Look sharp everyone, the Kraken is about to be on the move.
If you haven't read our blog in the past, you can go to to the beginning of our adventures by starting with our first post from 6/12/2011. This will allow you to read your way through our trips up until today. The first trip in 2011 included Rome, Venice, and Tuscany.
Next, follow along as we update the blog once the trip begins in the second week of May! Keep in mind that we will try to update it each day, but we are sometimes limited by our Internet connection and/or the wine.
You can also go to the beginning of the 2013 Trip (Rome and Tuscany), the beginning of the 2015 Trip (Paris, Tuscany, and Venice), or the beginning of the 2017 Trip (Paris, Tuscany, and Cinque Terre).
This will be a new experience for all of us. Everyone has finally been able to "drag" me away from my beloved Italy and they have also convinced me to pass on returning to my new Top 2 favorite location of Cinque Terre. Yes, Greve is still #1. In addition, Epernay may have jumped up into the #3 spot.
It is off to Spain and Portugal for this trip. I have always said that if we ever go to Spain, I am running with the bulls! Ah, but the bulls run in July and that is prime, summertime boating season in Seattle, so I prefer to be back in the states during that timeframe.
This trip will run from May 9th - 25th. The home bases for this trip will be Barcelona, San Sebastian, and Porto. The makers of Tempranillo and Port wine. As always, there will be plenty of day trips planned in between.
Without a doubt, this trip has the most day trips, wine tours, and food tours planned of all time!
Each time that we travel, we become better travelers, so here are a few of our trinkets of knowledge that we learned from the last trip:
#1: Duane doesn't like the heat. I admit, he has said it before, but I never really believed him. It turns out that he wasn't kidding.
#2: Take less luggage... again: This was a goal the last three times that we traveled and we have improved each time. This time, we are staying in all VRBOs, so laundry should be a breeze. I am taking far less clothes with me this time.
#3: Sit inside and upstairs at Restaurants: This is where the air conditioning is. Although I absolutely love sitting at a roadside bistro table, a dinner in the air conditioning was a nice change of pace on occasion. Just ask to be seated upstairs.
#4: Don't let your table mates leave the dinner table before the meal is finished. Because the two remaining people of the original six are suddenly greeted with dessert and grappa for six! I consider many of these restaurant owners to be friends after all of these years, so we have to finish it and the drinks often come from their own personal stash, so again, we have to finish it. .... Brutal.
#5: You are not saying the names correctly of any of the champagnes that you drink.
I know, everyone says it that way, but it isn't how they are pronounced and I sound really pretentious in America when I say them correctly. With that said, sometimes I don't care that I sound pretentious.
#6: If you are into taking pictures of your food for Facebook or a blog, you'd better act fast if you want a picture of Duane's food or the appetizer. Many pictures of his food or the appetizers were missing some or all of the items by the time that I got the camera out.
#7: There's no OSHA in France: Don't think that you can stop the doors on the train from closing. You will end up bruised and your bag may be stuck in the door of the train as it leaves the station while you are left waiting for the next train.
#8: Taking the photos is half the fun that is had on these trips.
Here are the possible outcomes of each photo, which is why we have SOOO many retakes:
Kelly's possible photo outcomes:
A. Kelly is smiling and patiently waiting for the photo to be taken (as shown below).
B. Kelly is glaring at Jamie for something that he said before the photo was being taken.
Jamie's possible photo outcomes:
A. Jamie is smiling and patiently waiting for the photo to be taken.
B. Jamie is laughing too hard at something that he just said (as shown in the mirror below) or he is laughing at the glare on Kelly's face.
Christal's possible photo outcomes:
A. Christal is smiling and patiently waiting for the photo to be taken.
B. Christal is smiling and patiently waiting for the photo to be taken.
Davin's possible photo outcomes:
A. Davin has his tongue sticking out.
B. Davin has a very big smile with no teeth or all of his teeth showing.
Duane's possible photo outcomes:
A. Duane is smiling and patiently waiting for the photo to be taken.
B. Duane is trying to smile with his mouth full of food (as shown below).
Tari's possible photo outcomes:
A. Tari has a confused look on her face (as shown in the mirror below).
B. Tari has a confused look on her face (as shown in the mirror below).
#9: Duane does a creepy, good impression of George Constanza. He even had the wallet to match.
#10: Dinners for two: Several menus in the Cinque Terre were for two people, so it wasn't always possible to pair up within the group if you found something that you wanted.
My advice if you really want the dish? For 32 Euro, just buy the dish that you want and eat what you can.
#11: Duane doesn't like the heat.
Go to 5/10/19 (Coming in May)
