Our Trip Summary

So we are T -4 in terms of departure on our big trip.  Sadly, our itinerary is both expensive and complicated and I could not find mileage tickets despite spending a few hours on the phone with United.

Sat July 2:  we're on United, SFO-FRA, then FRA to Rome, arriving on Sunday.
6 nights in Rome at a lovely apartment next to Piazza Navona

Sat July 9: pick up car in Rome and drive up to the Veneto
7 nights in the Veneto countryside, about 45 mins outside of Verona

Sat July 16: flying Lufthansa from Venice to FRA, then FRA to Bangkok, arriving on Sunday.
We're in our usual apartment building in Bangkok, the Emporium Suites

Sat July 27: the family stays in Bangkok, while I return to SFO for 3 days for a key meeting.

Tues Aug 2: I head down to Singapore for 2 days, I think my dad will come with me for fun.

Sat Aug 6: flying Lufthansa from Bangkok to FRA, then FRA to SFO - this is the painful part, as it would have cost an extra $2,000 per person to return via Tokyo.  The only upside is that we get to fly the new Airbus A380 from FRA back to SFO.  This is the huge double decker plane that required new airport gates to be built - can't wait to try it out.

And finally, back home on August 6!

How many electronics does one family need?!

This is my partial inventory of what we are bringing on our upcoming trip:

1. My work PC laptop
2. Sean's MacBook
3. My MacBook Air (appropriated and under the care of Amara for the summer)
4. 1 iPad1, 1 iPad2
5. 2 iPhones, 1 blackberry, 2 iPod Touches, 1 nano
6. AppleTV
7. Apple AirPort

I'm hoping that's it. We'll need a small suitcase just for electronics + the associated chargers and cables!

Prepping For A Big Trip

Long time no blog! My fundamental problem is that I am working 60-70 hours a week on a regular basis with work dinners 1-2 nights a week, and I can barely keep my life together. Blogging has fallen to the bottom of the list of priorities, most unfortunately.

But we are now a week away from departing the US for 5 weeks, and I now need to focus on all the last minute details for the trip. Here's my to-do list for the next 7 days:

- check to see if I really do need an International Driver's Permit to drive in Italy. Hertz says I don't need it for the rental but the carbinieri may not be so agreeable if something untoward happens.

- if said IDP is needed, figure out when to go to AAA to get one.

- call Lufthansa to make sure seat assignments haven’t been screwed up.

- go through all the guidebooks I've purchased over the past 6 months and figure out which ones are actually worth bringing.

- figure out to pack for Rome, Verona, Bangkok, work meetings, potential beach holiday within a reasonable amount of luggage. The clothes are challenging enough, but it's the shoes that require some deep analysis!

- clear my work to-dos so nothing falls apart when I am out of touch for two weeks.

- what else do I need to pick up from Target this weekend?!

- make sure bills and other adult stuff are taken care of.

- book car pick up at Rome airport.

- locate all electronic travel necessities (Int'l adapters, chargers, video projection cables, camera accessories etc.)

Thank goodness I already ordered all the euros I needed from Wells Fargo (super easy by the way) since we need to pay for our apartment in cash when we show up.

Phew, I have a lot to do.