Acclimating

Hoo boy I am so tired. I slept on the plane from Chicago to Belgium, almost 5 hours. Xanax is my friend. ;)

Still, it's almost noon here in Belgium and my flight to Florence isn't for another 1.5 hours. I am starting to feel like a zombie and I can imagine I probably don't look much better. I am hoping to catch one more nap on that flight. Stan's advice to adjust to the time change quickest is to get right on the schedule where you are, meaning eat when they eat, sleep when they sleep. I am going to give it my very best and go get lunch after I post this while y'all aren't even awake yet at home. But if there are reports of ghoulish characters lurking about Florence later today, you will know why.

My cousin Jonnel who has lived in Florence for the last 14 years is picking me up at the airport. I can't wait to meet her family and see where she lives. Jonnel and I grew up in Upstate NY until her family moved to Minnesota when we were just tweens. Minnesota seemed like a million miles away back then. Now we are an ocean apart, but thanks to Facebook we have been able to reconnect.

Oh, speaking of Jonnel. She asked me to bring over a few things, which I am thrilled to do for her. But it certainly didn't help my packing issues. So my suitcase was 49lbs. Oof! I told ya I couldn't pack light. The bag of stuff I am carrying for her was 24lbs! Ouch! I am glad to say that after Florence, I will be traveling almost 24lbs lighter, though still nowhere close to light. Rick Steves says "You can't travel heavy, happy or cheap. So pick two." I am placing my bets on heavy and happy.

Tomorrow I have an 8:15 am date with a statuesque guy named David. I hope he lives up to the hype. I also hope I don't fall asleep at his feet.