Well now... don't ALL Great Tales begin that
way?
Ok, let's try that again.
In late September of
2001, [yeah, right after 9/11] the Wacky American Tourist[a/k/a
Uncle Chuck / Chucky / The Little Italian Man] and his VERY PATIENT and
somewhat navigationaly challenged but Ever-Lovely wife ILLY [a/k/a
The Dragon Lady/ Dragon Chic / D.L. / The Cuban
Lady] dashed off to Italy in search of his Sicilian roots.
For some unknown
reason, a few well-meaning [if not totally delusional] friends asked if they
planned a journal of their trip.
What in GAWD's name
they were drinking {or thinking} at the time is anybody's guess,
[but they REALLY
started something]!
Never accused of
being shy [or brief], Chucky took to detailing their daily adventures
in E-mails sent from internet kiosks all over Italy and...
THE NOWAT
Notes Of a Wacky
American Tourist
was born in NOWAT-ITALIA2001
After getting the
hang of this new forum for his rambling style, he took a laptop along on the
adventures that followed, E-Mailing NOWAT episodes from any internet connection
he could find along the way. As a result, each NOWAT grew in size and style, [he does get a bit wordy at times]
as he virtually takes
his avid {?} followers along on the trip [often step by painful step]
while injecting just a bit of history and facts along with his wry wit to keep
it interesting.
For NOWAT-ESPANIA 2002, The Dragon Lady courageously attempted to type while he dictated as they bounced along 1800+ miles around Spain in search of HER roots.
NOWAT-CHINA 2007 was even more fun. With a private car and guide, Chucky took notes on the laptop and his Treo smart phone as the guides did their thing.
Someone suggested he
Blog NOWAT-China but Chucky feared the Great
FireWall of China [Government Censorship] might restrict
access to his Blogsite. So Yahoo-Webmail distributed NOWAT-CHINA to the ever
growing and overwhelmingly supportive audience.
Returning home, NOWAT-CHINA and
all previous NOWAT were converted to individual BLOGS with pictures and some with
slide shows.
NOWAT-MEDCRUISE 2008 was the first ever
All Blogged NOWAT.
By then over 100+ bleary eyed masochists
received "NOWAT ***ALERTS***" signaling a new BLOG post. A
restrictive satellite up-link nixed uploading pictures but otherwise,
NOWAT-MEDCRUISE via BLOG was highly successful once we solved the wireless modem
issues... [you'll
have to read MEDCRUISE for those details] Pictures were added on their
return.
THEN... since Illy's passion upon retirement
had always been to discover all the Wonders of the U.S. of A., the first leg of
the
DRAGON LADY DOES
AMERICA TOUR
kicked off with NOWAT-ALASKA 2009 on
a Holland America Cruise out of Seattle, Wa.
And Yes... "She Zipped Lined through the
trees with the greatest of ease" or sumpthin' like that... [HE's got pictures]
NOWAT-TOSCANA 2011
chronicled the two week whirlwind Celebration of their 25th wedding
anniversary at a quaint Villa on a Hilltop in Tuscany, with visits to
Venice, Lake Garda, Verona, Firenze, Siena, Lerici, Milan & more -
including day trips to Who-Knows-Where.
And yes, Large quantities of Fine Tuscan
Wine, Aged Sharp Cheeses and Great Crusty Breads were involved.
BUT WAIT... Did Someone say,
"HEY... LET'S GO
TO - CUBA!"
Yup, She Ain't called the Cuban Lady fer
nuthin'!
The Ever-Lovely Illy is Havana born and in March of 2013 she, her
2 "Cuz's" of Tampa, a Brother in law, 2 Nephews, the last of her late
mothers 6 sisters and the Wacky American Tourist all flew to La Habana for a
week of rambling around Vedado and wherever to retrace her roots, sip a little
Aged Rum and re-unite with their long lost but not forgotten family.
You
can re-live that fun little romp around the "Island where Time Stopped
in 1959" in - NOWAT-HABANA 2013
And then there was that little summer cruise...
NOWAT-CARIB 2014 follows
the "Wacky American Tourist and the Ever-Lovely Illy" in
the Southern Caribbean along with a group of Wacky Piano Bar Enthusiasts
[long-time college friends who cruise everywhere together] as this Randy Band
of Island Hoppers romp through some interesting islands, had a swing from a
Pirate Ship's Rope and yes... Lots of Frosty-Fruity Rhum drinks were
consumed.
And just when you thought it couldn't get any wackier...
NOWAT-RIVERCRUISE 2016 resulted in another Legendary SAGA of your favorite U-turning Wackos with a very eventful cruise Up the Rhine, Trip Gremlins and all. You're not gonna believe the drama, so click on the link and read on.
What, you think
they're finished?
Not Even! Somebody innocently asked:
"Ya ever been to
the British Isles?"
And of course you gotta
know what followed. Yup a Truly Epic cruise around England, Scotland, Ireland and Belgium dutifully recounted in NOWAT-BRITANNIA 2017 where
Chucky and DL returned to Amsterdam to join two Very Dear Friends Lenny and Donna, the Tempelshif's of Vegas, and a
Gaggle of Globe Gallivanting Geriatrics on another search for more Rocks, Ruins,
Castles & Kilts, along with a nice dish of Haggis and some Fine Scotch
Whiskey.
Unhhh did we just
hear...
"Hey, there's a Back2Back Cruise out of Venice-Wanna Come along"?!?
And with that lovely invitation from their Dear Friends the Tempelshifs, our lovable duo detailed in NOWAT-ADRIATIC 2018 a 2 plus week cruise around the Greek Isles and the Dalmatian coast, for more... you guessed it - Rocks, Ruins, Temples, and Whatevah.
{No Donkeys were injured in the telling of this tale, this time...}
Oh, you're not gonna believe the antics on this one.
As, if that wasn't enough excitement for one year, six months later, a "28 day" bathroom re-do, started in November - ending in March - {WTF?!?} stressed HIM out enough that Dragon Chick booked a 9 day Eastern Caribbean cruise to Unwind with the Tempelshifs and 3 other close friends. That interesting little Island Hop is reported in NOWAT-CARIB 2019.
{No Donkeys were injured in the telling of this tale, this time...}
Oh, you're not gonna believe the antics on this one.
As, if that wasn't enough excitement for one year, six months later, a "28 day" bathroom re-do, started in November - ending in March - {WTF?!?} stressed HIM out enough that Dragon Chick booked a 9 day Eastern Caribbean cruise to Unwind with the Tempelshifs and 3 other close friends. That interesting little Island Hop is reported in NOWAT-CARIB 2019.
2021 started with a real downer as Chucky began his second Cancer Battle.
Long story short. He beat it again and Dragon Chic was looking for a way to celebrate when...
Wait for it...
Wait...
Lenny of the ever-cruising Tempelshifs, having followed that saga, calls and asks,
"Whatcha Doin' for New Years Eve?
We got this little cruise..."
And just like that [apologies to Sarah Jessica Parker] they were off on a 10 day cruise, down the Central & South American coast with their favorite ocean addicted friends and another lovely couple Lenny met in a lotto line, Yeah Lenny loves building new entourages. You can follow that "interesting" Caribbean sojourn in: NOWAT-CARIB WEST 2022.
Which somehow was followed, two weeks later on Celebrity Equinox, with the same crew, that is covered in: NOWAT-CARIB SOUTH 2022.
Yeah, they were having too much fun to stop now.
But for the Drama of that little sojourn. Hey, what's a NOWAT without a little drama, and this one has it all.
The unpredictable Uncle Chuck and Ever-Lovely Illy aren't even about to slow down so they invite you to return often to this site, as they continue to:
Document
for our Family, Friends
and other
Innocent Bystanders,
The
Sights, Sounds and Tastes
of our
Various Adventures.
Soooo Dear Hearts & Innocent Bystanders...
Grab your favorite beverage, sit back, prop your feet up, click on any NOWAT link on the right and enjoy traveling with the Wacky American Tourist and the Ever-Lovely Dragon Lady.
We promise, it will be ANYTHING but boring.
Cent' Anni,
Uncle Chuck & The Very Delighted you Joined Us,
Dragon Lady
