European Summer 2022

 It is day two of our whirlwind tour of several European countries, eight to be exact. We have settled in and defeated jet lag for the most part but I am awake at 5:30 AM on Saturday writing this report.  Our focus today was on the sights, sounds, and smells of Brussels, Belgium, the capital city of the European Union. We began the day with a traditional stop at a patisserie for a couple of pain au chocolat and a butter croissant, plus a traditional cappuccino. Then we made our way to one of the many tram lines running around the city to find the Grand Place or Grote Markt. Apparently, I did not communicate where I wanted to go very well to the young lady at the hotel reception so we ended up on the wrong tram line, which dropped us about a mile from where we wanted to be but we discovered a lovely sculpture garden in the process. We wandered down many cobblestone streets and passed chocolate shops, art museums, and cafes en route to the square. We finally arrived at this gorg...

  Day 1: Travel day is always a bit hectic but this one went well, all things considered. We headed for Orlando International Airport around 3:45 PM and arrived just after 5:00 PM, thanks to a ride from some dear friends. Check-in for our Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt could not have been smoother. Luggage was checked and boarding passes issued in about ten minutes. We sailed through the TSA screening and made our way to the business class lounge at MCO. After an hour or so, a glass of wine, and some light snacks, we headed to the gate to board the flight.  The situation at the gate was chaos. Lufthansa assigns boarding priority numbers but there were no clear lines for the numbers, so everyone was just congregating in the center of the gate area. Then, they announced the flight would be delayed by 90 minutes. Ten minutes later, that was changed to 30 minutes and boarding began a few moments later. We were seated on the plane and served a welcome glass of wine. We taxied a...

 Wow, packing for a six-week trip abroad is not easy. I have read as much as I can about what to bring, what not to bring, how much to pack, what size suitcase, etc. I am a fan of Rick Steves and have yet to figure out how he can spend 45 days in Europe with nothing but a 21” carry-on and a backpack. I packed everything in travel cubes and still need a 25” suitcase. Yet, I feel like I don’t have enough and simultaneously have too much packed. The good news is there’s still room in the suitcase.  We received our boarding passes from Lufthansa a few minutes ago. In less than 24 hours, we should be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean en route to Frankfurt, Germany 🇩🇪. Then, it’s on to Brussels for the weekend. I am looking forward to that famous European joie de vivre .  A demain ,  Rob

 In just 48 hours we’re setting off for what we hope will be an incredible family adventure. After nearly two years of waiting for the Covid-19 Pandemic to subside, it is time for life to resume. We know Covid-19 is still out there and there is some risk involved in travel, but life apart from risk simply does not exist. There is risk in getting behind the wheel of a car, going to school, or going out for a drink with friends. We do what we can to minimize the risks but we cannot avoid them entirely. So why not live life to the fullest while we still can? With that in mind, we’re off for a six-week trip to Europe in two days. We will update our daily adventures in this blog as we go. I hope you will follow along and perhaps be inspired to explore the world yourself.  The Itinerary The final itinerary ended up as a combination of two separate plans to check off some of those ‘bucket list’ items. First, Kate has wanted to go to Paris for nearly 40 years. We were supposed to go f...