Bags On Their Way to Barcelona!

Today was the day bags were scheduled to be picked up!  We had arranged for a time slot between 10am and noon.  The courier service arrived shortly after 10am!  He presented us with a signed receipt for our 4 bags, 2 large suitcases and 2 duffel bags.

The "young" man was in uniform, very pleasant and very efficient.  We were quite pleased with Luggage Free's service when we used it in 2013.  And, they're off on the right foot again!

We had the bags waiting in the garage.  The courier quickly moved them into his truck. I'd forgotten to pick up the camera on my way out so had to run back.  By the time I was outside again, he'd started closing up.  You can see one of the duffel bags sitting on top.

And then they were off!  Yes, it was a rainy day but the rain did stop long enough for the bags to get moved from the garage to the truck!

Around 11am, we received an email from Luggage Free advising that the courier had delivered the bags!!!  YEAH!!!

So, as of now, except for our drag-a-longs, our bags have deserted us!  We look forward to meeting up with them again on the ship in Barcelona when we settle in to our cabin, our home for the following 70 nights!

rf

Down to Three Weeks!

Ohhhh so close now!!  At this point, it's hard to believe it was 18 months ago we booked this trip!  It seemed soooo far away then!

We started the official packing process today!  Two duffel bags are packed and Tom has his big suitcase almost packed!  I have stuff laid out and will probably pack it up tomorrow.  Bags will be picked up in 11 days, 10 days before departure.

We always keep a countdown calendar and, today, the regular lists got moved down and the calendar got moved to the fridge (every home's bulletin board!).  The calendar has meals outlined so as to get all the frozen food out of the freezers and finish off any kind of food that might spoil.  We have a wonderful window-mate who will watch the house for us, just in case!  After all, we will still be in hurricane season!

Three weeks from now, as I post this, we are scheduled to be a little over an hour into our flight to Zurich, then on/back to Barcelona!
rf

Another Countdown Day!!

Today marks 4 weeks until departure!  YEAH!!!

We'll head to the airport around 4pm and spend a couple of hours there getting checked in, getting from "land side" to "air side" and waiting for our Edelweiss plane.  4pm weekdays is the middle of Tampa rush hour!  And, this will be a Friday afternoon so who knows what kind of traffic we will run into!!

The milestone event earlier this week was getting suitcases down from the attic!  Tom pulled the stairs down, braved the heat, put on a construction helmet and headed on up the stairs (the ceiling of the attic looks like an upside down nail bed!)

At the time of this picture, the luggage was still sitting in the garage recovering from the high (115-120º F) heat in the attic.  The next day, they graduated to cooler heat in the guest room.  We have begun laying out "take with" items, however, haven't started loading the bags.

The two large bags along with a couple of duffel bags will be shipped to Barcelona, the smaller ones will be dragged along with us.  The ones being shipped will leave about 10 days before we do.

Today brought another, not so surprising, event.  We were originally scheduled to stop in Mytilini on the Greek island of Lesbos.  However, after the number of fleeing Syrian immigrants arriving there, Regent has chosen to take us to another Greek port. We will dock in Kavala on mainland Greece.

Check the Itinerary page Leg 2 for location of Mytilini and Leg 3 for location of Kavala.

Regent wisely does not take us any where there might be danger or unrest.  Friends often ask "Aren't you afraid of traveling in that part of the world?"  My response is always "No.  Regent stays alert to all world and weather events and doesn't take us places where we might be in any danger!"

That's all for today!
rf

Cruise Documents Arrived!!!

 WHEE!!!  Today our cruise documents arrived.  A couple of days ago, our Cruise Consultant advised they were in her office and were being sent out that day!  We'd received notice from UPS Choice that they would be in today!  SOOO excited!

We heard the doorbell ring and I guessed it would be UPS.  By the time I got to the door, the speedy driver/delivery person was gone but this package was lying there saying "Pick me up! Get me inside to where it is cool!"





The driver must have updated his system on his way back to the truck!  By the time I got back to my computer, we'd received a message from UPS!

Of course, the next thing was to open the package and as expected, all the documents were there!!

Again enclosed in an iPad case... still no iPad itself!!

Checked to make sure everything was there and that details matched the notes we'd kept along the way!  Another job well done by Regent Seven Seas Cruises and, most importantly, our Cruise and Vacation Consultant at TCAVA!


The countdown continues:




We've started the packing by just laying things out and we've started emptying the freezers.  And we are eating out more, thus practicing for letting someone else do the cooking and washing the dishes!!

rf