iTraveled

San Benedetto Del Tronto Italy: The perfect place for a vacation in Italy

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 00:55:00 +0000

Ok so the title isn't exact because after all what is "perfect?" In the event you are looking for a great place to take your family in Italy, then this is it. The travel guides you read will tell you everything you need to know about Rome, Venice, Florence and the rest but if you have seen them already or if you want to take a vacation where the Italians go then San Benedetto Del Tronto is the spot you're looking for. This isn't the only Italian destination but it is one of the better ones. There are many things that make this city perfect for a holiday but the simplest reason is that it was designed that way.

The lungomare or seaside is designed so that the tourist hotels and a few bars are on the road that is parallel to the beach opposite the beach of course. (The first picture is one of the many hotels, the second is the view from the front of another hotel) Just on the other side of the road is the bike path where if you're not careful you will get run over by one of the many bicycles that are constantly taking advantage of having their own road. Just past the bike path is the sidewalk and this isn't a narrow two and a half foot wide sidewalk, this is near twenty feet in some places, so there is plenty of room for people to walk up and down without feeling crowded and without having to dodge cyclists.

Along the sidewalk are, alternating between chalets (restaurants), bars (a bar in Italy is a place to buy an espresso and other snacks along with some alcohol but not a bar you would find in America,) parks and playgrounds for children. This is much to be said about how clean, neat and tidy this quaint seaside village is. If you were to fly above the beach in a helicopter you would see how square and organized it looks. The chalets all have umbrellas to rent on the beach and they all have different sets of colors that make the beach look colorful and festive.

I wish I could give some sort of review on a few of the restaurants but sadly, I never at on this beach. The only thing I was able to eat when I got here was a few gelatos or Italian ice cream. I spent many Euros on ice cream and the best gelatos I had in Italy were when I was in this region of Italy. It was rare to find a place that didn't make outstanding, flavorful and inexpensive gelatos. Average cost of a small two flavored cone was €1.50, medium three flavored cone €2.00 and large three or more flavored cone was €2.50. Gelatos are well worth their weight in gold, that might be a bit redundant for those of you who have had one. Warning: The fruit flavors are made with the actual fruit instead of flavoring and they are slightly addicting. Just because they are healthier for you than standard American ice cream does not mean you won't gain weight. Overall satisfaction of my time in San Benedetto, complete and total satisfaction! I feel in love and plan to go back one day. I actually like destinations that are full of locals and natives rather than tourists and travelers.

Moresco Italy's Folkloristico Festival 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 12:19:00 +0000

One of the many, and I mean MANY, festivals you will find going on in Italy during the summer is in Moresco which is in the La Marche region of Italy in the hills overlooking the Aso Valley and the Adriatic coast. In terms of scenery, this part of Italy is hard to beat.

One strange fact about Moresco is that it is home to one of the only seven sided medieval towers in Europe.

We were lucky to have been able to visit during this time of year, the Folkloristico Festival was fun and interesting to see. I love how this festival was more of a community gathering or almost what American's would call a "block party." Since the town of Moresco is a very old Medieval town, the way it is built, everything is connected. There are apartments all around the square and during they day you would see people opening and closing their shutters depending on the weather. We weren't so lucky in the fact that this was the wettest start to a summer Italy has seen in a long time so we did have to wait out a rain shower here and there.

Another couple of interesting facts about Moresco is that it has a heptagonal shaped watch tower and is home to frescos (Seen Below) by the famous Italian painter Vincenzo Pagani, which we were told is worth tens of millions of dollars. The tower (seen above) is strange in the odd number of sides that it has but from the top of the tower that rises 25 meters, you can get an amazing view of the Aso Valley, Pedaso and on a clear day you can even see the coast of Albania which is approximately 70 km away.

The folkloristico festival is all about the way it used to be in Moresco. There are a few people who dress in the traditional Italian costumes, they sing and dance to old songs in Dialect. There are about close to thirty people in different groups playing the accordion and another with the a tambourine. I fell in love with an older lady who sang and danced for the entire time we were there which had to be close to 6 hours. I hope when I'm her age I have as much energy. You see her pictured below and I'll post the video as well.

There are big reasons for coming to Italy which everyone knows and dreams about but I have learned that in Italy there are more reasons NOT to go to the over crowded, over priced and often over romanticised tourist traps. While I too went to or will go to Rome, Florence, Milan and Venice, I have found that some of the most beautiful sights have been in the small medieval towns. I learned that the only place to find Italians, is to go where the tourists aren't. Rent a car and drive away from these cities and after an hour the first B&B you find, stop there and you will find your heaven. Festivals go on in every town all across Italy all it takes is a bit of luck and adventure. Growing up and learning about how civilization got it's start in Italy somehow makes it very romantic in but in reality the real beauty of Italy is in the homes of Italians, in the kitchens, in the bar's and in the center of town during these festivals. The heart of Italy beats strong off the beaten path.

The prices of food and drinks outside the tourist traps are cheap to reasonable. You can get a liter of very good wine from 2 to 4 Euro's and rarely pay more than 2 Euro for a slice of truly Italian pizza which is very filling. But don't stop at just the pizza because they have a pork sandwich called "porchetta" that will make your mouth water with every bite. There isn't anything anyone should be afraid to try in Italy, they aren't very adventurous with spices except for basil, rosemary and olive oil which you will find on most everything. So don't be scared, go off and explore and learn what real Italy is all about.

Monterubbiano Italy's Armata di Pentecoste Is a sight to see

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 14:55:00 +0000

We got lucky when we got to Italy. The family we were staying with lives about 5 minutes down the road from Monterubbiano which is a tiny town in the hills above the Aso valley in Marche Italy. "La Marche" is known for being the shoe capital of Italy and for having rich soil for crops. Another thing it should be known for is amazing views of the mountains, the valley and the ocean. Looking east I could see the Adriatic sea, south east I see the valley and to the south I see snow capped mountains also referred to as a little slice of heaven. Below are a few pictures but trust me when I say that these pictures only give you an idea of how beautiful it is.

Another way we got lucky was that we arrived in Italy at the beginning of festival season which is pretty much the entire summer. The first festival we were lucky enough to attend was in the town of Monterubbiano and the festival was called "Armata Di Pentecoste" or roughly translated to army of pentecost. The town has no records of the age of this festival but most of the townsfolks we spoke with say that it could be as old as Italy itself. The festival lasts for 3 days with activities like the band march, which is a group of about 15 drummers going up and down the streets banging out different songs. There is also the "meet and greet" which is where the "teams" for the Picena race or the "ring tournament." There is also a holy mass that the town holds outside near the racecourse. We weren't able to attend all the events but below are a few pictures of the ring tournament, the flag demonstration and holy mass.

This festival is one of many that few non-Italians get to see because this region isn't on the "tourist's" radar. We believe, after staying here for nearly two months that this should be right up there with Rome, Florence and Venice. The views are unbelievable, the food is incredible and the beaches are perfect for families. There is just as much history in Fermo, Moresco and too many more to name. So if you don't like all the crowds and hordes of photo snapping tourists then try the Aso Valley, you won't be disappointed. The last few pictures I'm adding are just some of the many cool things we saw and did. So if you find yourself planning a visit to Italy take head in the best piece of advice I can give you about this lovely country, beware of the tourist. They come in droves, they take a picture of everything and they move much like cattle, slow bunched up and groan about everything. Enjoy!

Free walking tour of Dublin Ireland

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 May 2013 21:58:00 +0000

Ireland is a beautiful island, the grass is the greenest I have ever seen and there is vegetation growing absolutely everywhere and it is easy to understand why rainbows are synonymous with leprechauns.

(Above picture was taken from the balcony of our friends apartment in norther Dublin, near the airport.)

The second day we were in Dublin, Brownie and I decieded to take the free walking tour. (This is a MUST do here) We had the cutest Irish girl giving the tour, Emer (pronounced like Lemur minus the L,) and on our tour that started at 2pm I think it rained 4 to 5 times, hailed once, windy the entire time and bright and sunny 3 times. Our first thoughts was that we chose the wrong day to take the walking tour but after a week there we realized there is no "right" time to take a walking tour, you just have to have the luck of the Irish.

(our cute tour guide)

(This is where the tour starts. Right outside of Dublin Castle with a person holding the free tour sign.)

The tour is completely free but they do give you the opportunity to tip them after the tour is over and if you don't give them a tip or a decent tip, they won't even blink an eye. I on the other hand gave as much as I would have paid to get that much information, which was pretty decent from an American stand point. I couldn't imagine someone would go on that tour and give less than 5 Euro, it is a very good tour and the tour guide will stop to answer any and all questions thrown at them no matter how silly or difficult they are to answer. In my group there was only one Mexican (Brownie) and two Americans (some guy from New York and me) and the rest were Dutch, Spanish, or German. The tour was 3 hours long give or take 20 minutes, the tour guide was very knowledgeable and she was funny which made the time go buy way to fast. The tour goes to Trinity College, Old Parliament House, Temple Bar, City Hall, Dublin Castle, Wood Quay, Christ Church Cathedral and Four Courts. All of which are interesting and/or beautiful so bring a water proof camera or video camera because you will want to take loads of pictures. The camera doesn't HAVE to be water proof but if you want to be sure it doesn't get water logged, then you better have something to keep it dry at all times. In Dublin, if you like the weather just wait 5 minutes and it will remind you why the grass is so green.

If you can deal with the cold, wind and rain then Dublin is a great place to be. The people there are nice and helpful to everyone no matter their cultural differences, race or class. This is one of the most diverse cities I have ever been in. I heard more languages spoken in one day in the city center than I had in my entire life, though it was strange, it was a good strange. The downside of Dublin is the cost. This is a very expensive city, it is cheaper to fly from Dublin to London England than it is to go out to a nice restaurant for two. (If you fly Ryaniar) A pint of beer is anywhere between 5 and 7 Euros which is roughly $6.50 to $9 USD and for those of you who smoke, a pack of Marlboros will cost 8.50 Euros (nearly $11 USD). If you plan on visiting Dublin be sure to add plenty of room for your food and drink costs. Below are some pictures of the sights you see on the tour, though I didn't take many because my camera isn't water proof. (another lesson learned after the fact)

Dublin Ireland and Social Norms

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 May 2013 20:56:00 +0000

I thought I would write a quick posting about social norms in Dublin. Social norms are "the customary rules that govern behavior in groups and societies" or that's what the guys from Stanford say. So what that means is how you act in your group or society (if accepted as normal by others) is the social norm but where are the lines that are drawn to let you know you are out of your group or society? By that I mean how does one know that the way they act isn't acceptable somewhere else. Well so far, I have found that social norms don't exactly translate from country to country, no matter how alike one country may be with the other. For example, in Ireland, the natives are caucasian/anglo saxon or what ever you want to call white people and so am I. So is that my "society?" Also in Ireland they listen to music from the United States and they wear clothing from the United States, so I should fit right in right? The answer is a resounding NO! We may look alike, speak realitively the same language and like the same clothing designers but we are worlds apart when it comes to certain social norms. The only example I really have in mind is when it comes to the way I (and most Texas natives) deal with the cold. I dress accordingly, t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, hoodie and hooded coat (an example of how I dressed for the entire time I was in Ireland is below.)

For those of you who don't know the first thing about Ireland, it's cold. Even if the sun is shining with out a cloud in the sky, the wind can cut through you like a knife and it could rain or hail at the drop of a hat. The only thing more confusing than Irish weather is American tax law.

I bring up the subject of social norms because upon my arrival to Dublin, I asked a native Dubliner for suggestions on where to get a good pint of Guinness. Guinness is one of those beers that is easily screwed up, it needs to be kept at a certain temperature and the bar keep must use the two part pour technique to ensure the full flavor of the stout is attained. (These facts are truths you can only appreciate when in Ireland) So my newly found Irish friend points me in the direction of several pubs in Dublin and one of those is called The Porterhouse. Now normally I wouldn't add the name of an establishment that gives me poor service or in this case that refuses me service but I found out that it was MY fault and not theirs. Here is where knowing the social norms of the area you are in comes in handy.

Dublin has a problem with herion/drug addicts. These people live on the streets and roam them as if they owned the town and they aren't accepted as much as they are tolerated. People from Dublin just walk past them and do so as quickly as possible. Visitors to dublin barely recognize them because they look much like anyone else except one simple detail. They wear beanies and hooded sweatshirts all the time, and they wear them with their hoods up, much like me in the picture above. The Irish have some how built up a tolerance to the cold so most of them do not wear anything on their head, though it is very common for men to wear scarfs and a jacket. Being from a very warm climate in San Antonio Texas, I find it hard to leave my head to the elements so I was never with out my beanie and hoodie.

So one night a friend of Brownie's took us out to have a pint of beer at some of the pubs in the city center. The last pub we went to was going to be the Porterhouse. I had managed to get into every pub, restaurant and shopping mall in the city up to this point but this pub had a doorman that wasn't nearly as observant as the previous door guys. Our friend, his girlfriend and Brownie walked right in. I stopped just in front of the door to read the sign outside the door that listed off the specials for the night. When I tried to follow my group in, the doorman slid right infront of me. At first I was just annoyed that he got in my way and that he got really close to me, he invaded my "bubble" so-to-speak. My first reaction was to say excuse me and try to go around the guy, thinking maybe he was moving that direction and I hadn't noticed. That's when he told me I couldn't go in. He said "You can't go in there dressed like that." With my jaw on the ground I pulled my hoods off my head, stood up straight and look at him like he was crazy and said "like what, and American?" Thinking that he had something against Americans, now how he would have guessed I was an American by just looking at me is beyond me but I've had somewhat of a complex about being American since I started traveling. He said "No, just think about the way your dressed, you've got to look decent when you go into a place like this." Please look at the picture above and explain to me what about my appearance looks indecent? Ok, never mind don't tell me because I can't and won't see it because in my society, I looked "normal" for a guy that was freezing his tail off. Since I had no response and I didn't know if this place had some sort of dress code that I was breaking, I turned around and walked off leaving my group inside the pub. My wife quickly left and asked me what had happened and this is the point in which I started to get insulted and no longer wanted go into the pub after all.

Our friends and my brother in laws did tell me later that I looked much like the people the Dubliners call "knockers" which are the drug attics. Before my trip to Europe, I lost nearly 50 pounds so I am skinny, pale and needed more than the average amount of clothing to keep me warm. While none of this mattered much to me at the time, I do realize the guy was just trying to keep the dirt bags out of the pub which essentially is the job of a doorman. If I had known what social norms I was breaking before I went to the pub, I might have been able to try some of the beers there, so the lesson here is "while it is ok to be yourself at home, you must try to "fit in" in new places if you want to go where the locals go. So if you ever go to Dublin, remember... No beanies and keep your hoods off your head.

Aso Valley Italy Pictures: A little slice of Heaven

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:55:00 +0000

The pictures will speak for themselves. These are pictures that surround the home we are staying in which is located above the Aso Valley in Lapedona Italy. I learned that Lapedona is so small that Italians living less than 10 kilometers away don't even know the town exists. In small villages like this and due to high gas prices (nearly $11 a gallon) it is much cheaper (and healthier) to use the local bakery, butcher and market for all other goods, than it is to drive 20 minutes down the hill (Altitude is at 1000ft) and go to the supermarket. That is a fact I love, the meat is by far the best, most tender and well priced meat I have ever had. I also love the bread we get from the bakery which is next door to the butchers. So with out further ado, here are some of the most beautiful pictures I have ever taken, not because my camera rocks but because I am living in heaven on earth.

Don't forget everything before you leave

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:28:00 +0000

We finally made it, our flight to Dublin was smooth and shorter than I had thought it would be. The eight hours flew by because I slept through most of the flight. I find that I get anxious before a trip because I know I am the type of person that does everything last minute, I forget random items for my trip and I'm late for everything. So I end up not sleeping the night before a trip to organize my things and ensure I have everything I need. I have never been a big fan of flying so it makes the trips easier on me if I can sleep on the plane and ever since I was in the military, I have learned I can sleep just about anywhere and that includes sitting upright in a plane for eight hours. Since we were to arrive in Dublin at 8:30 am I wanted to be awake and ready to become a tourist.

Even though I stayed up all night the night before we left, I still forgot a couple of items which is no surprise to me but frustrating none the less. Items we left behind were; battery charger for the Sony cyber-shot camera, rechargeable batteries for the Vivitar video camera and Fuji DSLR cameras, and rain coats. One item that I left behind was the universal plug adaptor that Brownie's father had given us the day before we left. This one was good for Europe, Ireland, Australia, Japan, Thailand and the Americas (pretty much everywhere) and he gave it to me to take with us. Even though I had plenty of time to make sure I had everything in order, I somehow managed to leave that behind which added a bit of stress once we got to Ireland. Brownie had to be able to do her hair, I needed the laptop to be able to blog, we needed our iPhone for GPS and we had batteries that we needed to keep charged so we could take pictures. This adapter is essential for us because all of our electronics use the 110v plugs and now we have all these gadgets with no way to plug them in. Luckily for us we survived in Ireland by borrowing the adapter we needed there. Once we got to Rome we needed a different type of adapter so we immediately started looking for one, even though we feared it would cost us an arm and a leg. I didn't want to pay more than 20 Euro for something I knew I could get on Ebay from a supplier in China for no more than $10 USD with shipping included and since we were already on our journey we don't have an address to mail anything to I figured we were done screwed. Luckily enough for us, when we were in Rome buying a pay as you go SIM card, we found the adapter we were looking for and for only 10 Euro!!! Not only did this save my neck it made life so much easier on us while traveling. Below are pictures of the adapter which is also a surge protector and I highly suggest you pick one of these up off eBay or at a local electronics store. I'm not sure on the availability of these in your average town in the states so I suggest looking online at least a month before you plan on leaving for vacation.

When you try to purchase items you need in the places you are visiting you find that you will pay a penalty for not thinking ahead. Case in point, Dublin is a very chilly city and the wind rips right through you. If you research the weather trends in Ireland, you find that it never gets “warm” for long there. They don't really have a “summer” it's more like fall and winter, then fall again. Much like my home of San Antonio, they have two seasons just not the two I'm used to. Brownie didn't bring any scarfs or anything to cover her head and we spent near four hours of our time in Dublin looking for a cheap matching beanie and scarf combo to keep her warm. Oddly enough even Dublin has seasonal sales and when we arrived we found out that they were selling summer clothes in the department stores so finding a matching beanie and scarf was going to be difficult and expensive. The only beanie Brownie found that she liked was one in a souvenir shop but the matching scarf had a big green shamrock on it and that wouldn't match everything as well so she didn't want that. After stopping at a dozen or so street vendors, she finally found one she liked that didn't cost near 20 Euro. If she had bought them in the states, both of them might have cost her $20 combined but here we ended up spending right at 30 Euro which is roughly $35. Expensive lesson if you ask me. We were lucky that while we were in Ireland, we were able to use some plug adaptors that Brownies brothers had used when they got to Ireland while we looked to buy our own. While there we never found the universal adaptor her father had loaned us and we started to worry about where to find one when we get to Italy, again we realized that with our proper planning and implementation of those plans we added undue stress to our trip.

Traveling and Blogging Simultaneously

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:40:00 +0000

Another lesson learned, sitting in one place with out falling asleep is easier said than done with you are somewhere new. Each day starts with getting ready, cleaning up the room we are staying in and getting our items put away in our luggage. Then we go do what ever plans we have. Once we have gone out and done what ever it is we are doing we go back to where we are staying and plan what we are doing the next day. So far we have yet to get to bed before midnight which isn't unusual for us but we want to adjust our sleeping habits to be able to get more site seeing done during the day. The problem with this is that I'm not making time to blog and let everyone know what we're up to. I prefer to be hands on with my experiences while traveling rather than sitting, writing or even sleeping for that matter. Though I am not doing a good job of collecting my thoughts and putting them with photos and words but that's what this is all about for me. We must have balance in everything that we do because anything in excess is bad. Even the things that are "good" for you, like if you drink to much water, it can kill you and if that is true it (which it is) then think about how you need to moderate everything else and yes fun is included in that too. Traveling is fun and I don't think I will have my "fill" for a long time but there is a point in which I need to stop, sit down and think about everything I've seen. Now I'm not saying that if I travel in excess that would be bad for my health but it will be bad for business. Here in Ireland I haven't taken much time to sit and reflect but for the few moments I've been able to do that this morning has made me realize that I need to take notes. It has taken me 3 days to buy batteries for the video camera (rechargeable) and then another 1 to charge them up. I plan on taking short little videos of where I am, what I'm doing and with whom. That's my lazy way of taking notes, otherwise I'll take my pictures, and have brownie fill in the holes. I won't be able to go do a million things a day then come back home and write about it so my lucky few followers will have to be happy with a story a week at this point. Putting a story together has been more difficult than I had originally thought, I guess just because I talk a lot doesn't mean I can just start typing and "poof" it's a story. Even this posting isn't much of a story but a venting about how hard it is to sit still and write. I really like being in motion, constant movement helps me concentrate on the objective at hand when I stop and sit here and stare at my screen I realize I have a million and one thoughts trying to come out all at once. Ok, enough with the complaints and on with the blogging! Just know that I am doing my best to keep you informed and educated on the stresses of traveling while (Oh poor me right?) blogging about it.

New Blog Address

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:56:00 +0000

Just posting to let my followers know the shorter domain name I just set up. I thought the Blogspot addy was to long so I have that as a redirect and the new link to the blog is www.itraveled.net. Don't forget to follow my blog, add it to your favs, like it, +1 it, tell your friends and use it often!

Planning Your Trip Should Include This One Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:45:00 +0000

Ok, so the blog posting I did titled "The Hardest Part" is no longer appropriately titled. A lot has happened in the past couple of days, you know the usual trip preparations, visiting with family, checking your lists for the sixth and seventh time. None of that was worth my time or interesting enough for anyone to read but I did learn a lesson the hard way and figured I would share that with you, my apparently bored, inebriated, related or easily entertained reader.

So about a week ago plans changed with our puppy "Tekila." After further review, we realized that it was going to cost close to $1000 USD, just to Mexico. To fly her from Mexico to where ever we plan on being will be nearly $700 USD, which means we would have spent more money on her tickets than we have spent on her since we got her. So needless to say we figured something else out. I called my sister who lives about 5 hours north of San Antonio in Tyler Texas, and asked her if she could keep Tekila for a couple of months and she agreed. My sweet sister offered to drive down and pick her up but I didn't want her to go that far out of her way for me so I asked her to meet me halfway in Waco Texas. (The rest of this blog will be a perfect example of how I take a great idea and turn it into a catastrophe.) She agreed again and we set the day for friday after she left her office for the day.

Now I wouldn't call me the most sensitive person in the world and if you ask my wife she'd say I'm probably more icy than most. I came up with the brilliant idea to invite my mother because I knew it had been a long time since she saw her last. (My sister is my mothers stepdaughter but the step is just a title) Our family marches to the beat of a different drum so communication isn't something we excel in. Now whenever I invite my mother it's almost understood that I have to invite my younger sister. Now I used to point out that this was where the difficulty came in but it actually wasn't, my younger sister actually wasn't a pain this time because it was all me. So we all piled up in my wife's dad's minivan. Drive nearly three hours to meet my sister halfway, we did leave an hour later than I had wanted and luckily for my my sister was also running behind but not nearly as much as we were.

Once we finally make it to Waco Texas, my sister tells me she found a place to eat, a Mexican restaurant which my wife quickly shot down. She isn't a fan of what Americans call "Mexican" food, while she acknowledges that it is food, she said it is to bland to be from her country. So when we met up I asked my sister if we could go to another place down the street and she offered to just take Tekila and go if it would be easier for us. I didn't even have to think twice, my wife and I both were quiet most of the way and I'm almost positive that we both already had tears building up in our eyes. Before we met up, my sister told me she brought her toy poodle "Big" to help ease the strange drive. Well when we got there I introduced Tekila to my sister and her dog and I swear Tekila has ESP because she instantly starting jumping around in her arms wanting to go back to me or my wife she didn't care who, but not in my sisters arms. This single act of doggy intuition caused the water works to open up for my wife. That's all it took, once I saw my wife loose her composure, I lost all control. Once I started crying it irritated me so much that I started to rush my sister because I felt like it was freaking out Tekila and my wife so I just told her to leave. What I didn't take into account was the other people that were there. My mother and sisters got a total of ten minutes to say how much they have missed each other for the past 10 years or so and then I made my sister leave. HOW SELFISH AM I?

As it turned out, not only did I rush my mother and sisters but my wife was really upset with me. She wanted her time to talk to her baby, to explain to her that we weren't abandoning her but that she was taking a vacation to stay with my sister until we can fly her to where ever we plant our roots. My thinking is that the longer my wife sees her baby fighting to stay with her the harder it was going to be on them both so I made a decision that hurt us all but I felt was the lesser of two evils. What ended up happening could have happened either way and to be honest now that I'm not all emotional about it, I don't think Tekila has thought about the incident since or at least I hope she hasn't. When you make choices that seem to hurt your children, there is sometimes a bit of remorse or guilt that lingers afterwards. At this point I have abandoned that emotion, sometimes it is easier to have blind faith in things when you ultimately have no control. Wether or not my dog feels abandoned or not is irrelevant what matters is that she will be taken care of and loved while she's not with us.

What you need to take into account when planning a trip, move or what ever it is you plan to do, don't forget the emotions of the people around you and that includes your pets. I love my dog like a child and I got her for my wife to have until we get old together but I didn't imagine we wouldn't be taking her with us when we set off to conquer the world. I had no idea how much it would cost to travel with our pet, how much trouble it is or the emotional costs associated with leaving her behind no matter who I left her with. I didn't think about the emotions my wife or I would go through and I blame that on ignorance. Ignorance and “PPP” (Piss Poor Planning) are usually the culprit in these situations and more often then not they are my usual issues. For some reason I seem compelled to do everything the hard way. That is great for my readers but hell on my wife's ulcers. I swear if I don't drive her crazy we'll live to a 100.

When it comes to your pets emotions, it's really all about how you perceive them to be, their emotions that is. When it comes to the emotions of your loved ones, then it's a whole new ball game. People tell you all kinds of things for all kinds of reasons. When emotions are involved people tend to err on the side of caution and give advice ( warranted or not ) that way as well. Remember that and take what people say with a grain of salt. People have all kinds of fears and they tend to tell those fears to anyone who will listen. Look it up people, FEAR may be a four letter word but it's just a word and you can change what that means for you. I have a new definition for the word fear, unknown. Every person I have ever talked to about fear always listed their fears starting with the ones they have yet to experience. Change your definition and get to know your fears and maybe you'll realize that there is a lot less to be afraid of than you think.

Couch Surfing Virgin

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:56:00 +0000

When I started this blog, I started it while sitting in my wife's aunt's garage. At the time I didn't think of what I was doing as couch surfing but then it was brought to my attention, I'm not paying anything, I'm here temporarily and I'm living out of luggage. So technically we are no longer couch surfing virgins. Now for me this is the way to do it, if you ever decide to roam the world one stop at a time, a good way to find out if you can do it is by living out of a suitcase for a week or two while staying with a friend, relative or try to couch surf in your home country and visit places near you before you leave.

I always seem to learn my lessons "after the fact" but learning is a process and this one is mine! That is what this blog is about afterall, learning about what to do and what NOT to do with the latter being the one people will learn the most here. We aren't exactly living out of our luggage here because we do have a car to drive and more "stuff" with us then I would like but it's a process too right? You have to start somewhere and the perfect time and place is here and now no matter when or where it is. Procrastination has kept me from doing a lot of things and instead of complaining about it, I have tried to find "silver lining" in the things I do or don't do. I try to reason with myself and explain why I do whatever it is that I do but when I talk about it to others I get "don't make excuses" or "procrastination is defined by missed opportunities." I'm having a hard time seeing what everyone else sees because in my humble opinion, I do the things when I am ready to do them, and while I may miss doing one thing, I end up doing another. Putting things off to do at the last minute isn't what this posting is about but for those of you out there that have issues with that, get ready for fun because traveling doesn't leave much room for people who do move at a different pace. While it may not bother you or I, when traveling and staying with others it will bother them so remember to always think about your hosts or travel mates.

I haven't attempted to really dig into couchsurfing to much at this point mainly because when I travel I will be with my wife and I can't help but think that people that are hosting couch surfers would prefer to have singles rather than a married couple. To my surprise, just like with everything else there are exceptions. That's why if you want to know... ASK. Being a bit stubborn has slowed me down a little so I tend to get in my own way and take longer to get the things I want. In life there are many paths, this one is mine. As you read, watch and listen to my blog you will see the peaks and valleys in my journey. I plan on trying my hand at couchsurfing, help exchange, travel blogging and running my websites while meeting people all over the world and if my plan doesn't go according to plan then I guess plans changed. Enjoy your plans!!

Buying one way tickets to...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:29:00 +0000

I can't tell you for sure that I know how everyone reacts when buying a one way plane ticket for the first time. What I can tell you is that Brownie has had a really tough time with the idea of buying the tickets, remember money security is our issue right now. I am a care free (maybe a little dumb) American that feels that I can do anything I set my mind to, and my mind is set on being a digital nomad and blogging, the latter being easy since I'm an opinionated wind bag, or so I'm told. We really don't have enough cash in the bank to be doing this and while I know this, I can't exactly tell her. If I tell her then I have to come up with a new plan and answer all her questions like; who, what, when, where and how. It wouldn't be hard to look into my life and see that I'm not exactly the guy that answers questions before he's asked. I don't know if that is because I'm lazy, careless or functionally dysfunctional. So what am I going to do since we can barely afford to take the trip, much less take a chance on a job that doesn't really exist. So for all of my readers, this blog is about my transition from being a simple sales person living a simple life in the states to living a life of travel, backpacks and foreign languages. That's what I think it's about but if I were reading this blog I'd be waiting for the other foot to drop.

I would love to go, dollar for dollar and explain what costs what, how much I have saved up or how much I expect I'll need but all of the answers to these questions vary so much that my answer would be one in a million. So instead of giving you exacts, I'll paint you a picture and hope that you see my wife's frustration. My brother-in-law suggested that we have around five thousand USD to survive the first couple of months while we look for school, work, visas and a place to live. This was when we were thinking about moving to Ireland to live for a few years and take a few classes for the student status but once I did my research and her brother told me that in Ireland he hadn't had the opportunity to wear his shorts the "live in Ireland" idea started to die quickly. I'm sure there is a tinge of Irish blood in me somewhere, but that little ice cube will have to melt cause the devil's been keeping me warm for so long in Texas that I'm not sure I'd survive living closer to the poles than the equator. My saying has always been "If it's cold I'll bundle up with so many clothes I can't bend and end up looking like the gingerbread man in coats" but "if it's hot, you can always strip down buck naked and jump into water to cool off." Granted everyone has a preference and as such it is what it is, a preference. So instead of trying the student approach and build up more loans to repay, I thought I should utilize my gift of gab.

So back to the moral of this little posting, buying one way plane tickets out of your home country is terrifying to some people but what I think most people are missing out on the adventurous feeling of taking risks. People look at the "fear" they feel when taking risks as "warning" signs that maybe you shouldn't be doing that. On the contrary I think that emotion you may be feeling is the feeling of possibility, the emotion of life flowing through your veins. Taking risks will undoubtedly keep your brain firing on all cylinders and sharpen your wit for the rest of your life. There are as many paths in life as there are lessons and there is no "perfect" or "right" way to do anything, there just are ways of doing them. The biggest obstacle we face in our plans is our own fears. Google the word fear by itself and the first four links are two wiki definitions, one video game and one movie. If "fear" was a bad thing then there would be more links warning people on how dangerous it is right? Now Google the words scam, AIDS or something you perceive as bad and I promise you that there will be more negative results than when you look up the word fear. Fear is one of those double edged swords in life that come at you, what is important is how you react. Fear for me pushes me to stand strong, not give up and it motivates me to respond. How many feelings require a response? I'd be willing to be not a lot do but then again I am a man and my wife does repeatedly tell me how few emotions I have or understand but in this case I'd be willing to bet i'm right. So if it's fear that's holding you back from your dreams then your placing blame in the wrong hands, fear is an emotion and it isn't always rational so keep that in mind when your scared of something. Being afraid of falling out of the sky and hitting a mountain at 300mph is rational if you fly everyday but feeling fear about whether or not North Korea will fire nuclear missiles at your home is irrational because there is no precedent for that and unless you are the president of the United States of America, then you really shouldn't think so highly of yourself, +Kim Jung Il isn't after you, I promise.

So buying one way tickets to anywhere is exhilarating, eye opening and promising. I'm about to buy two sets of one way tickets. One set from San Antonio Texas to Dublin Ireland the second set from Dublin Ireland to Rome Italy. Where we go after that and what we will do after that is all a mystery to me but from what my theatre arts teacher once told me, "Mysteries attract smart people because they like to solve puzzles." Well smarty pants, what do you think so far? I'd like to know how i'm viewed up to this point so anyone willing to be honest, shoot me a message or comment. Until then keep coming back for more updates, I've got a scheduling issue to resolve before I buy the tickets but I should have them before the end of the day so we'll see how my post sounds tomorrow when my bank account is half empty. We are down to the last 12 days or so people, things on this site are about to start getting a lot more interesting, stay tuned!!

UPDATE** 4/29/13 0130**
In the event anyone is looking for another site to use to look for flights, I'd suggest using them all but make sure you add THIS one to your tool kit. I had never heard of it until my brother in law living in Dublin told me about it and it blows away the american companies when it comes to flights from the good ole USA to the other side of the pond. We have also found the airline Ryanair to be a very inexpensive airline too.

Can you travel with your pet?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:23:00 +0000

As with all questions there is always an answer but as you read this posting you will soon realize the answer to this question is frustrating, incentivizing and plain dumb. The frustrating part is the fact that everyone has a set of rules and by everyone I mean each country, airline and even veterinarian so to keep your head straight you need to know all the answers to the questions you don't know yet, understand?
The incentive isn't really meant for you or I but for someone looking to get into a niche business here is one with hardly anyone to compete with. That industry needs someone to gather up all the information there is, get all the different players together and give them a home where people all over the world could find the answers they need. Like a wiki for traveling pets. Now the dumbest part comes down to cost. Why in HELL does Delta airlines want to charge me nearly $500 to fly my tiny little toy Yorkie from San Antonio Texas to Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico? Now I pointed the finger at them but they aren't the only one. Some airlines refuse to take animals on their plane which is fine but if you do why would you charge so much? They put my pet (also known as my four legged daughter) in the bottom of the plane with the rest of the luggage and packages. Now tell me, isn't the occasional pet flying from point A to point B extra income for them? I know they get paid to ship packages so the space on the bottom of the plane is being sold just as the seats up top are, but why charge more for my dog to fly on the plane like a furry package than they do to ship a box the same size and weight? They take the same care of their packages as they do animals, they all get unloaded put on a conveyer belt and set aside until the owner or delivery guy gets there. Why does my dogs plane ticket cost more than our two tickets? My wife and I will have over 150 pounds of luggage that they will charge us an extra $50 for, make sense? My dog weighs 4.3 pounds, if you include the kennel she'd have to fly in it would be roughly 12 pounds. Again, why is the airline charging so much? Is it a deterrent to shipping pets or traveling with pets?

Now I would love to has over all the points on what frustrated me or explain how a person with a bit of time could go about making money off this niche but what I really want to talk about is the money!!

I really don't like money, I could honestly say I loathe it. People don't NEED MONEY, American society has made money the only way of payment for anything and I think that has lost some of the warmth of society. Don't understand where I am going with this? Then let me break it down for you.

In the beginning of man, was there money? Was there any sort of currency? Look it up, go ahead I know you're going to Google it anyways so I'll just wait till you confirm what I'm saying...

Ok so when a man wanted something another man had he would "pay" for the item but it wasn't always with trinkets because some people aren't interested in trinkets, I'm not. Men would trade services, supplies or work for whatever it was they wanted. Now I understand that I can't expect this world to still trade in animal pelts, weapons or other outdated form of currency but I do think that if I do something for a person I think that we could agree on other forms of payment. I am starting my new life of travel blogging and being a digital nomad by selling everything I own, giving away anything that is still useful and leaving my comfortable (barely middle class life) existence in the states for a life of learning, adventure and exploration and in my travels the need for money can be replaced with an internet connection, roof and a small portion of food. Now the reality is that I will need some sort of income during my travels so I do plan on moving this blog to its own domain and with a completely different look and I also plan on building up my network of websites to help produce some semblance of income. In between now and then I plan on trading my talents for room and board by using the helpX and work-a-way websites. I have mentioned them in previous posts and I will probably continue to write about them for months to come because they are the only reason I will be able to afford this life change.

So I've explained my money issue? Probably not, so this won't be the last rant I have on the subject so stay tuned.

Now back to the original question, can you travel with your pet? The answer is yes. You definitely can travel with your pet if you have a good stream of income and stay in each country a short/long enough time to get the next country's paperwork ready. I promise you if you do travel with your pet for too long you will easily become the subject matter expert (SME) because people with money don't want to blow it on dragging their pet around the world to see things the pet could care less about. On top of that, all of the work needed to travel with them is too expensive, tedious and time consuming makes the idea of taking them overwhelming. If you plan on sailing around the world and you have a pet that is cool with boats, then take your pet. You can leave your pet in the boat when you dock and they never have to go through customs. Problem solved and again it is solved with money. So to do the most annoying thing ever, I'll answer a question by asking a question (my wife hates that.) Why would a person want to travel the globe with their pet? My answer would be because some people can afford to live their dreams with or without a pet. We have decided to send our dog to my sister's in east Texas, Tekila can stay with her and when Brownie and I settle and get a home base then we will pay the bounty for our daughter. She'll just have a vacation of her own. So good luck to you, whichever category you're in because either way it goes if you have a pet and want to see if you have enough money to accomplish your goals with your pet, then you will still have to do all the leg work that I did since every situation is different it will literally take someone to collect all the information, decipher it and explain it to the rest of us before this process will get any easier. Right now it's so hard to figure it out that a lot of people give up, I think that was the plan all along.

The Hardest Part

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:05:00 +0000

Almost Two years ago my wife and I had the "baby" talk and ended up with a puppy. Now we have our baby so what do we do with her? The first idea is to take her but it will take about 10 minutes of research to learn that if you have money to spend and trust just any veterinarian to care for your pet then sure you can take your pet anywhere. In the event you don't have either a fat savings account or a steady stream of income then this is not an option. We opted to send our little baby to Mexico to live with my mother in law. If I had it my way I would leave here here state side but we don't have anyone here that we could leave her with for an undetermined amount of time so off to Mexico she goes. At this point in our travels we don't know how long we will be bouncing around from country to country or if we will get a "home base" somewhere. If we do get stable then we plan on shipping her to where ever we are, depending on the country we end up calling home depends on what we will have to do next.

When you cross international borders with a pet, you need to have a lot of documentation stating your pet is up-to-date on their shots, they are micro-chipped and that they are disease free. The whole process could take up to six months depending on your home country but in the states you can get everything done in a month as long as you find a vet to help. I currently live in the 8th largest city in the United States and there was only 1 vet here that would agree to do the health certificate that our pet needs to leave the states. The pet health certificate you will need to leave the states costs approximately $200 not including any shots, the micro chip or other Vet fees which they can easily tack on and you must start the health certificate 10 days before they are to leave. It's the one time in my life I felt like I was the dog, jumping through hoops and begging for a treat. The micro chip you need to get for your pet before you go to most European countries can't be a simple chip it must be compatible with ISO standard 11784 or 11785 if not you must provide a micro chip reader. You also need to ensure you have the chip implanted well in advance because some countries require you to have your pets rabies shots done a certain amount of time after the chip was implanted and before the expected flight date. I will repeat myself, you MUST start looking at the requirements from both the home country and receiving country so give yourself as much time as possible and it would be helpful if you are starting to plan your trip to get out a calendar and start putting the dates down.

Other than all of the red tape you have to go through to ship your pet anywhere there is also the stress you will have for the stress that your pet will have. The transition from our apartment to my wife's aunt has been confusing enough for her and the next step will really blow her mind, we never crated our puppy and to fly your pet internationally, the pet must be in the cargo hold area and can not ride in the cabin with you. So now to ease our pet's stress we need to buy a carrier that the airline approves and crate her now before we leave so she is at least familiar with the cage and that will be one less thing to freak her out. Again, I stress to those of you who have a pet and want to travel, do your research early and often because there are a million and one regulations. After you satisfy the border crossing requirements you still need to figure out the requirements of the airline, train or bus line you choose. We are planning on flying our pet to Mexico rather than by bus or train so I haven't had to look at those requirements and while I probably should help out anyone reading this blog and try to translate their requirements too but I'm not a super blogger yet. Do your pet justice and think about them in this move, what will be best for them no matter how you feel. If taking your pet all over the world will work for your pet and you can afford it then by all means enjoy all that the world has to offer. If taking your pet will cause you mental and financial problems then either find them a loving home or work from a home base. Good luck with your pet travels, I know my puppy is worth it and I'd bet yours is too.

Here are some helpful links.
USDA
Another USDA Link

It Starts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:04:00 +0000

Ok, so I'm last minute but who cares right because the only person waiting on me is me. So I'll start this blog out with the answer to the question that everyone will ask when they happen to find this site, and the answer is "because you have nothing better to do but daydream!" The question, for those of you who couldn't tell was "Why add this to your favorites?" Don't get upset! I only say it the way I see it and it's not personal. I am risking everything I have to travel the world and become the only person in my family to become a “digital nomad” and up to this point in my life, I have never been paid to write anything nor have I made any “real” money of my gaming network. So if for no other reason than the fact that I have either giant brass balls or I'm the dumbest most naive person on the planet.

I truly feel that with the right mind set you can make it anywhere. The United States may have been the “promise land” or the “land of opportunity” but it's not the only place you can find opportunity. It all depends on what you are looking for and perspective, for me it's all about opening my eyes to the world around me. I have wanted to travel the world since my first taste at 14 when I took a church trip to Monterrey Mexico. That first trip gave me a bug that I have never been able to get rid of. I joined the military and get another taste of it but I was married to a woman that wanted to stay close to home so I moved back home. Times have changed and the world is even smaller now that I'm in my mid 30's and I have realized one fact that makes life very, very hard on me, I'm fucking lazy! Pardon the rough language but I can't be nice about that, I have taken a good long look at my life, accomplishments and future possibilities and to be honest with you it was pretty depressing. I have done a little of this, a little of that and a lot of nothing! I was a welder out of high school but I would have had to travel to make real money in that job but I would have had to travel alone and the ex wasn't having any of that. Then I joined the military, we knew I'd have to travel and be away but it would only be a "short" time and it was a small sacrifice we would make to ensure college money, health care for the kids and security for my family if anything did happen. Those were a great 4 years but to be honest, I would have only stayed in if I could have gotten an easier job than a mechanic (it’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that in the military the three toughest jobs were cook, cop and mechanic because none of us got any sleep) and they if they would have sent me to Germany but they wouldn't give me both so I got out. My ex joined the Air Force shortly after I left the Army (I won't try to explain all the questions this posting will leave you with, but know that not all of my decisions were effective in creating the outcome I had intended.) After the divorce I moved back home to San Antonio where I met the woman of my dreams. If this was a romance blog I would add in all the details but to keep from boring my readers we will just say that I found a beautiful and great woman that I don't deserve but I wouldn't give up to save my life.

My wife "brownie" is much like I am as in she is a nomadic soul, always looking for a change intrigued by new things and always ready to learn something else. She was born and raised in Guadalajara Mexico and came to the United States to study English. To my surprise my lovely wife is much smarter than her beautiful green eyes tell, she learned English in 6 months, which to me was amazing considering she couldn't complete a sentence in English when we met. Brownie brought out this trapped soul of a traveler that I had buried so deep once I started having children. My youngest daughter is 14 and if I could be an active participant in her life then I would stay in the states until she turned 18 but I'm not, so we're leaving. Brownie and I have been on the move since we met. I had a really nice job at the cable company when she and I hatched (Well actually her dad was in the business and brought it up to me) an idea to import silver jewelry to the states from Mexico and wholesale the jewelry to mom and pop businesses.

We gave up our apartment, second car, all of our home furnishings, everything! We sold everything then turned around and put every cent we had into jewelry and we were going to make it or break it. To be honest with you, we found out there was another option too, survive and have fun. I have been to 27 of the lower 48 states and 7 different countries and I have made up my mind that I will not stop moving until I have been to every country (wonder if I'll ever get to Cuba) in the world. All of the things I saw, people I met and things I did are all just a memory for me and some are slowly fading from my memory too which for my family early memory loss is normal.

So this blog will be my journal to document my travels and to keep safe the memories that I am so prone to forgetting like names, dates and images. I was born in an insignificant little town in the heart of east Texas, raised on a farm to be nothing more than a good salt of the earth hard working man. I feel that after all this time I have lost that direction, the one my father tried to point me in when I was a child. My father may have been a redneck hippy which may sound like a contradiction of terms but it's true. He worked hard and smoked a lot of weed. I have fought being like my father my whole life, I always felt that I didn't have to have a job where I get blisters, sweat or break my back unless it was something I enjoyed. So at this point I realized I have wasted space, time and energy in this life. I don't have a child that depends on my care and support any longer so I am going to expand my mind to its limits. I am going to be a full time travel blogger. I am going to be a digital nomad. I am going to be a full time webmaster. I am going! This is my motto! This is my creed! Follow along and see how my roller coaster rolls!

First step towards becoming a Digital Nomad

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:25:00 +0000

Ok, well here I am sitting in the garage of my wife's aunt blogging about how I am off to travel the world, write about it, and build my online business to become something more than just a hobby. This is my first phase of becoming a digital nomad. My wife has sold nearly everything we own minus my T.V and the bed but they will go soon. We haven't sold our truck yet either which is stress inducing. Money is the root of all evil but it is needed when you want to leave your home and travel. I am learning what the phrase "necessary evil" means, because when most people decide to do something like this they save money and a lot of it but me... I like doing things the hard way I think because I got fired six weeks before we had planned to leave. I haven't gotten any unemployment, not another job, not even part time work. All the money we have is what little savings my wife and I had (which wasn't the three months of bills that most financial guys say you need to have either) our tax refund (which is small when you don't have any children and you don't make six figures) and the money from all of our household goods and Brownie's clothing. So the truck selling and making a little money on it would ease some of our money worries, so hopefully it will sell soon. It's not like it's a piece of junk either. It's a 2007 Toyota FJ, bright yellow and I love it but apparently not everyone does so it has taken a lot longer than I had hoped. I have been pressuring Brownie about buying the plane tickets even if the truck hasn't sold yet because it is inevitable that it will sell it's just a matter of time. I've got my fingers crossed that I'll finally buy them tomorrow.

"Buying plane tickets is an art form if you like to be frugal. The fact of the matter is that you have to put in time to find cheap flights, and I don't mean you have to buy the tickets one or more months in advance, I mean that you have to look at ticket prices from every website you can find every couple of days for months."

Seriously!!!

So now we have all of the boxes filled with our "sentimental" items saved at my daughters house here in San Antonio. I used the word sentimental but what I mean to say is shit. I love my wife but she is attached to a lot more things than just me, she really doesn't like to be limited clothing selection either which has stressed her out with this move to Europe. This is something I will have to write a post about but more in depth because I am sure there are a lot of people that have this fear as well so we will see how she handles it. She has faced this challenge once before, when we first got married I bought into the silver jewelry business like her father and we traveled for two years living out of our 2002 Nissan Sentra. This will be even harder for her since we are starting out as “helpers” on an amazing site called HelpX (go to this site to understand how we plan to live for the next few months) which means we will be staying in people's homes and traveling using busses, trains and taxis. Did I mention that my wife is a shop-a-holic? Again, this topic will be a more in depth posting to help people like my wife to see how to live the way you want in every way.

The hardest part about this trip so far has been dealing with my wife's fear. She has stressed out about money and to be honest with you she has the reason, we don't really have a lot of money and we are risking everything so maybe I'm the one that is crazy because I am so ready for this that I almost drool. I am so hungry for a life with more meaning. We really wanted to travel but couldn't afford to live out of hotels or hostels for that matter, so we looked for alternative means. Websites like Work-A-Way and HelpX are exactly that, alternatives. These sites connect people from around the world to help each other and exchange services. For example; “Jean in France just bought an old farm home and they want to convert it to a bed and breakfast style hotel so they post that they need help. These people are called hosts. Other people looking to visit France will see the posting and if they have any of the skills that Jean needs help with they start communicating with Jean and eventually become helpers.” This is our cheap way of traveling in Italy for the next six months. During which time I will work on this blog and hopefully entertaining as many people as I can along the way. My goal is to become financially secure through my gaming network and blogs. I never thought I was a good writer but I have learned that blogging isn't writing in the literal term. Journalists apparently aren't fond of bloggers that think they are journalists and visa versa, but what do I know? Up until this point I didn't have a dog in the hunt.

Today is the 18th of April and I want to buy our plane tickets today for the 1st or 2nd of May, let's see if that happens. The plan is to meet up with Brownie's brother who lives in Ireland right now. He wants to meet up with us as soon as we get there because he is moving back to Mexico in July and we haven't seen him since he moved to Ireland two years ago. Right now I want to meet him in Dublin and then fly to Rome Italy and meet up with our first “host family” which is also our first job. We start our first summer camp job in Italy on the Adriatic coast the third week of May and we'll be there until the last day of June. Our job at the summer camp is supposed to be teaching Italian children to speak English. Brownie and I are bringing our favorite game, Catch Phrase to play with the children and help make learning English fun during summer so we're super excited.

So here we go... We're nervous, excited and even a little scared but fear is a healthy response when you put every dollar your worth at risk. What's the payoff you may ask, well let's ask that question again in another six months.