DOCUMENTING FOR OUR
FAMILY, FRIENDS &
OTHER INNOCENT BYSTANDERS,
THE SIGHTS, SOUNDS AND TASTES
OF OUR VARIOUS ADVENTURES.

HI THERE AND WELCOME!!!
In the event you're new to
The NOWAT
chronicling the adventures of:
The Wacky American Tourist &
The Ever-LovelyDragon Lady,
Read the Intro below to see how this all got started.
Then click any NOWAT LINK
on the Right
and along with other adoring [?] fans,
follow their Forays,
Foibles & Faux Pas
while retracing their somewhat erratic
but Meticulously Planned Searches
[that's his story & he's sticking to it]
for:
Family Root &, Mis-placed Passports,
Leather Coats, Lost Hats,
A Bottle of Fine Spanish Brandy,
Ancient Mysteries of the Far East &
A Walk on The Great Wall,
Glorious Greece, Early Christianity,
Icy Blue Glaciers & Jungle Zip Lines,
Tasty Tuscan Wine & Crusty Breads,
The Island Where Time
stopped in 1959,
A Visit To A Few Caribbean Paradises,
A Flooded Rhine River Cruise,
Rocks, Ruins, Castles & Kilts
in the U.K.
More R.R.C. & Temples in the Greek Isles & Croatia,
A Relaxing {?} Tropical Cruise
or Three,
And just a little…
Humor, Entertainment,
Abstract Trivia &
Enlightening Minutiae
along the way!

Once Upon A Time...

Well now... don't ALL Great Tales begin that way?

Ok, let's try that again. 

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum…”
There is that better?

Ok, So… 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 

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, He dictated while the Dragon Lady courageously attempted to type 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 immeditley and pictures were added upon there return.  Otherwise, NOWAT-MEDCRUISE via BLOG was highly successful once we solved the wireless modem issues!
You'll have to read MEDCRUISE for those details

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 River, 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:
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:
a 2 plus week cruise around the Greek Isles and the Dalmatian coast, for more of - 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 2018 - ending in March 2019 - {WTF?!?} stressed HIM out enough that Dragon Chick booked a 9 day Eastern Caribbean cruise to Unwind along 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 {for awhile} and Dragon Chic was looking for a way to celebrate when...
Wait for it... 

Wait... 

Lenny of the ever-cruising Tempelshifs, having followed HIS latest cancer 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: <

Which somehow was followed, two weeks later on Celebrity Equinox, with the same crew, that is covered in: 
 
Yeah, they were having too much fun to stop, including all the Drama of that little sojourn.  Hey, what's a NOWAT without a little drama, and this one has it all.

To Be Sure - there's more travel and tumult to  come... 
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...

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