I decided to begin the first post to our blog since our trip to China with our Trip calendar.  We leave for Rome on Tuesday, May 15th.  Unfortunately, our flight leaves at 6:15am.  And to make it even worse, we connect at JFK in New York with a nearly 5 hour layover. Not the best way to start a trip that's been in the planning process since last summer.  I have a great deal more respect for travel agents who make all the arrangements.  While the calendar seems pretty straight forward, it's the culmination of dozens of hours of planning, searching, phone calls, emails, and changes.

But this is only Friday night and we still have a few days left before we leave.  I'll try to post regularly, include lots of pictures, and keep the verbage short and (hopefully) interesting.  Ciao for now.