Well duh! But just follow along anyway please. 😉
We started out leaving home on the 3rd (day minus 4) to head to Milan to meet my friend Stephen from Hong Kong. You see, he was there for a Springsteen concert (that sadly got cancelled, but he did go to a concert in England before the tour was cancelled). We took a hotel south of Milan as it had parking and the first night, all we did was go get some dinner, and study for that damned driving test. I managed to finish 2 more chapters worth of videos and it is all coming along. I'm ever hopeful I'll pass when I finally take the test in August.
On the 4th (day minus 3) we took a walk around Milan, looked at the duomo, saw the shopping center we both remember from our younger (not together) days, had a light lunch, and of course stopped at the Lego store for a custom Lego figure.
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| A young girl got up for George |
That night we met Stephen at a very nice Tuscan trattoria for dinner and a long overdue catch-up. sadly, 3 hours isn't enough time but we were exhausted and stuffed so off to bed we went.
The next morning (day minus 2) George and I arose early and headed to our favorite hotel in Baden Baden. Here we took the baths again and had a nice dinner at the Löwenbräu Biergarten just around the corner before passing out. 
After having a 12 hour sleep!!! I awoke the next morning well rested. I did another video lesson for the driving test and took a few more of the quizzes before heading out to Strasbourg where we would leave our car for the week.
First stop though was to a Ravensburger outlet where I purchased a few games for the Casa dei Giochi (More on this at some point in the future). I also got some more ideas for the "public puzzles" in the castle.
Along the way, George and I decided to have a picnic in a park somewhere in France between Baden Baden and Strasbourg. It was a very underused park that had probably once been a beauty. Sadly, the grass was overgrown and the picnic tables rotting, but the trees were majestic and simply being with my lover is wonderful. 
We arrived at our hotel (day minus 1) where I dropped George for his midday rest and I went out in search of the main train station, a lego shop and a cathedral. The ordeal of getting a train ticket was simply too long so I didn't make the cathedral. Note to self: Buy train tickets online and don't bother with the French system. As in the past, the people were unhelpful and I could have saved a great deal of time by using the DB app.
From the main train station, I walked a few blocks to the Lego store to get my passport stamped, then wandered back to the train station to return to George. Along the way I found an asian grocery and bought a few bottles of Pai Pa Koa for the next time I get a terrible cough.
The next morning (day 0) we took off for Mainz where we would meet up with OJ (Oskar and José) for our trip down the Rhine. It all started off well, but typical of the trains lately, there was a delay, then a change of platform, then another delay, then we finally got on the WRONG train. No matter, we got off in Mannheim and boarded the next train which took us to Mainz (It was the one we were supposed to be on). On the train we met a nice young pilot who works for Fedex and struck up a conversation. At the end of the hour, we finally arrived at our destination and took off for the hotel. 
We checked in, had a shower, then headed down to meet Goetz for a chat and dinner.
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| My king |
On the morning of the 7th (day 1) we met up with Goetz again for a visit at his home and a nice lunch in the park. Wow! His collection is lovely and his display is incredible. Like us, he has the display and play philosophy and everything (well, almost) is within reach. 
I liked his collection so much that I used it as a shopping list. I spent a bit of time ordering puzzles while everyone else puzzled away. George and I attempted a coordinated motion assembly puzzle, but I got too frustrated and gave up. I saw some of Tracy's early works and Oskar played with a few puzzles as well (I forget the designers name). 
Around 3 we took our leave and headed back to the Hilton to pick up Oskar's mother Heidi and then we headed over to our home for the week. 
While waiting to check in to our rooms, George and Oskar had a game of chess. 
When finished, George went for a nap, and I had a quick run to the cathedral to look around.
When I returned to the ship there was a captains reception before heading up to dinner. I think this will be a nice change of pace. 
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| Can you tell what country the ship is from? |
Tomorrow the trip really begins!
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