Prepping....5 days and counting

Although we have really been in prep mode since last December when we first booked this, there are still a few things left to do. Our home looks like we manufacture various types of luggage. Most surfaces are covered with either a suitcase, or items in stacks waiting to be put into a suitcase. My incidental list is three pages long...pretty scary but when traveling to 5 different countries, we want to be prepared for anything. It's not like we are backpacking or anything, quite the opposite...we will have someone to cook our meals, make our beds and leave little chocolates on our pillows during turndown service. However, they will not provide clothing for 12 days, so the task of packing everything we will wear on the trip, falls into our laps. A couple different weather situations will greet us once we arrive in Europe, so we need to bring a few cool weather options as well. London will be chilly (50's) for us anyway...and the day in Rome has the potential to reach into the 80's. So we've been keeping an eye on the 10 day forecast, and will pack accordingly.

We realistically realize, that this may be the only time in our lives that we may visit some of these places, so we planned our days by choosing what most interests us at the moment. We are no longer drawn to typical museums and churches, although we are still in awe of the great history of each of these countries. Having had our fill of such places over the last 30 years of travel, we will gravitate to options that relate to our love of food and the regional tastes. That being said, you should not be surprised to hear that we have many tours planned that will allow us to eat our way through almost all of the countries on our itinerary. Just to give you an idea, the following appears on our daily excursion list: a walking food tour of the East End in London; a daytrip to a Cava winery (tastes like champagne, so I actually enjoy it) with a stop to visit a chocolate museum in Barcelona; a cheese and wine tour in Florence; a tour to the oyster capital of Croatia in Dubrovnik; a stop at several gelato shops after our Segway tour through the streets of Rome; a visit to the wonderful Buonocore Patisserie on the streets of Capri (Giada recommended); a gondola ride at sunset followed by a 3-course italian dinner-as well as-an extensive italian breakfast buffet at the hotel Danieli at their rooftop terrace restaurant overlooking the Grand Canal--both during our overnight stay in Venice; a morning trip to the food market in Aix en Provence; and of course, let's not forget all the wonderful food (5 meals a day) on the ship. I am getting hungry just thinking about it!!!!

So, you now have a pretty good idea why I've named this blog as I have...just telling it like it is. For anyone that truly knows me, it really IS all about the food!


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