Terrific to hear from you again!

Personally, I was very put-off by the whole Vatican experience. Fortunately, I had read "Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling" - I enjoyed the book much more than the real thing! Next time I will definitely sign up for a private tour. Whatever it costs would be worth it, IMO.

Thanks for continuing your trip report.
Linda

Good to hear from you again!

Day 73 – Flight to Prague

Today we say goodbye to the grandparents and to Rome. We meet for one last breakfast together. We are sad to see this time together come to an end. It is so rare that we are all together, as we live in New Jersey, New York and Florida. DFIL stands next to the breakfast room, looking through his luggage for his money and credit card. After much searching, it turns out to be in DMIL’s purse. Relief.

DMLIL tells us that Rome is not the least bit as he expected. He was prepared to see a city and he felt that once you’ve seen a few cities, you’ve seen them all. Instead, he was amazed to see the juxtaposition of old and new. The history to be seen all over the city is just incredible. He loved Tuscany for its quiet, relaxing atmosphere. Then, he appreciated Rome for its uniqueness and history. I am so glad he has enjoyed the trip, since he is a reluctant traveler. I think DM has enjoyed seeing Tuscany and Rome with him too. I am happy for them.

We have booked a ride to the airport with www.romashuttle.com. The price for 4 people is 40 euros. This is much better than the price quoted by the hotel (75 euros). The van for the grandparents comes promptly at 10 am. We have a second van coming at noon for DH, DS1, DS2 and me. At 10 am, we stand outside hugging and waving, hugging and waving, and then waving some more. Even the van driver catches the spirit and starts waving and waving to us.

After the van departs, we go back to our room to finish packing. Soon, our van arrives and we are momentarily surprised to see two other people in it. Then I remember that we have actually booked a shuttle for 40 euros. From our hotel, we go straight to the airport. On the drive, DH and I discuss what we are going to do when we get home. This is the first time on the trip that I have thought much about my life post-trip. Now, our thoughts begin to turn toward home, since we only have a few more days of traveling ahead of us. I think maybe I am having a mid-life crisis, because I am thinking of grand projects to undertake. Grand projects that will cost very little money.

We are flying on SKYEUROPE to Prague today. We wait for about an hour in the check-in line. There are a lot of people in line wearing royal blue sweatshirts that say, “Dragon boat championships – Praha 2006”. I figure that Praha means Prague. But, what are dragon boats? Some sort of rowing, I guess.

The flight starts out fine. I am very pleased with myself, because this 1 and ¾ hour flight has cost 102 euros for all 4 of us. About $30 each! The plane is a new 737. It is comfortable, with enough leg room. There is a slight problem when the man in front of me reclines his seat. It seems to be directly in my face, so I have to recline my seat too. But, we’ve experienced this on a few of our flights. You always feel this way, but on some planes it seems to be a little worse than others.

As we begin to make our descent, DS2 tells me that we are flying through the clouds. I am just starting to wake up from a nap, so I am drowsy. Suddenly, there is a very loud noise - BANG - like an explosion, and a bright burst of light. Everyone gasps. Were we just hit by lightning? What will happen now?

I look immediately look for the two flight attendants, to see if they are worried. They are scurrying to their jump seats, which face us. When they turn around to sit down, they are laughing nervously. We all wait to see what will happen next. The flight attendants, conscious of people watching them, laugh and start talking between themselves. They seem on alert, but not particularly worried. So, I relax (a little). When we land a short time later, most people on the plane, including me, clap wildly and loudly. The pilot makes an announcement that we were indeed hit by lightning, but the plane is very well equipped to handle this event and it is not something to be worried about. Well, now you tell us!

The Prague airport is not crowded. It seems to be very modern and fairly small. As we pick up our baggage, we notice that DH’s suitcase is missing the lock, but we don’t think too much about it. Later, he finds out that his stuff has been gone through and a computer game and mouse are missing. We think that it must have happened in Rome, since the luggage came out immediately onto the beltway in Prague.

After picking up our baggage, we go in search of an ATM. We need Czech money, not euros. The airport map shows the ATM machines to be upstairs, on the departure level. So, we go upstairs and ask at the information booth. She sends us downstairs, where we ask at that information booth. The ATM machines are indeed downstairs, at the end of the building, past the taxi stands.

Then we go to the AAA taxi stand to inquire about a taxi into town. We have been told to take AAA taxis and no others. The woman at the booth tells us the approximate fare will be 550 CZK and to get a taxi from the line directly outside.

On the ride into town, the sky is dark and foreboding. Suddenly, we notice a rainbow. The driver speaks a little English and tells us to look, there is a second rainbow next to it. The colors are brilliant and amazing. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. We can see them all. Then, to our amazement, we see that one of the rainbows stretches across the entire sky. We can see the entire rainbow, even both ends as they curve over the horizon! For about 15 minutes, I can just ooh and aah. It is the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen! DS1 and DS2 laugh at me, but I still can’t stop ooh’ing and aah’ing.

We have rented an apartment in Prague directly from the owners at www.vrbo.com. The owners meet us at the apartment and quickly show us around. They are on their way to their summer home. The apartment is in a good location, near the metro and 3-4 stops from the central tourist area. The apartment is 2 bedrooms, with 1 bathroom, washer and dryer, eat-in kitchen, living room and dining area. This apartment is one of my favorites. The inside of the building is plain and slightly industrial looking. In the apartment, the layout is very linear, but the rooms are spacious, it is very clean, the décor is pleasing in a minimalist Scandinavian style, there are tons of closets and storage space, and everything in it seems new or very well maintained. It is stocked with everything. My only minor complaint would be that the towels have stains on them, although they are clean. This is also our least expensive rental, at 100 euros per night.

For dinner, we walk a couple of blocks to a neighborhood pub-like place that the owner has recommended. It is owned by one of his friends and he says he just had dinner there the previous night. We love the restaurant. It is VINARNA U PALECKA (www.vinarny.cz), the street address is Nitranska 22 and it is in Prague 3 – Vinohrady, near a metro stop. The servers are friendly and they seem to speak a tiny bit of English. There is an English menu, so it is easy to order. Lots of people are smoking though. The atmosphere is charming and very pub-like. I think we are the only tourists here.

The food is delicious. We haven’t eaten since breakfast, so we order tons and tons of food and the bill comes to 1,328 CZK (Kc) including tip, about $60. They bring us a basket of brown bread and bread sticks covered in salt and caraway seeds. While we are spreading the butter with chives on our bread, we realize it is probably sour cream with chives, intended for the potato pancakes. It is delicious on the bread, anyway. For appetizers we have: sweet marinated brie cheese with onions, 2 orders of fried chicken wings, palecka toast which is similar to barbecued beef on toast, potato pancakes with sour cream and chives, noodle soup in chicken broth. For dinner we have: potato pancake crepes filled with spicy beef stir fry; meat cooked with peppers, onions and chili sauce; and a delicious sirloin steak covered with pepper and herb butter.

After dinner, we walk back to the apartment and watch a DVD that I bought in Rome – ‘Cast Away’ with Tom Hanks. Then we all head to bed, where we have strange dreams about returning home. All summer, my dreams have been peaceful ones. But, the last few days, some of our dreams have gotten more filled with conflict. DH dreams that they are interrogating terrorists down the hall at work and he is disturbed that no one seems concerned and indeed one of his colleagues says he may have accidentally left the door open and let them out into the kindergarten classroom (!?) that also happens to be down the hall. DS1 dreams that he is in a strange city and is looking for his school and he just keeps walking around and around, looking for it, but he can’t find it. I guess we are all mentally preparing for our return home.

Travelgirl -
How wonderful that you were able to have this special time with both sets of grandparents! I love the image of you all waving back and forth and the taxi driver joining in.

It must indeed have been an odd feeling for such a long adventure to finally be drawing to a close. Are you going to share your grand projects that won't cost very much money? Just nosy . . .

Linda

Travelgirl... i know that you are home by now.. but reading your trip report, i am starting to get sad for your going home. It has been so fun traveling around the world with you! You have made so many great memories with your family. what a blessing to be thankful for. thank you again for taking us with you.. Prague was already on my short-list.. but your description of your first dinner there.. MMMMMMM.. sounds SO yummy. i just gotta go now!

Yes, I'll share more about future projects later...

Oh dear, I just clicked onto the restaurant website and it isn't in English, so I don't know what it says. The website was listed on the restaurant's business card...

travel_chef1 - We didn't get to Panzano. Now, it's a good excuse to go back.

cafegoddess - We ordered 3 phones from www.telestial.com with international SIM cards. I did it at the last minute, so couldn't really research very thoroughly. Calls were expensive, but the advantage was that we had the same phone number for the entire trip, no matter what country we were in.

We didn't use it a lot, except in Spain, where I text messaged the kids at camp a lot. Telestial's customer support was sometimes good and sometimes less than helpful. Sometimes they were closed and I left a message, but they didn't get back to me. I had to pay something like 80 cents or $1 per minute to call customer support and be on hold for a while when they researched my question. The 'technical' department never got back to me either.

One of the 3 phones we got was never able to send text messages and I'm still not sure why.

When making calls, you had to call the number and then you got a message that they would call you back. You hung up and a few seconds later the phone rang and there was a message that your call was now being placed. Then you would hear the line ringing at the receiver's end.

The phones worked fine, but I'm not sure it would have been the best option... But, I didn't find anything better either.

Day 74 – Prague

This morning, DH goes to the market across the street and picks up some food. Then, we walk to the metro. The lady at the booth does not speak much English. Apparently, she does not sell the tickets, for she comes out of the booth and takes us over to the ticket vending machines. There, she shows us how to buy a ticket good for up to 5 stops. The total cost for the 4 of us is 42 CZK, about $2. We head toward the platforms. Once I step onto the escalator, I am quickly whisked away. This is the fastest moving escalator I have been on in my life! At the bottom, there is a clear and easy-to-understand map showing this subway line. It is clearly marked, to show our station and then all stations to the right (for platform 1) and all stations to the right (for platform 2). Also shown are the connections you can make at each of the stations on this line. Excellent map.

For lunch, we go to KOLKOVNA, at V. Kolkovne 8. This lunch costs about $70. Lunch is good, but we liked yesterday’s dinner better. For appetizers, we have: garlic bread, beef goulash soup served in hollowed out bread, and the Czech assorted appetizers consisting of spicy marinated brie and several kinds of sausage and meats. For lunch, we have: fried pork schnitzel with potatoes; Moravian sparrow (which is pork) with dumplings, red cabbage and sauerkraut; and the Czech platter consisting of duck, Moravian sparrow, sausage, smoked pork, different kinds of dumplings, red cabbage and sauerkraut.

It continually surprises us to find so many types of ethnic food in each city we visit. It seems that you can eat any type of food in any city on earth. Here, we have sought out Czech food, which we enjoy, but have found to be quite heavy. A lot of meat and fried food.

After lunch, we go for a walk. At the OLDE TOWN SQUARE, we see a little sightseeing bus that looks like a children’s train ride. It is leaving in 5 minutes, so we jump on. It costs 250 CZK (about $12) for each adult and children up to 12 are free. It takes us on an hour-long ride around town. We see a little of the sights, but still don’t get a good feel for the city. The large, exuberant Italian family sitting in front of us is the most interesting thing about the ride. Papa must be making rude jokes, because he is laughing while Mama periodically good-naturedly but not too gently smacks him and tells him “basta” (enough).

Later, we wander around the Olde Town Square. We see a food stand with a long line of people, so we stop to see what they are selling. It is TRDELNIK, which tastes a little similar to funnel cake, but not really. The sign says it is dough with toffee and sugar. They make lines of dough and then wrap it around a cylinder (shaped like a rolling pin) which is 10 inches long and about 3 inches wide. Once the cylinder is lined with dough, they roll it into a sugar mixture. Then they lay the cylinder over an open flame, with the handles along the edges. As they put each new cylinder on the flame, they push the old cylinder towards the middle of the flame. By the time it gets to the end, the cylinder has turned around and around, like a spit, and the dough is cooked. They carefully push the cooked dough off into a vat of sugar and you pick up the hot treat with a napkin. It costs 50 CZK.

We peruse the market area and buy some gifts to take home. The market is touristy and sells souvenirs, but some of the items are very interesting. There are lots of pashmina scarves, medieval knights and other characters, metal items, etc.

Then, we ride the metro home and spend the night reading and writing for Fodor’s.

I'm glad you're finishing this. I was hoping you would! Please continue.....

bookmarking

Day 75 – Prague

I am totally lazy today. I spend the day doing Suduko puzzles. I think I do about ten of them. I am starting to stress out about going home, so I’m trying to distract myself. All I can think about is what needs to be done at home. I have so enjoyed this break from my day-to-day responsibilities. It has been so nice to wake up and only have to think about what fun things we should do today.

DH takes the kids to PRAGUE CASTLE. They find it charming and rate the excursion an 8 out of 10. DS2 says the shops were interesting.

For dinner, we go back to VINARNA U PALECKA. We like the pub atmosphere. Tonight it is very smoky, though. We order cabbage soup, sweet marinated brie and noodle soup in chicken broth. For dinner, we all order the same entrees we had the other night. I guess we liked the food here. For dessert, we have crepes, ice cream sundaes and a banana in chocolate sauce.

At night, we watch a DVD we’d brought of ‘Anna and The King’. Then, I can’t go to bed. I am up until 3 am, doing more Suduko puzzles. I think I just don’t want this trip to end.

Travelgirl2:
Are you a writer?
If not, you should be. I alnog with everyone else reading your post(as they say so) enjoy reading your post very much.

"I think I just don’t want this trip to end."
We don't either! Can't you go to a couple more countries before you go back home? Please? ha.Thanks, Travelgirl,everytime I come to Fodors I do a search for your travel report.

Day 76 – Flight to London

This morning, we have breakfast, pack up and watch CNN. The owners of the apartment are coming at 11 am. Just before 11, DS2 has a bloody nose and gets a big drop of blood on his sheet. Oh no. DH comes to the rescue and washes it out in the sink. No problem. The owner comes and calls us a taxi, from AAA, and we head toward the airport. Again, the fare is 531 Kc, which comes to about $30 with tip.

On the way to the airport, we look out the window at Prague’s buildings. The red roofs and the style of some of the buildings lining the river are reminiscent of Stockholm’s architecture. Also, we have noticed a lot of graffiti in Prague.

We arrive at the airport so early that we sit down to have lunch. DS2 finds a gyro with tzasiki. DS1 has a cheeseburger, which turns out to be a ham patty with cheese on a bun. It really is a ‘ham-burger’. When he tells me this, I think he is joking.

After passport control, we find a bar which has computers with free internet access if you purchase a drink. We have four Cokes and everyone checks their email. The EASYJET flight is about an hour late. We are given passes for pre-boarding. The check-in lady says it is because we have “childs”. Huh? Oh. Okay. I feel a little guilty, but not enough to say, “no, thank you, we’ll board last”. Easyjet is fine to fly, but I find their boarding procedure a little bit stressful, as a family flying together. Being allowed to board with the first group is very much appreciated. Once on the flight, I tried to purchase a sandwich, but there were none available. The flight was uneventful.

The GATWICK EXPRESS is convenient to town. There is a special, where 4 people can ride for the price of 2. It is supposed to be 4 adults, but the ticket agent suggests we travel on this special, for a total of 28 GBP. Then we take the metro to Paddington.

Tonight, we are staying at the PADDINGTON HILTON. I had planned to get something on Priceline, but yesterday we decided to use some Hilton Honors points for a free night. It hurts me, since we have to get two rooms and use 80,000 points. It turns out to be okay, but nothing special.

We go down the street to dinner at FRONTLINE. The menu is quite small. We all order scallops on peas, corn, and bacon for an appetizer, which is delicious. For dinner, the shepherd’s pie is just okay and DH loves his lamb.

Still enjoying every moment. Welcome back, Travelgirl.

Hi Travelgirl -- so excited that you are continuing your story!!

how sad guess your not going to finish for all of us. So I give up!!!

Travelgirl2, I am so glad that you are back. Your report was the first one I ever read at Fodor and I have been hooked since then. I am very touched by your family. I am hoping to take a trip with my in-laws very soon and I hope we have a wonderful time.

Regarding the cell phone, I was in London last week and I ordered a cell phone from WWW.Mobal.com and I really like this company. I can use this cell phone all over Europe and Asia and I will always have the same telephone number. The price per minute is a little bit pricey but it is so easy to use and the customer service is wonderful. They reply to your questions right away and are very nice about anwering any problems you might have. No monthly fees.

PLEASE, the holidays are over, things are getting back to normal, and we all need to hear the end of this journey. Please come back!!!

Yes, we need to see you home safe and sound and hear a few reflections on the journey.

C'mon T-girl... bring us home!

I am starting to doubt we will ever hear about the end of this trip. I hope all is well for travelgirl2 and she simply had a computer crash or something else that would cause her to not report back for almost 8 weeks now.

I guess I should apologize for reviving this thread and giving false hope to all of TG's fans.

How sad that we have not heard back from travelgirl. I hope all is well in her life.

Some years ago there was a Fodorite that travelled in Italy with her parents and suddenly her wonderful and fabulous postings about the trip stopped and she has never been heard from again. I don't remember her screen name but imagine some Fodorite's will recall what it was.

It is like reading a good book without being able to read the last couple of chapters.

travelgirl, if you see this, again I hope all is well with you and your family.

Hello. Thank you for your comments. I promise that I will finish the report. Things have been very busy lately, but I hope to get back to it soon.

Yay! Looking forward to it, travelgirl!

Hello travelgirl, how wonderful to hear from you!! When you can, the rest of your report will be wonderful. Like LCBoniti I am so happy to see that you posted and all is well in your life.

Also looking forward to those final installments, Travelgirl.

LoveItaly, I remember the woman you mentioned. Her screen name was PLM or something like that. Her trip to Italy was so funny I thought it should be made into a movie. Her mom and dad were priceless characters!

Day 77 – Flight to Newark and Home

This morning, we have breakfast at the PADDINGTON HILTON. As gold members, we are usually given a free breakfast in the Executive Lounge. Here, the Executive Lounge is under construction, so the breakfast is in their restaurant. It is an excellent buffet, with many stations offering a full English breakfast, pastries and everything else you could possibly want.

Today we will be flying home. Boo hoo. It is nice to be staying practically in Paddington Station. We walk downstairs and catch the Heathrow Express. They have a weekend special, where 4 adults can travel for the price of 2. Again, they let us travel on this special, for a total of 28 GBP.

At the airport, we wait in a long check-in line, then stop briefly at a shop to pick up some last-minute gifts. We leave ourselves about 1 ½ hours to wait in the security line. As we approach security, there is a long line of people. So we keep walking, looking for the end of the line. We walk for about 15 minutes! There are thousands of people in line. Oh no, I think, we will never make our flight at this rate.

Just then, someone comes by, calling out a flight time and telling everyone with flights up until that time to come with him. He will take them to the front of the line. Five minutes later, someone calls out our flight time. We follow him all the way to the front of the line. He places us in the line. Of course, the people we are cutting in front of are not too happy about it. There is a lot of pushing and shoving. Even though we are near the front of the line, it still takes us another hour to get completely through security. Many people in line are at the end of their patience, so the wait is not very pleasant.

We rush to our gate and board the plane. Five minutes later, they close the door and our plane taxis to the runway. We are only leaving 15 minutes late. They said that all passengers were accounted for. That’s good, but yikes. This was very stressful for everyone. Especially the older folks we saw sprinting for the plane.

During the flight, there is a poor 11 year old boy who throws up repeatedly for the first half hour and then again for the last hour. The flight is very turbulent, especially at takeoff and landing. The plane moves jarringly from side to side. The pilot tells us the turbulence at landing is due to the remnants of tropical storm Ernesto. The boy continues to throw up all over the carpet in Passport Control. His poor mom holds a baby and waits for him to finish. Some airport people rush over to offer assistance.

Our limo driver is relieved to see us. He has been waiting two hours for us.

We have an uneventful ride home and we are all so happy to see our house. I practically cry with happiness at the thought of using my washer and dryer the next day. That is one thing I have sorely missed on this trip!

Thank you for finishing!! I loved all of your amazing report...

Have you traveled anywhere since, or where to next??

Thanks for finishing. However, I admit that I am greedy. Now that you've been home for a few months, it would be interesting to hear your overall reflections on the trip....highs and lows, what you would differently, whether you would do another trip of that magnitude and length if you had the opportunity, etc.

Thank you, Travelgirl2. A trip of a lifetime, indeed. You have inspired me. I have enjoyed reading every word.

Marvelous! Thanks so much for bringing the report to completion. :-)
I agree with missypie .... if you find yourself with a few extra minutes, looking back, what what you absolutely do again, what not, etc...? A trip like this is an inspiration and dream for many of us.

Where to next? Happy travels!!

Day 78 – Home

First thing this morning, I go to the grocery store. I am stunned by the aisles and aisles of choices. Instead of 2 or 3 choices for each item, it seems like we have 20 or 30. At first, I have a hard time picking among the choices. The aisle of breakfast cereal offers boundless opportunities.

Another thing I notice is our produce. It is huge and looks beautiful. But, the nectarines I buy do not taste nearly as good as the ones we have been eating in Europe.

I stop by our favorite bagel store. We have bagels and lox and cream cheese and onions and tomatoes for breakfast. It is delicious.

I make tacos for dinner. We have corn on the cob. These are all some of our favorite things and we savor them.

We talk about our trip. I could have kept traveling. DH is glad to be home. The kids loved traveling and would love to go some more, but for now they are looking forward to starting school and seeing their friends.

We all wonder what our next adventure will be.

Well, it looks as though you are well and truly done - what a great trip and thanks for your persistence in posting your report.

A small suggestion for when you catch your breath. You could turn the report - and your pictures - into a nice book at www.blurb.com. I did this with my fall trip to Romania, which was only 10 days but 3700 pictures! Weeded them out and added text from my lengthy journal to make a 220 page hardcover book. With a beautiful dust jacket for just about $60.

Thanks noe847. I am definitely going to check that out.

Day 79 - Home

I have to buy some new sheets. The sheets in Europe are so wonderful. I spend three hours at the store today, since there is a 20% off store-wide sale.

I also start thinking seriously about our next adventure. At first, DH rolls his eyes and seems to hope that I will stop talking about it. When I persist over dinner, he refuses to discuss it. Later, I tell him that planning the next adventure will make it much easier for me to re-enter reality, so he relents and we start to brainstorm together.

Since we will have limited funds, we will have to be creative. We have two thoughts. First, is camping and bicycling. We like these activities, so I start looking for low-cost bicycling trips. Fodor’s posters, as always, are very helpful. Our second thought is that maybe DH has some funds available from work to attend a conference. This turns out to be the case, so we start looking for upcoming conferences in interesting places.

This report has been such a great experience. I've been checking every other day just for this post, and then I head back to bed - happy as ever.

We were in Amsterdam couple years back for a few days and really enjoyed it. We stayed ten blocks away from the Anne Frank House on Prinsengracht and loved the neighborhood. I found the city to be quite charming, and wasn't put off by the coffeeshops so much.

Continued success with the rest of your trip!

Day 80+ – Home

Over the next two weeks, I am so happy to catch up with my friends. I meet some for coffee. I meet others for a walk in the park. One comes over for tea. We take some out for dinner as a thank you for watching our house. I see some at a school event and some at church. Others at the bus stop. Others invite us to an afternoon wine tasting. Another has a party, complete with pig roast. We have a neighborhood block party to kick off the new school year.

As much as I love traveling, I have missed our friends, family and neighbors. The kids spend a solid week visiting with their friends too.

With DH’s blessing, I’ve signed us up for a bicycling and camping weekend. I don’t want grass to grow under my feet!

I still have to get the iPod fixed. That’s the one that crashed on the first day of our trip. During his interlude at home, DH already took care of the dishwasher and garage door repairs. Now, we’d better take care of that septic tank leak!

Thank you to all you Fodor’s posters who contributed to our trip with your comments and insight. It has been so much fun to share our trip with you.

TravelGirl:

I've said manytimes how I've thorughly enjoyed your report...I have copied
most of the Japan and China segments...

Countdown..leaving in four weeks...March 28th...Beijing 5 days, Xian, 2, Guilin 3, Shanghai 4, Tokyo 4, Kyoto 5, and Beppu (where I was stationed, on Kyushu) 2.

Happy Travels to you and to all your avid readers herein!! Keep on truckin' !!

Stu T.

Travelgirl,

I just discovered your trip report this week, and it was absolutely terrific! Thanks so much for sharing such a great experience with all Fodorites.

You inspired me to try to figure out a way to take a long (more then 3 weeks) trip, and to finally get exposed to Asia my DH (your term!) and I travel a lot, mostly to Europe (my sister lives in London).

I live in NYC, and I grew up in NJ, so we're neighbors!

Thanks again for such a compelling trip report.

Thank you so much. Now that I've marked this I can re-read it again & again!