John and Kevin's Big Christmas in Italy Adventure

[sjsjbrook]

I am off to buy a lottery ticket, in hopes that I win enough to join you in May.

 

[DisneyKevin]

It's 5:30am and we are sitting in the Venice airport, at which we arrived via speedboat.

We fly from Venice to Paris (so close but so far) and then from Paris to Atlanta and finally to Orlando.

I'm sure other things will come to me, but as I sit here.....I can't help but think of how lucky I am to be able to do stuff like this.

Not only did we get to enjoy a fantastic vacation, but we were lucky to shift our focus from what could have been a sad/moody holiday.

ABD could not have done more to make the trip better. Our guides, Courtney and Marco were amazing.

Our hotels were in the very best locations and wonderfully comfortable places.

The food (except for one meal) was great.

Our fellow travelers were great.

I'm looking forward to being home. I miss the dogs.

Otherwise......I could stay in Italy a while longer.

After we leave Venice, we won't be able to post until we get home.

Thanks for sticking with us.

 

[jcb]

Hope your flight is without incident - or duct tape.

I sure enjoyed the posts, and am looking forward to being there.

 

[EDuke98080]

Safe travels home. So glad you had a wonderful trip!

 

[WebmasterJohn]

As Kevin said this may be our last post for a while as the rest of the week is travel - ok the rest of the day is travel but it sure seems like a week.

What an amazing trip this has been, so many highlights.

Our farewell dinner/party was a bit of a mess but we'll save that for the podcast as I don't think we could do it justice in a post.

As Kevin said our guides were awesome. They were so generous with their time and patience with us and never made us feel like we were holding anyone up. They never blinked when we decided not to join the group and made sure we knew where and when we were meeting. And they always seemed happy to see us - even when we would start the conversation with "we don't mean to be a pain in the butt, but..."

I really enjoyed our vacation but I am looking forward to getting home. I miss the dogs, Kurieg coffee, my recliner, my computer and working. We have so many cool things planned for next year I can't wait to dive right in.

See you in Orlando!!!

 

[WaltD4Me]

Safe and uneventful travels home! It's been wonderful following along on your trip. I'm sad it's coming to an end, but I know the dogs can't wait for you to be home. And May isn't so far off.......

 

[zavandor]

I'm happy you enjoyed your trip in Italy. I'm so proud of the beauty of my country!

It is very interesting reading about Italy as seen from the eyes of an american. I really laughed at your comment about how we drive: you are right, here it's more about survival and less about moving from one place to another.

 

[corky441]

I can't wait to hear everything about the trip on the Podcast.
You both are such great story tellers . . .
I'm especially interested in how your farewell dinner was a mess. Ours was also less than stellar.
Welcome back

 

[Kimberle]

Safe travels, guys! I can't wait to see your pic's!

 

[quietgirll]

Thanks again so much for sharing your trip with us!!! It's been absolutely wonderful!!

 

[sayhello]

You're well into your day of travel by now. I hope it remains an uneventful trip. Safe travels!

Sayhello

 

[*NikkiBell*]

It sounds as if you two had the opportunity to recharge and rejuvenate. I think that is great and am excited for you both. Safe travels home! We miss you!

 

[Cyrano]

It has been an awesome journey, thanks for sharing.

Look forward to hearing the details on a future podcast.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Thanks John and Kevin, for taking us along by retelling your stories! I would love to take a trip like that and it's nice to be able to dream about it. Safe travels!

 

[HollyMac71]

I have to admit I'm sad your trip has come to an end. I love reading your trip reports and wish to go abroad with the group someday.

Safe travels home!

 

[WebmasterJohn]

We are on our Delta flight to Orlando!!

We actually didn't make our first flight out of Atlanta. Our flight from Paris was delayed and even being rushed through the terminal and through security we just missed the flight. We were actually right on time but they had shut the doors and wouldn't let us board. Don't they know who we are?

We managed to get on a flight leaving an hour later so not too bad.

It's a little surreal to think we were on a water taxi leaving Venice early this morning and now we're waiting for our final flight to depart for home.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Gosh, that must have been stressful! I absolutely hate rushing through airports so I try to get there as early as possible. Travel safely!

 

[OKW Lover]

Welcome Home!!!

...what did you bring us?

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

Well, it wouldn't be a flight to/from Orlando without rushing through the Atlanta airport! That seems to happen to us every time! Welcome home!

Laurie

 

[Leigha]

Thank you so much for taking time out of your days to post and let us live through you! I won't ever go to Italy and really appreciate hearing about it from you two! THANKS!!