Well, I've got that "itch" again.

[Thumper]

We sold the motorhome and now it's time to do a bit of International traveling. Looks like the end of this year will be busy as we'll be traveling in Sept, Oct, Nov. and Dec! (technically)

We'll be leaving early Tuesday AM for California and will spend a couple of weeks with family and visiting old friends. Today, I'm on the P/C planning an outing for Nov/Dec.

I LOVE to cruise and just enjoy being aboard the ship and on the open sea, so I've always wanted to take a repositioning cruise. The cruise lines follow the seasons .. for example, the ships that do the Alaskan cruises may move on down to South America in the Fall, cruise through the winter, then return to Alaska in the Spring. Some of the lines cruising the Mediterranean, for example, may move to the Caribbean for the wither months. There's nothing I like more than sitting out on the balcony watching the ocean go by. Kind of like staring at a campfire or fireplace ... it has a soothing effect. Soooo, I'm booking a trans-Atlantic cruise today. The plan is to fly to Rome on Thanksgiving Day, then spend a couple days kicking around Rome and stuffing my piehole with pasta, then catching a cruise back to the states. We'll cruise out of Rome (Civitavecchia). then make a few stops in Spain along the way (Civitavecchia, Malaga and Cadiz/Seville), then on to Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel, Azores, Portugal. Then cross the Atlantic to Ft. Lauderdale.

We'll drive to Lauderdale, leave our car there, fly to Rome, play tourist, cruise back, pick up our car and drive home. I can't think of a better way to spend 2-1/2 weeks. It's kind of nice since, for about 30 years, ALL of my Thanksgiving holidays were reserved for deer hunting back in the day. TBH, I don't really miss it as much as I thought I would.

[quercus alba]

just go buy you some gas station sushi, watch The Travel Channel and save some money

[Thumper]

just go buy you some gas station sushi, watch The Travel Channel and save some money

Ha! You must have me confused with some Okie, redneck, ne'er do well on this site. I'm more of a high-class, upper echelon kind'a guy and get my sushi at an AYCE buffet!

[quercus alba]

my wife and I prefer homemade although we can't get as good a selection of seafood as most restaurants

[Thumper]

I generally prefer homemade anything, but sushi is a pita. Then I always like a large variety of sashimi, so there’s that! Next time I’m in your neighborhood, you may hear a knock on your door! 🤣

[Bwana]

Have fun Thump, it sounds like quite the adventure!

[BarryBobPosthole]

You’re a man of many parts, Jim!
BKB

[Thumper]

You’re a man of many parts, Jim! BKB

And you're a man of many farts!

[Hombre]

Sounds like a great time Thump. A few years back we did Cortona and Rome for 10 days. I think Rome is dependent on the person. If you are really into architecture and history you could probably spend a full 10 days there, if not a couple is just fine. My wife could have spent our whole vacation there but after 2 days I was ready to leave. I loved Cortona. It was a nice small town and you could walk to everything, I also thought the food was better there.

[Hombre]

Oh yea and be careful in California, those Califonians think crazy

[Chicken Dinner]

We’re looking at Portugal, Spain and Morocco in 2025 on one of those smaller 300 person boats with a big group of my wife’s college friends. It’ll be a first cruise for me and I’m looking forward to it. We’ll probably add a few days on to either end and do some relaxing in land.


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[Bwana]

Not sure why, but when I saw the title of your post this morning I was thinking you were headed to the doctor for another round of penicillin or similar crotch critter killer.

[Thumper]

Thanks Bwana! (Oh, and bite me too!)

I’m with you Hombre. I’m generally good for a couple days and ready to move on. I spent a month in Russia a while back and enjoyed Moscow for a couple days. I mostly enjoyed screwing with the KGB and literally getting chased out of the Kremlin and onto Red Square where I lost my pursuer while hiding behind Lenin’s tomb! But those were my younger, more “adventurous” days.

I took the night train to St. Petersburg, and although I enjoyed the history, I felt like if I saw ONE more museum, I’d barf. The Summer Palace was cool, but I was ready to hit the road and drove clear across the dang country. Over the Urals and into Siberia. The road-trip was more my style … kind’a like a cross-country trip across the Yukon and Alaska.

After a few days in Paris, I was ready to barf from all the cigarette smoke. I couldn’t get away from it. Again, I can only look at old buildings for so long before I’m ready to hit the countryside. We once caught a cruise out of Venice. Same deal, after looking at old buildings, a bunch of canals and stuffing my pie hole, I was ready to move on after a couple days. My brother is the opposite. When traveling with him, I want to pull my hair out! (What little I have left). He LOVES old architecture and can stare at old bricks for hours on end.

We’ve been to Rome before and did all the touristy stuff, but again, how many old, collapsed buildings and chipped up statues do you need to see? This trip, we’re gonna hang out around City Center and probably not do much more than eat as much as humanly possible.

CD, those group trips are fun. You can always find someone with like interests so you can get away from the status quo if you feel like splitting off from the main group from time to time.


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