Spain & Italy here we come!

We are less than a month away from our departure to Europe.  We are excited and nervous that we will forget something.  We trust that the advise from our friends and family will help us get through the planning and many details that we need to do before we leave.  Right not packing is a concern.  How do you pack light, but enough for such a long trip?  Will we have enough time to do what we planned for each day?  Lots to think about and lots to read before we leave.  For now  we will continue to listen and take all the advise and recommendations that any of you may have for us. 

Venice, Italy

In the last few weeks we have been working on purchasing the details for our summer trip.  so far we have purchased our flight from Los Angeles to Barcelona and from Barcelona to Venice.  We are now working on getting the accommodations for our stay in Barcelona.   We hope that we can find a place that is in close proximity to the important sights in Barcelona AND in a decent safe area.  If anyone knows of a good affordable hotel or apartment and is willing share please do so.  We hope that by our next post we have the accommodations in Barcelona and Venice.  For now...
Ciao.

Still Planning

Since our last post we have been exploring possibilities and places to visit in Europe this summer.  Our biggest challenge is getting in as many places as we can, in the few days that we are going to be there.  We have established that we will be in Barcelona, then we hope to be able to fly or take the train to Venice, Florence, and Rome (in that order) then a short flight back to Barcelona.  The details and the amount of time at each destination is still something we have to work on. Suggestions and recommendations are welcomed.

ANNOUNCING......

We are excited and happy to announce that we have purchased our tickets for our summer vacation 2013. We will be flying direct LAX to Barcelona Spain, then we are planning on taking either a plane or a train to Italy, so we can also visit Rome, Florence, and Venice. All these stops in 15 days. Looking forward to the best time of the year!!

European Destination

The last few days have been pretty exciting, as we are drawing close to our deadline to purchase our tickets for our next summer vacation. For the last couple of years we have been dreaming of traveling to Europe, but those dreams have been put on hold for a variety of reasons. This time we are closer than we have been before to making that dream a reality. As soon as we purchase our tickets we will announce our next destintion for summer 2013....

Scottsdale 2012

Many weeks have gone by since our trip to scottsdale, however, because it was part of our summer break and what we consider vacation we are posting it and sharing a few of the pictures and happy memories we created. This trip was special and different compared to our other Arizona trips because we had the opportunity to travel with Evelyn and the kids. No only was our experienced enriched but "intense". Shortly after we left the Loma Linda/Redlands area, enroute to hot, arrid, Arizona the A.C. on the car stopped working! What an experience to travel over 200 miles with no A.C. in 100 F. weather. Oh, and we must not forget flash the flood warnings! Even if we had chosen to roll down the windows it would not have been possible because of the rain. What an experience, that will not soon be forgotten thanks to the diffuculties that make it unforgettable in more ways than one.

Beach and Pool Day

Today we got up to one of the sunniest, gorgeous, breeziest days in paradise. Whoever said Puerto Rico is the Enchanted Island (isla del encanto) has not been to Hawaii, specially Kauai! Last night we decided that we would hangout at the beach and at the pool. We often travel to tropical places but spend very little time at beach and/or pool. All the activities related to our given destinations distract us from the main attraction which is usually the beach. After a morning power walk along a trail next to the beach, we had breakfast and then relaxation at the beach finally! Several hours of sunbathing, pool lounging and relaxing made us hungry! It is our custom to have a formal nice dinner at every destination we visit, so we decided to make reservations at "Donderos" at the resort. An Italian restaurant with view of the ocean and beautiful gardens. The timing of our dinner was intentional so that we could go to see the sunset at a location in town. It was such a marvelous sunset, no clouds, palm trees swaying to a breeze and almost perfect weather. WE will relish this day for months to come! We were blessed today in a great way.