Hello Don and Linda! We almost feel that we know you, having read several of your travelogues that seem so friendlyand natural. Appreciated your travelogue about Slovenia when preparing for a trip last Spring that included Slovenia. We are Ward and Auleen, in our early 60's, retired in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. Travel is our favorite thing to do and we take off for Europe once every one to one and a half years. We have been 11 times to many different countries from Scotland to Greece. We started some 25 or more years ago with a 3 week trip; since we have retired we have been able to go for as much as 6 weeks at a time, but usually more like 4 weeks. We love the scenery, the history, architecture, getting acquainted with the people and learning about their culture. And of course we mustn't forget the FOOD! Ward is an anthropology buff followed in a close second with archeology. One of his recent highlights was the Iceman Museum in Bolzano, Italy. I, Auleen, am more of a people person, although more timid than I would like to be--I want to get more acquainted with the people we meet in each country. I especially appreciate architecture. We like an occasional museum, but don't overload on them; same for castles, grand houses, etc. The cities themselves are museums! We used to go overseas with no lodging reservations and stayed mostly in pensions and B & B's. Then we were into the hotel scene for awhile. After a particularly stressful trip we next tried booking all our lodgings ahead of time. It was really very nice--even though it curtailed spontanaity. We mix hotels with pensions and have tried weeklong apartment stays in Paris and Tuscany. Love it! It's great mixed in with some traveling around on a month-long trip. Next trip will most likely be Sept. 2003. Two weeks in Berlin; part of that being in an apartment. Then two weeks in Rome in an apartment. We will probably rent a car for a few days and see a few other places in Germany leaving the car in Munich and hopping a train for Rome. Well, this is probably a bit more than you wanted to know about us. Looking forward to being an insider of Travelzine and perhaps on our next trip meeting up with some other members.

Ward and Auleen Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida