Apr 21-26: San Diego and an Amateur Traveler Mistake Getting Home

We arrived in San Diego without further delay on April 21 and spent the next 5 nights with our Neal/Anna and now 7 week old Geneva in a house that Neal found on vrbo.org (here). It was a wonderful stay, with wonderful weather.  We enjoyed a road trip to Riverside on one day to visit some of their friends -- including a friend with newborn triplets -- and visits by some of Anna's family. We also enjoyed a few walks and a nice Easter meal with one of Anna's aunts but mostly just spent time "hanging out" and enjoying Geneva.  Some of Deb's daily "blipfotos" were of Geneva including this one (linked here).

On April 26 it came time to get Neal/Anna/Geneva off on their return flights to Williamsburg and then get ourselves home on United flights connecting in San Francisco.  It was a simple journey that we've made many times, but this time we would make an amateur traveler's mistake that nearly ruined the end of our journey.  You'd think that after traveling 6 flights, many mulitple trains and visiting 4 countries in Europe that we'd not make traveling mistakes -- but the final leg of the trip provided that opportunity.  Here is what happened:

Our flight from San Diego to San Francisco went great and as we exited the plane we noted that our connecting flight was going to have a delayed departure from gate 71.  We got some lunch and settled in at gate 71 to wait out the couple hours before flight time.  Well, we got a little too comfortable.  Deb and I enjoyed the passing time reading (I had picked up the story of  In-And-Out Burger, my all time favorite burger place that has yet to franchise) and listened for boarding announcements.  I guess we got too comfortable because it wasn't until about 20 minutes before flight time that I mentioned to Deb that there seemed to be too few people hanging around the gate and we should double check the monitors.  Deb did that and learned that our flight had indeed been moved to another gate and was listed on the monitor as "closed."  We hustled to the new gate only to be told that we were too late as we could see the jetway being withdrawn from the aircraft.  You can imagine our disappointment.

What followed was a series of miscues by United personnel directing us to various places to try to figure out our options for getting home -- first to a customer service telephone, then to another gate and then to a customer service kiosk -- which we ran between in the hopes that we hadn't lost our chance to get home at a reasonable hour.  At the last desk, the woman treated us to some "it's your own fault" kind of lecture -- but then told us to rush to yet another gate for a "possible" standby boarding on another flight to Portland.  We rushed to that gate -- where we learned that we MIGHT make the flight if two confirmed passengers did not showup within the next 3 minutes.  The representative there also informed us that IF the confirmed passengers showed up, our only alternative would be to take flights connecting in Eugene, Oregon and not arrive at Portland until 10:00pm -- some 6 hours our original expectation.  We waited anxiously -- watching for anyone running to catch the flight and were relieved when they "closed" the flight and allowed us to board onto the only two remaining seats.  However, it wasn't until the jetway was pulled back and the cabin door closed that we truly relaxed.

Fortunately, this whole episode only delayed our return to Portland by about a half hour because our original flight had been delayed -- and since our luggage went out on the earlier flight and was already waiting for us when we deplaned, we ended up losing no time at all.  The whole episode, however, reminded us that while we are pretty seasoned travelers -- we still make mistakes.

Our arrival in Portland was uneventful, thankfully, and we proceeded via Max and bus to our "new" Portland home.  And so ended a pretty wonderful 5 week trip.

Apr 18-20 - Amsterdam and Closing This Chapter on Europe 2011

Have I blogged about how much we love traveling by train in Europe?  Oh OK!  Have I blogged about how much we love Switzerland and Holland? Oh OK!  Have I blogged about how fortunate we feel to have such wonderful friends and family in both places?  Oh OK!  Have I blogged about our next trip to Switzerland/Holland? NO!  Well, you can expect that I will be -- because as long as our health and our finances allow, we will be returning.  But for this trip, it was time to return to the USA -- after 3 fantastic weeks.  And, so -- we arrived at Amsterdam Central station from Dordrecht on yet another beautifully, sunny day.  Amsterdam immediately felt comfortable because of our prior 2009 trip here but I wasn't feeling my best because of a sneezing/runny nose cold I acquired in the last couple days.  At first I thought it might be allergies to the many wonderful, flowering blossoms aided by the great weather -- but, alas, concluded it was just an old fashioned cold -- but with no body ache symptoms.  Our hotel was just a few steps from the train station -- so I decided to see if some extra sleep might turn the cold around.  It is always amazing how a little extra sleep can help reenergize me -- it's a trait I've likely inherited from my dad who has long been known for his "power naps."  Anyway, the extra sleep worked its magic and by evening we were walking the streets, taking in the sights, sounds and people of the very interesting and beautiful city of Amsterdam.

The next morning we decided to take a walking tour.  Having previously seen much of Amsterdam's highlights on our 2009 trip and having experienced a wonderful "free" NewEurope tour in Munich -- we decided to try the similarly organized "free" NewEurope tour of Amsterdam. The tours are set up for one to decide at the end whether and how much of a gratuity to give.  Once again we weren't disappointed -- as we enjoyed new perspectives and sights in Amsterdam.  Thereafter we found a nice restaurant to celebrate our successful Europe2011 trip and packed for our return flight on April 20.

The Europe part of this trip was ending -- but the journey was continuing with the next stop being San Diego where we will be meeting up with son Neal, his wife Anna and our newest grandchild, Geneva (born March 2).  As far back as when we planned this journey, we knew that Neal/Anna would be in San Diego for Neal to attend/present a paper at a philosophy conference -- and, back then knowing that they were expecting Geneva (then called "The Peanut"), and for virtually no additional air flight cost, we decided to proceed to San Diego for 6 nights.

Our initial 9 hour flight from Amsterdam to Philadelphia went smoothly in what was going to be a very long, tiring day -- as flight changes over the past 8 months ended up giving us a 4 hour layover in Philadelphia before proceeding on another 5 1/2 hour flight to San Diego.  But at boarding time for our San Diego flight, US Air requested volunteers to give up their seats on the oversold flight in return for $375 each  in future travel, a night's hotel stay, $15 each in meal allowance and a nonstop flight the following morning (April 21) arriving by 10:30am in San Diego.  We knew immediately that it would be perfect for us -- and so we were soon headed to an area motel with the vouchers and being able to cancel that night's pre-arranged motel in San Diego.  Could it be that we were just handed a $800 gift AND we could get a night's sleep before continuing to San Diego without any disruption to our plans (we hadn't planned to meet up with the kids until the next day anyway)?  'Tis true!

So, as I finish these last couple blog postings -- includng this one -- we are cruising at 36000 feet somewhere over Missouri -- within onboard wifi -- scheduled for an ontime landing at San Diego at 10:30am.

We'll fly home from San Diego next Tuesday, April 26.

Apr 14-18: With Our Holland Cousins

As I have written many times before, the highlight of every trip to Europe has been our family connections -- no not Tognazzini (there are no related Tognazzini's remaining in Europe) but rather relatives connected through my paternal Grandmother whose maiden name is Giorgi and whose origins are traced to the small Switzerland village of Gordevio.  I've written about the connections before and how the tree  branched to tie me to Dutch cousins (a brother who was born/raised in Holland but now resides with his family in Switzerland, and his two sisters who reside with their families in Holland). 
These third cousins -- all in our generation/age group -- have become not just family, but wonderfully great friends.  I've previously blogged about our first meeting/help from brother Rein in 2005 and our first visits in Holland in 2009 (here).  So this entire trip was yet another opportunity to connect with Rein/his family and our second opportunity to visit/stay with the sisters/their families in Holland.

We had arranged two nights at each of the two sisters houses -- both living not far from Rotterdam.  So our destination upon leaving Antwerp on April 14 was Rotterdam Central where we met up with Els/Eef -- staying two nights at their home in Hoogvliet  and getting to see/visit all three of their children (born the same years as our own) and their one-year old grandson.  Thereafter, on April 16 they drove us to Joke/Wietse's home in Maasdam where we stayed two nights and had opportunities to visit with both their sons, meeting one of them for the first time.

Once again there are no words adequate to describe these wonderful visits/stays -- and the feelings of being among long-time friends, not just family, both with the couples and their children (just the same as we feel with Rein/Elly and their children/grandchildren in Switzerland).  With each couple we enjoyed learning more about Dutch culture, food, politics, attitudes, work practices, healthcare, holidays, house construction, home purchasing, etc. etc.  Just everything!  And, let me not gloss over "food."  Not only did we discuss it lots, we got to enjoy wonderfully home-fixed meals as well as Dutch snacks, farmer's-type (including some great fried fish and tasty Dutch cheese) and organic markets including some vegetables we have never seen in the US.  In summary, it was 5 days/4 nights of conversational and cullinary delight with some sightseeing interludes including (1) a visit to the worksite of Maasvlakte 2 - the massive operation to create land to expand Europe's busiest shipping port from dredged sand -- something the Dutch are experts at (1/5th of the country was created from such land reclamation); and (2) the year's biggest flower parade (Bollensereek Flower Parade) with lavishly decorated floats.

I could write more -- but photos will have to supplement.  Our time with cousins in Holland was superb but on April 18 it became time to move onto Amsterdam and get ready for our return to the USA. Wietse saw us off at the Dordrecht train station.

Sadly, we know that some cousins may never get to visit us in the USA because of the fear of flying -- but we remain hopeful that Joke/Weitse will make the trip as soon as Wietse's health permits -- and that someday we might get to welcome all their children to the USA.  It is certainly on our bucket list to dream about the day when all their children/grandchildren and our children/grandchildren can enjoy the close family ties we've enjoyed. In addition, Deb and I will continue to be watching for opportunities to visit Holland again.

I should also mention that Deb and I overpacked our bags with 8 large boxes of Hagelslag -- so we can let our kids/grandkids enjoy at least one of Holland's cullinary treats of the many we enjoyed.   

Apri 11 - 14: Sightseeing Belgium And Seeing A Crime

On the morning of April 11, Nanny bid us a warm fairwell at the Tilburg train station as we headed to Belgium -- first Brussels for two nights and then Antwerp for one night. On our departure from Antwerp, I would be an unwitting player in a deception/theft that would likely remain the most memorable moments of our time in Belgium but the intent of our visit was much more ordinary. More on the memorable moments in a moment.

In our planning and study for the trip, Deb had discovered that Brussels was home to a respected musical instrument museum -- and because we had a few days between our planned visit in Tilburg and with cousins further north in Holland, we decided to take in Brussels and Antwerp -- and add Belgium to our European destinations.

The train ride to Brussels was peaceful and uneventful. Just before arriving at the Central station, the train passed the obvious "red light" district with partially clad lovelies easily visible from the train in the long line of windowed doorways. Upon arrival at the station, our GPS guided us to our accommodations -- through beautiful and interesting cobbled streets -- including past the famous Manneken Pis ("little man peeing"). My reaction was exactly what I later read is the most common reaction: underwhelmed. It turns out that the famous statute is incredible tiny. Deb and I laugh about it now -- because at the time we were dragging our rolling luggage along in front of it, I even said to her that "it" couldn't be the real one. Of course my only frame of reference had been photos without size references -- but the photos had, nonetheless, led me to believe that such a "famous" statute couldn't be so small. Isn't it usually the other way around -- we are impressed by the size -- thinking, of course, of the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Monument, the Jefferson Monument, even the Seattle Space Needle. The Manneken Pis is definitely diminuative.

The hotel was a little further from the train station than I had discerned in my research -- but certainly walkable -- and it proved an excellent launching point for additional walks around the city, its famous Grand Place, to many other interesting churches/buildings and to the Musical Instrument Museum. The museum itself was very interesting and well done -- as they provided infra-red controlled headsets that would play an example of each instrument as one approached the display case/location. However, the lack of English explanations and the unexplained or finicky absense of sounds at some of the marked locations was disappointing -- and the overall presentation of the museum, while interesting for a musical instrument hobbiest like myself, wasn't up to the standard set by our visit two years prior to the mechanical instrument museum in Utrecht, Netherlands (blogged about here).

After two nights in Brussels, we took the train to Antwerp -- for another, completely different look at Belgium. While Brussels had put us in the heart of the touristy old city, the train to Antwerp central brought us to a 1/2 mile long shopping avenue that could have been transplanted from any city, anywhere in the world. Apparently Antwerp is known for its diamond shopping -- but our initial impressions that of a cosmopolitan city whose main stopping artery is but a duplicate of the same global branding that one can find anywhere.

Thankfully we were able to walk deeper into Antwerp and discover the old city and its mamouth church and, thanks to guidance from tripadvisor.com, find a true tourist gem: a printing museum housed in the same residence/printing plant location since the mid-1500's. The tour, guided by personal hand held media players, was superbly done -- giving life and meaning to the beginnings of printing, including two of the oldest printing presses. The audio described not only the items being viewed -- but the religious and political history that impacted what got printed. We mused over how some things in life haven't changed as one of the earliest things printed was a listing of the books banned from reading by the church.

Now, back to our departure from Antwerp. We had gotten back to the beautiful train station at around 9:30am and I took a place in one of the lines to purchase our tickets to proceed onward to Rotterdam. As is always the case when traveling where we don't speak the language, there is much to occupy our attention -- and today was no exception. But also, the lovely and organized surroundings of this busy ticket location can be disarmingly familiar and comfortable. Deb took our two roller bags and went outside, while I waited in line -- reaching the "wait here" line for the 2nd in line. Of course, I'm not exactly sure what the line said because it was in French or Dutch -- but I didn't need to be able to read to understand what I was expected to do -- as had each of those who proceeded ahead of me. The gentleman directly in front of me proceeded to the counter and left his roller bag directly behind himself -- with his briefcase perched up it. I'm guessing he felt comfortable in the surroundings to not have tucked it in front of himself. I didn't think much of it when a gentleman behind me tapped me on the shoulder and posed some unintelligable question to me -- and when I said, as I have many times, "English only" he proceeded to ask me the seeminly same unintelligible question again -- again calling my attention to this "unflipped" flip phone which he held in his hand a couple feet from his head. I responded the same -- and he left, seemingly in a hurry (his tone had been similarly rushed). I remember thinking it odd that he would attempt his question a second time even after I indicated I only understood English and that he didn't attempt to ask others around us the question before exiting until the gentlemen in front of me turned away from the counter, having completed his ticket transaction, and was obviously distressed over his now missing briefcase.

My recounting these observations to Deb -- who was outside the main ticket office -- prompted her to recall seeing a man and a woman running from the location just seconds before. She assumed they were hurrying to catch a train. It was a bit unnerving to realize that we had just witnessed one of the common scams -- but in reality neither of us "witnessed" much at all. The questioning gentlemen had diverted my eyes to his cell phone -- leaving me with only a vague recollection of his face and body particulars. A well executed crime indeed.

April 9-11: Strangers Become Family: The Movie

Well, this story hasn't been turned into a movie yet, but it certainly has that movie-like “not in real life” quality to it. The true story is this: During our flight from Washington Dulles to Amsterdam at the start of our May 2009 trip to Europe, I happened to have been seated next to a 21 year old woman (Eline) who was returning to Amsterdam after 3 months of a 6 month internship at Disneyworld because she had just learned that her dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Back then I blogged (here) about this meeting – and the resulting flight-long conversations with her as the first highlight of that trip. After the flight, we stayed in email contact, sometimes infrequently – but enough to know that her dad died a couple months after our meeting on the airplane – and to learn more about her life, her mother and brother.

In the exchange of emails after the flight, Eline's mom (Nanny) also emailed me expressing her appreciation for our interaction with Eline -- given the circumstances of her flight. These emails began a sort of modern-day email “penpal” relationship with both Eline and Nanny. Deb and I enjoyed getting to know both women via email – and the warmness of the contact was more than sufficient to make us want to add a personal visit with them to this trip. I recall that initially we wrote about the possibility of sharing a day at the Disneyland-like fairy-tale amusement park located in their hometown city of Tilburg, Netherlands – a place that I first learned about from Eline during our flight together. Over the course of emails – Nanny invited/encouraged us to stay at their home. As with such interactions, it was challenging to decide whether the offer was genuine and whether or not to accept it – after all, the entire relationships had been built on a chance meeting on a flight and emails. But in the end, the warmth of the emails coupled with my frequently blogged about “what's the worst that can happen” logic – Deb and I agreed to accept the offer. Subsequently we also had an opportunity to meet “face to face” during a Skype call – and it helped to assure us that the offer was genuine.

So, our destination upon leaving Frankfurt on the morning of April 9, 2011, was Tilburg, Netherlands, one of the larger cities in the Netherlands  – a destination that required a change of trains in Arnhem, Netherlands.

After the comfortable train rides – including having free internet on the Netherlands' train from Arnhem – we were warmly greeted with the personal “hugs” that had become our trademark email valediction. We both immediately felt the family-like connection that continued and grew through our two-night stay.

As prearranged, we dropped our luggage at their house – and then proceeded to an indoor volleyball arena/park where Eline had a scheduled game. As some may know, volleyball is hugely popular in the Netherlands and there are many organized teams/leagues for players at all levels/ages. It was exciting to get this first-hand introduction to Eline's and Nanny's lives – and in the process get to meet Eline's boyfriend, also a volleyball player but at a high/paid level, and his parents. Thereafter we returned to their home where Eline's brother had arrived home for the weekend – and we enjoyed great food and fun conversation late into the evening – sort of a continuation of our flight with Eline: sharing back and forth about the similarities and differences in our lives, cultures, languages, traditions, education, etc.

The next day, the six of us (Eline, her boyfriend, her brother, Nanny, Deb and I) enjoyed spectacular weather for our day-long adventure at Efteling – a fabulous and beautiful amusement park with lots of depicted fairy tales and thrilling rides. Eline's brother, who works part time at the park, was a fantastic tour-guide as his narration brought life to every fairy tale – some familiar, some not. It was a day of much laughter and fun that continued even after we left the park at closing time – over a delicious home-cooked meal and into the evening.

Goodbyes were the only part of the visit that were challenging because what started as a chance meeting on an airplane – has resulted in our having more “family” in the Netherlands. We're already looking forward to adding to this “movie” when they get to visit us in Portland – another bucket list addition that doesn't yet have dates.

Here are some photos taken during our visit in Tilburg.

April 7 to 9: A Musical Reason to Stop In Frankfurt

In the past several years since retirement, I have enjoyed an association with an area music store with two locations. The association had a rather serendipitous beginning as I was interested, in 2004, in finding both a community band to attempt to improve my rejuvenated tuba playing (which had been dormant for 40+ years) and to try my hand at a possible retirement interest: designing/publishing web sites. In a fleeting moments of bravado, I both found the Battle Ground Community Band whose conductor happened to be the owner of the area music stores, and I approached the conductor/owner's adult daughter who was co-owner and manager of the music stores and offered to develop free web sites for each. Luckily, and happily, those connections led to many wonderful hours hanging out with music store staff and providing some of their computer tech support for their two “point-of-sale” networks – and over time led to fun, part time paid work both to do the computer tech support and to assist with account collections after a prior person in that position left.

Now that's probably more than you want or need to know but it provides the explanation for this 2 night stop in Frankfurt. During my work at the music stores, I first learned of an annual musical instrument trade show for music store businesses – held in Anaheim, CA each year. Like all trade shows, this one provides an annual opportunity for music store suppliers/manufacturers to show their wares to music store owners and artists. For a wanna-be musician like me, the show provides the ultimate “toy store” experience – and my association with the music store has allowed me to attend the last two. During the first attendance, I learned about a similar trade show held in Frankfurt that is reputed to be the largest such show in the world – covering an entire fair grounds (“Frankfurt Messe”) and both musical instruments/supplies and “pro-audio” recording, disk jockey and stage presentation equipment. I mentally filed the information away in my ever-full “wish list” of desirable “bucket list” destinations to this “Musikmesse.”

Well, as you have by now guessed, the planning of this trip included attempts to weave in a stop at this event. With considerable research, I arranged for us to stop in Frankfurt enroute to the Netherlands – picking out a possibly convenient Frankfurt hostel, arranged online ticketing to the event, and acquiring appropriate rail tickets.

We arrived in Frankfurt on the afternoon of April 7 and quickly found our hostel nearby and enjoyed some fun conversations with a couple of Finnish engineering students in the hostel lobby/bar, enjoyed some bratwurst at a nearby street market and settled into the sparse but adequate surroundings of a private hostel room. Because of the popularity of the Musikmesse, the hostel accommodations were expensive – but still cheaper than alternatives.

On April 8th we made our way via subway to the fairgrounds entrance and enjoyed a full day of visiting musical product vendors and watching endorsing performers and live demonstrations. We also were particularly happy to (1) happen upon the woman who had given us a tour of the Miraphone tuba factory during our 2009 trip (blogged about here), (2) get reacquainted with the salesman from the Chinese electronics factory I had visited in Shenzhen in 2010 (blogged about here), and (3) get to have some warm, friendly conversation and exchange email addresses with the American who is the Principal Tubist for the Beijing Symphony.

It was a particularly satisfying day just knowing that we had pulled off all the organization necessary to attend this show. I drooled over the abundance of tuba's and drums (my other love) from every manufacturer in the world as well as all the other musical stuff. Deb says she enjoyed the day as well – and thankfully tells me I won't have to spend an entire day at a craft fair in return.

Wow – I guess I got a little wordy. It's easy to do so because I am writing all of these last 3 blog entries while traveling a very comfortable high speed ICE train from Frankfurt to Tilburg, Netherlands – our next, and perhaps our most unusual stop of the trip.

[The last three posts were done on the free wifi provided on the Netherlands trains.]

April 7 - Goodbye to Ticino

t was a fantastically wonderful stay in Locarno – but the 7 days of relaxation and family time there ended as we boarded an early morning train from Locarno, connecting to other trains in Bellinzona and Basel enroute to our next destination, Frankfurt. The morning trip through the Alps was spectacular – it has always left me feeling like I'm on the ultimate Disneyland ride as I peer out to the villages perched on the mountainsides and in the valley, and the many waterfalls that punctuate the trip. As I enjoyed the contentment accompanying our fun stay in Ticino, I thought that everyone should add this train trip through the Alps to their “bucket” list.

April 5 and 6 - Sightseeing and Family in Switzerland

n our several trips to Locarno/Ticino, we had never taken the opportunity to visit three castles in the nearby city of Bellinzona, another UNESCO Heritage Site – so on April 5 we decided to do that. The castles and connecting walls once blocked narrow passageway through the Alps dating back through recorded history. The castles and foretresses have been nicely restored and provide both excellent views of the surrounding valley and Alps, and an opportunity to reflect back on a prior time of importance to trade and wars. We continued to be treated to outstanding weather – and Deb's photos capture a fun day of exploration of the castles and the city of Bellinzona in the warmness that stayed with us all week.

April 5 and 6th were filled with more family time that continues to make our trips so special. We always leave with intense desires to return as soon as we can. I often joke that my primary “bucket list” goal is to die broke – and our desire to return again and again to Switzerland/Netherlands will certainly aid that goal!

Apr 1-4: Enjoying Locarno, Valley Maggia and Family

They say that a photo is worth 1000 words -- and I certainly hope that is the case because the photos that Deb has taken will have to tell the story of our whirlwind activity since arriving in Switzerland.  Since arriving, Deb has posted 6 Google photo albums -- linked below -- that tell a little of our journey/adventure here.  As is always the case, we haven't captured photos of everything we have done -- and neither Deb nor I have taken the time to explain or caption every photo -- but the photos do provide a little insight to the fun we have been enjoying.  As with all our travel, reconnecting with people (family/friends) is always the best part.  Exploring the scenery, sights and a locale's every day life are delightful interludes -- and the getting around, the eating and obtaining needed items provides much of the adventure.

Thanks to Swiss family connections that were established/nutured by my parents -- and assisted by the warmth of our own first Swiss/Dutch family contacts -- Deb and I have continued to enjoy strong family ties here.  This is now my 5th trip since 2005 and Deb's 4th (I came once in 2007 with just my dad).  We feel especially blessed that each of our three children and their own families have been able to visit here (with the exception of the newest granddaughter and our youngest daughter's husband  (he wasn't yet part of the family when she visited in 2006).

We have only 2 days remaining here in Locarno before we continue our journey -- so there will be more photos -- but for now, here are links to the ones Deb has posted so far.

1. Our Locarno apartment, a stop at the area Camellia Festival and catching up with cousins: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=debtog&target=ALBUM&id=5590857393746043825&authkey=Gv1sRgCNKK78nJ9I2AmAE&feat=email"

2.  Visiting Verbania, Italy with Cousin:  https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=debtog&target=ALBUM&id=5590943367753703489&authkey=Gv1sRgCP2nmbC4t7uXlAE&feat=email

3. Visiting my grandmother's birthplace - Gordevio, Switzerland; a stop at the Gordevio cemetary to visit resting place of cousins who we stayed with on our first trip to Switzerland in 2005 - both of whom passed away since our last visit in 2009; a birthday celebration with counsins who moved to Gordevio from Holland in 2005 and who have been instrumental in assisting with all our trips here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=debtog&target=ALBUM&id=5591106306903329553&authkey=Gv1sRgCPq4g7e04f2UAg&feat=email

4. Visiting my grandfather's birthplace - Someo, Switzerland; visiting oldest living cousins in Gordevio:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=debtog&target=ALBUM&id=5591308793728399201&authkey=Gv1sRgCI3X1O3Gs-LyCQ&feat=email

5. A home-cooked meal with cousins:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=debtog&target=ALBUM&id=5591847571145894017&authkey=Gv1sRgCKmk_fC-y87KzwE&feat=email

6. Visiting the top of the Alps - Cardada and Cimetta; visiting with friend from prior trip at "Never Die" Grotto:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=debtog&target=ALBUM&id=5591848926954524593&authkey=Gv1sRgCJWWtPipkOHEOw&feat=email

Mar 30-31: The Journey To Locarno, Switzerland

As always when we're having fun, the days pass way too quickly -- and that is exactly how we felt when we awoke on March 30 knowing that our 7 days in Williamsburg were ending and we would not sleep again until we arrived in Switzerland a day later.

After a breakfast and good-bye's in Williamsburg we boarded a flight in Norfolk, VA enroute to Frankfurt, Germany via Philadelphia, PA.  Frankfurt was just an interim destination as well -- chosen as a less-expensive routing than other choices -- to get us to Locarno, Switzerland -- a beautiful holiday destination for many, but for us, the nearest large city near to the birthplaces of my grandparents in the nearby villages/towns of Someo and Gordevio, Switzerland (described in a prior blog posting) - where I have 3rd cousins.

We left Philadelphia at 4:20pm on March 30 and arrived in Frankfurt at 6:10am on March 31st: a combination of a 8-9 hour flight and a 6 hour time change.  Then using an  inexpensive "Europe Special" train ticket that I had purchased and printed directly from the German rail site, we travelled on 4 trains over 8 hours to arrive in Locarno.  It was a routing that was familiar to us from our prior trips to Locarno -- and the most recent reminder of how pleasant, convenient and easy it is to travel by train in Europe.  In addition, the scenery -- especially through the Alps is always spectacular -- and this trip was no exception.

It was wonderful to arrive to the beautiful southern Switzerland weather (70 degrees) -- but it was disconcerting to know that we were facing the first mix-up of our trip.  In the email exchanges and wire funds transfer to arrange for an apartment in Locarno (again through homeaway.com: http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p527718# ), we hadn't received the promised phone number of the "maid" who was to be our contact to get access to the apartment (owned by a Swiss German couple in another town).  Last minute emails and phone calls had not been answered.  We were hopeful that the apartment entry/door might have the needed phone number but after walking the 5 minutes from the Locarno train station to the apartment, all we found was a well-secured building.

At this point, the "play it by ear" part of this adventure began: Getting no answer to our calls to the owner, I proceeded to (1) ring the door intercom for the neighboring apartment -- only to get several "no capisco" answers to my contact, including when I took a photo of the intercom name listing and showed it; (2) walk the circumference of the secured building looking for possible access/people who could give me access to see if there might be a phone number on the actual door; (3) call out to a woman several floors up who was vacuuming her deck -- and whatever language barrier we suffered, she at least pressed a button that buzzed the entrance door and got us inside the building; (4) find no information on the actual apartment door, we were standing there when a neighbor returned -- and even though she had no helpful information about her neighbors, she agreed to leave a message and our phone number on the door; (5) make one final call to the owner's before leaving to find a room for the night -- this time getting an answer by the owner's husband who explained that he didn't have the maid's number but if I would call back in 10 minutes, he would try to get it from his wife who was traveling elsewhere in Germany.  When I called back, he explained that he had gotten in touch with the maid -- and before we ended our conversation, the maid appeared at the condo complex door.  The adventure continued because the maid spoke absolutely no English (only German) -- but we slowly were able to find adequate props and hand motions to make the final arrangements/payments for her service, a deposit, parking and wifi access.  We even were able to successfully arrange for her to return on April 7 to refund our deposit in time for us to catch our departing train.

After all that, we collasped into the lovely surrounds of a super-nice, fully equipped condo with peak-a-boo views of the nearby, beautiful Lake Maggiore and walking distance to Locarno's downtown plaza.  We made sure we could get the internet working -- had a fun video chat with Neal -- and crashed into the wonderfully comfortable bed for our first sleep in 34 hours.

Mar 23-30: First Stop Williamsburg, VA

We departed PDX on Wednesday, March 23 enroute through Dallas/Ft. Worth to Norfolk, Virginia to begin this long-awaited trip.  The flights were uneventful and comfortable -- and after picking up a rental in Norfolk, we arrived at our son Neal/daughter-in-law Anna's Williamsburg, VA home to enjoy our first meeting of 21 day old Geneva Rose - their first child, our third grandchild and second granddaughter.  What a delight that perhaps only grandparents can truly understand -- the opportunity to hold a baby that brings back all the most wonderful memories of raising her dad and aunts.

We then checked into a nearby 1 bedroom time-share type apartment which we had arranged through a private owner advertising on homeaway.com (http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p110060?). It turned out to be a very comfortable and convenient place to stay just about 2 miles from the kids' home.

Each of the seven days we stayed in Williamsburg were spent happily with the new grand daughter/family.  On the fourth day of our visit, Anna's mom arrived for her first visit to meet Geneva.  It was great to have 3 generations on both sides of Geneva's family together.  In addition, in celebration of my (Noel's) 60th birthday that occured during the week -- Neal/Anna arranged a gathering of area colleagues/friends on one evening.  It was great to visit with 3 additional William and Mary philosophy professors and their spouses -- and enjoy my favorite dessert: Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream pie.

Turning 60 wasn't all that bad considering the fun we were enjoying -- and the actual date of my birthday we enjoyed getting $100 gift card for attending yet another time share sales presentation - something we've had fun with before -- posted about it a prior blog here .  In addition, I had a leisurely, conversation filled lunch with a former boss who had selected me for the job that took our family to Seattle, launching our love for the northwest USA; and,  we got an offer on our La Center home that had only been on the market for a little over a week.  Before we left Williamsburg, we were able to arrive at a mutually agreeable contract subject to the usual inspection, appraisal and financing contingencies.  We remain hopeful that all will proceed as comfortably as it began in getting the house sold -- especially so quickly in a very crummy economy.

Here is a link to the photos Deb took during our Williamsburg stay:  https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=debtog&target=ALBUM&id=5590484086988362401&authkey=Gv1sRgCIimtezLxKD-MQ&feat=email

March 23 to April 26: Another Adventure Gets Underway

Deb and I are sitting in PDX airport awaiting our 6am departure on the first leg of a 5 week adventure to Williamsburg, VA to meet and spend 7 days with our newest grandchild - Geneva Rose - and her parents, and then off to Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands for three weeks - then to San Diego for a week before getting home on April 26.  I'm not sure how frequently I'll choose to blog -- but I figured I should at least get one started.  Stay tuned.