We will be flying into this beautiful city tonight. We have been here several times, but that was before the age of digital cameras and photos stored on the computer, so this one is compliments of Empress Bee.
Tomorrow we board the Royal Princess to begin our lovely new adventure. Come along and join us!
We have to say goodbye to the birdies and this fine inn and move to another place today. No room in the inn! Oh well, we will find something, have no fear. Thanks for the photos, Brian!
Have a look at the dining room here at the inn.
Dick found online where Rhine River cruises are discounted for ‘seniors’ on Monday and Friday, so the plan is to take a half day cruise today. I hope the weather cooperates!
Son Brian stayed here on his cycling trip a couple of years ago and recommended we stay here, so this is home for a few nights. As long as we are near water, we are happy campers and the mighty Rhine River is nearby. It is calling us!
Well, I assume we have safely landed and are in Dusseldorf right now! Tired…jet lagged…the perils of travel.
We board the Royal Princess in Venice on 6/1, so here is our cruise itinerary as promised:
June 1 Venice, Italy 7p
June 2 Ravenna, Italy 7a-6p
June 3 Split, Croatia 8a-5p
June 4 Kotor, Montenegro 8a-5p
June 5 Corfu, Greece 9a-6p
June 6 At sea
June 7 Valletta, Malta 8a-5p
June 8 Messina, Italy 8a-6p
June 9 Sorrento, Italy 7a-5p
June 10 Ajaccio, France 12p-7p
June 11 Monte Carlo, Monaco 7a-6p
June 12 Portofino, Italy 7a-5p
June 13 Rome, Italy 6a
Seven of these ports are new to us, so we are looking forward to lots of new places.
We have a flight to Cologne the day we leave the ship, making our way up to Dusseldorf. We fly home on 6/15.
So that is it for now…I will post when I can so join us for the adventure!
Auf wiedersehen, y’all!
Dusseldorf, here we come! Our flight leaves this afternoon, and after we land in D’dorf in the morning, we plan to head by train to Trier (a neat old town) for lunch, then go to Boppard and stay in an inn that Brian stayed in on his cycling trip. We love Boppard, so this is a good choice. We’ll do day trips out of there and putz around the Rhine River, and then head to D’dorf on 5/31 for our flight to Venice.
Come along for the journey. Tomorrow ,I’ll tell y’all about the cruise we’ll take out of Venice.
Auf wiedersehen!
Look at this happy face. This is Mark, son of a Beta Sigma Phi sister, holding a box of homemade cookies his mama sent him. Yes, that funny looking stuff is bread...packed in the layers to help keep the cookies fresh for their long journey.
Here is a question for my dear readers...do any of you use an off-site back-up provider for all your computer info? I have an external hard drive that is something like 150 G...but I don't back up to it often enough, and my 8 G memory stick that I use regularly is pretty much filled up with photos (yes, I should cull them, but those 'grands' are soooo cute it is hard to sometimes hit that delete button...) And the real kicker--all our records are under this roof, and that isn't always a good thing, if know what I mean. Shudder, shudder to think of that 'fire' word. So off site sounds like a smart thing, but how hacker safe is that? Will this company be in business forever? Will rates soar? Hmm, many questions.
...then picking up my FIXED computer! Woohoo...life is good again!!! It had a problem in its memory (ain't that the way of it!), so now that is replaced; it has its innards all cleaned up and speeded up as well. We have a new computer fix-it shop in Mayberry, and this was my first experience with them, admittedly I was a little afraid of trusting my puter to someone unknown. All our records and photos are on here, and I don't want just ANYBODY looking at our *stuff*--but this place is trustworthy and very reasonable. If a blip had to happen, it's better it happend this week and not NEXT week when I would be carting around seven useless pounds of machinery! Did I mention we are going traveling again? :-)
And one tired Scooter, all snuggled up for his morning nap. Judy, do you think he likes your beautiful, blue blanket? He now pulls it off the rail and falls asleep on top of it, and I can't blame him for that! Lucky boy...the front of his shirt says 'my parents are exhausted' and that is so true, but the house remodel is coming along nicely.
Hooray! They'll move in next door real soon. Lucky me! Life is good. Enjoy your Wednesday.
Just remember as you read this, this person probably drives AND votes, and may have already reproduced.
Rats! I've gotta grow a few more inches.
I love those wee hand prints all over my lower windows. They are proof positive of being blessed with grandchildren. Watch your step if you stop by or you might run into a toy or two. That's another sign of happiness around here. My cutie pies will all grow up too quickly...and my house can be spotless then. Maybe.
Sheila, Pam, moi, Ursula and Joy, just in case you are wondering who these fine ladies are...
Here are some of the spiffy fashions. Notice the, um, rather large 'brief case,' second from the right side! Now that would fit a hunka, hunka chunka guy!
We adopted Nel from Savannah, who was the only one from her group that could make it. That's too bad for them that they missed such a good time.
The Sock Hops entertained us with some mighty fine '60s and '70s music for our listening and dancing pleasure after dinner. They've opened up for some big name acts over the years; we were lucky to get them and would certainly love to have them back for another convention.
No, Charlie, Joy and I haven't known each other since school days. Beta Sigma Phi is an international, non-academic sorority, whose object is 'Life, Learning, and Friendship' for women of all races and ages. Joy and Pam were in the original chapter with me that formed here in 1988, and we've been friends ever since. Lucky me!
And Pam snuggled up to the huge teddy bear...
Joy found my spot...check out the sign...
So, I stood!
Joy and I are on the road today, shopping our way south to the Georgia State convention of Beta Sigma Phi in Roswell, GA. We'll connect with probably 300 sistas from all over the state, seeing old friends and making new ones. Tonight will feature a pajama party. Hunh? I don't own any pajamas, but I do have something I can wear tonight that will be appropriate...maybe!
Yep, somehow or other she managed to get on top of the TV! Little stinker!!! I put her little adventuresome self out the door to go play outside.......which was probably what she just wanted to do in the first place.
Who said life is dull in Mayberry...Podunk is what Miss Bee calls it. And Sarge. Today won't be dull. I have 'da boyz' for awhile this morning, then we'll meet Dan and Joan for lunch. They have a new g/daughter. Bet they'll have pictures! And then I have to pack. Just me. Not Dick; he isn't going with me.
And the whole gang...woohoo!!!
Everybody say CHEESEBURGER! Life isn't just good...it's GRAND!!! That's the smile of one happy mama there in the pink. This was a great Mother's Day celebration.
What began as a simple task of sewing on a button turned into a rainy day project.
They did notice but ignored the bread I threw down for them. Oh, they wanted it...they were just too shy to paddle over. Or...they noticed and were probably scared of Missy. Oh yes, she was on high alert...
Meow! Come on, boys...make my day!
The race is on to get to the water bowl first...
Time to wash paws...come on, Missy!
Now we can share lunch! Don't tell anyone though...
Nobody around here likes these two critters. Nope, not a bit. Don't you feel sorry for these two?
And this is the view yesterday...wow, what a difference a week makes! We see green now!
And our flowers are emerging...a few dogwood blooms are now visible outside our bathroom window...flame azalea is peeking out across the cove. And the Lady Slippers are slowly waking up. All of the above will be helped greatly by the gentle rain that is now falling. We need it. Aahhh, spring is finally here on this first day of May.
