Thanks Aldigheri. My worst job fears are behind me at the moment. Losing my travel benefits would have been like ripping the soul out of my chest for me. Being able to see places that Alizee has performed such as Pistoia and Taormina meant a lot to me. Seeing Corsica was another joy. Then to meet her in person..............what can I say..............then to see her singing within 6 feet of me..............You can't put a price on that...........so close I could have reached out and touched her...............I'm sure it's something I still haven't come to really appreciate yet and to think I still may get to fulfill my dream of seeing her in concert..........well, you can understand what these travel benefits have meant to me.
Another reason they mean a lot to me is I've always been a big buff of ww2 and ww1 history. Because of Alizee, I started going over to Europe on my vacations to see her, but while there, I've been able to see so many sites that I've seen so many times on the history channel.......Normandy, Dunkirk, Bastogne, Dieppe, Verdun, the Somme, Malmedy, the bridge at Rhemagen ( at least where it used to be), fort Eban Email where Gernany launched it's war against western France, the u boat yards at St Nazaire and Lorient, the Atlantic wall, Solerno where my dad landed and so many other places that I would not have seen if it wasn't for Alizee.
On part of this trip I am going on, I will be back in the area of Malmedy. I just read a book on the massacre that took place there and I'd like to revisit it. Having been on tanks for 2 years in the army, I'm fascinated with those great German tanks that had such a fearsome reputation such as the Panther and especially the Tiger. There are only about 7 or 8 tiger tanks left in the world. I hope to see all of them. I've seen 3 in Europe so far and hope to see another one in the Battle of the bulge area on this trip. Next spring, I hope to see one outside of Moscow. So even if I have to relocate, I still will be able to pursue what means so much to me...................especially Alizee.
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