By Andy Tarnoff Publisher Published Feb 25, 2008 at 11:08 AM

My 90-year-old grandma taught me a way to pass the time while waiting for a big vacation: count the number of "sleeps" before departure.

I always liked that, and in two more sleeps, my wife and I head to Munich to pick up our BMW as part of its European Delivery Program.

I'm telling you this now, because I intend to blog every day from our various stops along the way. We arrive in Munich on Thursday, pick up the car on Friday, then drive to Strasbourg that afternoon. Saturday morning, we head to Paris, where we'll spend the next five days. Wednesday afternoon, we drop off the car (from whence it gets shipped back to Milwaukee) and fly to Madrid for four more days. We'll be back in Milwaukee on Sunday, March 9.

It's my first trip to Europe, and I'm pretty excited. The European Delivery Program makes it especially affordable, as it cuts almost 10 percent off the cost of the car. I didn't get any special treatment from Concours Motors, which facilitated the deal, but they did sponsor this travel blog, as you can see by the banner at the top of this article.

I hope to have Internet access at all stops along the trip, and I hope to have some great stories and photos to share. Check back Thursday for the first installment from Germany. If all goes well, this should be a fascinating and whirlwind 10-day vacation -- wish us luck.

Andy Tarnoff Publisher

Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.

Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.

Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.