Yay! The passport is on the way. So one more thing ticked off. I've also got two hotels locked down as possibles for Venice. I'm waiting for mom to give me a call back. If she doesn't by 8ish, I'll just call her in the morning. After some deliberation, I shifted hotels around so I could get one with either two twin beds or a genuine double bed. No need to thunk Mom in the middle of the night.

Both are close to St. Marks Square, so they should be good bases for just wandering out the door.

Logistical point Clara

Looks like I need to get my rear in gear if I'm going to get things moving here. I've got to lock in tonight/tomorrow and pick a hotel. Mom's not always keen on making the travel plans, so if we are going to have a place to say- looks like that's all me.

Note to self, as cool as quirky small hotel would be, sharing bed with Mom may result in you giving her a concussion. Not good. So look to see if you can at least find a double bed.

Good thing is the euro is dropping like a rock, so the dollars we spend on the trip should go further. I approve highly.

Now we have a little momentum going. The passport application is done and off. I was looking through it before I sent the old one off. I found the stamps for my trip to Australia. I also found an entry stamp- September 19, 2001.

I was in Canada, Ottawa to be precise when 9/11 hit. I was there training the people who were getting set to take my job. I still recall someone sticking their head into the office where I was sitting and saying, "excuse me, but I think your country is under attack."

Typical Canadian. Polite to a fault.

We didn't have good television, and streaming media was in it's infancy. You could see the still pictures, and get vague reports. The Pentagon was hit, no it was the State Deparment, no the White House. I remember going to a local bar to get lunch and watch the feed from CNN. There's wasn't much else to do.

There was some mild confusion in getting ahold of the assorted family members. Once everyone was accounted for, there was nothing else to do. I didn't want to go back to the hotel. Thankfully, one of the guys on the team was kind enough to invite me over to his place for dinner so I wouldn't be totally alone.

Like many Americans who were trapped in Canada, I'll never forget the kindness and grace those people shared. I got so many words of kindness while I was there. An amazing set of memories.

Once I got the passport off, I switched over to hotel research mode. Venice is a tourist trap, and expensive. I'm perfectly content with staying at places with "character." Mom not so much.:) So it's been an afternoon of whipping through guide books and running prices. The Euro is shifting, so I have a feeling that prices are going to drop over the next few weeks. Most excellent for trip planning.

I fired off the ideas to mom. I've got my personal favorite, which is the Locanda Casa Querini, which looks like a great little slightly off path choice. I also gave her some info on staying at convents as an option. So we will see what she comes up with.

Dangit, I'm so busy I haven't gotten my workout in either. Must fix. And have programs that need sending off. I need more day!

I am way behind for the day. Priority for tomorrow is DEAL WITH PASSPORT. Otherwise I am going to cost myself an arm and a leg. Stop waiting for perfect, just get it finished out. Passport good. Missing plane to Germany due to lack of passport BAD.

Quick thought for the evening- food. I've food another culinary food rabbit hole and dropped myself in it. Taking up way much of my thought process. I've got emails from mom I need to look at regarding hotel and bits in Venice. Grr. I'm late, I'm late...

Whoops! This is going to be a challenge. I'm in theory supposed to be blogging daily about the trip. Thing is, I'm not thinking daily about the trip and honestly not sure I want/need to think about it every single second.

Things on the list that still need doing include haircut so I can redo my passport photos.

Which I really need to do tomorrow. Maybe.

Day 1

When I think of Germany, typically the first images that jump into my head are old, stylized woodcuts. Generally with scary looking old ladies. Going a little deeper, I can recall my visual marker of "witches" matches up with Germany. Old ladies, hooked nose, kerchief on the head, and a stoop to the back and shoulders. That's what happens when you start forming your first images in a place in the Black Forest of Germany. I've got that nifty little bit of Gothic streaking through my makeup. As I think of it a bit, it may be why I have problems with American horror flicks/monster movies. In America, a lot of that stuff is presented as fiction.

In Germany it's interwoven in such a way that it's real. So for me, the ghosts, goblins and spookums are real and viable things. I mean you knew that if you went wandering into the forrest, the wolves would eat you. Germany fairy tales have some seriously nasty little buggers in them.

Which gets me thinking about an old German book which used to scare the tar out of me...I might see if either Dad or Mom can recall what it is...