Six weeks to go...

But who's counting?

I am. Counting the minutes until the taxi gets here so we can head out for a night at Irish Village. Counting the hours until the school day is over. Counting the days until the week is over. And counting the weeks until school is over. Not long now.

I have a lot of plans this summer. My rooms are booked for Italy. I am spending two nights in Rome and then heading out by train to Florence. I am travelling alone, so I have booked tours for most days. Yeah, it's a bit more expensive, but it means that I won't be alone all the time and that I won't have to wait in lines because the tickets are pre-booked. I can't wait to sip a cappuccino in a cafe, stroll the walkways of the Colisseum, and taste the wine in Tuscany. I am not bringing any paints. I am just bringing my sketchbook. I am thinking of doing a short stint in Tuscany next year just to paint, but this first time around I just want to see it, hear it, taste it, and take it all in. I think it will be easier for me to paint it then. I am planning on seeing all the major sites that I can in the time that I have. David, the Uffizi Gallery, the Vatican...time to see them for real instead of gazing at  pictures in art history books. Sure, it's going to be July so it will be hot, but I think I have a new definition of hot since I moved to Dubai. It's already in the 90's during the day here. By the time I leave for the summer, it will be over 100.

The cat is taken care of. She is going to spend a week in a kennel, and then get delivered back so a friend can take care of her when she herself returns from the States. I will be gone for over a month, so I would rather have someone she knows take care of her in a familiar setting rather than leave her in a kennel.

After Italy, I am heading off to Liverpool (via Manchester) to visit a friend. She is a Liverpool native, and has a list of things she wants to show me. She wants to go to the Tate Gallery, cruise the canals, have a traditional high tea, and jet into London for a day to see Wicked. I have always wanted to see Wicked! So exciting. She's going to be eight months pregnant by that point, so I hope she doesn't pop early :)

And then...home. Finally. I will be home the last week of July, leaving again around August 21st. I want to see everyone, go to coffee, go kayaking, and Pennsic. That reminds me, must pre reg! I have it written on my whiteboard, just haven't quite gotten around to it. I will, though. I have already begun a mental list of all of the gear I will have to ferret out when I get home.

Can't wait to see everyone!