Not Long Now!!

We have been doing last minute shopping, getting the house ready for shut down. Jim had to dig new ditches for the sprinkling system for the new bushes. I finished working at the church library (until October, anyway). I had to go to Radio Shack, today, to buy a converter for all the little gadgets were taking with us. Camera charger, computer charger, hair dryer. Jim bought a small cooler that can be plugged into the cigarette lighter in the car. We're using it to transport(as a carry-on) the 11 prescriptions that we need for 3 months. And then we'll have it to keep food while we're on the road. We hope we have no problems at the security check-point at the airports. We have copies of all the prescriptions, as well.

We leave Tuesday for John's house in Tampa. We'll spend the night and then he'll take us to the airport early Wednesday. Buddy will stay with John and Jake. It's so nice of John to take Buddy for 3 months. That's a long time. It's a good thing that Jake and Buddy get along so well.

We fly at 11:00 AM on Wednesday to Miami, to Chicago, to Paris. We arrive Paris time at 8:45 AM or 2:45 AM EST. Hope we can sleep on the plane.

Have to go help give Buddy a haircut and nail clip--takes several hours.

Spain

We were on the computer last night for about 3 hours planning our trip through Spain. As many of you may know we have memories of Montserrat in the Caribbean. Well, there is a place in Spain called the Montserrat Monastery. And they have a hotel there! So, guess where we are going on our way to Barcelona?? We made a reservation at the Cel-les Abat Marcet. They are apartments right next to the Monastery. Pictures of the whole area are just amazing.

Planning

Jim worked on the itinerary some more today. We've decided having a reservation for a hotel or room too far in advanced is not good. It limits how many days we spend in each area. We have a general outline of where we want to go and will wing it from there. We have plans to see several people while in Europe. Hopefully, Milette and Tony in San Sabastian,Spain; Siegfried and Magadelena Schuster in Wallerstein, Germany; Lindy in Nijmeegen, Netherlands; Bill Gertz in Amsterdam, Netherlands and maybe Stuenkel relatives in Hanover, Germany.

We solved our computer dilemma. We bought a HP Mini notebook that fits into a purse!! It is 6 1/2 inches wide and 10 inches long. It's wireless and has a webcam built into it. Now that the kids and my brother Scott have webcams, we'll be able to see them all across Europe and talk to them. I have to buy an Ethernet cable in case wireless isn't available along the way. I can also add pictures from the camera to the Mini to my blog!!

We're going to do a practice "pack" soon to see how much stuff we REALLY need to take with us.

Only two more weeks!~~

Harburg Castle

Harburg is a town (population 6,000) on Bavaria's romantic road boasting one of the most impressive remaining medieval castles in Germany. It is in the Donau-Ries district.
The castle was first mentioned in 1150 and has never been seriously damaged by war. Unlike many other German castles which were often built in the last 200 years or rebuilt after World War II, the castle Harburg retains the feel of the Middle Ages. Michael Jackson has called Harburg "the castle of my dreams", and he tried (unsuccessfully) to buy it.
The village itself is quaint with many footpaths and a historic stone bridge.

Overnight stay

We have a friend of a friend of a friend making arrangements for us to stay overnight in Harburg Castle, in Harburg Germany!! If it all works out, we'll be staying in the Turret Room. We'll have a private tour of the castle and a tour of a local brewery. Things are starting to take shape!! Only 3 1/2 weeks until we leave. We've made lists, lists and more lists of things to take or buy. A very important item is a sink stopper. Guess there aren't many in the hotels or zimmers(rooms). We've changed the itinerary again. We're going to head to Barcelona from San Sabastian, Spain and then back to southern France etc. The post above tells about the town of Harburg.

Dog

The hard part of going on this trip is not being in Michigan for a good part of the summer. I'll miss seeing the kids and grandkids(already do from last fall). Even though we don't see that much of John while were in Florida, it seems like he's close by. But, I'll miss him, too. All of them.

Another thing I'll miss is Buddy. He really is my buddy. The good thing about going to Europe is that he'll be with John and Jake. Jake and Buddy get along very well. They are really good dogs. And John loves them both. So, why do I worry?????? I'll miss him, that's why.

Lugging the computer

I bought a laptop backpack yesterday. Jen suggested it. It will be so much easier to carry, I think. It has room for our Garmin, camera and chargers, too. Hopefully, I can also get some of our travel material in it. I have folders for each country with various articles, B&B's, etc. Plus, we have 3 good travel books. That backpack sounds heavier and heavier the more I think about it. I thing some of this stuff will go in the suitcase. We were told to travel light, very light. We'll see how that goes.