We were so excited to take the train. We changed our tickets- so we were supposed to go to the office and exchange tickets The line was so long.. Our guide told us to get on train and pay 8 euros and avoid the ticket office. We were so lucky she told us that-the 11:52 was late and we made it at 12:05.

The train was so easy and everything was running smoothly. When we arrived in Rome it was pouring. We are dragging our luggage and backpacks. We found a taxi line-they were all seedy. Because of the rain and luggage we had no choice.

We had an idea of the cost-and of course I had a map. The meter was running so fast. The driver was aware we knew he was cheating us. He pulled over and said this is it. Can't get car to hotel- walk this way. I would not let kari leave the car until I had all luggage out of car.

I checked the map and he let us off 8 blocks from hotel and pointed in wrong direction. We walked in the rain with luggage to hotel. Drenched and so happy to have a bottle of prosceco waiting for us. It was opened in 30 seconds.

We started our walking tour. I wanted to see as much as possible. It was raining so hard, we stopped in bars along the way-a roman pub crawl. Had a nice time and we were pretending to be guides and describing everything as our guides.

This is the end of my journal. Some know and some do not-my dad has been ill for almost 2 years. He fell ill again when I was in Spain- we thought it was the usual fever observation. Within 1 week, he passed away. He read everyone of my stories and pictures. He was so proud that I was seeing the world. He did not want me to come home. Kari has been wonderful-so has the support of my friends at home.

Thank you for joining me. Already planning my next travel tripjhope you will live the adventures in person. Ciao Julie=

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We had a walking tour at 8:30 am. It was drizzling. Our guide was fantastic. We had a 2.5 hour tour. We went through some piazza's and markets. History of the city and cathedral-and 'the David'.

The David was amazing. When you see the sculpture- instantly- see the beauty and why it is so important in the art world. The background history of michelangelo was fantastic and pulled everything together.

Having a guide is a must for certain cities-sienna, Bologna, florence and rome. The information and the ability to move ahead to front of line is so important to get a feel for the history and development of the cities. They are expensiveJ the best money spent besides Prada.

After the tour we went to the train station.=

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We went to brunello country. Today the driver was a little aggressive and I was car sick the entire day.

We started the day at a beautiful family vineyard. The son gave us the tour. It is amazing that he grew up knowing he would own the business one day. He was 29 and was very knowledgable. The wine was great and not only will another case arrive at my office, I bought older years and cant wait to open the bottles. I may actually have Chris, Tom or Cliff store the bottles for me. I don't trust myself.

Our driver introduced us to a copper craftsman. He was a spunky old man. He makes all sorts of handmade copper items. Chefs have his heavy copper pots sent to them fro all over the world. He made Kari and I a cute copper plate orniment.

Next- Prada outlet. Kari was in her element. I was so impressed with her price knowledge-she was able to determine a good deal. I planned activities, towns and hotels. Kari went to designer stores in Chicago to learn prices and collections. We all contribute.

We arrived in Florence that evening. We stayed at the Gallery art hotel. Great location and they recommended a nice dinner place and made a reservation.

We had the best steak florentine and it was nice to see lots of locals dining around us. Kari wouldn't really care because the rolling stones were background music. She was so excited.

We walked around. This city had a nice energy.

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Kari and I left bologna-we were and still are laughing about leaving the tip in american money.

Our new driver picked us up. Funny about these drivers-they tend to tell you everything about their relationships. This driver sang opera for 20 years. He had a recent career change because his marriage was suffering.

Arriving in Radda in Chiante was amazing. Nice sunshine and happy memories. The town was so charming. Our hotel was of course 500 years old. The room was great-the bathroom very small.

Kari and I went hiking and running. I went to take a shower and the stall was so tiny. They tried to modernize the shower with multiple body sprays. When I turned on the water the sprays were on and I flooded the bathroom. Water came shooting out and all over. I had to wipe down the walls too. Very funny.

We had a great day and dinner was so different from the evening before. We were excited for the next day.=

We met our new driver-Gioanni. He was a kept man in Miami for a few years. Missed the life-like Tom Cruise in Cocktail. Has a 14 year old son. He lives in France with his mother and doesn't speak italian.

We had a list of wineries and Siena for the day's agenda. I do not think there will be any chianti reserves left for other tourists-they are on the way to my office.

The weather was perfect. We decided to have a low key meal-pasta. When we arrived at the pizza place, it was packed. A german couple from our hotel invited us to share a table. When I sat down, my friend Mauritzio was entertaining the vespa group. It was so great to meet everyone. Kari chatted with everyone and she may be open to the idea in the future-just have to get her on my vespa at home.=

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So Kari and I wanted to go to our new favorite place Da Nello. It was closed on monday-this town is open only 12% of the week.

Our hotel recommended another similar restaurant. On a rainy, cold Monday we walked in to a 3/4 empty restaurant and was asked if we had a reservation. It took 10 minutes to seat us and we were treated so poorly. We laughed about never being treated so rudely. I asked for the cute younger waiter and bleach blonde guy said not possible. He then pulled another chair over to our table. I asked why and loudly said for our imaginary friend. Of course, I had to add fuel to the fire and have him convert the phrase to italian and then I practiced out loud all night.

Each table had a different plate of fruit. We had green apples-funny because we bought and ate them all the time. We were handed a wine list-Kari and I were tempted to ask blonde baldy to bring us cheapest bottle-by the glass. The food was very good. The busboy loved us and was quickly replaced with non english speaking drone.

We laughed and KARI suggested we bite each apple. We were going to leave the bill in all american currency- we gave the busboy euros, paid check to exact amount and left american dollars for waiter.

When we left, I asked a nice man to take our picture with 2 green apples. He asked why- we explained about our rude treatment-he turned out to be the owner or an investor.

We are still laughing and looking forward to our Tuscan adventures ciao=

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As you get close to the parm cheese plant, the odor fills the air. At 8 am, the odor inside the plant sent Kari running. I buttoned up my shirt to cover my nose and rolled paper towels to breathe through. I thought I could handle it- as soon as I went outside, I started to heave and the Burke Flu hit me. Kari was about to get sick and Luca had no idea what to do. It took 30 minutes of fresh air to end the reaction. Luca called cooking class to warn them of our very early arrival.

We arrived early and lucky us, the health inspector was there. That is why we are wearing hairnet hats. The lesson was less formal-great. Sylvia our chef was fantastic and we made some great dishes.

We had the afternoon to go shopping. I have never seen Kari so excited-due to all the designer shops. Somehow I bought everything.

Things changed after the bottle of prosceco....=

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Okay where to start.

We have a very nice driver-Luca. He is huge-broad/tall, very nice, speaks english and is very in love with his girlfriend. We know all about her-especially since she calls and texts non stop. Sweet child of mine blares from the phone. Also, we know all about their sex life because it came out at lunch. Luckily for us-since his car is for business they don't have sex in it. I was happy because I sit in the front bucket seat.

Yesterday we had a full day. We started off with a tour of the Ferrari gallery.

The gallery consists of the formula one models and road versions throughout the years. We had a lovely woman guide-who must fantasize about Mr. Enzo Ferrari-with serious italian accent-must have said his name every other word.

So many men drooling over engines and taking pictures of every detail. Like they found their mecca.

I had a mission-to locate a one of a kind item that they do not sell in the states. I was told to get a shirt with a marlboro label because advertisizing issues with cigarette companies. Kari and I searched and finally a woman came out of the back room to look us over and brought out an item at a time. Didn't realize this was black market apparel-and priced as such-I'm positive this appreciation will last a LONG TIME.

Next on our schedule was to visit a balsamic vinegar plant. This was in a private house. Kari and I felt like we were in a twilight zone episode. The house was a 18th century villa. We were given a tour of the house-creepy-weird. Strange art and antiques-interesting yes however to parade strangers in and they did not speak english. We had to watch part of a movie-in which the house was used-all part of this bizarre tour.

We were taken to the house where the balsamic is made-this was cool-because it is traditional with barrel and you can see it takes 12 years minimum for the vinegar. 7 barrels and constant attention-it is a business passed on through generations-in order to start from scratch, you would have to wait 12 years-unless it is commercial grade. We had a tasting-they make a 3 year, 12 and 25+. Amazing taste.

We then went back into the house for lunch-funny because we were served boxed spaghetti with bolognase sauce-which is a crime-the worst lambrusco wine-Kari was so funny about all of this. We bought lots of vinegar and overall good experience.

Since it was sunday, all stores were closed and the weather rainy and cold. Gone were the sunny days of Spain. =

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Kari and I arrived together. She was so great. I totally empathesized with the travel for 24 hours feeling.

Bologna is a cute city. Lots of designer shops. We had to wait for our room so we had some proscesco and toasted to our Italian holiday.

We went to a few shops for bread, cheese, wine and tomatoes. Went back top the room-lucky to get anything because everything closes for siesta. And we enjoyed a nice siesta ourselves.

We found a restaurant and had a great meal. Bologna is yummy. We realized quickly we have to learn some key italian words because Kari keeps getting napkins when she requests towels.

I had her looking for a phrase book and we bought one. Just now she opens the information packet she has carried for a month to find italian phrases. i feel for everyone because, I'm armed with phrase book and map.

We had a great cooking class today-amazing what you can do without a pastamatic. We hope to make taglielle for you all-bolognase ragu very complex so will open prego-your welcome by the way.

I love the coffee lady in the mornings-may never have starbucks again.

After dinner this evening, Kari and I went to the italian Melissa Etheridge concert in the square. Kari was groped by 3 dancing idiots-who weren't italian and 2 inches shorter than she was. Very funny.

Ciao J =

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spent the last 2 days relaxing on the beach and walking around.

Our hotel was on a street known as las ramblas-it is a huge attraction. It is broken into 5 sections-by types of things sold-caged birds, markets farmers and artists, flower stalls and the plaza. There are amazing street performers. Dressed head to toe in costumes and full makeup.

Lucky me, I walked by an older gentleman in full bathing suit makeup. Speedo type if you were wondering. I guess this was new-because a thedrug dealers were laughing. Hanging free-some people are very secure.

The most interesting part of my location was the hookers and pimps. Watched every night from hotel. With all the family friendly activities and wholesomeness-mixed in with the erotic museum, whores and pimps. I was able to take some pictures-poor quality.

So today, I start my new adventure. Joe and I had our good and bad moments; however saying goodbye is never easy and to continue without him gives me mixed emotions. We both had fun and a trip of a lifetime.
Of course trip to the airport wouldn't be fun without being dropped at wrong terminal and having to walk a mile with 70 pound luggage in hand. The look on the check in guys face when he said you are checking that-priceless. I even unloaded some things.

With that adidos Joe and Ciao Kari. Italy awaits. =

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Had a really nice day today.

Full of culture. Gaudi and Picasso. Reaaly amazing how they envisioned art and the outcome. really inspired my post card hunt.

Joe has a completely different vision of the world-he is able to detect hookers and drugs. The hookers are all black in this area and work in packs. They try and pickpocket the victim. It was amazing to watch. They actually dress like normal people-I would expect a heel or fishnets-maybe some nipple.

To start our sightseeing, I consulted my books and cameup with great plan-mostly because I want to go to the beach tomorrow and thursday. Needed to get as much culture in as possible.

I love maps. I always know where things are-just never read map right-I will blame it on my job-always reading through a mirror-so things are inverted-sounds good.

We bought a 2 day metro pass. Really best way to get around. Our hotel is on the main street. La Ramblas-is full of street performers, shops and cafes. Really great location. The funny thing about taking the subway is when you want to transfer and you have to leave the station-they paint a yellow line with arrows-everyone follows the line-no cutting corners-it is amazing-if only life was so easy.

Going to return the rental car tomorrow. Kind of sad-huge relief too. So excited for Italy. Kari may see the world like me-one glass or wine at a time. =

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In spain and portugal, the starwood cha8n is highly recommended. I feel the price is reasonable-the staff great and multilingual. internet and health clubs ect.
Today we left for Barcelona. What is mosy exciting is we get to give back the car and stay put for 4 nights. This city has so much and Joe and I are excited to do the walking tour tomorrow.

We are at dinner in the main square-very casual and great people watching. There are many french tourists. very pushy- coming from an aggresive NYer.

Looking forward to the picasso museum and gaudi architecture.

Joe shaved his mustache. Very disappointed because now he is speaking with a french accent and mixes in romanian-spanish-english. I have to let him be him. good thing the alcohol is readily available.

i have trouble downloading pictures will try and send email of pictures

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Porto- same issue into city as Lisboa- almost worse because no one around to help and language barrior. We stayed in a cute european hotel in the central of the city. City was empty and little scary.

Joe and I seem to have a difference of comfort zones when travelling. Hard to imagine why I would want to go down a deserted alley to the river at 10 pm to look for restaurants. The nice little man that Joe befriended told us to be careful due to all the homeless that live on the path. Decided to get up early and leave. Little did I know- what was ahead

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We needed sunshine desperately!! So Valencia it is. I never thought we would make it here-no research was attempted. Grabbed my guides. FYI the starwood hotel chain is the way to go in the cities-great locations-multilingual staff and amenities.

Valencia is beautiful-we sacrificed Toledo, Cordoba and Granada-if I had known the upper northwest had a gray cloud-would have planned differently.

The sun is bright. The people are alive-the SHOPPING- an upgraded 5th/Michigan Ave. The setting is amazing. All outdoor bars and old european décor. I am home-except- can not add anything else to luggage!! Waiting for Kari anyway.

Today, Joe went to visit friends of a friend-romanian-actually happy for him since I'm not into the party scene and love to pass out after good meal-fyi food getting better-not sendong back the fish heads anymore.

Today, I went to the beach. Yes I went european style-which is more conservative than my deck at home-neighbors are blushing!

The beach was an exfoliating experience. The wind is strong here and the sand is so fine. I finally cleared the sand from the Long Beach incident-ask me over wine- and now this will take years-especially since going back tomorrow.

Have no desire to site see -rejuvinating and happy to be in one place for multiple days!!

Tonight was dedicated to cava. spanish champagne. nice alternative to prosceco.

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After the mountain tops, we drove through Bilbao to Logrono. This town is the heart of the La Rioja region-napa of spain.

Joe lets me drive-on open highways. He even closes his eyes and when he makes a comment, I tell him I will wake him up when we are in a ditch.

The north of spain is green-because it rains all the time. Since we entered Lisboa to Porto to Galacia-rain and gray. We decided to go south again(devra take your mind out of the gutter).

Logrono was the perfect place. I was so excited about another wine encounter- forgot to get gas. Freaked out when light went on. I exited the highway and drove 6km- I'm metric_of course found gas station-out of gas too. Just my luck. Drove back to highway and tense 23 km until we found gas. We arrived and settled in before 7. The weather was warm again.

I decided I needed to do laundry-we even looked for a laundramat??? Can't even spell it-I'm a dry cleaner girl. No luck so we sent it to the hotel- for 200 euros-not even going to convert it-lots of ice testing- the cleanest clothes ever.

After the ledge-I have restricted my wine visits to bars and restaurants. Note-if really want to do wines-must go on professional tour. This town had a great town plaza-tapas and great vibe. Of course Pepe found the Romanian bar-which actually was great. Amazing how well he speaks romanian.

By the way-pepe-aka Joe-is growing a mustache!! He looks at the growth all the time. Also, he LOVES the hotel products-he has taken all the samples from just about every hotel-so proud of himself. He loves to stock up on freebies-have no idea where he inherited this habit from-only insiders know. He actually brought cheese and crackers from the ambassador club on plane with him.=

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After livng on the edge(ledge), we drove to the picos de europa- some mountain peaks.
We had to take a winding road to some remote place. The road was very curved- Joe had his Mario Andretti face on. My hand holding the door-although after my day-I can not say anything about how other people drive.

I especially love the cow crossing signs. They are correct and since I have bonded with 2 the day before-I coukdnt resist the picture of a cow in the street.

We went through huge gorges-the scenery was amazing. We drove through one area called La Hermana- this town is so deep into the gorge-sunlight is limited to 6 months a year. I was looking for the pharmacia because I would imagine prozac and all other antidepressants would be big business. Who in their right mind could live with limited sunlight???

We went through another cute town-Potes-these tourist trap towns are really fantastic. Such a diferent life. After potes-came de la fuente.

This is where the cable carwas located- to take us to the peak. The view was great-the fact that it took over an hour to go 30 miles to tram up and back was very funny.

Joe wouldn't let me drive back-probably a good idea. =

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first just a little information about the trip. Joe and I are very different people. We like to drink together and socialize with other people.

Im a morning person and Joe not so much. He loves that dinner starts at 9:30 pm and he parties on afterwards.

With that said, we are trying to cover as much ground as possible. I have done the research and he is still searching for Ibeza. I wanted to tour all the wine regions and after Porto, we were heading to heaven-region of white wines. I have maps and memorized all the 'wine roads'.

Also, I hate to drive. We rented a c class mercedes. Very cute-silver. Gas is 1.5 euros per liter. The car has a great trunk for our luggage-probably 120 pounds.

I wake Joe up early to start- he went out and was pissed that I woke him up- not a nice start. I drove. We passed the border and my white wine tour was to begin. I followed my map-he was sleeping. So proud of myself. Visions of ordering tons of cases home. I try and follow a vineyard sign-totally lost- now Joe is up and we are just driving. For all I knew, I could be back in portugal. After 20 minutes-I come to a dead end in someones driveway. I use my great spanish to chat up the woman- who could not image how I was soooo lost. They said I could wait an hour or so and I could follow them out. By the way- green spain because it rains non stop.

I could not wait-I was on a mission- so as I backed up to attempt to get on road again- totally rolled off a concrete ledge. The back passenger tire off the pavement and in the air. The front driver's tire in air. 120 pounds of luggage-joe gets out-like a see saw. We were fucked. The entire family comes out-mom, big dad, deaf grandfather, the adult children and a grandchild. Thought we would be stuck all day- tow truck would never find us. Big papa and grandma-neighbors- lifted car up while joe steered. So lucky-I have pictures. Guess waiting isn't so bad-in the rain-in barn- they have 2 cows for milk. I look around and grapevines all over- they make homemade wine. Thought I hit the jackpot.
Crossed wineries off list for rest of trip-and meeting real spanish family. Joe drove for a bit.

So now we are going to Gijon for night and hitting picos de europa tomorrow -logrono and towards valencia-need sun. J =

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Little did we know when we followed a castle and palace sign we were about to go hiking. I had flip flops on and joe-dress shoes andd jeans. After Madrid we take all valuables with us-so joe had 20 extra pounds on him. I wondered why we were passing people with walking sticks. We were laughing all the way to the top of the palace. Really great seeing how they lived. The palaces in spain nicer-however this one had furniture-a real sense of life and style. We bought some bread and cheese and off to Porto.

Have no idea the difference between palace and castle. The castle next door very cool.

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Anyone that knows me-knows I bought every travel book on these countries and tried to plan the unplanned portion of the trip.

The guide book said a nice way to enter lisboa is from a boat ferry. Why not? We found one and realized the weather had changed from hot, sunny and bright to late fall. The boat was nice-the only issue was it did not drop us off at the terminal marked on the map.

Driving through the cities gets very tense in the car. Joe is convinced I have no sense of direction.

We drive around for an extra hour. City was not impressive. Hard to go from sevilla to any other place.

We stayed at the Sofitel. Very nice-small hotel with great staff. Went to dinner at an area known as The Docks. Tourist area. Lisboa has an unsafe feel to it. Lacks the charm of Madrid. Hard to imagine.

The next day, I went on a great walking tour of the city-guide book in hand-took public transportation all around. Nothing so special. Except lost book during tour.

Went back to get Joe off to next destination.=

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We left Sevilla to explore Portugal. A very nice drive into Portugal-no border patrol-sad because wanted a new stamp. We were spending the afternnon on the beach. This area called the Algarve is a very popluar destination for british. The towns are quaint-the portuguese do not speak english at all.

We went to a boat dock and caught a ferry to an outer island-just like fire island. The beach was beautiful. Joe and I relaxed and planned to continue to Lisboa.

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After, leaving malaga, we travelled to Ronda- this is described as a white town. The town is one of a few in the mountains. Joe did a great job manuevering all the twists and turns- even with a camera in his hand. Ronda is a great place to visit. Nice views and we went to the bullfight museum. We left and went through more mountains and these white towns. It is amazing to imagine anyone getting there to live and build without these new roads.

The roads here are awesome. All new and without traffic. A great decision to drive Spain.

We are staying in a beautiful hotel. The Hotel Alfonso XIII. It is a reored palaceJin the heart of Sevilla. Two nights were needed in one place. There are great little winding roads and fantastic gardens, palaces, squares ect.

Today Joe and I separated- I'm a morning person and wanted to take pictures before everyone started for the day. In Spain, 10 am is early. After walking and exploring the area, went to the pool and siesta. I'm a big fan of this custom.

Tonight dinner and on road to Portugal. We planned a coastal route to Lisbon. J

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I started my trip on a nice relaxing schedulez- after i figured out compression bags. I spent the mornimg bondimg with Sadie and Simon. I had an emergency run to the Vet due to Simon the day before I left. The big monster received a nasty bee sting in his eye. A session of adult water with Jeffrey made me forget my stress.

I thought the fun started when I thought my flight was at 2:25pm- I was wrong it was 12:25 pm and I was off running. Yes my luggage was hwavy just over 70 pound max.

Made my plane with starbucks too. Arrived in Mizmi and my brother was comfy in Admirals club. We had a great flight. The Madrid airport was so impressive and added to the excitement.

After the car servive dropped us off the real fun started. As we checked into the hotel, someone ran in and stole our czmera bad and backpack. It was worse for Joe- computer, phone, travel documents and camera. I lost 2 cameras and 2 lenses. I planned this trip for the pictures. The theft happened within seconds at the hotel desk. Worst nightmare came true and so sad because th crime is impacting this great city. A morning on the phone and afternoon in police station and replacimg what we could.

We managed to go on a scheduled tour to the Prado, a chocolate shop and old quarter. Our guide was great and we had a posotive experience.

Funny how timr flies- 24hours latwr and I'm in the south of Spain.We picked up rental car early and drove through La Mancha. I wanted to tour vineyards and not as expected. I would book a guided tour for wines in the future. We passed on Granada, Cordba and Toledo. Next trip.

Tomorrow a day in the sun and off to Cadiz area. J

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