I feel like I just blogged! Oh, wait, I did. I switched with Kim as I was up to my eyeballs last Monday and she was traveling on Friday. I spent the weekend in the Outer Banks, taking care of a few things and missing the huge snow storm that hit Philadelphia and areas slightly south, including my route home through the Delmarva Peninsula.

I waited an extra day, returning on Sunday morning in the hopes that the snow would be cleared from Route 13, which runs through Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Even waiting 18-20 hours after the storm, there was significant coverage on at least one of the two lanes as I approached within 30 miles of Dover, Delaware.

Traffic was slow and stop-and-go, so I decided to take the less-traveled route and use the totally snow-packed lane. Like the other lane, it had been plowed, but human nature kept drivers in one lane more than the other, so the traveled lane was clear and dry — but choked with trucks, cars and SUVs.

The right lane was packed with one-inch thick snow, but I had a weapon, an Audi A8. All you have to do is Google “Audi in the snow” and there are several YouTube videos showing the Quattro (all-wheel drive) in action.

Well, traveling 40-45 m.p.h. in the snow and passing others in the clear lane saved my travel time and led the way for others to do the same. Delaware, how about a more serious investment in plowing equipment? I know that there was 25 inches and near-blizzard conditions, but when I hit the area, the snow had stopped for at least 24 hours.

On the other hand, it was fun to test out the winter skills of the Audi and, hey — it was born in a cold snow, so it makes sense . . . .

– Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO

If you’ve been reading my blog over the last few months, you are aware that my younger daughter, Jenny, has been traveling in Europe the last three weeks with a group of fellow nursing students. They have now settled in the picturesque town of Guildford in Surrey, England, to begin their one-month study of community health issues and some practicum experience. Jenny really enjoyed her whirlwind tour of several cities on the Continent but now seems equally pleased to be somewhat settled for a while in one place with a room to herself. I thought I’d just share a few of her impressions of the places she visited along the way and a few lessons she and her friends learned on this, their first big travel adventure on their own.

It doesn’t take much snow to foul up transportation in London. One inch brought havoc to the rail lines, closed the runways at Gatwick for several hours and caused them to rebook on a later flight to Madrid. The girls from Chicago just couldn’t see what all the fuss was about.

Loved Madrid, the Prado Museum, Plaza del Sol and . . . sangria! Also fell in love with Barcelona (I have yet to talk to anyone who’s gone there and doesn’t) and wants to return. After cold and snowy England, the girls loved the sun in Spain.

Jenny celebrated her 22nd birthday in Paris, preferred the Musee d’Orsay over the Louvre and learned a valuable lesson: Check to be sure the site you want to visit is open before you take the time and expense to go there. The group trekked out to Versailles on a Monday only to learn the palace is closed on Mondays (and the grounds, in January, are rather subdued).

Roman men can be charming at any age. On their first evening in the Eternal City, the ladies enjoyed the chivalrous attentions of their “older” waiter (For all I know, he was only 35. Ah, perspective!), and the bartender bought each one a rose from a roving vendor. St. Peter’s was impressive; but Jenny found the colors in the Sistine Chapel to be much brighter than she expected, and the Creation of Adam to be smaller than she thought it would be (again, perspective!).

Squeezing too many cities into too few days along with certain train schedules can lead to frustration. Upon arriving in Florence, the group found that there were no remaining seats available on the train they planned to take from their next stop, Venice, to Munich. Instead, they would have to take an overnight train north, leaving them less than 10 hours in Venice. They never even took a vaporetto to see St. Mark’s Square — sacrilege!!

Food and transportation expenses gobble up the euros; so do entrance fees (and drinks at the hostel bar??).

The Wombat’s hostels in Munich and Berlin offered great, free (except for the tip for the guide), half-day walking tours of those cities, full of great information. Dachau touched Jenny deeply: “I don’t think it is possible to explain how I felt when we were standing in the gas chamber. The evil that existed is unbelievably horrific.”

Be sure you get on the right train. The trek from Munich to Berlin took all day and five trains to accomplish; it should have been one train and a few hours. At least the snowy countryside was pretty!

Based on all the other things Jen has said or written to us thus far, I would venture to say that her greatest lesson is how much there is yet for her to see and learn, and what a great teacher travel can be.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

Okay, show of hands, please: Ever felt compelled to re-make your hotel room bed? Odd question, I know, but personally I have been in that position a number of times in a variety of cities and hotels over the years. And you might be surprised when I say that I am not referring to stays at inexpensive interstate inns, but 3-star and better properties and fine resorts.

Am I just an overly particular guest with a fetish for a perfectly made bed? Absolutely not! I will admit that, due to the training of my nurse mother, by the age of eight I could make a bed with hospital corners snug enough to pass muster with a drill sergeant. That is merely to say that if a child can accomplish that task, certainly trained hotel staff should be able to as well. However, I don’t require such perfection in the beds I sleep in now; I just want a bed where the sheets aren’t sliding off the mattress or disproportionately distributed to one side or the other.

Perhaps I just notice it more because I usually travel with my husband, so we’re sharing a bed, and two bodies tugging at the covers are certainly going to reveal any flaws in the bed-making more quickly and obviously than one. Sometimes the trouble is apparent from the moment the spread is pulled down, sometimes it isn’t until part way through the first night, and sometimes it’s after housekeeping has been through to straighten the room after a night or two.

What’s the big deal? A lot of times, the bottom sheet is barely tucked in on one or more sides and becomes all bunched up, leaving one lying partially on the mattress pad and uncomfortable from all the lumps and bumps. In other cases, the top sheet has been arranged with plenty of overhang on one side while it barely covers the top of the mattress on the other, or it hasn’t been secured at the foot of the bed so that one’s feet are exposed to the air or a scratchy blanket. I don’t know about you, but when I’m traveling and sleeping in a strange bed, I don’t need additional annoyances or discomfort to make my rest less peaceful.

I understand that housekeeping staffs are often short-handed and have an enormous amount of work to accomplish in a short time span. And I comprehend the economics of using flat rather than fitted sheets. I still don’t think those excuse a poorly made bed — especially at those finer hotels and resorts that pride themselves on customer satisfaction and service. It takes only seconds to spread the linens evenly on the mattress and securely tuck them in (no more than it takes to just randomly shove them in, as I’ve observed most seem to have been), and that is certainly preferrable to guests having to do it themselves when the bed becomes an uncomfortable, messy tangle.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

I took a short trip down to the Outer Banks and am working from down here and unintentionally will be missing the snow. It is supposed to hit the Maryland - Virginia - Delmarva Peninsula region, my route from Philidelphia to Kitty Hawk, NC, and they are predicted to get between one to two feet by Saturday afternoon. The Philadelphia area is said to get about a foot.

My neighbors always laugh, as I seem to be making a flight to LA or Asia just as a pending winter storm is to hit. Dave Murphy, my neighbor across the street says, “Fran’s leaving? We are going to get hit hard!” — and it does seem to be the case. I can remember being on a US Airways flight from PHL when the captain announced, “Please be seated, as they are closing the airport in fifteen minutes, and I want us to be in the air by then.” He did it!

Down here, where the Wright brothers proved that man could fly a plane on its own power, we are just to get wind and rain. The winters can be harsh at times here, with sustained winds at 40 mph and torrential rains. I believe this is what we are to receive this weekend. It is always a thrill to watch the ocean here during a storm and how violent it can get. The coast here is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, as many ships have sunk in the storms.

I intend to hit the road Sunday morning to return in time for the Super Bowl back home . . . that is, if the weather allows me to do so!

– Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO

Last night I went to see the Knicks vs. the Wizards at Madison Square Garden. Although I live in New York, I was there to support the Wizards. I am not much of a sports jersey kind of girl, but I showed my support by wearing a shirt with a real wizard on it!

Unfortunately, with Arenas suspended from the team and Butler injured, the Wizards started off strong and ended poorly. I was disappointed in the team’s loss, but it wasn’t anything a foot-long hot dog and an ice-cold beer couldn’t remedy. It was a great night to get out and enjoy MSG. One of the things I enjoy about the NBA is that the crowd is a little tamer than with hockey or football. Nonetheless, I enjoyed being one of the four fans in the entire crowd rooting for the Wizards. At the end of the day, even if it feels as though the majority is against you, you must stick to your guns!

– Courtney Centeno, account executive