Rick Steves Welcome Packet

I'm now about almost four months out from the Europe trip. Today I received a welcome packet from Rick Steves' travel company. The image here shows what's included, but for the unitiated, here's what the inventory included:

• A 16" X 27" travel planning map of Europe. The map is of a slightly waterproof variety--it isn't quite paper, at any rate.
• A Rick Steves money belt. Silly me, I already bought one.
• A Europe 2009 patch.
• A French, German, and Italian phrase book (another thing I bought--anyone need a spare?)
• A Best of Europe Tour Supplement, which provides details of some of the bigger tours, like the Doge's Palace in Venice and Versailles. Figures: my flights probably won't allow me to go to Versailles--unless I ditch the tour one day. Hmmmm. That's an idea.
• Europe Through the Back Door 2009. Ah, good! This one I don't have!
• Ear plugs, for the light sleeper.
• A friendly welcome letter reminding you how much you owe and when it's due (July 7--I plan to pay by June 1).

So--huzzah! More stuff to absorb between now and September. My language lessons have tanked, and will no doubt continue to suffer until I learn to give up blogging or Facebook. The fun continues.