48 hours

NTB Tuesday April 14th

I know a lot can be done in 48 hours and that is what we have left before we go on the adventure. I just got a call from the Mayor asking me to help on a committee to get the townspeople behind phase one of beach nourishment we have been working on for years. Permits are due soon and the mayor is working on money from the state, county and town, but wants to make sure the citizens will support it. So now you know why I am beachmonger and why I selected "sand dollar" for the blog background.

Back to the 48 hours......the grass has to be mowed the first time and it is raining and same is forecast for tomorrow so we may have a full grown weed field when we return on May 10th. The mail is held and the newspaper suspended. We have drawn out the few remaining dollars we have left for the adventure so now we have to pack......my clothes are sitting on the table (see Photo) and there is one more load of wash to do.

Well what are we up to.....it is a Med Cruise of 21 days starting and ending Rome. We booked it last August before the financial collapse (or we probably would not be going) based on a flyer from Vantage Travel who was the tour operator for our trip last year to South America. My sister Marlene and her husband Lyle Snow had been planning to go on the SA trip but had to cancel becausse of medical problems with Lyle. When we suggested a cruise for this year they were very enthusiastic and thus the plans were made.

In 48 hours we leave for Raleigh Durham airport and fly to Philadelphia and then overnight to Rome arriving at 8:45 AM on Friday which is a little over 48 hours in Rome before we can board our ship the Noorsdam of Holland America. We booked directly with Holland America and made our own flight and hotel reervations in Rome saving a bit of money over the Vantage Plan.

Well here's itinerary:

Trip Itinerary:

Date:
4/19 Departs Civitavecchia (Rome) at 5:00 p.m.
4/20 At Sea
4/21 Dubrovnik, Coatia
4/22 Corfu, Greece
4/23 Katakolon, Greece
4/24 Santorini, Greece
4/25 Kusadasi (Ephesus) Turkey
4/26 Piraeus, Greece
4/27 At Sea
4/28 Messina, Sicily
4/29 Civitavecchia (Rome)
4/30 Livorno (Florence) Italy
5/1 Monte Carlo, Monaco
5/2/ At Sea
5/3 Barcelona, Spain
5/4 Mallorca (Paima) Spain
5/5 At Sea
5/6 Carthage/Tunis (La Goulette)
5/7 Palermo, Sicily, Italy
5/8 Naples Italy5/9 Civitavecchia (Rome) (Ar

We have another night inThe Courtyard Marriot at the Rome airport then home.

We I have practiced this blog thing uploaded a photo so I guess it will be a go.

I will try to select some people who are interested in what a couple of old folks do in their "golden years"

as Marelne said in your last e-mail Ciao, now where is that Italian dictionary and those other travel books I was planning to take....

Much to do Ciao.....