Tuscany Oct 14 - 21, 2006 Saturday We checked out of our Florence hotel at 10:30 and took a cab to Europcar. It was only about 6 blocks from our hotel but we had too much luggage to walk. Europcar was a mad house with lots of people returning and picking up cars so there were tons of cars on the street and lots of traffic. We got the car all loaded up and decided Roger should drive. Having driven a stick shift only a handful of times he might not have been the obvious choice but he had driven most [View Full Entry]

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Florence October 12 - 14, 2006 Thursday We caught the train to Florence after an almost tearful goodbye with our hostess, Giovanna. She hugged everyone when we said goodbye and told us we are now family (so we’re expecting we’ll be crashing at her place for free from now on). We arrived around noon in Florence and settled in at our hotel, Old Florence Inn (http://www.oldflorenceinn.com/uk/default.cfm), which is near the train station. The hotel is very nice with balconies and privacy screens on the windows which block out all light and noise and are great for sleeping. [View Full Entry]

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Rome October 8 - 12, 2006 Sunday We took the 7 pm train from Paris to Rome. The woman at our hotel made us nervous that it didn’t actually leave from that station so we got there extra early to find out. It did leave from the station which meant we had 2 hours to kill at a very small train station situated near nothing of interest so we spent our time reading. We shared our cabin with an Italian family with a 5 year old girl and 3 ½ year old boy. We had purchased the lower bunks but agreed [View Full Entry]

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Today is our one year traveling anniversary. We cannot believe how quickly this year has gone by or the depth and breadth of all that we have seen. We celebrated our 365th day on the road in Stone Town on Zanzibar, Tanzania, having drinks at a bar named for Freddy Mercury and then eating stuffed squid at a restaurant on the beach. We have had a great time in Tanzania but our internet connection has been too slow to load pictures or update our postings. We will be in London in a few days and we'll begin posting blog entries at [View Full Entry]

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Sept. 30 - Oct. 7 We decided to come to Paris for a week when our plans to go to Turkey changed and we had some time before we met Amy’s parents in Italy. Amy had been to Paris twice - once in high school when she loved it and once while studying in London when she hated it. Being a vocal part of the contingency to change “French fries” to “freedom fries” Roger had never been to Paris and had never had any interest in going. But because we were going to be in Europe we decided to go so [View Full Entry]

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September 27 - 30, 2006 Wednesday Having decided to forego Turkey for the time being we had a few weeks in our itinerary to fill. The ten days in Thailand with its easy living and terrific food was a simple enough addition. One of Roger’s old friends who currently lives in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates offering to host a short visit to her exotic city made for an equally appealing layover as we made our way to Europe. We arrived in Dubai at 5:30 in the morning and to a pre-dawn temperature of over ninety degrees. After making our [View Full Entry]

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Thailand September 17 - 27 During our return trip to Thailand we divided our time between Ko Samet and Bangkok. After flying into Bangkok around midnight and staying at Wendy House (www.wendyguesthouse.com) again, we caught the bus to Ko Samet and the speed boat to Villa Samed. We are sad to report that our time in Ko Samet was not as enjoyable as during our first visit. We think most of it lies with when we visited. It was the low/rainy season. We don’t mind a little rain every day but the rain eroded the sand near our hotel and also [View Full Entry]

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Hong Kong September 10-16, 2006 After arriving in Shenzen, a mainland city that features much cheaper airfare than Hong Kong, we transferred to the ferry terminal for a ship to Hong Kong. While we were waiting for the ferry we spotted something you don’t usually see in these parts, a Kansas City Chiefs baseball cap (this is also akin to wearing a giant “talk to me” sign). Naturally we went right over to talk to this unassuming young man who, as it turns out, was an actual Kansas native living in China and working as a teacher on his way to [View Full Entry]

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Chengdu September 6 - 10, 2006 We arrived in Chengdu very early in the morning after a fitful night’s sleep on the train. After clearing the train station we began searching for a taxi cab to take us to our guest house, Holly’s Hostel (www.hollyhostel.com). Despite the dozens of cabs and few potential passengers we struggled to find someone to take us to Holly’s. Apparently no work is better than a short trip. Our frustration grew as the cab drivers, before turning us down, would take a few minutes to discuss the possible fare with each other. Thanks largely to the [View Full Entry]

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Xi’an August 31 - September 5, 2006 Thursday Xi’an is the capital of the Shaanxi province and boasts a population of well over five million people. For two thousand years, from 1000 BC to 1000 AD, Xi’an was the imperial capital for eleven dynasties. The main draw here for visitors is the massive archeological complex of the Terracotta Soldiers outside of the city, but it is a fascinating place to see tangible examples of the rich history of China blending with a prospering modern commercial and industrial city. The imposing twelve meter high imperial wall that still [View Full Entry]

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