Joshua and Rosanna's 1999 European Adventure

Email and telephone exchanges between Josh and Rose and their Mom, while Josh and Rose are on vacation backpacking through Europe.

Monday, May 31st:

The telephone rang at home at 6:35 a.m.

Josh> Mom, we're at the airport and we've got our tickets and passports, and everything is fine....except, will you look in my room and see if I left my credit card on my desk? I can't find it anywhere.

(Mom goes and looks)

Mom> It's not there. Have you checked all the pockets in your backpack and...

Josh> I've looked everywhere.

Mom> You'll just have to use Rose's bank card. You'll have to plan and...

Josh> We'd better get going. Love you! Bye.

Mom> Love you, bye.

Tuesday, June 1st: Joshua's 20th birthday, they arrived in Paris today. No contact.

Wednesday, June 2nd (about 9:30 AM):

Mom's cell phone rings as she's driving down the freeway.

Rose> Hello?

Mom> Is that my baby girl? (Mom pulls over to shoulder)

Rose> Mom, we're in Amsterdam. We met some girls in Boston when we changed planes. They have Eurail passes too and don't know where they're going to stay either. We decided to travel with them. Figured it's better to be lost together than alone. Do we have to go to Italy to meet Fabrizio?

Mom> It's your vacation, but he did clear his schedule to show you around this weekend.

Rose> I know, but if we wanted to meet him Friday we'd have to leave Amsterdam immediately and we wanted to spend a few more days here.

Mom> Well don't stand him up. If you can get hold of him and reschedule fine. But, I really hope you'll meet with him.

Rose> We'll try to call him, but it's hard to get a turn at the phones.

Mom> Stephanie is here with me, we're going to San Jose so she can finish recording her album this week.

Josh> Hi, Mom. I love you!

Rose> Tell Stephanie hi. Bye.

Mom> Bye. Be careful.

From: rose_robertson@hotmail.com
To: connie@lloyd.com
Subject: Europe
Date: Thu, 03 Jun 1999 10:19:05 GMT

Mom, we made it throught the first couple of days so far, but man it wasn't easy. They do stuff crazy over here, and we don't understand anything or their systems. Guess what, the Van Gogh art museum is closed they're doing construction, that sucks. Anyways, we are jsut flying through money and we don't do anything but buy food and hostels, maybe a couple of souvenirs, and the phone cards so we can call home are really expensive. We are getting some culture we went to the Rijks Museum, (but it was boring). While we were in boston waiting to go to Paris we met these two girls Dannielle and Amanda, they were doing the same thing as us and had no plans, spoke no other language, and had no idea about hostels or where they were going to stay. So we hooked up with them at the airport and have stuck together ever since, it's better to be lost with someone, you know! Tell stephanie I'm thinking of her and wishing she was here. Josh and I are trying not to fight, so be happy. We've met some nice people and other travelers,all who are older about 23, except for our bunkie Richard he's 18 and travelling alone for ten months, he's from S. Africa. Got to go try to send you more mail later but it took forever to figure it out and get an address, plus the computer is always taken. Having a blast thanks and love ya. Bye Bye

From Amsterdam

Love Always
Rose + Josh

From: rose_robertson@hotmail.com
To: connie@lloyd.com
Subject: Europe # 2
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 18:49:37 GMT

Well, we are here at the Internet Cafe, we just got through with the Sex Museum, aren't you proud that we're getting some culture and going to museums, we also went to the Heineken Brewery this morning, it was actually a really impressive tour and at the end you got all you could drink beer, the service was better than if we were paying for it, as soon as you put and empty glass down it was immediately replaced, cool and it was only 2G, the cheapest place to get a beer!! Sheesh i hope we don't run out of money but it even costs money to use this computer a price and we had to buy something, crazy!! We went to the Hard Rock, the only place over here that understands "free refills" because of course it's American. We're having a blast so far and meeting tons of awesome people, we always go off in groups of two or four and end up with like 6-10 people, I guess were all just trying to do the same stuff!! I really have to go to the bathroom, at half of the places we have to pay to use the toilet, that could start to add up. We feel bad spending your money, I'll probably pay you back when we get home for some of the souvenirs I bought, ok!! Could you ask stephanie (xxx xxxx?) to call my Cameron (xxx xxx xxxx, xxx xxxx)and get his email address and then tell you so I could send him some mail when i call you again and get it. Well we're gonna go so I'll try and find another place to send you mail at when we go down south tomorrow.

From: rose_robertson@hotmail.com
To: connie@lloyd.com
Subject: p.s.
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 18:55:24 GMT

me again, can you also ask stephanie to ask cameron if he got my 2 voice mails, TWO of them, thanks, tell Brian of course that we say hello and thanks!!

love Rose

Monday, June 7th, 4:30PM: Mom's office Voicemail

Rose (spoken rapidly)> Hi, Mom. It's us, we're in Austria. That's al..

(line goes dead)

I NEED TO INSERT TRANSCRIPT OF PHONE CONVERSATION HERE. It went something like: (Lots of people talking in the background) Rose said they were no longer in Insbruck. They were in Switzerland somewhere. She called into the room to ask where they were. Then back at the phone it sounded like she said Interlock. She told of plans to go canyoning, something about life vests, wet suits and waterfalls. She also said they were going bungee-jumping from a gondola in the Swiss Alps. She said she was really terrified about the prospect. I said I would be too and she told me that I wasn't suppose to say that, I was supposed to reassure her. I told her I found Joshua's credit card in my car and if they stayed in one place for three or four days I could send it to them. I suggested they go to Fabrizio's for awhile. She said they're going to Venice and Rome later this week, and something about beaches there, and she'd see about going to Fabrizio's. She told me that her e-mail address was not temporary as I had thought and that I should be able to send her e-mail. I asked if she was meeting any local people and she said yes. She asked about calling home and I said every couple of days was great. I also said that I didn't necessarily intend for them to spend my money on sex museums. She assured me that it was only about $2, about half the price of a Coke at a cafe in Paris.

From: connie@lloyd.com
To: rose_robertson@hotmail.com
Subject: Europe # 2
Date: Tue, 08 Jun 1999

Just thought I'd try this email address.

I hope you have/had a great time canyoning (is that right) and, yes, even bungee-jumping. Rose, don't chicken out. Even though there are bunches of tourists doing that, globally-speaking not too many people can say they've been bungee-jumping in the Alps.

Rome will give you lots of opportunities to see a cultural side of Europe. Isn't that where the Sistine Chapel is, where Michaelangelo painted the ceiling? Or is that in Vatican City? I forget. The statue of David would be wonderful to see also.

Wish I were there with you. Write in your journals as often as you can. Rose did you get a journal? It was stupid of me not to send one for you. Take pictures. Send postcards. I love you.

Tell Josh that Vince was in jail over Memorial weekend. That's why he didn't hear from him. He can tell you about it when you get home.

I forgot the date and time of your return flight. Tell me please.

You have Fabrizio's e-mail address (fiorucci@xxx.xxx.it) on those papers I printed out. You can e-mail him as well as calling. Even if you're not going to see him (I hope you will), you should contact him.

Mom

From: rose_robertson@hotmail.com
To: connie@lloyd.com
Subject: Europe # 2
Date: Wed, 09 Jun 1999 13:06:58 GMT

MOM i got your email, thanks its cool to hear from you and get email since i never have before. im sorry if my punctuation is bad the keyboard here is all wierd and different and i cant find the apostrophe. Anyways as of now we just went canyoning and except for a few scratches on me it was fun, and crazy, remind me to tell you about the joke the tour guide leaders played on me it wasnt funny. Im super duper scared about jumping later on this evening and i'll email you tomorrow if i'm still alive (i just found the aposrophe button)but i'm not chickening out, i hope not, well i can't we don't get our money back. Josh and i feel bad about all the money were spending but really besides souvineers for other people and now this we haven't really bought anything, there are these really neat sweaters from the adventure world place that we want but they're like 100 swiss franks probably about 75 american money and we don't want to leave you broke. I'm having a blast and am just now realizing there is way more stuff that i want to do but won't have the time to do it, just another reason to come back i guess. Gonna go now we really do appreciate all of this i hope you know that without me saying it. Bye bye

love me rose

and josh

From: connie@lloyd.com
To: rose_robertson@hotmail.com
Subject: Europe # 2
Date: Wed, 09 Jun 1999

For heaven's sake, write and tell me you survived bungee-jumping.

Are you staying in hostels? Where, or how, are you eating? Cafes? Grocery stores?

You should bring back one really good souvenier for yourselves, such as the sweater you described. Other than that, you'll have pictures, and your journals.

I can't wait to hear a day-by-day account. I'm glad you're having such fun, and I do know you appreciate it....still, it's great to hear.

Love you,

Mom

From: rose_robertson@hotmail.com
To: connie@lloyd.com
Subject: Europe # 2
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999 15:15:23 GMT

Yes we're staying in hostels ranging from about 15-30 dollars, i think, i don't know i get all mixed up with the money changing all the time. Well i'm writing you so yes we survived the bungee jumping but man was it scary at first when you jump its peaceful and wow, then you start to fall and i just screamed, it was awesome, thanks, josh loved it he laughed the entire time. We're eating out sometimes and when we can find a grocery store we try to buy there because it's cheaper, but if we don't have a place to keep it or if we don't eat it all we have to carry it and that just sucks. A lot of these hostels have lock outs which is where you have to be out usually by about 9 maybe 10 and you can't get or put anything in your room (or on your bed in some cases, because there are sometimes about 20 people in each room. Anyways i got a journal and it's perfect i'm so glad i didn't get one there and bring it, it's a red foam like cover with a tulip on it and it says Holland, it came with a little foam pen too, and it felcros shut. Well i guess we probably will buy those sweaters because we need something we can get complimented on from here so we can say, 'oh, this, i got this while i was in europe' and then lead into 'yeah, this is the tour place where we went canyoning and bungee jumping. . . ect' well gotta go now we're, having fun.

thanks for the mail

love, your darling children

josh and rose

From: connie@lloyd.com
To: rose_robertson@hotmail.com
Subject: Europe # 2
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999

Rose and Josh,

I'm relieved and thrilled to hear about your bungee-jumping experience. And, a little jealous. Now I wish you (Rose) and I would have gone sky-diving on your eighteenth birthday like we promised ourselves.

Are you learning any foreign words at all? I really want you to try to meet with Fabrizio if he has time. Even if it's only for a few hours.

Your journal sounds perfect. Thanks for the update. I'm interested in everything, but gotta get back to work right now.

By the way, I finally got Sam's pictures of his fiance, Weslee. She's really quite pretty. They look happy together in the pictures.

More later.

Love always,

Mom

From: connie@lloyd.com
To: rose_robertson@hotmail.com
Subject: Josh
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999

I've been forgetting to ask, how's Joshua's back healing, and how did he get his stitches out? Is his ear okay? There was a picture in the Mountain Democrat (on Joshua's birthday) of his car accident.

What are you up to today?

Ciao,

Mom

From: rose_robertson@hotmail.com
To: connie@lloyd.com
Subject: Return Flight
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 19:24:50 GMT

MOTHER DEAREST,

josh took out his own stiches, big surprise huh, and his back is healing just fine. Ok, we will try to meet with fabrizzio, but we are really going to run out of time. we are in flourence right now and are leaving monday morning to go down to rome, after that we are heading up to chiqqua terra ? on the spelling we stopped at venice, but did'nt even leave the station because of a big mess up and we just got frusterated and blah blah blah and decided just to come straight here. You will be happy to know we our buying souvineers for our siblings: for sam, a real swiss army knife engraved 'Love jay and rose' and an italian apron for seth this little wood train thing from Innsbruck, Austria for cameron, we don't know yet we're thinking about a mouse pad or something. I bought some cute little tops today in a bizzarre that we just sorta ended up in, they were 15,000 lire each sounds crazy but it's only like 7 american dollars, i love it!! we walked for 6 hours around flourence today. Guess what it was miserable, i got some sort of crazy rash that was red sploches and slightly raised all over my body, it itched like crazy, but when i scratched it it burned, i woke up on the train on the way here and it had moved to my face, my eye wasw almost swollen shut and my lip was HUGE, i almost started to cry, i just wanted to come home and so did josh, because our wonderful traveling companion realized at the train station at 11:25pm that she had grabbed the wrong back pack from the hostel in which we had just walked from, so our train was leaving at 11:39pm, i thought we were doomed, we had already checked out of the hostel and would have no plaace to stay if we missed the train, but josh like the champ that he is sprinted back (after having a couple beers) all the way back to the hostel,probably almost a mile with this huge pac on and grabbed the right one. he wasn't back before the train and we had to ask the guy to pleaseeee wait just 2 minutes and then we saw them and we made it, which i'm not sure is good or bad because it ended up being just a terrible crazy mess on and off trains in the middle of the night, anyways we finally got here and checked in to a hotel yes a hotel , but i looked like a damn quazzy moto (hunchback of notre damn) and i needed a clean shower and bed, so we slept all day and when i woke up today it had gone down a lot but is still alll over me, i have no idea what it is maybe a heat rash, josh thinks it was what vince had, i don't know, but i really want to lay out ont he beaches and get some sun, but i'm scared if this was from the sun it will happen again. Anyways things are better now and we're not wishing we were home. Talk to you later darlin
Sincerely,
rose and josh

WE LOVE YOU

ps. josh wants to buy a 200,000 lire leather jacket from here (italy) crazy boy, huh, it's only like a bizzillon degrees here and i know he won't want to carry it, yes our bags our definetly getting heavier. bye

From: rose_robertson@hotmail.com
To: connie@lloyd.com
Subject: Return Flight
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 19:26:33 GMT

We come home on tuesday the 22nd to san jose at 9:40pm what should we do ?

From: rose_robertson@hotmail.com
To: connie@lloyd.com
Subject: Europe # 2
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 15:40:39 GMT

i'm doind a reply to because i couldn't figure out how to make the 'at' sign on this computer. Anyways we are in Rome now and just finished a tour of the Colosseo(as they say it) and it was spectacular, then we walked around the ruins and now i'm here. Tomorrow we're going to the Vatcan (?) to see the chapel and what not then we leave for Chiqua Terra=)My rash is much better, thank god, and everything is going well. I hope your throat is doing better, be sure to take care of yourself, like i need to tell you that. I hope we aren't breaking the bank over there, but everything just seems to cost money, isn't that wierd!! Just a quick note. Oh, sent an email to fabrizzio, and i got this notice back saying that it couldn't be sent, i don't know if i have the wrong email or what, i took it off one of your messages so it should be right, so if you could please email him and let him know that we did try and will again try to get a hold of him maybe sunday by phone or something, i would be grateful, gotta go this is costing moo-la so ta ta for now

LOve Ya
rose