Breathing a sigh of relief - RAIL PASSES ARRIVE!

Phew! The Eurail passes arrived yesterday! It's the first time ever that I have gone online to track a package and have it arrive earlier than the time it was estimated to arrive! Even when I called the Customer Service number at Rick Steve's (where I purchased them from), I was told that I had ordered them in plenty of time (8 days in advance???) and that they would arrive on Thursday....They arrived on Wednesday.

Along with the usual documents that came with the Eurailpasses, such as the planning maps, timetables, explanations on how to read the train timetables, explanations of "sleepers" and "couchettes", came a DVD from Rick Steves on "Travel Skills". Lee and I watched part of the 4 hour DVD last night and it was GREAT. I did extensive traveling by Eurailpasses years ago - 31, and 25 years ago, to be exact.....But things change. The DVD showed the newer trains, the newer train stations, talked about some of the Eurail policies, but also gave lots of hints on how to pack, how to handle money. Gone are the days of Traveler's Cheques. Today it's best to use an ATM machine! And with the euro, no longer will I need to change currency from country to country. :-( While that does save on money (because each time you exchange, you potentially lose money), part of the thrill of crossing borders was seeing the new and colorful foreign currency and the adventure of having to try to figure out conversion rates. Yes, that was fun and an adventure. (I remember the time I was window shopping in Rome on our high school chorus trip, and I saw a pair of beautiful suede boots that I thought I'd love to have. I went into the store and asked how much they cost. The shop owner, in his beautiful Italian accent, told me...in THOUSANDS of lire. I immediately said, "Oh, no thank you!" I went outside, looked at the boots, did my conversion, and realized that that THOUSANDS converted to about $20! So in I went, and bought those boots! That was fun!) Gone are those days....One conversion....well, maybe two if we go to Prague. They aren't on the euro. They have karuna. Sounds Hawaiian, doesn't it? Or like something out of The Lion King....

Some things DON'T change, and those are the pickpockets and the scam artists. The DVD talked about those things and how to protect against them. For example, don't expect the pickpockets to all be seedy looking fellows. They could be young women with crying children, gypsies....I remember when my college traveling partner and I were boarding a train in Barcelona, a toothless, very weathered, very old woman asked me in Spanish if that train was going to Valencia. I answered her (in Spanish) that no, it was going to France. Feeling rather proud of myself for being able to understand and reply back in Spanish, I proceeded with my friend to find an empty compartment. We no got comfortable, than my mind started replaying what had happened and an alarm went off in my head! Why, if I said NO to this old woman, did she not get off the train? Why did she continue to go further on INTO the car? Immediately, I checked my purse and wouldn't you know it, I had been ripped off! My PASSPORT was gone! I literally flew out of that compartment and starting yelling, "POLICIA! POLICIA!" I ran through the train with people looking at me like I was crazy, until I found that old gypsy. I didn't have to confront her. As soon as she saw this crazy woman screaming for the police, she took her arm from under the blanket she was carrying and handed me my passport! .............So, some things don't change. But I have changed. This time I am going equipped with a PACSAFE luggage protector.(http://www.pacsafe.com) You might be saying to yourself, now I know I don't want to go to Europe!" Wrong, wrong, wrong! Just don't be naive like I was. PLAN for how to protect yourself! The same thing could happen right here in this country. Heck, I know a lady who was sitting at an outdoor cafe in Viera and had her purse sitting on the chair next to her. Someone ran up, grabbed her purse, and ran to a waiting car! I wouldn't give up all the wonderful memories I have of Europe for those few bad moments. (They made for some interesting stories later, too!)

So, all's ready...Just a few more jobs to do at home, then pack, and I'm set to go! Emilee just told me that she has almost completed her six week summer course and much of her other work in her other 3 classes, so she is also clearing the way so we can travel. Have passport, will travel!