I am sitting in an internet cafe while Rachel is on the phone talking to her boyfriend. Rome is beautiful and HOT!! We are getting read to go out to a club…apparently no one heads out until after midnight…and all the clubs are open until 4 am. Tomorrow night we are heading to a club called Pipers. Apparently its suppose to be KERAZY!!! Iàm really looking forward to a week of relaxation on the mediterranean cost in Sicilia.
Arrivederci.
I have just come across an excellent site www.hostelworld.com. To make our driving/touring easier we have rented a GPS unit. It’s a Magellan Roadmate 700 with unlocked western europe maps. This thing is awesome…it reads out your driving directions, if you turn down a wrong street it auto-reroutes you. AMAZING!!!
Ciao
here we are in Verona, in a VOdafone store trying to get our phone working. The weather has been very beautiful a little hot though…in Milan it was almost 40 degrees. Can I also say what a hit hole Milan is…there is not one square inch of that town that does not have grafitti on it. I had a little falling out with Rachel over lunch. I guess that can happen when you spend 24-7 with someone for 7 days. Our new italian number is 00393498242645
Switzerland was as beautiful as I remember it, clean water, air and very friendly people. Rachel and Phil wanted to stay longer but we had to make our way to italia. I will try to write in here a bit more often.
Just arrived back from seeing Blue Man Group (www.blueman.ca)
Where do I begin? I held my emotions in quite well, but as I was driving home from Marian’s farewell party I broke down crying. I don’t know what hit me. What do I say? I remember those days six years ago when I first started working at Bell. I was in complete awe of this company which I barely knew about. When I think back, and reminisce about the past six years, one thing stands right out – the people that I have worked with.
Marian – I want to tell you that I respect you in every way possible, I adore your charm, and most of all, your ‘heart of gold’. My mother use to refer to the people at Lime Ridge as her ‘Bell Family’ – and I think you know what I mean when I say that. When I first started working with you I was young and impressionable, my eyes wide open to life’s possibilities. I always looked up to you as someone who was so strong – you always stood up for what you believed in…and that is not something many people do. In ways that I can’t even begin to understand – you helped shape me (as did all the other Bell LimeRidge team members)into part of the person I am today.
It’s so nice to be able to work with people that you would trust with your life. Marian, you will be so greatly missed! Although you may not know it – you’ve touched the hearts of every single one of your co-workers. I wish you and your family all the best in your new beginning. Please don’t forget about us up here in Canada, and you are always welcome to my house when you come back ‘home’. Love you lots and keep in touch.
Ralph
And so the countdown has begun. Phil, Rachel and I will be leaving from Pearson International Airport on Friday June 17th @ 3:35 PM. We will be arriving in Paris, France at Charles de Gaulle airport on Saturday June 18th @ 6:40 AM.
We have rented a car to travel through France, Switzerland, and Italy. The car we are renting is a Renault Meganewww.renault.com.
This trip is no little holiday getaway, it is more of an cross country tour, allowing us to travel and see over 3500 km of France, Swtizerland and Italy combined before reaching our end destination point of Palermo Sicily.
We will be staying in Paris for two nights and two days.
We will be leaving for Lucerne, Switzerland on Monday June 20th (early morning). Approximately 600 km.
Arrving in Lucerne late Monday afternoon, we will be staying in the picturesque town for a day and a half. Lucerne has everything a Swiss city needs – a lake, a medieval cobbled old-town and some snow capped mountains.
We will be leaving for Lugano, Switzerland on Wednesday June 22nd (early morning). Approximately 460 km.
Hoping to arrive Lugano by noon, we will spend a few hours in Switzerland’s southern most tourist town which is a sophisticated slice of Italian life, with colourful markets, upmarket shops, pedestrian-only piazzas and lakeside parks.
We will be leaving Lugano by 3:30 at the latest, so that we can arrive in Milan for dinner. Approximately 180 km.
We will be staying in Milan overnight. We will be leaving Milan for Verona in the late morning of Thursday June 23rd.
After leaving Italy’s fashion capital, we will be making a stopover in Verona. Approximately 180 km. Verona is perpetually associated with Romeo and Juliet. After our afternoon of shopping and sightseeing, we will be off to Venice.
Venice is approximately one hour away from Verona arriving in the evening of Thursday June 23rd. Approximately 100 km. We will be staying in Venice overnight so that we can spend an entire day touring the sinking city.
Leaving Venice in the late evening of Friday June 24th, we will be making the trek to Florence/Rome. Approximately 220 km to Florence, 260 km to Rome. This is where things get cloudy. I would like to stay in Palermo for at least 5 days. From Rome to Palermo is about 800 km which we could travel in approximately one full day.
I am aiming to arrive in Palermo either late Monday (27th)or Tuesday (28th) evening.
14 days from today I’ll be arriving in France for EuroTrip2005.