Prelude to Our E.V. 2004: Footsteps, Footwork & Disclaimer

Hello, Reader!
Thank you for taking a moment to read this very important prelude to our European Vacation adventures of 2004. Hopefully my words below will help you to find your way through my stories without too much confusion.
Our European adventures were not just great fun with great people, they were a great learning experience, as was writing them. Our adventures took place over 2 months, visiting a total of 9 countries, of which one stop was to visit family and two were to visit dear friends. I brought along a blank journal to record daily each place, each adventure, each experience- the typed up results are what you will read, broken down into 45 entries, or chapters. I tried to write them so that any chapter can stand alone by itself. Whether I was successful in that or not, we shall see.
Thank you in advance for sharing them with us through these stories.
In my eyes, every adventure should consist of the following: A companion (real or imaginary) with whom to share your journey, a sense of adventure (if your traveling companion does not have one, then pack a left hook as well to knock some sense into them), a vivid imagination (helps greatly if you are accompanied by an imaginary friend), a couple of Ziploc bags (keeps the unwanted bugs in the rock and shell collection you will acquire from escaping into your suitcase, preventing them from making a new home in your underwear), plenty of tissues (for emotion when art touches your soul or uncontrollable tears of laughter wvhen your traveling companion has tripped… tissues also double as T.P. in a pinch), a small bottle antibacterial soap gel (like a true Scout, always be prepared), a pen and a journal - although lipstick and a napkin will suffice in an emergency.
Before following in my footsteps through my travel stories, you might want to be Heads Up on my footwork… My right foot tends to trip a lot- usually on Air. You’ll find my left foot easily- it’ll be the funny looking thing I’ve got stuck in my mouth. I’m not flat-footed, nor are my feet always flat on the ground as I tend to bounce a lot. Think ‘Tigger’- you’ll get the idea. If my feet are not tripping, bouncing or stuck in my mouth, it’s probably because they are standing on one of my Soapboxes… For that, I feel the need to beg forgiveness in advance if any of my soapboxes offend anyone, as that was never my intention. While each chapter was typed up as an independent story, it is important to remember it is really a journal. What is written is simply what I wrote at the moment, in whatever mood I happened to be in at the time- whether it was spiritual with lots of prayer, personal with a soapbox or two, the eager student with historical (or hysterical) trivia at hand or just simply the goofball with a few laughs- generally directed at myself. Due to the personal nature, the thoughts within unfortunately may at times come across as a bit... strong. Changing words to make my soapboxes disappear would only be done to make me appear sane to those who don’t really know me, and what would be the fun in that? I am who I am, and the stories stand as were written in my journal.
And now for the oh, so important Disclaimer…:
I apologize if any of the historical trivia I have included is inaccurate. Please keep in mind I do not profess to be a historian, I am merely an archaeologist wannabe; I like to dig and climb in strange places to do my research. All historical information provided which was researched on the Internet was limited to official websites of the museums or state sponsored tourism websites, not from tourist opinionated websites. Some information was from audio provided by the site or tourist bus; other historical trivia was straight out of the mouths of tour guides we were lucky to be close enough to sneak up to hear while we quickly jotted down their quotes on tissues- before quickly hiding our notes in case of discovery. The rest of my research was taken from documents I picked up at the sites themselves such as books, pamphlets, small leaflets sealed in plastic found inside bags of potato chips purchased at the onsite gift shops, or printed on the labels of the wine provided at the museum cafeterias. Anyone deciding to take me to court to dispute any historical or other errors in my writings must be informed that my defense strategies will hold up in court: I am a Blonde, and can please temporary insanity.

So now… step into my world, and let the adventures begin…

Enjoy!