15.25 years ago I turned 25 years old in Rome and celebrated alone at the Vatican. Spur of the moment 3 days before my Birthday I grabbed a cheap one way airfare and took off for what turned out to be 15 days of travel Amsterdam-Rome-Nice-Barcelona-Morocco-Madrid. I came home with 2 goals, meet a nice Italian girl, and go on an adventure around-the-world in 8 days.
Some dreams die hard, others come true. I’ve been married to my Italian beauty (think Gina Lola Bridgetta) for 14 years, and this November I’m finally going to take that adventure. My trip itinerary looks a little different because the world looks a little different - Dubai wasn’t on my must-see list 15 years ago. With the help of a very cool RTW (round-the-world) travel service Airtreks www.airtreks.com (thanks Sandi) I have booked an 8 day trip:
Detroit-NYC-Dublin, then ferry and train to Waun Fach, Wales (guess why?) then on to London-Bahrain-Dubai-Mumbai-Hong Kong-NYC. 8 days total. I gave this itinerary a lot of thought, first all but NYC & London, I have not seen the other cities. Then I thought I would focus on the rising power cities, and where the ‘modern world’ of urbanization was heading. Then I was interested in why we are seeing a shift toward living on the equator. The Northern Hemisphere has seen the last few centuries of growth, and it seems that the world is growing toward the center.
People have said, you won’t see anything in just 1 night in each city (2 in Mumbai), I’m concerned this could be true, travel delays could cut a couple cities short, but if all goes as planned, my nights will be on flights prepping for the next stop, and I will arrive in the morning in new places. I have toured Moscow, Bangkok, and many other interesting cities and tasted the culture in a high speed tours before. This is a sampler tour, not a dining experience. I believe to know a place is to live there, and hold no illusions of going local on this short trip. But I also deeply believe that opportunities in life are either taken or lost,
and although having a month or two to take this trip would be even better, 8 days is an opportunity I am grateful to have for my 40th Birthday gift to myself!
Since this is in SecondHomeNews.com blog, I thought I should find some way to tie this into the vacation home market, but I can’t really think of anything… Maybe next post?
One Comment
So, Bob, I guess this means that you won’t be joining me as the internet reporter at the Caribbean Boat Shows on Tortola and St. Thomas the first half of November. Congrats on your latest adventure! My Swedish beauty and I have a passion to fill every page of our passport with stamps before the ten year renewal takes place. You will get a jump start on this result with eight days of passport stamps! It would be fun to chat before you leave because of possible contacts in each of the cities you will be visiting. Until next time…fair winds!
Jim Walberg
www.CaribbeanIslandsRealty.com
Post a Comment