The final countdown to the plane flight!

In less than 24 hours Manny and I will be on the airplane heading to Iceland, then Zurich, Switzerland.  The weather the first full day will be rainy.  I really do not care because I will be on vacation.  We will leaving for the airport around 4pm ET.  I want to be at the airport early to check in and get through security.  We can eat dinner at the airport before boarding.  I want to be relaxed and ready to go.

I just checked in for the flight tomorrow.  It is really happening!

We have a massage scheduled for 10am tomorrow.  I need to have the swelling in my legs go down before getting on the plane.  I will be taking aspirin as well.  The reflexology massage is painful, but in the end it helps the circulation in my legs.  I will endure the pain to help me in the end.

Can you believe it?  The excitement is WOW!

Of course at work the system that holds all the projects went down at 4pm.  What frustration!  Why cannot the system holding all of the information - the brain - function properly.  This meant that I went home having to complete the items I needed to do.  I do not like having things have done.  I just remembered 2 more things I need to do tomorrow so my vacation has very little impact of my coworkers.

Back to my vacation excitement!  I feel more organized than my trip to India.  I took the whole day off.  When I went to India I worked half day.  I have learned my lesson.  The packing is done.  I have to pack the one extra change of clothes in my carrier on.

Manny will call to Natick Exchange to see if the Swiss Francs came in.  I am praying they do.  We want to get the most Francs and Euros for our dollars.  I will update everyone on the status of the money conversion. What lesson has everyone learned?  Do NOT wait until 3 days before the trip to convert money.  This needed to be done at least one week ago.  We will have opportunity to exchange our money at the airport.  The rate will not be as good though.

These are pictures of the Francs we need.  What pretty colors!  The India Rupee were the same.  USA money is very boring compared to other countries.


We will be landing in Zurich, Switzerland.  We will only be there to be transported to Lucern which is south.  This is a picture of Zurich.





I hope to be on the internet sometime tomorrow.  I will update everyone.

I am SOOOOOOO excited!!!!

Packed and ready (almost) with 2 days to go

With 48 hours left before getting on Iceland air to Zurich, Switzerland, I have packed enough clothes for 2 to 3 weeks.  I need to have a decent selection depending on the temperature and day.  I have 2 suitcases under 50lb/23kg.  I am very proud of myself.  I am PACKED 2 days before I need to be.

I have my backpack started.  This laptop will be going as well as my Kindle.  I am bringing one days worth of clothes just in case.  I do not want my carry on too heavy.  I will bring some protein bars for snacking.  I ate a protein bar every day while in Mumbai.  It was my snack.  When I was at work in Mumbai, no food was allowed to be eaten in the work area.  I could sneak my protein bar and eat it at my space.  While en route to Zurich I will have it to snack.  There is a very short layover in Iceland, so there will be no time to eat at the airport.  We have to get through the passport check and onto the next plane.  

We are still searching for unique sights to see.  We are going on the tour of Lucern.  It is more exciting to go off the beaten path and find a hidden jewel.  I am still searching.  I will update everyone once we are there.  On 2 July - I will be in Switzerland.  I never thought I would be going to so countries.  

I have been to Canada, Mexico in North American.  I visited Philippines with Manny and Genez (Manny's sister) in 1989.  Clark Air Force base and Subic Bay Naval base were still open.  It was an amazing time.  I was able to visit Manny's mother family.  I learned a lot about Manny and the Filipino customs.  The family visited Madrid, Spain last summer.  Alfonso (exchange from Spain) came into our lives 4 years ago.  He has come for 3 Summers and we were there for 1.  Max, Erika and Alfonso are great together.  I had the greatest opportunity to spend 1 month in February in Mumbai, India for my company.  I went to train my coworkers.  They taught me so much.  I went knowing very little and left with memories and new ideas.  I found my confidence.  I had not traveled alone my many years.  Going to a new country so terrifying. I have been traveling with Manny all the time  I learned to allow others to assist and not be prideful.  I learned to attempt everything at least once (within reason) of course.  Now I am going to Switzerland, Germany, France and The Netherlands.

Tomorrow is my last day of work before my vacation begins.  Of course my vendors and practices have decided it is critical to have projects completed NOW.  Some have been waiting for months.  I have want to thank Omkar and Abdullah.  They are handling 90% of my work.  Madhura is my  wonderful interface tech who will be working with the guys.  When I was in Mumbai, Madhura was a very quiet young lady.  She did not say much to me.  Now that we have been working together since March, she is an amazing young woman.  She is always smiling and laughing.  She will be patient with the guys while I am out.  

Madhura - I hope your move was easy this weekend!

Back to preparing for our first vacation without the children (who are adults now).  Will I am almost ready.  I have to go through the list and verify I have everything.

The only thing we are missing is Euros and Swiss Francs.  The Exchange store will not have any Francs until Tuesday.  We leave on Tuesday.  I am praying everything falls into place.  If we cannot get it at the Natick Mall there is the exchange place after security in Terminal E. More to come on this....

Only 2 more days!

Going Up or Down the Rhine River

Friday has come and gone.  I have 1 more work day.  Now it is the weekend.  So much to do so little time.

First thing tomorrow morning is a deep tissue massage.  I am so excited about this.  Relaxing and soothing. Once I am done with the massage then the day will begin.  The day to exchange money to Swiss Francs and Euros has come.  Hopefully the exchange rate is good.  I would like to have more bang for the buck.

Max brought down the large suitcases.  How many are there?  Yes - 2!!  Now I have to do laundry tomorrow.  Once this is done, the packing will begin.  I want to know why the same amount of clothes packed clean double in volume when dirty.  I have to account for the extra room when I am returning with dirty clothes and the items for the different regions.

The Rhine River begins in the mountains of Switzerland and flows North to the Black Sea.  The laws of gravity are out of whack.  Are we going to up the river or down the river?  Let's think about this.

Going UP the river - The river flows south to north. The compass arrow points up going North.  The cruise begins in Basel, Switzerland and ends in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Going DOWN the river - The river flows typically flows north to south.  In the case of the Rhine it flows the opposite direction.  The cruise is beginning near the beginning of the river and ends near the mouth of the river into the Black Sea.



Now it is time to ponder this....

Lucern and Captain America and more PACKING!

I realize I have 2 work days before Manny and my adventure begins.  I am so excited.  Today I did not buy any clothes, but I did buy the travel size of everything it seems.  Manny mentioned he wanted to bring a first aid kit.  Why do we need to have a first aid kit?  What is he planning on doing to request a first aid kit to be packed for the trip?  I did buy a travel size first aid kit for him.  I hope it will not be opened during the trip.

I remembered another item I forgotten when I went to Mumbai earlier this year.  I forgot my slippers.  The apartment I stayed in had marble floors.  There were times when the floor was slippery.  It would not have been a pretty picture if I fell and could not get up.  This time I have already put slippers in the "to be packed" suitcase.  I will not forgot the slippers this time.  I need to bring my walking shoes (in the "old days" they were called tennis shoe).

What is the "to be packed" suitcase?  It is the suitcase to dump everything into to pack in the other suitcases at a later date.  Manny has the smaller suitcase laying on the floor in our bedroom.  When the clothes are folded it is put in the suitcase.  The suitcase is full.  There is a mound of things to be packed.  When will the larger suitcases be brought down from the attic?  I hope soon.  I want to be completely packed by Monday night.  Tuesday is a day for a massage to relax.  Once I get on the airplane, I will asking for my white wine.  On International flights the liquor is FREE!  I realized this on my flight to Mumbai.  I had 1 glass of wine each way.

I just noticed I am creating a list of things to bring and things to be done.  It is right here.  Wow!  I am good!!! Yup!

I have been trying to remember where I have heard about Lucern, Switzerland.  In the first Captain America Movie Howard Stark mentioned Lucern.  I found the quote.

     Howard Stark: Agent Carter, if we're not in too much of a hurry I thought we could          stop off in Lucerne for a late night fondue.
     [Peggy looks awkwardly at Steve]
     Peggy Carter: Stark is the best civilian pilot I've ever seen. He's mad enough to brave        this airspace, we're lucky to have him.
     Steve Rogers: So are you two...? Do you...? Fondue?

Now I am going to Lucern.  Manny wants to eat fondue in Switzerland. Everyone get your minds out of the gutter.  The fondue in Switzerland is supposed to be amazing.  I have found The Fondue House.  There are many other Fondue restaurants.  There will be pictures and video of food during the trip.

Back to my childhood...My parents would pack 4 kids into the family station wagon.  I never remember my mom packing clothes for all of us.  It magically appeared when we arrived to our destination.  My mom is amazing.  How did she pack for the whole family?  None of were never without the basic needs for any of the vacations.  I want to have someone come in and magically pack everything for me.  I HATE packing.  I am exhausted thinking that I have 3 more days to pack everything.  Where is my Packing Fairy?  My mom was the ultimate Packing Fairy.

My list is getting longer for everything to do before Monday.

Next item is to exchange American dollars into Swiss Francs and Euros.

Packing and more packing...How many days are we going to be on vacation?

There are only 3 work days left.  I am not counting the weekend because it makes me feel better.  The packing has continued.  The cosmetics and other items have been placed in my bag.  There is no need for a hair dryer since the hotel and ship have one.  When I went to Mumbai I had 3 requests I needed immediately upon landing - 1. Working mobile to contact my family in the USA; 2. Bottle water; 3. Hair Dryer.  The wonderful people in Mumbai accommodated my quirky requests.

Tonight, I purchased a few other articles of clothing for the trip - just in case.  You may be asking - Just in case, what?  Well, just in case I don't like the other clothes I brought on the trip that day.  You need to understand me. I wake up and depending on my mood determines what I wear.  There are times I stand in front of my closet and tell Manny "I have NOTHING to wear!"  After 23 years of marriage he looks at me.  There are times he will say "Go buy something to wear."  Depending on my mood determines my response back to him.

We fly to Wisconsin for Christmas every year.  One time Manny had to buy me new clothes after we got to my parents' home.  You may be asking why would he buy me new clothes.  Let's begin in the morning at our home.  There were 2 dogs which had to get to the kennel for our time in Wisconsin.  Erika and Max were 6 and 4 years old.  I was the one to bring the dogs to the kennel and run other errands while I was out.  Manny's job was to verify the items the children were packing for their carry-on and to put the clothes I placed on the bed in the suitcase.  Manny is a great packer.  He can condense items in the suitcase and have room left.  I do not have the ability.  Well, by the time I got home the airport van service was waiting for me and so I jumped into the van.  The luggage was in the back and the children had their carry-ons with them.  I don't like to carry anything on the airplane.  Do you see what happened and why Manny had to buy me new clothes????  My clothes were still laying on our bed at home and we were in Wisconsin.
Back to the Erika and Max's carry-on luggage.  Max was complaining his backpack was too heavy while we were working to the terminal.  I looked at Manny. (Wives know the look I used!)  When we were waiting to board the plane, I had Max show me what he pack.  My little boy brought his favorite rock (not a small one), a big helicopter (toy), all of his cars (Matchbox and others) and a large fire truck.  After this trip, I always put my clothes in the suitcase and verified what my children packed for themselves.

We will be packing the rest of the clothes by this weekend.  I will have the list in my head checked off.

By Friday at work I will have all the work updated and assigned to the "lucky" people on my team.

We should be in Luzern, Switzerland if everything goes smoothly around 4pm Swiss time.  There will be time to take a shower and a quick nap before exploring the Palace Luzern and Lake Luzern.  It will be a wonderful time to take a leisurely walk with Manny.  We will find a restaurant which serves Fondue.  Swiss chocolate shops will be exciting for visit.  I will be posting pictures the entire time we are on this adventurous trip.

I want to remember what we see and do.  I want everyone to see each place through my eyes.

I am the luckiest and happiest person!!!!

What do you pack? Everything!!!!

Next week at this time Manny and I should be over the Atlantic Ocean heading towards Iceland.  Iceland is a country at the top of my list to visit.  The geothermal activity underground is so fascinating.  I want to take at least one week to investigate the country.  For the trip to Switzerland, Iceland is a 1 hour layover.  The first leg of the trip is 5-1/2 hours on the plane.  The second leg is 3-1/2 hours.  I cannot believe in ONE week we are going a vacation without the children.  Don't get me wrong we have always taken our children everywhere.  During the Summer my parents would have Erika and Max at their home in Wisconsin for 2 to 4 weeks.  We would plan small trips around the Northeast.  If we enjoyed it, we would bring the children when they came home from Wisconsin.  The children are no longer children.  They are Adult children.  They will always be my children.

My list is getting longer in my head, but there is nothing written down on paper.  I will have to sit down and start ticking off the items I have packed.  I have packed 4 pairs of pants and 1 pair of jeans.  I will need to bring 3 more pairs of pants.  Now the number of blouses are different.  I need a few nice and fancy ones, but I need regular shirts.  I am bringing some warmer clothes.  We are going to the top of Mt. Titlis which is 3239 meters or over 10,000 feet high.  How exciting.

Getting my work organize is another part of preparing for my 2 week vacation.  Again the list of things to do is in my head!  I have a lot of lists in my head.  Most of the time the lists are organized nice in neatly, but I have many SENIOR moments and forget everything.  EVERYTHING!  I have to email and call others to figure out my lists.  I love the challenge of remembering my lists.  I do not need to buy Brain Exercise games. I create my own games.  I will be creating the Vacation Spreadsheet for the team.  I will have this done by end of day tomorrow.  I want to "cruise" (no pun intended - well may be) the last 3 days of working.

I have the list of addresses to send postcards to when we are in Europe.  I did enter all of the addresses in my "blue" mobile phone.  Being "old" school I will have a paper with all the addresses.  I don't trust technology completely.  I always like being prepared.  I was a Boy Scouts leader for 10 years.  The motto is "Be Prepared".  I have to limit the amount of items I will be purchasing.  The cruise is 7 days.  I cannot go crazy on the first day.  We will spend 2 days in Luzern, Switzerland.

I will be posting pictures from the beginning to the end.  I have been asked to create a video blog.  I am not real comfortable with this mode of blogging.  I am going to stick with writing.  For the one exceptional person who cannot read very fast...I am typing really slow right now so you can catch up with me.

I love my life!  

Getting ready for the Rhine River cruise - 6 days and counting

In one week Manny and I will be on our way to Zurich, Switzerland.  After landing we will be on our way to Lucern, Switzerland for 2 days.  I am so excited.  The next stop will be Basel, Switzerland to board a Viking River Cruise ship for 7 days. Viking River Cruises  We will be visiting 4 countries - Switzerland, Germany, France and The Netherlands. What  a way to spend 10 days!!!!  Our son and daughter will not be with us.   While on the cruise Manny will be turning 50 years old. I have been waiting over one year for him to join me in the next decade.  We have been married for 23 years.  We did not go on a honeymoon because Manny's sister was returning from Operation Desert Storm, so we came back home to welcome her back.

This trip has been in the planning for over 1 year.  Manny has done all the research to find the best river cruise.  My brother (Tim) and sister-in-law (Angie) will be meeting us in Basel, Switzerland the day we board the ship.  It will be a great time to spend it will them.  This is their first time in Europe.  We were in Madrid, Spain last year.

I am trying to organize everything I need to pack before we leave.  I do not want the same issue I had when I went to Mumbai, India in February.  I forgot shampoo and other items that was needed.  When I was in Heathrow in London, I had to buy some of the items I forgot.  It will not happen on this trip.  At least I hope it will not happen.

This past weekend I bought a few new clothes.  This cruise is not a fancy black tie affair.  There is one night to dress up, but not stuffy dress.  I have new pair of pants and a few new blouses.  We bought compression packing items to reduce the space being used in the suitcase.  We are allotted 2 check-in luggage and 1 carry on luggage each.  Manny wants us to share the large suitcase and the smaller suitcase.  I don't agree, but he is worried about storing the luggage in the stateroom on the cruise ship.

I have started to pull out the clothes I need to bring.  I realize will be gone for 10 days, but I need to bring at least 14 blouses/shirts and all the pants I have.  I am bringing my nice rain jacket just in case it is raining while we are on the tours.  I will be wearing my Iowa State University zippered sweatshirt on the airplanes.   I have begun packing the makeup and toiletries, so nothing is forgotten.  At least there is less chance of forgetting any items.  Maybe I should make a list.  My mom would always make a list before big family trips and crossed each item out. My mom is a very organized person.  My dad would plan big family trips for 2 to 4 weeks in the summer.  My mom had to make sure all four kids,  one dog and themselves would have everything needed to be driving around United States.  Our dog, Judy, came with us on the family trip in the Southwest - New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado.  She stayed at my grandparent's farm when we went on the family trip in the Northeast and Canada.

I doubt I will have a list written down.  It is all in my head.  Let's see what happens.  I like living on the wild side.

There is only 6 more days before we leave.  I am so excited.