Italia ’15: This Boot Was Made for Walking!

By James V. Colubiale

Follow the adventures of Ed, Betty Ann, Dave, Anja, Eddie, Lisa, Jim, and Debbie as they eat and laugh their way through a fourteen-day tour of Venice, Florence, and Rome.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Mar 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781489716057

James V. Colubiale

Retired Lower Cape May Regional English Teacher and longtime High School Track Coach James Colubiale currently lives in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey with his wife Deborah. He also served as an Adjunct writing instructor at Stockton University for 7 years. Jim earned his B.Sc. in Education from Duquesne University in 1975 and his M.A. in Creative Writing from Colorado State University in 1977. A lifelong surfer, Jim is also a charter member of a local classic rock band named OLD SCHOOL composed of fellow retired Lower Cape May Regional teachers.

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Copyright © 2018 A Selfie Travel Log by James V. Colubiale.

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This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-4897-1604-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-1605-7 (e)

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 3/2/2018

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Contents

Day #1: Wednesday, September 22nd

Day #2: Thursday, September 24th

Day #3: Friday, September 25th

Day #4: Saturday, September 26th

Day #5: Sunday, September 27th

Day #6: Monday, September 28th

Day #7: Tuesday, September 29th

Day #8: Wednesday, September 30th

Day #9: Thursday, October 1st

Day# 10: Friday, October 2nd

Day #11: Saturday, October 3rd

Day #12: Sunday, October 4th

Day #13: Monday, October 5th

Day #14: Tuesday, October 6th

Dedication:

About the Author

Day #1: Wednesday, September 22nd

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The first day turned out to be quite an experience. At about 2 PM on Saturday, September 22nd, Jim, Debbie, Dave, and Anja met at Eddie and Lisa J’s house in North Cape May to prepare for their limo ride to the Philadelphia International airport to catch a flight to Venice, Italy. Having someone drive them all to the airport was a smart decision on several fronts. First, the group did not need to take three different cars to the airport and deal with the parking, etc. Hiring the limo allowed everyone to arrive at one time and have something to eat before the plane departed at 6:30 PM.

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Most importantly, the limo ride gave everyone a chance to ‘catch up’ with each other, especially Dave and Jim. Since Dave worked as a Cape May Lifeguard again this summer, Jim did not have the opportunities to touch base with him on a regular basis like he normally would during the balance of the year when he would make regular appearances at ‘Breakfast with Dave’. So, Dave and Jim took over the back two seats of the limo and compared notes on their summers, surfing (or lack of it) and retirement in general. Dave assured Jim that he only had one more summer to work on the beach to qualify for a pension from the City of Cape May. After Labor Day, Dave worked overtime to pad his hours. He then went on to describe this overtime work that amounted to moving sand around the beach. The rest of the limo trip just flew by and before Dave could start to talk about the lack of surf, the limo pulled up to the overseas terminal at Philadelphia International Airport, and the group began checking in their baggage. Since moving through security proved no problem for anyone in the group, they had 2 hours before boarding. So, they all had something to eat just in case the airplane food turned out to be a stomach turner.

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A back up on the take-off runway delayed their departure for about an hour. Even after the group boarded an hour late, the plane was still just 16th in line to use the take-off runway. However, once the plane was airborne, the trailing jet streams made up nicely for the entire lost take off time.

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During the 8-hour flight, Jim could not sleep. Maybe because he was so emotionally charged up for this trip or maybe that his body was not acknowledging his mind’s suggestion for rest and sleep, but he did not sleep a wink. Instead, Jim did manage to watch the original 1951 version of ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ and ‘M*A*S*H.’ In between features, the flight attendants served everyone a chicken dinner to which Jim added a screwdriver and a glass of wine. Still, sleep eluded him.

Once the plane landed, the gang had a bit of a challenge finding the correct