family, food and floating....

what is caity looking forward to?..................

what are we looking forward to??? - i asked caity and hugh....

When I first asked Caity and Hugh this question awhile back - it was pizza in Italy and ice-cream in Switzerland!

 I've asked them again today - and here are their answers. We'll see how their sense of this trip and what they value develops over time.......

Is it better to plan, to travel, or arrive?

I mused to cousin Matt this week that the blog was all about the planning and not yet the doing. Rachel has pointed me to an article in the NYT that suggests that much of the joy of travel is in the planning.
 http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/how-vacations-affect-your-happiness/
"The study, published in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life,showed that the largest boost in happiness comes from the simple act of planning a vacation. In the study, the effect of vacation anticipation boosted happiness for eight weeks". Appropriately, this research was conducted at Breda University in the Netherlands.

So, I'll keep planning -  it's good for me! I guess I need to make sure that the other travellers are wound in too, so they don't miss out on this psychological free-kick. Perhaps Syl can decode Trenitalia for me!

Last, dear bloggees, are you happier for this vicarious planning?! I hope so.

Matto will join us in London, Genoa, cruising aboard the Splendida and in Rome

Matt is booked on Emirates to join us in London to see the sights, then fly BA down to Genoa for a couple of days - including a visit to Cinq Terre - then aboard the Splendida for our cruise around the western mediterranean.

Finally we will have some time in Rome to wnader the old city.... and perhaps a trip down to Pompeii. From Rome, Matt flies back to Perth and work.

Rich is an unknown at this stage - his exams run into November and he is job-hunting. With luck,  we hope that he will be able to join us in Dordrecht and in Hong Kong - we'll see.........

RED HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL'S EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT WARMS UP!!