It is less than a week until we head for Rome and Florence in Italy. I am really excited about the trip but I am also a little nervous. I just hope that everything goes well and we have a great time. I need to stop worrying so much about the details like hotels, transportation from the airport to the city, the train from Rome to Florence, and the fact that we will be staying in three different hotels. Mostly I am worried about the language barrier. In all my other trips overseas, to Europe, St. Lucia, and Belize, I was always able to communicate effectively with the locals. In Europe I was with a tour group and an experienced guide. In St. Lucia and in Belize most people spoke English. In Italy however, I expect to encounter many situations where I need to be able to communicate with someone who speaks little or no English. I have learned some basic phrases and will have my pocket dictionary and phrase book with me. I hope these will be enough to ensure that there will be no mixups or misunderstandings that will result in any vacation spoiling incidents. But why worry, just go with the flow and enjoy the trip. Don’t worry, be happy….