Sue_xx_yy

Barb, I know you don't want to hear it, but here it is: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Now you are going to say, NUTS to being stronger!!!!

Looking at your itinerary, I thought: seems simple enough, two 'home bases' and day trips therefrom. What could go wrong? (I have the feeling you're about to tell us...)

I'm wondering if you were feeling a little too responsible. If you weren't going to be their tour guide, it wasn't up to you to worry if people couldn't, or wouldn't, participate in planned activities (Amalfi coast, Scavi tour) or if they were about to embark on impractical plans (shorten apt rental, mini-trip to Venice). Yet it seems you did, and not surprisingly it was a heavy load to carry.

You can lead the horses to Rome, but you can't make them drink the water....or even the cappuccino....

Cheer up, we're all going to enjoy the tale.

Seamus

This is better than Desperate Housewives - eagerly await the next installment!

SusanP

Hi Barb, I knew there was a good reason you didn't meet me for dinner, and I have a feeling I'll soon know the details! Makes me so glad I went by myself. As soon as you said you had never met three of the group before, I had a feeling you were in for trouble...Looking forward to more!

DeborahAnn

Barb, just reading your report has me counting my blessings. I've travelled to France alone, with my husband, with our best friends(a couple) and with my sisters, daughter and three of her friends and had fantastic trips every time. Each was a different style of journey but enjoyable all the same. You have a very descriptive writing style, I can picture each of the Divas. Waiting to hear more. Deborah

tripgirl

Barb,

Many kudos to you for giving it your all to plan this trip.

After 6 successful group trips with about 15-20 people, I do know what you do go through.

However, I think there is only way to do group trips: one person really needs to be in charge ( as I am, what I says goes or they don't go) otherwise it is very difficult.

I can SO appreciate that you did not want to play tour guide; it is ALOT of work.

Fortunately I make the time( and have the time) to plan the trips A-Z with most of the responsibility on my shoulders. Knock every piece of wood in my house, that the trips are great and we all have a good time; but I do know this is very rare.

You should be congratulated on your a+ efforts!!!!!

Marilyn

"Two of the Divas told me they had a bad fear of heights so the planned bus trips down the AC would be out of the question. One Diva revealed she gets seasick very easily and so would not be able to go to Capri or Ischia."

OK, I would have been outta there at that point. This group had all the warning signs of being VERY High Maintenance. But your nightmare trip is our gain -- can't wait to hear the gory details!

"It's better to be alone than to wish you were."

suze

Barb- Quite honestly you sound like a lot of fun. My comment is I think you should look around and try to make some new friends... people you have more in common with. There's loads of women who are independent, self-sufficient, interested, and interesting (but this group sure ain't them -LOL).

Kristinelaine

More, more! I can't wait!

MissZiegfeld

Suze--i wish i could find ladies like that! I generally travel solo. Only took two trips with other folks--took my mother to europe in august and had a BALL--it was her first trip there. Mom's make good travel companions!! The other time was a 4 day trip to New Orleans with a girl I had known for about 17 years (most of my life, considerin we're both 21). I LOVED nola, but hated travelling with her--we didn't speak for months after returning home.

ALL she wanted to do was party. I honestly couldn't care less about "partying". I'm not into the frat house scene, which is what most of the bars on Bourbon are all about..so I told her to just go at it alone, and I'd be at this nice jazz club I found. She ended up just coming with me to the jazz club--i can't understand why people can't get a sense of independance!

I did end up going to a couple of places she wanted to go to, so we wouldn't argue too much. When it really wasn't my scene, I left. We both love Karaoke, so we had a lot of fun at this Karaoke bar and spent a lot of time there sinc it's something we both enjoyed.

eliztrav

OOOOHHHH MYYYYY....lol I'm sitting here feeling a bit guilty at enjoying the read so much while feeling your pain! I've learned to value good travel companions....they are a RARE breed! Recipe: some common interests, a sense of humor, a sense of independence, flexibility/adaptability (something will ALWAYS fo wrong!), ...

TexasAggie

Eek - well at least you are back in one piece (right??)!

Looking forward to more... don't leave us hanging much longer, lol!

Barb

So, it’s a new day, the sun is shining, I had a good night sleep thanks to Ambian and I’m raring to go. We had decided to meet for cappuccinos on the Campo at 9:00 to see what everyone wanted to do for the day. Because D had the bedroom upstairs and the closet and drawers were up there too, while I was in the shower, D had taken it upon herself to completely fill the whole closet and most of the drawers with her stuff, leaving me two small drawers and 2 hangers. I also noticed she had placed all her toiletries onto two of the three small shelves in the bathroom. Oh, well, I don’t care, not worth worrying about, we’ll work it out. I think I can temporarily just put my folded stuff on the closed piano downstairs - this became my storage space for the entire stay at the apt. My coat and a few hanging things were draped over chairs.

At this juncture it may be important to this report to tell you that I consider myself a traveller, not a tourist. Now I know, no one is going to mistake me for Italian, as hard as I try, but I do try to blend in as much as I can. I have learned the customs, I am not loud, I am polite and I really try my hardest to communicate with my very limited Italian, usually sneaking peaks at my menu translator, or phrase book. The hardest thing for me is to wipe that silly grin off my face which seems to be a permanent thing, just because I’m so darn happy to be there.

So.. it is decided that the Divas will walk with me to get my cell phone charged up with more euros/time and then we will walk over to Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, taking our time. I would show them the nearest Bankcomats and also where the nearest taxi stands are located and point them in the direction of Largo Argentina for buses and trams.

The only Diva who has not made it to the café is now making her way through the crowd to where we are – it was almost like the crowd parted and a ray of light was beamed down from above right on to her – there she was in her black capris, with scenes of Paris in bright orange printed on them, she had on a bright orange t-shirt to match the Eiffel Towers on her capris and a neon lime green jacket, which matched her neon lime green messanger bag onto which was affixed a huge sticker that said “Canada” in red and white. She wore a hat, which was very similar to my late partner’s fishing hat, without the flies. Oh, and white tennis shoes with little socks trimmed in, yes, orange. She was apologetic for being late, but her enthusiasm made me overlook her lovely outfit. So off we went, Mama duck with her ducklings following. Along the way, they would ask what every single building was, the history of that particular building, what that tree is, why are there so many different type of policemen, complaining about the graffiti, the crowds, the cobblestones and were in absolute fear for their lives when they saw their first major street crossing. I said, ok, let’s go, one hung behind, decided to go, then got scared, stopped and then ran back to the curb. Now, she is on one side of the street and we are all on the other side of the street. She won’t budge. Eiffel Tower Capri pants yells in her loudest voice, come on, it’s ok. Bless her heart, she runs back over and grabs Ms. Scared to Death and hauls her back over to our side. By this time, a crowd has gathered to watch this daring rescue. I will come to really like Eiffel Tower Diva in the end.

111op

Chuckle.

Could you tell us what the worst disaster is ahead of time? I don't think that I can wait that long.

mv_rd

I learned not to invite friends along for travel. The first time after a bad break up with my ex, a friend and I headed to Jamaica and all my friend wanted to do was sleep in!!! I didn't let that hold me back and did my own thing-she came along after that.

On a trip to NY with 3 other friends, all they wanted to do was shop and sleep in. (Granted, NY is a great place to shop BUT we live in CA where we have practically the same stores!).We had planned to go to Boston for the day and the day before, no one wanted to go. I bought a ticket and took the train from NY-Boston by myself. That was definitely the highlight of my trip. I got to do exactly what <b> I </b>wanted. When I returned to the hotel later that evening, they all said they wished they would have gone because they didn't do anything that day.

I have great friends that I have known for years and a sister I get along with very well, however, the only person I will travel with is my husband or alone.

I'm curious to see if there was problems when it came to splitting the tab for meals. This has to be one of the biggest problems when I occasionally go out with other couples. There's always someone who orders the menu and then doesn't put enough money to cover the cost, tax, or tip!

Looking forward to the rest of the drama!!!!

PS-When they named themselves the &quot;Divas&quot; you should have had an idea what you were getting into

hazel1

I'm loving this trip report - I can hardly wait for future episodes!

Kudos to you, Barb, for persevering through your travel travails with the Divas.

cherylforeurope

Dear God...this sounds like a trip with my
inlaws....if they were to ever brave leaving their hometown. Can't wait to hear the rest!!!

maxie

Love the trip report so far! Anxiously awaiting Part II - can't wait to find out what happens next!

Chele60

I really hate to say this, but this is very entertaining. That sounds terrible, but you just have a wonderfully descriptive way with words that makes reading this so interesting. Please - more!

Fortunately, I like traveling both solo and with others, but am picky with who I travel with. The worse vacation I had was a week in a small condo with a family with 2 teenagers - and I was single. YIKES! Never in my life have I gone out at 9PM to see a movie while on vacation, but I did that time just to escape the tension and all that teen angst. UGH! Never again!

Please, continue!

wombat7

More!!!!
Ms Eiffel Tower Diva - I love it

SharonG

Barb, I remember your wonderful report from Rome in March (same time the TN Trio of Terror was there)so I'm hoping you at least had some nice alone time. You sound like such a nice person so I'm afraid others take advantage of you. Can't wait to hear more!