rewind ii
More best of shots from Europe last year... this is all stuff I've said before, but worth saying again. I hadn't been overseas until about 4 years ago, and not to Europe until this trip last year. I never should have waited that long, but it was just one of those things I figured I'd do someday, eventually. It was really only luck that allowed that trip to happen. NBC allowed me to book my return at a later date, I had no obligations that forced me to come back immediately, and I had the cushion of a severance package from when Fine Living shut down. Its easy for me to say "go travel", but having the means or freedom is a lot easier said than done.
That said, if you have the opportunity, or you can make the opportunity, do it. The perspective you gain on the world is something I can't describe. Its truly eye opening, and a good reminder of how new and how small we are - in a good way. I didn't even have my rail tickets or a plan or any hotel reservations a few days before the job in Italy ended, I was flying by the seat of my pants from one place to the next, though a fair amount of time in each location was spent searching for a hotel in the next one. But the point is, its doable. (and if you want my hotel recommendations, the link is below for those - plus other Europe travel tips.)
There was a plaque that I saw when my friend Mick took me to the Tinkertown Museum in Albuquerque: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely... broad, wholesome, charitable views...can not be acquired from vegetating in one's little corner of earth." - Mark Twain, 1869