I am sitting in the airport, waiting to catch a flight. This scenario plays out at countless airports around the world. Often, there is someone waiting for us on the other end of that plane ride. Other times, there is no one. We are just heading into the unknown, not knowing a soul at our destination. Today I am lucky to have a friendly face, fingers crossed, greeting me on the other end of that short plane ride. However, when I make a much longer and more extensive trip in just 2 months, no one will be waiting for me or expecting my arrival at the other end. Travel can be a lonely Continue Reading
Travel Snapshot: Spring in Colorado
This week, I recounted my love for spring in the Boboli Gardens of Florence, Italy. However, I am far from the Boboli Gardens world of sunshine and pink roses. This is my reality. Snow. Two days ago, it was well into the 60s here in Colorado. Yesterday, the snow came. Blowing snow made visibility poor as I battled the storm to get my necessary afternoon coffee. Today, this is the end result, blue skies and snow. Spring in Colorado is always a gamble. Continue Reading
Spring in the Boboli Gardens of Florence Through the Camera’s Eye
Barbie pink roses cover remarkably green bushes. It may be a fairytale, but the handful of tourists with fanny packs pull me out of this dream, but only for a moment. Spring has arrived in Florence, but you wouldn’t know it in the historic center with little patches of greenery to be found. The store windows may be the only indication that it is time to change that winter wardrobe of coats and scarves to floral dresses and sandals. One of my favorite moments with spring came in the Boboli Gardens in Florence. The Boboli Gardens sit perched above historic Florence, Italy. From Continue Reading
Where are you going? Battling Irish Tricksters in the Village of Teelin
It is freezing cold. No, it is colder than freezing cold. It is June in Ireland and I am dressed in my newly purchased Donegal wool sweater. To make the cold even more bone chilling, we can’t seem to get the peat fire started. At the top of the northwest end of Ireland in Donegal County, the little village of Teelin can’t be heard. It is quiet with only a couple hundred people if that. The day my family drove into town, I think the population added on 7 for good measure. There are many that boast Irish heritage. I am definitely one of them. Sadly, most do not still have relatives in the Continue Reading
The Young Woman and The Sea
I should be a mountain loving, skier being from Colorado. Instead, I am deathly afraid of the sport and despise cold weather and sweaters. My last ski episode ended with me watching my whole family at the bottom of the mountain just looking up at me, waiting for this slow downhill skier. There may or may not have been tears streaming down my cheeks. I knew I was too old to have my Dad carry me down the mountain like he used to back when I was 8. Well, I might have been more like 13. My connection to my state is strong. I can appreciate the Rocky Mountains without the need for two narrow Continue Reading
Sitting on Suitcases and Speaking the Language of Your Destination
As I prepare for a trip of my own, I thought in the coming months I would share some travel preparation tips. So many of us head out to these countries all around the world without learning one word of the languages we will be hearing. Language is so much a part of understanding a place. While attractions and customs may give insight, it is the words pouring from locals' lips that ironically say the most about a place. As I head to Italy this summer, I am committing myself to start studying my Italian again. While I know it is rusty as next to no one in Colorado speaks the romance Continue Reading
To Travel or Not To Travel? That is the Question
I rented an apartment in Italy for the summer. I have no plane ticket at the moment and no definitive plans. I just know I will have a roof over my head. I really do sound like Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun except I have yet to go through a bad divorce or some sort of quarter life crisis. Perhaps that will ensue upon my arrival. Deciding to travel is not really something I see as a decision. It is intimating though once you look at your bank account. I hope to have a flight in the coming weeks and perhaps then I will start planning. Basically, the bottom line, I weighed my options. I Continue Reading