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We are home at last. And at peace.

I hope you have enjoyed our trip. We did. Now it is 35 years later and Patty and Dianne will summarize for you what they remember so well about this trip.

That's it for Nell and Yours Truly. Love you all, Lamar.

Patty's comments:

First, I want to thank our brother, Tommy, for assisting us on this project. It was a labor of love.

It has been fun looking back at this wonderful trip we made with Mother and Daddy 35 years ago . . It was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done.

I have to admit, Dianne and I acted like teenagers some of the time ...but, Ma and Daddy didn't seem to mind too much. Well, except for the time that Dianne and I went out one evening in Rotterdam and found Daddy waiting for us in the hotel lobby when we returned!! We had fun dancing with the locals and letting our hair down that evening.

When Dianne nominated me to drink a pilsner glass of beer, I could have choked her...but, drank it anyway...and then worshipped at the porcelain throne all night long.

When we were in Paris, Mother had trouble with her legs and she and Pa weren't able to get to the Louvre..so Dianne and I went by ourselves. I almost fainted seeing Winged Victory, the Mona Lisa and so many other works of art.

In Florence, seeing the statue of David by Michelangelo was another hightlight of our trip.

I could write a book about the trip, but the brief comments I made in my travel diary will have to suffice. As verbose as I am, I sure was stingy with my words.

I'll always be grateful to Mother and Daddy for making this trip available to Dianne and me. Di and I didn't have that much money, but we made do with a bottle of wine of the region, a loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese...much of the time...and enjoyed every second of the trip!!

I hope the readers of this travel blog enjoy hearing about our trip from my 37 year old sister, Dianne and me, two years older at 39!

xox Patty

Dianne's comments:
This trip was and still is one of the highlights of my life! From the beginning when Mother and Daddy told us they were going to Europe and wanted Patty and I to "chaperon" them, my heart started pumping wildly. Daddy let Mother and me decide on which tour that American Express offered, which took days and days. There were a few conditions Daddy and Mother made.

First, we had to purchase a journal and record everything that happened every day. Since they only had the money to pay for the tour, which include breakfast and on rare occasion a dinner, Patty and I had to pay for extra meals and any additions we wanted.

Immedately we said YES! I figured I could starve for 3 weeks and so did Patty. We did just that, almost! Every morning, we stuffed the great rolls for breakfast in our pockets, then purchased a bottle of the local wine, usually a buck or two and we were set for the day. We saved what litte money we had to buy stuff for our kids.

Each day, on the bus, Daddy would remind us to start writing, even though our eyes grew weary from time to time. I tried to suck in everything and kept pinching myself that this was true and since I believed that I would never come back, I would close my eyes when I saw something so that memory would burn that image forever. This worked as well.

I grew closer to Daddy that I had ever been before. He became a "world traveler" and wanted to converse with all, just as I did. On the other hand, Mother, who was the most outgoing usually, grew inward and wanted to stay close to the fellow travelers on the tour. It was strange.

Going to Rome alone on the bus with Daddy, then to the Monte Carlo Casino with him was so much fun. A woman there took a shine to him and asked him to gamble for her. Daddy giggled for hours. When we returned, Mother acted mad but was laughing all the while.

So many wonderful stories I could tell. Leaving Patty at the bus stop and begging the conductor to please stop for my sister was another great moment for both Patty and I. I couldn't have had a better companion in a million years than my sister! I am so thankful for the time spent with her and with Mother and Daddy. Mother and I relived this trip for years afterwards - over and over! I loved it!!

I hope all of you enjoyed the memories we shared as much as we did. As I said earlier... FINIS...

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Photos

Home
Home Sweet Home, Nell on steps of 2760 Dodson Drive, East Point, Ga. We were tired, yes, but happy.

Nell
Nell in den at Dodson Drive. She and Lamar wrote comments on each photo in the album they made. Their words were repeated in the blog you just read. Hope you enjoyed. Nell and Lamar did.