“A journey is best measured in friends, not in miles. ” ~Tim Cahill

Like all good stories there is a beginning, a middle and unfortunately, an end. I am usually not a fan of endings but in this case I suppose it just means that I just  have to wait for the book sequel! You can anticipate of what is the next adventure for the characters we have come to fall in love with.   Hopefully the writers will bring back the same characters and introduce new ones.

This was a particularly good trip.  The first river cruise on the Danube was so many unknowns it was hard to focus on what was happening, but there was the creation of the group the Amalegro Eight of Tom, Barbara, Rich, Pat, Rich, Loretta, and of course Skip and I! The next river cruise to Portugal was better, a little less scary and we added to our merry band with Diana and my “long lost sister” Lissa to become the Amavida Ten!  On this trip we added Dave, and John and Andrea. Of course our fearless leader Dave  was with us!

 “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like the people or hate them than to travel with them.” ~ Mark Twain

We are very blessed on these cruises .  From not knowing anyone but Dave our tour guide from our first trip, we now have a great group of traveling companions/friends.

 “Never go on trips with anyone you do not love”. ~Ernest Hemingway

It’s taken me days to write this blog entry.  Jet lag and reality of daily life seem to absorb time and energy.  I realize how important it is to make the time to “take time” to relax, to laugh, to be peaceful, and without question to drink wine.  This was from my daughter in law Ann Taylor.  It seems very accurate to this group!

The trip certainly had enough excitement ( being tear gassed in Paris)! We walked over sixty miles and according to my Fit-bit climbed over 246 ten foot inclines!  There were castles and churches and museums and knights and wonderful food and drink.

These pictures made me think of one of my favorite “Peanuts”comic.

“Once there were two mice who lived in a museum.  One evening after the museum had closed, the first mouse crawled into a huge suit of armor. Before he knew it he was lost. “Help!” He shouted to his friend. “Help me make it though the knight!”

~Charles Schulz

I often woke up to emails from home on how my children or dad were doing, and sometimes my daughter Becca  would send me a thought for the day. Here is a German proverb.

Aus einem Stein ist schwer Öl pressen.

English equivalent: You can’t milk a bull.

I learned a lot during the trip.  I’ve already mentioned that I am both geographically and historically challenged! I admire the guides on the WeGo Walking Tour in Paris as  the guides who led us on bus or walking tours through Luxembourg, Trier, Bernkastel, Cochem, Rudesheim, Werthem, Bamburg, Munich,  and Bavaria.  They made the tours both educational and interesting.  The weather could have been better but the days that mattered the most were bright and sunny and oftentimes spent on the ships top deck as we cruised along the breathtaking scenery along the banks of the Main, the Mosel and the Rhine rivers.  I enjoyed my time photographing and chatting with my partner in crime picture taking, Loretta. Of course I loved the time spent with Lissa  enjoying an art museum or getting a glass of wine in a cafe.  It was fun to laugh with Diana, who cracked me up till I almost could not breathe at the Mechanical Museum, to spend time with Barbara who despite being sick maintained her wonderful sense of humor and never complained, and Pat who has a infectious laugh and participates in activities and “life” like no other with her “living every day to the fullest” attitude.

 

 It was also fun to spend time getting to know Theirry, Rich H, Tom, Rich M., “Snap, ” and of course Dave,our commander in chief,  who puts the fun in fun and the self in selfies!

Obviously, it goes without saying, that if it wasn’t for my husband Skip, I would not have gone on this trip/met these wonderful friends.  In spite of my internal struggles with flying, traveling and being away from home, I appreciate that he pushed me to take this trip. (Now that I have recovered from being tear gassed I can say that!) I have over 1800 pictures to show how much fun I had!

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.”

~Lin Yutang

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”

~Ernest Hemingway