Today would have been.............
Today, the 9th of September, marks what would have been my Dear Mother's 90th Birthday. She passed away in 2001 a scant 2 weeks before the World Trade Towers collapsed.
I imagine she would be shaking her head in disgust at the shape of the world today, especially the Brexit Mess and the Court Jester running, or should that be ruining the WhiteHouse.
It is also just over 2 weeks since I ( unofficially) retired from the Profession of Pharmacy.
After 45 years in the business, I think I have earned my rest.
I'm not actually surrendering my license until the year end, just in case some emergency crops up and someone requires my services.
As I look back over my previous entries and I look at the current state of affairs in Hong Kong, it appears we couldn't have timed that trip any better. There was no sign of any unrest at any time during our trip. I just feel sorry for the older middle and lower class citizens who's lives are being disrupted by events beyond their control.
With 9 more days till our next adventure, I have yet to complete the fine details but I'm sure things will come together just fine.
I normally plan to celebrate my Birthday while travelling but I just miss it this time as we don't fly out until 18th. Toronto to Palermo with a quick layover in Rome on the way. We will have 2 free days in Palermo before joining a small group tour which will provide us with a one week trip around the island. While I typically use G Adventures or Intrepid for small tours they did not have the specific type of tour I was seeking so I am taking a chance with a local agency out of Palermo. Hopefully they will actually be a smaller tour as promised. A typical complaint in reviews seems to be tours that start out small then ultimately load 2 or 3 groups into one larger bus a day or two into the itinerary.
I had that experience in Scotland a few years ago and was less than impressed as our final bus was far too big to easily manoeuvre down some of the narrow roads.
I'm been watching a variety of YouTube clips, mostly Rick Steves, the travel authority. Based on these, I am eagerly awaiting the chance to try some of the seafood on offer.
Following our week and a half in Sicily, our next stop will be Milan via RyanAir. But our stop will be brief, as we will take a train upon arrival and head for the town of Varenna in the Lake Como area for 2 days of relaxed sightseeing. A 5 day return to Milan will hopefully afford us the chance to see the painting of The Last Supper and perhaps an opera at La Scala. Turin is just over an hour away by train, so we may also include a stop there.
A quick flight back to Palermo will connect us with our flight home on October 7th.
This will be our 4th trip to Italy, but our first to Sicily. Having seen Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Venice, Rome, Naples and the Amalfi Coast on previous trips, the east coast and the "Heel" of Italy are still to be covered- perhaps next year or 2021. Other than Mexico ( upwards of 10 visits) and Cuba ( at least 7) this will be the first country to score 5 visits from us. On this trip, I'm actually hoping I can scout out some smaller villages in the hope of finding a possible rental for extended winter vacations. The obvious choices for Canadians are Florida and Texas but the current situation in the "disUSA" - mass shootings and government inspired right wing terrorism have put that country on my personal " no-fly" list. Europe has its own issues these days with the massive influx of illegal immigrants fleeing Africa and the Middle East but it still seems a much safer bet than the Americas in terms of stability.
Hopefully the tourist traffic on Sicily will be somewhat lighter than the mad crush of people fighting for space in Rome and Venice. The recent rise in the number of day cruisers is ruining many destinations, with literally thousands of people impossibly squeezed into narrow streets in places like Venice and Dubrovnik, which were never designed for such numbers. These people typically add very little to the local economy other than wear and tear since they don't buy much in their 3-4 hour visits to "see everything", especially compared to tourists who stay in these cities for several days. As can be seen in Venice, the ships themselves are also doing damage due to their wakes impact on buildings in the smaller canals.
If all goes according to plans I will be posting updates and possibly photos on an every other days basis as I document the details of this upcoming trip. Photos tend not to be an option in some of the smaller towns due to upload speeds slowing or even blocking my ability to load them. I guess we will shall see.
Until then............
I imagine she would be shaking her head in disgust at the shape of the world today, especially the Brexit Mess and the Court Jester running, or should that be ruining the WhiteHouse.
It is also just over 2 weeks since I ( unofficially) retired from the Profession of Pharmacy.
After 45 years in the business, I think I have earned my rest.
I'm not actually surrendering my license until the year end, just in case some emergency crops up and someone requires my services.
As I look back over my previous entries and I look at the current state of affairs in Hong Kong, it appears we couldn't have timed that trip any better. There was no sign of any unrest at any time during our trip. I just feel sorry for the older middle and lower class citizens who's lives are being disrupted by events beyond their control.
With 9 more days till our next adventure, I have yet to complete the fine details but I'm sure things will come together just fine.
I normally plan to celebrate my Birthday while travelling but I just miss it this time as we don't fly out until 18th. Toronto to Palermo with a quick layover in Rome on the way. We will have 2 free days in Palermo before joining a small group tour which will provide us with a one week trip around the island. While I typically use G Adventures or Intrepid for small tours they did not have the specific type of tour I was seeking so I am taking a chance with a local agency out of Palermo. Hopefully they will actually be a smaller tour as promised. A typical complaint in reviews seems to be tours that start out small then ultimately load 2 or 3 groups into one larger bus a day or two into the itinerary.
I had that experience in Scotland a few years ago and was less than impressed as our final bus was far too big to easily manoeuvre down some of the narrow roads.
I'm been watching a variety of YouTube clips, mostly Rick Steves, the travel authority. Based on these, I am eagerly awaiting the chance to try some of the seafood on offer.
Following our week and a half in Sicily, our next stop will be Milan via RyanAir. But our stop will be brief, as we will take a train upon arrival and head for the town of Varenna in the Lake Como area for 2 days of relaxed sightseeing. A 5 day return to Milan will hopefully afford us the chance to see the painting of The Last Supper and perhaps an opera at La Scala. Turin is just over an hour away by train, so we may also include a stop there.
A quick flight back to Palermo will connect us with our flight home on October 7th.
This will be our 4th trip to Italy, but our first to Sicily. Having seen Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Venice, Rome, Naples and the Amalfi Coast on previous trips, the east coast and the "Heel" of Italy are still to be covered- perhaps next year or 2021. Other than Mexico ( upwards of 10 visits) and Cuba ( at least 7) this will be the first country to score 5 visits from us. On this trip, I'm actually hoping I can scout out some smaller villages in the hope of finding a possible rental for extended winter vacations. The obvious choices for Canadians are Florida and Texas but the current situation in the "disUSA" - mass shootings and government inspired right wing terrorism have put that country on my personal " no-fly" list. Europe has its own issues these days with the massive influx of illegal immigrants fleeing Africa and the Middle East but it still seems a much safer bet than the Americas in terms of stability.
Hopefully the tourist traffic on Sicily will be somewhat lighter than the mad crush of people fighting for space in Rome and Venice. The recent rise in the number of day cruisers is ruining many destinations, with literally thousands of people impossibly squeezed into narrow streets in places like Venice and Dubrovnik, which were never designed for such numbers. These people typically add very little to the local economy other than wear and tear since they don't buy much in their 3-4 hour visits to "see everything", especially compared to tourists who stay in these cities for several days. As can be seen in Venice, the ships themselves are also doing damage due to their wakes impact on buildings in the smaller canals.
If all goes according to plans I will be posting updates and possibly photos on an every other days basis as I document the details of this upcoming trip. Photos tend not to be an option in some of the smaller towns due to upload speeds slowing or even blocking my ability to load them. I guess we will shall see.
Until then............
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