Weekend in New Orleans

Wayne and I were in New Orleans for the weekend. We took lots of pictures to take on our trip. I'm hoping the pics will entice our Hungarian family to visit us!! I also got postcards to share with people we meet along the way, in Europe, and a few more gifts for my family. It's hard to choose what to give when you haven't met someone, but I hope they will like what we bring. I did find some small bags of beignet mix that I'll take. I knew I couldn't fit the box in my luggage! I printed out the pics tonight, so I guess I'm ready to pack everything in a box and see if I can afford to send it by mail or UPS. If I have to pack it all in our carry-on, we truly will be wearing the same thing everyday! By the way, we had a great weekend! The weather was beautiful! We probably walked 3 - 4 miles on Saturday. Getting in shape for the vacation!! We sure were tired when we finally made it back to our hotel, though. I'm definitely going to have to have my hip injected before we leave for Europe! Yuck! Oh well, there are advantages and disadvantages to getting old!

Copying, Copying...

Grandmother

Julianna Nagy Kaloczi - 1949

Grandfather
Frank Kaloczi - circa 1930

Mother
Christine Kaloczi Lee - 1946

I'm STILL busy copying things to take on our trip. I've been printing old pics of my grandmother, grandfather (unfortunately, I have only 1 of him), mother, etc. Maybe my Hungarian family will have old photos that I can copy while I'm there. I've also printed out recent pics of my family to give to my Hungarian family. I've copied old documents for my family, also. My grandfather's naturalization and citizenship papers; Hungarian church records that Candace Papai Cole, a wonderful online genealogy friend, sent me; my grandfather's WWI military registration; etc.

Wayne and I made a trip to Divernon, Illinois, in February of 2007. This is the small town that my mother and her 2 sisters were born in. Many Hungarian families, from Rabapatona, settled there after coming to the U.S. We took pictures of the headstones of many with Hungarian names such as Molnar, Takacs, Nagy, Varga, Papai, etc. I know there are families with these surnames still living in Rabapatona so I'm taking pics with us in hopes that someone will treasure them.

When I look at our "Countdown" clock, I am amazed! Only 49 more days!! That seems so close! My list of "things to do" is getting shorter, but I'm ready for it to be completed. Of course there are some things like confirming airline reservations and printing boarding passes, printing last minute train schedules and confirming with all hotels that can't be done too much in advance.

I am going to try to post pics of my grandparents and my mother. We'll see how that comes out!

I'm Connected!!

I am sitting at PJ's Coffee in Covington as I write this. I had no problem connecting to wireless internet, and it's free. You'll never stop me now!! Later...

My Blog Followers

I am so excited that my 3 children and several of our friends have signed in as followers!! Every time someone new signs on, it's like getting a Christmas present! Some of my Hungarian family members have also signed on! Thanks Sanyi, Krizsta and Kitti! Sarah, thanks for your help concerning the wireless notebook connections.

I'm actually going to Baton Rouge tomorrow, and I'm taking my notebook with me. Thought I'd find a wifi spot and try it out. We'll see how that works. Also considering a Skype account which, I think, would let me talk and see my family/friends who have microphone and camera on their computer. Still checking that out. There's another plan called "callineurope" that sounds promising. You rent a phone from them, keep your same cell phone #, and the international rates are really reasonable. Let me know if you know anything about either of these.

I spent almost all day copying documents, and I'm still not finished! I copied our passports, credit cards, ATM cards, flight information, tour tickets, travel insurance documents, medical insurance cards, eurail pass tickets, driver's license and birth certificates. Still have to copy our hotel reservations and final itinerary details. Can anyone think of anything I'm forgetting? I made copies for Mechelle to keep here so that she could fax to us if needed and a back-up copy to hide in our luggage. I have all the originals in a folder that I will keep in my possession until we get to Europe. Then I will keep the real important stuff, like passport, D.L., credit & ATM cards, etc. in my mail-bag style purse that I will take everywhere with me. Wayne will also carry a mail-bag "man purse". The first one who teases him about that is going to be in BIG trouble from me!! Let me know if you have better ideas or precautions about all this.

I also called Continental and British Airways AGAIN today, and FINALLY got to talk to a person! I am relieved because both said that our C-pap won't be counted as one of our 2 acceptable carry-ons! Yea!! That means we can take our 21" roll-aboard, our "purses" and our C-pap as carry-ons, and we won't have to worry about lost luggage or go through checking and claiming baggage. That is really a huge relief for me!

So-o-o, I'm getting some things organized, and feeling a little less nervous!

Everything Is Booked!

Flights, hotels, tours, tickets, Eurail Passes...everything is booked! Passports are in hand! Whew!! I got my new Samsung NC10 notebook computer in the mail yesterday, and so far I 'm liking it. Almost a full keyboard, so very easy to type. Thanks for letting me know about this, Ivy! The only thing I have to figure out, now, is how to connect to wireless network! Since we don't have many internet cafes' in Franklinton...hard to "practice"? Matt tells me I can buy a router that will pick up my home connection as a wireless. Mechelle mentioned a card you can buy that enables wireless connection from "anywhere", but I'm wondering if this has something to do with a mobile phone? OK, I need help here. Ivy, Steve, Brenda, Sarah and #person (Mechelle, and yes she is a blonde :o) thanks for becoming followers on our blog. Maybe some of you can enlighten me. Sure hope so. Thought you might like to see the tours that we are taking, so I've added those. (You can "click" on the tours to enlarge them). We will probably take the Mt. Pilatus tour in Luzerne, also. We're waiting until we get there to see what the weather is like. May employ the services of a guide, in Budapest, that Steve has recommended. Still thinking on that one.

Received an email from my cousin, Erzsi, in Rabapatona, this week. They are planning lots for us to do. Of course, we will see everything in Rabapatona. They have a museum, and we will visit the church and the cemetary where my ancestors are buried. They have arranged for Wayne and I to meet with their mayor. It will be fun to see Wayne talking with him! I'll see if I can get video of that for ya'll! We will also be going to the Herend Porcelain factory (a real treat for me!), Pannonhalma and Lake Balaton (called the Hungarian Sea). One day I will meet my Kaloczi relatives. These are my grandfather's descendants. We will go to Gyor to meet with another relative who wants to meet us. On May 23rd, we have been invited to the confirmation ceremony for my 19 year old cousin and the dinner afterwards. On the 24th, my family will drive us to Sopron, and show us the sights there before taking us to our hotel. And I thought we would relax and "catch our breath" while in Rabapatona!! I think the Hungarian people are very hospitable, and we certainly are excited that my family will be taking their time to show us their village and country!

66 DAYS and COUNTING!

The suitcases are on the bed in the spare bedroom, and the packing has begun. Why so soon you ask? We will each be taking only ONE, I repeat ONE, 21" roll-aboard as a carry-on. NO checked luggage! Besides our suitcase, we will each have our C-Pap in a shoulder bag. The suitcase can't be over-stuffed because it is exactly the max size allowed by Continental and British Airways. So...creativity and planning is required. If you haven't traveled by air in awhile, things have changed! Also, the packing of liquids is a real challenge. Nothing over 3 oz., and all must fit in a quart-size zip lock bag. Obviously the person who made these rules was NOT a woman!! And, obviously, Wayne will have night cream etc. in his zip-lock :o) !



We decided to pack light because we will be traveling by train, and responsible for our own luggage. I have learned so much in preparing for this trip! Any of you travelers, particulary those going to Europe, definitely need to check out the "Travelers Helpline" at http://www.ricksteves.com/. You can find almost any question imaginable answered here. And if you can't, you can ask a question, usually with a multitude of answers posted by the following day. Since we are not taking an all-inclusive tour, I have done ALL the planning myself. It's been fun because I've always thought that the planning was half the fun of a vacation! Weird, I know! But I have learned so-o-o much! Maybe I can start a business planning trips for people after I retire!!