I could not get Cindy to go with me on my two week trip to Europe last year since she doesn't like casinos or flea markets and they were the whole purpose for going She said if she goes she wants to take a tour so we don't have to worry about driving, parking and setting up sight seeing trips. She wanted to do this trip for our 50th anniversary but that is more than a year away and I don't want to wait too long. When you are as old as we are you begin to realize that you should do whatever you can while you are still able to enjoy it.

On my last trip I spent more time planning the trip that what the trip actually took. First finding every flea market in Europe and when they are open, planning what cities to visit based on that and then what casinos are near them, finding the most acceptable airfares, checking trip advisor for the "best" hotel in each city, getting a rental car, planning how far to travel each day, copies of my chip collection from casinos I was going to visit to avoid getting duplicates, etc. etc. etc. Can you say "Attention to detail"???

So for the last year or so I have been looking for the "best" trip eastern Europe. We have seen western Europe enough and don't want to see the replacement buildings after the WWII bombings. Cindy says her family roots are from Prague so that was one starting point, I was kind of interested in Budapest so that was added to the schedule. A river cruise would have been really nice but they are sooooooo expensive and then you are stuck with only the sights that are right on the river. So that leaves bus tours. So the one we picked is 13 days long (if you are going to Europe you may as well stay a while) and visits Warsaw, Krakov, Budapest, Vienna, Cheky Krumlov and Prague on the schedule.

Two days ago I was checking airfares and they were over $1000 from Atlanta (that means a 4 hour drive each way for us) Yesterday I checked and it was at $750. Since I have been watching the tour we want to take for a long time I know that they are almost never on sale. When I contacted the travel agent she checked airfares from Nashville and came up with $1000 from Nashville including transfers to the tour hotel through the tour company. That was $200 less than the airfare alone according to Travelocity. Yeehaw! I booked it ASAP before they changed their mind.

Now I get to start over with the detail planning - flea markets and antique stores in each city, casinos along the way, planning any optional side tours the company offers, etc. I am really looking forward to a nice relaxing trip. So how are we paying for this? Well you know all that jewelry I have been buying at yard sales? I now have a booth at a local antique mall and am hoping to sell enough to pay for the trip. I may even work a few hours at the mall to help out. Should be fun.