FRIDAY, MARCH 10TH – DRIVING FROM GARMISCH, GERMANY TO VICENZA, ITALY:

Lobby call was 10:30 am and then one of the most beautiful drives ever.  We drove through Austria and the Alps and took TONS of photos.  I sat in the front and worked the entire way using my T-Mobile Hot Spot as my WiFi connection!

We made one long stop (45 minutes) so everyone could eat if something if they wanted.  There was one of the rudest ladies working in the restaurant!

The plan was to stop at a really nice restaurant for dinner before going on base.  It’s usually a “hassle” to get back on the base so we decided not to go back out after checking in.  Cathy (our POC) sent me a list of restaurants and I picked the one with the largest menu selection and the most “stars”.  It turned out to be a beautiful restaurant with an excellent menu and food.  I had the truffle spaghetti and it was delicious.  I was talking to Cathy at dinner about our train trip to Venice on Sunday. She informed me that the trains had just announced a “closure” for Sunday only between Vicenza and Venice.  I spent my entire time in the restaurant trying to figure out other ways to get us into Venice.  Finally, I bit the bullet and paid for a private transportation company to take us in two 5 passenger vans!

We checked into our rooms at around 9 pm.  It’s been a LONG time since I was here.  Once I got in my room, I realized I had left my adapter and phone cord on the bus.  I hiked back down to the bus but of course took a wrong turn and ended up in some “secure” area. Met the nicest soldier and he walked with me to the bus.  Bad news was….my adapter and cord wasn’t on the bus.  I have a spare and will go to the BX tomorrow and purchase another one for “just in case”!

I thought since I worked all day on the drive to Italy that I would be able to get in bed early….not so…finally shut down my computer at 3:30 am and then only because I couldn’t stay awake any longer!

SATURDAY, MARCH 11TH – PERFORMANCE AT CASERMA EDERLE – USAG ITALY:

I am pretty sure I could have slept until noon but text messages started coming and I had to get moving.  Quick shower and I managed to start a load of clothes washing before I walked over to the gym where the show will take place tonight.  It looks great but is huge.  We need a LOT of people to attend.

Cathy and I walked over to the base exchange and I purchased another adapter but it wasn’t what I wanted.  I’ll grab one at the airport on Monday. I had an amazing smoothie at the food court and then we walked back to lodging to meet the group to go visit the K-9 Unit. That was a real treat for everyone!  Andrew had said he wanted to wear the suit and let the dog attack him but after watching the “demonstration”, he changed his mind.  LOL. We only had one person brave enough and that was Jennifer.  She was scared to death, but she did great.

The guys went to the stage and I walked with the girls over to the food court.  Met the two sweetest firemen while waiting in line.  After sound check, Cathy took Jen and I to a Pharmacy off base to try and secure antibiotics for her cold.  Supposedly, antibiotics are available without a prescription.  The pharmacist we went to refused to give her any and instead told her to go to a doctor nearby.  Instead we went to a different pharmacy and that lady gave us the antibiotics!

We rushed back to base so that Jen would have time to get “show ready”.  Everyone met in the lobby at 6:15 pm and walked over to the gym.  They have a mechanical bull and a “food court” set up out front.  The girls did an interview with Public Affairs prior to the show and 3 firemen showed up just prior to the beginning and we took photos with them.  Just as the show started, I got a text message from AMEX asking about a charge that was being requested on my card.  I responded immediately because it was from the car company that I hired for tomorrow morning to take us into Venice. I quickly responded “Yes” to the text but decided I’d better call anyway and let them know there are going to be lots of charges from 3 more countries in the next few days. AMEX advised me that the charge was rejected and the company would have to run the charge again.  I called the company but they were closed until 8 am tomorrow morning. Hopefully they didn’t cancel our rides!

It was another great show and great audience!  The girls brought the little kids in the audience up on the stage near the end of the show and had them sing along. It was a great ending to our 3 shows in Germany and 1 show in Italy.

We are supposed to leave for Venice tomorrow morning at 10 am and spend the day walking around there.

Jude

 

SUNDAY, MARCH 11TH, 2023 – DAY OFF IN VENICE, ITALY:

I called the transportation company as soon as they opened this morning but my credit card still would not go through.  He said I could just pay him when he arrived to pick us up.

We met in the lobby this morning at 9:30 am for the drive into Venice. The taxis went to the wrong gate but got there shortly after we did.  My credit card finally went through.  The drive was quicker than expected which was nice.  Jen wanted to change our pick up time to 7 pm instead of 6 pm because she wanted to go to Hotel Danieli to watch the sunset.  However, when I googled their hours, it appears they don’t open until 7 pm and the sun sets at 6:10 pm.  We did move our pick up time to 7 pm though.

The weather was almost perfect – high 50’s and sunny. From the drop off point, it was a short walk across the bridge to Venice.  Basically, we walked all day long (20,631 steps!) and took hundreds of photos.  The group didn’t want to go inside any of the popular tourist attractions. The guys split off from us pretty early to do their own thing.  Greg stayed with us and he had his big professional camera with him.   Jen had made a reservation at a restaurant where a country music star “friend” of hers suggested we visit.  We got there early and had to sit outside on the water—which was beautiful but the temperature had dropped and we were freezing.

Once we got inside and ordered, the food was great.  I had pumpkin soup because I wanted to eat light and have Mascarpone Gelato afterwards.  Jen called the country music star (who shall remain nameless) and we all said “hello” to him and Jen took the phone to the owner and let him chat with him as well.  When we got ready to pay the bill and leave, we learned that he had already paid it!  What a super sweet and totally unexpected thing to do for us!

We began the search for the shop in Venice that sells mascarpone Gelato.  We found one but it was not the one where I found it when I was here in October 2021 with Lindsey, Zac and Zoe.  It was “good” but they had added chocolate flakes and nuts.  Was a little disappointed that we couldn’t find the right shop.  We walked back to the St. Marks Square and found a Gondola ride.  The boat would only hold 5 people so I stayed behind with Cathy since we have both taken the rides in the past.

After the ride, we decided to call our transportation and see if they could pick us up at 6 pm as originally scheduled.  They agreed to do so and we all began the very long walk back to the pickup point.  It was a very “quiet” ride back to base because everyone was so tired.  We logged over 20,000 steps today.

We had reservations at a restaurant right outside the gate so we walked there after being dropped off.  It was GREAT food!  I had pizza and wish I could have taken the half I didn’t eat to Korea with me!

We were back at lodging by around 8:30 pm and I’m trying to finish up before 3 am and grab some sleep.  Lobby call for the flight to Korea is at 9:00 am tomorrow.

We had such great shows in Germany and Italy and worked with such awesome people.  And everyone in the Runaway June group is a dream to work with.  Great European tour and now we’re going to make sure Korea, Japan and Okinawa are just as happy with our visit!

Jude