Southern Europe- Sept. 2017

While traveling, we have met people who are much more experienced travelers that ourselves.  The natural question to them is, "What is the favorite place you have visited?"  We have had several such experienced travelers say, "northern Italy."  This will be the focus of our next planned trip, which I am making reservations for now.  The idea is to fly to Venice and rent a car for 10 days in Italy, visiting Venice and the Lake country- Lake Garda, Lake Como, Lake Maggiore.  Then we will drop the car off in Genoa and take a train to Nice, France- the French Riviera.  After four days exploring the Riviera, we fly to Portugal, spending a week in Lisbon and the Algarve region.

Our son and his wife are expecting a baby; we plan to stop in Washington, DC, to visit them both ways, going to and coming from Europe.

We haven't been to Italy or France in twenty-five years and have never been to Portugal.  We do not speak Italian, French, or Portuguese, but depending on phrase books, world-wide knowledge of English, and our general experience with European traffic and street signs, it should be okay.  Another adventure.  We have ten accommodation reservations, three car reservations, five flight reservations, and a train reservation.  Fortunately, these countries all use the Euro currency; which will simplify that detail.  The question will be how often can we pay with a credit card and how many Euros should we carry?  Taxis between airports-hotels-car-rental-train station usually require cash; also commuter trains, buses, street food.  Many small businesses want cash. 

It's fun to plan out the many details; then go and experience the hotels and B&B's picked out on the internet.  Not a big risk; there is so much information available.   Dawn would love to go for several months; that may happen after I quit my job.  This trip will be thirty days, which is the maximum period the US Postal Service will hold mail for.