My thoughts go back a couple of days to when my erstwhile and new friends--Lori and Brian--commented on their experience with this little fantasy come true called my 50th birthday celebration. The comment was: This was an absolutely brilliant idea and the most memorable experience we've had. And the thought bubble that popped in my head was, "Yeah. It doesn't suck!"
I guess it was the greatest source of stress for this entire trip: what if everything falls apart and it turns into the greatest fiasco? You can plan and plan and plan for your plans to be planned, and it could, at the drop of a hat, all just "plotz" with a resounding thud.
Luckily, my friend and co-host, Vivian--also a newly minted 50-something--read my thought bubble and voiced the exact words. And so the motto of this little adventure was born: It Doesn't Suck.
Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves and think that this didn't run picture perfectly. It hasn't. The promised WiFi is wonky at best--adding to the cost, because I have to constantly buy day passes on my Skyroam hotspot. The TV satellite reception is out for an unknown reason, and the reboot trick, demonstrated by the Italian caretaker (with only a slight modicum of English language knowledge to match my slight modicum of Italian language knowledge) hasn't worked. Thus we don't get to see the Rio Olympic Games, which seems to be the most engaging games in several Olympiads. But it's all good--the only vice we seem to have here is an addiction to data and a need to download offline google maps for our day trips. The villa we rented is off the beaten path, making for a trial-and-error method of helping guests find this little corner of paradise (and we got it right, just in time for the last family to arrive last night).
All in all, it's been a great week so far, and a great week is yet to come. I can safely attest to the YOLO trend, that despite the initial expense outside of my budget, and the subsequent impacts of "travel improv," currently at $1,000 and counting, this has been a great idea, and the epitome of vacation/holiday. I haven't felt this relaxed in years, and neither has my wife.
It sure doesn't suck.
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