The Rain in Spain

Sometimes I get off track, especially when I get to telling stories. In the last post I meant to talk about my daughter, but ended up telling about Otter's dog. My brother is like that, it always has to be about him...anyway I was talking about my daughter. She is almost twenty-one, a Junior in College. You never knew I had a kid when I was ten, huh? Jeez, maybe a new paragraph will help keep me on track.

My daughter left yesterday for ten days in Europe. She is going to Madrid, Florence and Rome. She has only been on a plane a few times, I think she is a little nervous. The whole idea of what to do when she arrives -- getting to the hotel, checking in etc., I think is a little daunting. At least in Spain she will be able to speak the language. I am not thrilled with this trip, and I miss her already. Even though she is rarely home, we speak to her every day. Now we have to wait on her call.

I know how she probably feels. I have been to Europe ten or twelve times. Never as part of a tourist group, but for work. Sometimes I have been able to do some sight seeing as well. As far as being a fish out of water, the worst was one of my trips to Italy. I had spent several days at our plant, and on my last day the boss asked if I wanted to see Turin (Torino). I said sure. One of the guys drove me to the city, about 40 minutes from our offices. When we arrived he parked and told me some of the places of interest, and showed me a map (in Italian). He then told me he would me at this same spot at 7:00 pm. It was about 10:30 am at that point. I got out of the car and off he went. I thought he was going to give me the tour. I was on my own. I knew exactly ONE word of Italian -- grazie. What a long day.

I did see a couple have sex on a park bench behind the palace, but that is a post for another day. I will be traveling the length of Illinois for the next couple of days, so posting will be light to non-existent. Go forth, sit in the sun, and get laid.