Come with me! on a trip of a lifetime which started June 9, 2020 to explore the wonders of Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Austria, Germany and Italy(post tour)!
Let’s go on a pretend tour!

June 9 was supposed to be our departure date for a trip that my family had been planning and saved up for almost 2 years. 2020 is a special year for us as it’s my 40th wedding anniversary and my 70th birthday year as well.

This was going to be only our second tour outside of the USA in 40 years, so it was really something that my hubby and I were looking forward to.

And the tops of the icing were going to be the Passion Play in Oberramergau, which is only held every 10 years(the next one is 2030), a visit to my 90 year old aunt, a Catholic nun in Rome, Italy, Sr. Mary Antonia Katindoy Almendra, and visits to the places we’ve lived in Germany as well as the place where we were married.

This is one of those days when this “I could have” rings a bell in me.
I lived and worked in Germany for many years and “I could have” done so many things that now are just dreams for me.
I could have traveled more, seen more and experienced more.

Then we always say, “Oh, next time, I’ll come back, I’ll be back”, which is fine but sadly those hardly happen.

Here we are sitting at home instead of being on a tour and enjoying the sights of Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Austria, Germany and Italy(a post tour).

All because of this evil covid-19! that changed everything and everyone! Dang!

Anyway, everyday, I’ll take you to the places in our itinerary.
Fasten your seatbelts and let’s go! As this is a pilgrimage tour, we’ll also visit a lot of religious sites in Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Austria and Germany….and yes Medjugorje as well! We would be touring with some Catholic priests so we’d be having Masses in some churches we’d be visiting.

Pretend tour starts here:

It’s June 9, 2020 – our departure date!

We’re getting ready to leave for the DFW(Dallas-Fort Worth) International Airport bound for Dubrovnik, Croatia aboard American Airlines with a stopover in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

I have to make sure that all my travel paraphernalia are ready and packed in our suitcases!

Checklist:

• Passport – very very important
• Credit cards
• Money
  • Dollar bills
  • Some currencies of the places we’ll be traveling to
• Travel Purses
• Neck ID wallet with RFID Blocking
• Canon camera
• iphone
• small tripod
• extra SD card
• Iphone Filming Accessories
• eye mask
• face mask – to cover nose and mouth
• face mask – for skin
• sunglasses – at least 3 pairs
• supplements and other health products on the go
• prescription medicines
• compression socks/stockings
• empty small water bottle
• sanitizer – wipes
• mask
• shoes – walking, comfortable dress shoes, slippers
• cosmetics and toiletries- travel sizes
• a handy pen and paper
• raincoat – lightweight with hood
• windbreaker – lightweight
• sweater
• shawl
• small umbrella
• small flashlight
• extra batteries
• computer or ipad
• neck pillow

Arriving at the DFW International airport:

We had to make sure that our luggages were clearly tagged for easy identification.

We had our Passports ready and handy as well as cash money for tips, food, etc.

We signed up with Global so it was easier to get through.

We saw to it that we were dressed comfortably and with comfortable shoes so if we had to run to catch a flight just in case, we were ready to walk fast or even run fast 🙂

I had my cross over travel bag and a carry-on that was a spinner, which makes a lot of difference. Choose a carry-on spinner that would also fit under the airplane seat.

So off we go! Dallas to our layover in Philadelphia!

We arrived in Philadelphia for a few hours of layover before continuing to Dubrovnik, Croatia.

For the next 10 next 10 hours flight from Philadelphia to Dubrovnik, Croatia, it was time to just relax and unwind and get ready to explore the beauty of Eastern Europe starting with Croatia!

See you tomorrow as I just have to take a nap! 🙂