The Summer I turned 63, it could wait no longer
I would have regrets on my death bed!
I was still nimble and strong from Pilates and yoga,
so knew now was the time
Rick Steves’ backpack that fit in the overhead
and no other luggage, good to go!
AAA travel agent sold me a Euro-Train pass
and booked flights from Portland to Amsterdam
then Barcelona back to Amsterdam and finally
back to PDX
In addition, I joined Hosteling International
once again
Converted USD to euros right at AAA, $1200 bucks
became 900 euros in my money belt
The original plan: Amsterdam, Belgium, Luxembourg,
Paris, Stuttgart, Florence, Rome, and Athens, Barcelona-
I would book hostels as I traveled
Life happened and the plan was revised due to a credit card
misunderstanding-AAA travel agent said my MasterCard
would work fine, I did not need to get an American Express
It would be too late when my card was turned down everywhere
because it did not have a chip
The exception, thank God, was Hostelling International,
an American company
With new budget restrictions, I pared my trip down, the new
Itinerary was: Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Paris, Stuttgart,
Florence, Genoa and Barcelona-
I’d have to catch the Greek and Roman ruins next time-dang!
Before I left, I talked with my cell phone company and arranged to
Text from the EU. - When I got there, I no longer had service!
I set up a Gmail account to stay in contact with my friends-
When I got there it was suspended
and even though I could use Hosteling International computers,
European countries had no @ keys on their computers,
so I could not email home…
The only camera I had was my cell phone- I wouldn’t find out
until later that there was no way to access the photos let alone
print them…I didn’t care, my travel habit was to buy postcards anyway-
Postcards which cost 25-50 cents in the US sold in the EU for 1-2 euros
($1.40-$2.80 exchange rate!)
Having only 900 euros for my whole trip…
my journey quickly became a survival mission-
When I did the math: $30 euros per day does not go far in this 21st century
Luckily my airfare and train were pre-paid
and the hostels let me use my credit card
Unforeseen expense: Toilettes! .80 (1.12 USD) to 1 euro ($1.40)
to use public restrooms
I usually pee a lot, I soon learned to restrict fluids,
use toilettes on the train and in hostels (included)
whenever possible
Food was garnered from street vendors and in groceries
It was “A moveable feast “as Hemingway had advised
Bottled water was a necessity for me, being cautious-
having been sickened once by native water in Mexico
I walked mostly or when I took public transit managed to be
constantly lost on the city bus and train systems
Marvelous Grace: Earth Angels always appeared to guide me-
This enriched my adventure
I repeated the phrase: “Do you speak English?” often
and was fortunate to find someone who did…
In Luxembourg at the hostel I did not set an alarm and
exhausted slept late
A soft voice said: Hello. Breakfast ends in 15 minutes
and thus a friendship was struck
Laurel and I jogged down to what turned out to be
a sumptuous breakfast buffet and later
walked the quaint town, museuming together
The hostel breakfasts in Amsterdam, Luxembourg and Stuttgart
were generous and scrumptious; meats, cheeses, fruit and
an array of hearty breads and whole grain cereals-
That all changed in Paris!
Continental breakfast; French bread, jam, coffee and
corn flakes & a greyish gruel I was afraid to try- nothing more
Italy, very similar, except there was Nutella which provided
some protein
Not until Barcelona did the protein return!
I purchased cheese and fruit in the markets
and carried my picnic with me
enjoying a cold beer when I could
Pinched for euros, I found churches and public buildings
with fabulous art to imbibe
In Florence, I finally splurged: It was 8 euros to see
a Leonardo DaVinci Museum-Amazing!
The host was one of six Italian engineers who had
assembled interactive sculptures from Davinci’s blue prints
My new friend, Naroke from Tokyo and I spent
2-3 hours playing with Leonardo’s toys-so much fun!
Then enjoyed a fresh slice of pizza and an iced coffee
included in the deal
The lines to the famous Duomo were incredibly long
there were no lines to a nearby church
where Naroke suggested we go in-
The art on its walls and the architecture
rivaled the best galleries
I lit a candle in gratitude and
left a euro for the pleasure
We found a cafeteria, up some stairs
not too full and had our choice of delicacies
at fair prices and little bottles of wine to boot!
It was the only meal I had the pleasure of sharing
the whole trip!
Naroke had to move on
the next day
I knew I would miss her
Well-traveled, she had been an excellent compass
and a good companion...
RMK, summer of 2012.
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