A long time in coming....

Well, the day has finally arrived. Our bags are packed, the plans are all made, and now we await our ride to terminal 5 at ORD. For all the travelling I have done, it it hard to believe this will only be the second time I have stepped foot into the international terminal at O'Hare Field. Our flight leaves at 5:15 PM local time which will land us in Paris at 1:30AM Chicago time. Of course it will be rush hour in Paris by then (8:35AM there). After a short stop in Paris (and bus ride from terminal 2E to 2F) our next plane takes us to Marco Polo airport in Venice, Italy. Who would believe that for us to get to our hotel, we now must get into a speed boat (locally referred to as a water taxi) for a 30 minute ride to Gludecca (one of the many islands which make up Venice). The Holland America Oosterdam will be awaiting there in port but the people already on the ship from the previous cruise are spending the night on the ship before they disembark on Tuesday morning. After our long journey, Peg and I are hoping for enough energy to visit the canals of Venice in our first Gondola ride. After one night in a hotel Peg and I will again jump into a water taxi and motor over to the embarkation pier and check into our stateroom on another dam ship. We again will spend the night in Venice before leaving for Dubrovnick, Croatia. I wish I could tell you I know all about each of the places we will be visiting but I do not. I can hardly spell the names of the countries we will soon be walking around in. I can also tell you though that there will be plenty of pictures, lots of film footage, and endless blog posts. This is truely a trip of a lifetime and it will not go undocumented. If you are reading this, I invite you to check back often for updates. Peg and I have never done anything like this, we have never been to any of these places, and we can today only imagine what is in store for us. We wish every one of you was going on the ship with us, but this blog will have to do. Please do come along...through the words and pictures I will do my best to share along our journey through the Mediterranean Sea.