And So This DOES Come to an End!

November 25, 2010

And HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I have said this blog was over, and I really thought that I was through writing about my trip to Italy and Spain. And I really meant it! But then I would think about some more things I wanted to add. But this WILL be my final post-for this blog at least! I am clearly back from Rome and Sardinia and Spain....
I returned home four weeks ago yesterday. On November 5th, I had foot surgery on my left foot (at least I can drive!), so my “re-entry” was slowed a bit. There was three months of mail to go through, although I had paid most of my bills on line while I was away. I needed to (quickly) get out my winter clothing and put away the clothes I had lived in for three months. (I am still delighted that I had a minimalist wardrobe for the smallest “wheelie” suitcase in a four piece set! Its weight hovered around 33 pounds to stay within the Ryanair requirements. My one carry-on weighed roughly fifteen pounds, although it was only weighed for one flight of the six Ryanair flights.)
Writing my blog helped me to remember most of what I had seen and done while I was away, as well as sharing my travels with friends and family. (I did forget to include the sad turtles I saw-one was on Sardinia trying to climb up onto the sidewalk, and the other was in Aquilas crossing the street on the way to the Cope beach. I used a Google template, although I was late to learn that I could see how many people where following my escapades, as well as where they lived. I still don’t know who in Korea was reading it, but the statistics information was really interesting. I loved everyone’s comments and emails giving me feedback! It is too bad the Comment section is not too user-friendly, however!
I’ve heard back from some of the friends which I made along the way, so that has been great! I love to think that we might meet up again and share travel stories and a glass of wine! Francesca’s later Couch Surfing friends are benefitting from the Sardinia travel book which I left with her, as I lightened my load. Gloria’s husband has suffered from major heart attacks and surgeries on Tenerife, but his recovery sounds most promising. He will be home in early December. Kathy, our next door neighbor in Aguilas, is back home in Glouceseter, England, which she says is COLD, but their return to Aguilas is scheduled.
Before I had left in August, I had talked with someone in the Newton Adult Ed program. So shortly after I returned home, I lead a two hour session at the Newton Adult Education program on Vacation Home Exchanges. Thirteen people signed up for it, although only eight people actually came. One of the first woman who came to the class said, "I've been so looking forward to this class ever since I read about it in the catalogue! I've always wanted to do this, but I wanted more information!" That was a great start, and I was delighted. So I've been contacting other cities and towns in the area who have similar programs to see if they might like to add this to their program. At this point, it looks like six other communities are interested! However, I was cautioned that some of them do not get a good response for adult programs....In any event, I've decided to blog about what I've learned about Vacation Home Exchanges...at http://AtoZofVacationHomeExchanges.blogspot.com! It will not be limited to home exchanges, I am sure I will digress and talk about other travel topics, but I especially want to share my vacation home exchange experiences. I hope you will check out that blog also. Thank you very much for following my wonderful trip with me!