reddwhine

Had an early breakfast and proceeded to the boat at about 9:30. The drive from Paris to Luxembourg was about 2-1/2 hours. The french countryside is quite pretty but our route was all freeway so we didn't get to see as much of it but it was still very bucolic and nice. The weather was not very nice and it rained off and on and was quite windy, probably the leading edge of the hurricane that was over Ireland and the UK. Our tour guide pointed out objects along side the road and asked us what we thought they were. There would be a bunch of circles and then triangles and then 3 dimensional cubes, totem pole type things...all in iridescent colors. Nobody could quite figure out what heck they were. She told us they were ... read more

Sitting at the COS airport. Things are pretty FUBAR with people trying to board flights and weather problems somewhere...Ithink Dallas but also making connecting flights to Denver. I'm glad we've got a 3 1/2 hour layover in Chicago...we might need it. Keeping my fiingers crossed. Oh and thanks Viking. We were pre-screnned and we didn't have to take out all our elecltronics or TAKE OUR SHOES OFF. It was a good morning. Our flight to Chicago was on time and uneventful except for the fact that we were flying in a tiny tin can with tiny seats. It was uncomfortable but we arrived in Chicago much faster than I expected. Layover at O'Hare was about 4 hours. We had lunch and bought wifi that should last for the whole trip. Not sure if it will work ... read more

Here's our boat/ship/whatever. I found this website http://new.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/269057374with pretty pictures of our longboat. It sort of keeps track of where the ship is but it's off by about 24 hours. I packed, unpacked and packed again. When you're a contingency packer like I am it's always hard to figure out what to bring. Will it be warm? Will it be cold? Will it rain? I have my suitcase crammed full and also a carry-on and a giant "purse" which is really kind of a tote bag that will hold my tablet and keyboard as well as my ipod, a camera, my phone, drugs, and anything else I can put in it. I saw and bought this thing a long time ago. It was expensive but I love it! I wrote instructions for Jessie, answered a few ... read more

Yesterday was the last day of work. I am very happy about that. I have Oktoberfest tonight and I am hoping that is the last time I see Black Forest people for a while. I am making lists and slowly packing. I can't do too much since I don't have a suitcase yet. I pulled out my larger American Tourister and it's falling apart thanks to the airlines. I will need one that will remain intact all the way to Paris and all the way home. We received all of our travel documents a week ago which included a little zippered portfolio, luggage tags, transfer slips and personalized booklets...but no tickets. After talking to people on FB, we realized that the tickets were part of the booklet. We'll be getting boarding passes 24 hours before our ... read more

We finally got our information on our cruise. It came in a box. Inside was a nice zippered case that is about the size that it would be good for a 10" tablet. Unfortunately, my tablet is slightly larger than 10" so it doesn't fit but I could use it for my Kindle. Inside were our credentials on lanyards that we're supposed to wear to be identified by Viking staff when we arrive. Also luggage tags, stickers and personalized booklets with all the flight and ship information inside. We didn't have any airline tickets, e-tickets, boarding passes or anything else. In looking over the booklet we realized that the flight information was our tickets and we just have to go online and confirm or wait until 24 hours before, go online and get boarding passes. In ... read more