoresidence.it/eng/appartamenti.html).
Oct. 6 - We leave for Milan to spend one night before we fly out on the 7th. Not sure where we will stay at this point. Maybe we'll just sleep at the airport to remind us of our visit to Newark on the way over.
That's it for now. More as it unfolds.
