Italy here we come!

I have to admit that I was exhausted when I got back from Bavaria. And poor David had told me Wednesday night that he was tired and it was cumulative. Makes sense, right? Most people can get through one night of sleep deprivation, but by the time you're on night number four, you kind of start feeling like a zombie.

I didn't get to leave Bavaria until 1500. So I didn't get home until about 2000, by the time it was all said and done. I still needed to pack for the kids and myself, not to mention do laundry after being away for 8 days. I could not figure out the logistics of how best to get us to Italy. My initial plan had been to drive to the Italian border and stop for the night as soon as we got out of Switzerland. I think I would have been awake until 0300 if we had stuck to that plan.

Instead, I got David's buy-in to leave at the kids' bedtime, 2000. So we slept a good night of sleep, took our time to pack and get ready so we wouldn't stress about forgetting anything, and started loading up the van at about 1830. And we drove away at about 2015. Everyone was ready. David played Queen's greatest hits for us and we were jamming down the highway.

About 40 minutes into the drive, David said, "Oh no. Did you bring the passports?" And in true Patty fashion, I said, "No. I thought about them once, but..." "So did I," he said. "Should we go back?"

With only a little bit of deliberation, I decided to go back. I had my own but nobody else's. So our 11-hour drive turned into a 12+ hour drive, and the excitement got sucked right out of us.

My decisions to leave when we did and to go back for the passports proved to be good ones. The drive was quite uneventful. Although we missed seeing the Swiss Alps because it was dark, the road was empty enough to make it worth it. At about 0500, I had David take the wheel for an hour or so. I needed a break for sure! And when we got to the park, they asked me for all six passports. Whew! What a good trip. And the kids were SOOOO good. I couldn't even believe how good they were. What a blessing.

We're on our way right now to Pisa. Yesterday and Saturday we took easy days and enjoyed the playground and the pool at the park. We had our first pizza in Italy already, and David and I had homemade pasta. The pizza was delicious. The pasta wasn't very good, but we'll try a different restaurant next time. The pasta we had was at the restaurant in the park, since it was open on Sunday. We've also been eating some delicious Italian meat and cheese sandwiches for lunch or breakfast. It's been great, so far. And this area is completely beautiful. What a lot to look forward to this week. What a gem we found in this park we're visiting.