Prayers to our Friends

Well, things have changed in the places we visited on our sojourn. I asked Dad to add this post since more than one person has about our itinerary and when we actually returned from Europe…

Itinerary in reverse:

01 Feb: Returned to Philadelphia from Amsterdam.

29 Jan: Paris to Amsterdam via train

27 Jan: Bordeaux to Paris via train

24 Jan: Granada to Bordeaux via rental car

15-25 Jan: Spain (Barcelona, Seville, Ronda and Granada) via train

13-15 Jan: Packing up and saying goodbye to friends in Mougins

13 Jan: Took train from Nice to Rome via train (Brief Layover at the Genoa Train Station)

Fortunately, we left prior to spread of virus. According to internet Medical sources, Europe patients Zero, a Chinese couple, arrived in the Milan area on 23 Jan. But…these areas are all familiar to us. We walked the streets of the cities in Northern Italy, Spain, France…enjoyed the food and restaurants, engaged with the people, marveled at the beauty. Rome, Venice, Florence, Verona, CinqueTerre all now deeply in the throws of this horrible virus. The people are just wonderful and both Dad and I are worried for those we met…and for those we didn’t. Same with the kind people who smiled at me and took care of us in Spain and France. Prayers and warm thoughts to all of us who are caught up in this world-wide tragedy. I saw it when we were in europe and I feel it now. We really are one world, one people, one voice.

I will work with Dad to add to our journey later today…but we are both really hurting for our friends in France, Italy and Spain. Dad hopes his kind friend, the little, old French waiter at Petite Provençal is safe and well and that the kind innkeeper in Riomaggione is safe and healthy.

Prayers and warm thoughts to all of you/all of us.

Maggie (and Doug)