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<\/a>One of the most fun things about any trip is the planning.\u00a0 <\/span>At least for anal retentives like me, I guess. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n Here were the stops on my second trip:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>It was a GREAT trip.\u00a0 <\/span>Rome knocked me out.\u00a0 <\/span>For a history buff, Rome is heaven.\u00a0 <\/span>You can see the various layers of its vast history all around you.\u00a0 <\/span>Memorable moment:\u00a0 <\/span>Seeing Who Framed Roger Rabbit<\/em><\/strong> in Italian at an open-air cinema in Trastavere.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span>My day trip to Tivoli was memorable because of The Villa d\u2019Este, a spectacular hillside estate with water gardens that cascade down the hill.<\/span><\/p>\n In Siena I climbed the tallest brick tower in the world.\u00a0 <\/span>In Assisi I saw the altar where St. Francis preached to the birds.\u00a0 <\/span>In Rimini I attended the Mr. Olympia World Bodybuilding Championships.<\/span><\/p>\n In Verona I soaked up Romeo and Juliet lore and experienced my first earthquake.\u00a0 <\/span>I saw both sides of the Matterhorn, the Italian side (Cervinia) and the Swiss side (Zermat).\u00a0 <\/span>Saw a pretty good production of Evita in Geneva.\u00a0 <\/span>Met my friends Laura and Ceci for a week in Paris.<\/span><\/p>\n Except for one missed train connection in Italy, which resulted in the one and only time I have ever hitchhiked in my life, my vast planning paid off handsomely.\u00a0 <\/span>Everything worked.<\/span><\/p>\n I realize that planning a trip extensively doesn\u2019t seem very sexy to many people.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhere\u2019s the spontenaeity?\u201d they ask.\u00a0 <\/span>Well, spontenaiety is great if you are rich and have unlimited time.\u00a0 <\/span>But if you\u2019re not, and you wait until the last minute to book things, you can get shut out, shut down, and wiped out.<\/span><\/p>\n Tomorrow:\u00a0 <\/span>Planning progress for this <\/em>trip!<\/span><\/p>\n [Note:\u00a0 I have many great photos from the second trip to Italy, but alas, I don’t have access to them while I am on the road.\u00a0 I’ll put some up when I get home.]\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n \n\u00a0<\/span>I remember my second trip to Europe in 1989.\u00a0 <\/span>I was to spend a month in Italy before meeting friends in Paris.\u00a0 <\/span>I had a wonderful time mapping out my trip, checking train schedules, and carefully making hotel reservations in my halting tourist Italian.<\/span>It was to be my second trip to Italy.\u00a0 <\/span>In 1987 I had the good fortune to go to Pisa, Florence, Venice, and Milan.\u00a0 <\/span>Amazing trip, but pretty easy, planning-wise.\u00a0 <\/span>Not so with the 1987 journey.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/assisi1-300x285.jpg\" "\\"assisi\\"")
<\/a><\/div>\n1987 Europe Trip Destinations<\/h4>\n
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Rome<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nTivoli<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nNaples<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nPompeii<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nPerugia<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nSiena<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nRimini<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nAssisi<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nRavenna<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nBologna<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nFerrara<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nVerona<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nSirmione (Lago ie Garda)<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nStresa (Lago Maggiore)<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nCervinia<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nZermat (Switzerland)<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nLausanne<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nGeneva<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nDijon<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\nParis<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n![\"I](\"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/021-siena-tower-201x300.jpg\" "\\"021-siena-tower\\"")
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