Our next crazy 48 hours….

It’s Saturday, our final full day aboard the Norwegian Spirit. Tomorrow morning, we’re #2  on the disembarking list. We’ll get in line to get off the ship, wait in another line to grab a cab to the Marco Polo Airport in Venice, Italy in order to pick up our awaiting rental car and begin the almost four hour drive to our new home in Boveglio, Lucca, Tuscany.

We’ll arrive in Venice at 2:00 pm today.  Wisely planning our time to ensure we do exactly what we hope to do in Venice, adds to the excitement and enjoyment of the next few days. Disembarking a ship is one of the least favorite aspects of our travels (along with airports).  Carefully planning our exit gives us both a sense of comfort and control, easing the process along the way.

The anticipation of finally seeing our new home for the summer gives me butterflies. If it were a “vacation” for a few weeks, I’d be less concerned. But spending two and a half months is a long time, as long as we’ve stayed anywhere since leaving Minnesota on October 31, 2012.  

Our biggest concern is the fact that the house isn’t air conditioned. It’s hot in Tuscany in the summer. Recently, I contacted the owners, Lisa and Luca, asking about the comfort in the house in the heat. They assured us that the thick stone walls of the 17th century house stays cool all summer.

Having spent the past several months in very warm climates with much of our time outdoors, hopefully, we’ll be acclimated. As long as we can sleep at night, the warm days will be tolerable.

So here’s the rundown for the next 48 hours:

7:30 am to 8:15 am today:  Breakfast in the Raffles Cafe.

8:15 am to 11:30 am today: Currently we’re outdoors on the covered patio, overlooking the pool, writing our story.  Our laptop batteries last about 3 hours which always motivates us to complete our story within that time frame.

11:30 am – 1:30 pm today: Pack all of our bags, leaving out clothing and toiletries for tonight and tomorrow morning.  Recharge our computers.

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm today:  Spend our final time by the pool reading our books while enjoying the fact that most of the passengers are getting ready to disembark to Venice when the ship arrives around 2:00 pm, which leaves the pool area quiet and relaxing.

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm today: Now in port in Venice, our MiFi will work. We’ll head to the 12th deck to the Galaxy of the Stars lounge in the bow of the ship to do our banking, pay bills, update our budget from expenses on and off the cruise, entering all the receipts. We do this at the end of every cruise and every few days when staying put for a few months to ensure we don’t miss entering a single expenditure.

4:00 pm – 4:45 pm today:  Shower and dress for the evening in comfortable clothing and shoes bringing a warm sweater for me.

5:00 pm – 6:30 pm today: Meet our fabulous friends Nicole and Gerry for cocktails in Champagne Charlie’s for our final time together with them and our favorite bartender from Bali, Gusti! What a guy!

6:30 pm today: Get off the ship to go to Venice. Hopefully, we’ll be able arrange for an evening gondola ride at sunset.  This will allow us plenty of time to explore Venice. 

11:00 pm tonight: Return to the ship in time to place all of our luggage outside our cabin door, get some rest, planning to get up by 6:00 am.

6:30 am – 7:15 am tomorrow: Breakfast in Raffles Cafe.

7:15 am – 8:00 am tomorrow: Return to our cabin to gather our hand luggage, placing it on one of our luggage carts, finalizing packing our of digital equipment which we always carry with us.

8:00 am – 9:30 am tomorrow: Wait in our designated area for our number to be called to disembark the ship.  

9:30 am – 10:30 am tomorrow: Wait in line at the taxi stand for a ride to the Marco Polo Airport where we’ll pick up our awaiting rental car.

11:00 am – 11:30 am tomorrow: Pick up rental car. Email Lisa and Luca using laptop and MiFi telling them we are on our way and our expected time of arrival at the house.

11:45 am – 3:00 pm  tomorrow: Drive from Venice to our new home in Tuscany, stopping for photos along the way, hoping to arrive by 3:00 pm, our tentative time to meet Lisa and Luca.

3:00 pm – 6:00 pm tomorrow: Familiarize ourselves with the house. Unpack all of our luggage. Find a nearby restaurant for dinner.

6:30 pm – 8:30 pm tomorrow: Dinner at the local restaurant,-presenting our prepared Italian language instructions for my gluten-free, grain-free, starch-free, sugar free and low carb way of eating.

8:30 pm – 10:00 pm tomorrow: Email family and friends that we’ve safely arrived in Tuscany and finally test out our new bed.  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ (Much needed by then!)

Monday morning, awaken early as usual: Photos! Story! Trip to the grocery store! Getting acquainted with our new neighborhood! Find a health club! Do laundry! Go for a walk!

Hopefully? Grinning from ear to ear as we enter this new phase of our journey.

By the way, any of these plans are subject to change. 

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