Staying In

It rained today. We had what you might call a torrential downpour.

Believe it or not, we have days where we don't see the sights of Europe. Or drive for hours at a time. Or even grocery shop. Today was such a day. Today was a day of planning. It would be wonderful if we could skip from country to country without directions or bookings, simply arriving and being and enjoying. Unfortunately, we do not live in such a world. And while we're blessed enough to be on this trip, it's due to a lot of effort and planning, much of which is done by my lovely parents. However, my mom isn't with us at the moment, which subsequently increased the task in front of my father. Abby and I did our best to help, but our contribution pales in comparison to the hours that Dad spent in front of the computer yesterday and today. We now have accommodations for the next three weeks in Rome, Sicily and Malta. We also have a car rented, flights booked, and routes planned. I'm gonna say it took between 15 and 20 hours for my dad to piece together the massive puzzle that is this section of our trip. He is exalted and applauded by my sister and I. Feel free to leave praise for his accomplishments in the comments.

Now, Abby and I didn't just lay about all day. Our undertakings may be smaller, but we think they helped. We planned out our routes and destinations for tomorrow, when we'll visit Siena, a town about an hour away from where we're staying in Cavriglia. We prepared lunch and dinner, did the dishes, and worked on blog posts (yes, we knew we were behind, and we did our best to catch up!). We made delicious Tollhouse cookies (don't worry, Mom, we left some for you). And we gave my dad peace and quiet. Hopefully it was beneficial.

It's 11:30pm now. We're done, at least for the moment. We were actually forced to stop, as the internet cut out. We did some laundry in the sink, and sighed as we realized there would be no Netflix or Hulu shows tonight. Perhaps we'll read instead. Or sleep. But getting to bed at a reasonable hour doesn't seem to be our style. This is reflected in the fact that I've called 11:30pm a reasonable hour. Ah well.