second time around

Perhaps the best thing about traveling alone is that you are not beholden to anyone else. There is total freedom to come or go strictly as you please. I flew on to Rome and have enjoyed the week here. Rome is such a wonderful city to visit. I toured Saint Peter’s Basilica and once again think it is the most spectacular building in the world. It edges out the Taj because of the incredible artwork inside and the fact that it is a living building, in use daily for services, not just an empty mausoleum for tourists to view. I spent a full 8 hour day in the Musei Vaticani. The audio guide was great and I could just stroll or sit at my leisure. I saw all of the exhibits and sat for maybe an hour in the Sistine Chapel. The colors are magnificent since the restoration work was completed. The past few days have been cold and windy, but clear and beautiful. I have enjoyed eating here even though it is way expensive. Today the museums are closed for no apparent reason, so I am just passing the day at the hotel. I am looking out at the large snowflakes swirling down off and on in the freezing rain. Not such a grand day for strolling around Rome aimlessly.

I have been looking at photos and remembering the great things I have been able to see and do over the past 9 months. From climbing the Potala Palace to diving the Barrier Reef, from Tokyo subways to Aitutaki beaches it has been just incredible. Since we skipped Egypt I am in Europe a month earlier than expected and have been staring at the map for some days now. I find that most of the places I would like to visit are in the north, and while I could pass some weeks in Spain and Portugal to let some of the winter pass, it will continue to be cold and wet through at least the next two months.

So…. I have decided to spend the Spring in sunny Florida. I came home to Orlando. Perhaps Poe and I will come to Northern Europe or on a Baltic Sea cruise this summer when it is nice weather.

And so this will be my final blog. To all of you who have followed it and especially those who have been kind enough to comment on the site I say: “THANK YOU” for all of the love and support. I hope it has been somewhat entertaining and has given you cause to reflect on what we are doing here and what dreams you might go after. I still think of the antique sign I saw in a window in Australia: “Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.” It has truly been: 93,773 miles, 285 days, 25 countries, 6 continents and one hell of a ride. Now I just have to figure out my next adventure. Jim

Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at 2:53 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.