10.23.19

This morning we get to do something that is exciting

and a bit scary and can be overwhelming sometimes: waking in a new city. In this case, Palermo, Sicily. If you didn’t know (I didn’t) Sicily is the island at the very bottom of Italy and is the TOE part of the boot which we used to laugh about. Right now I am about one inch behind the toes if the island were to the scale of a foot. Yesterday we left Croatia after spending more time there than anywhere, about nine weeks for me, almost four months for Kathleen. We left with great memories and vowed to return, probably next spring, and the plan is to make it a yearly “go to” place.

As we flew to the west we got a chance to see the islands- 1185 of them I found out!- from the air, which was magnificent, a boater’s paradise. There are more islands than you could probably visit in several lifetimes. The flight to Rome, our layover spot, was fast, less than an hour, and we spent most of the airtime flying over the interior of Italy. As you can see from the pix, there are amazing mountains here, and it’s no wonder this is the land that birthed Ferrari, Maserati, Ducati and all the other exotic and fast machines that end with “i.”

Now we awake in Italy (land of Nutella!), where we spent six weeks before in Mar-April of this year. We can almost read some of the signs, since they are more familiar, and this city of Palermo- and it is a city- is a bit too noisy, crowded and lots of trash around, but we are only here to pick up a bike for a month and head south to Syracuse (not NY), which is a more mellow seaside town. Just what we like. As we plan our destinations, there is one thing we both require: water proximity. We don’t necessarily swim or go IN the water, but just being by it is peaceful. Last night we were picked up at the airport and drove right alongside a behemoth of a mountain, which I swore looked like a cloud! But it was a mountain, which was verified as we drove into a tunnel and out the other side. This morning we saw another big mountain just up the street from our room, so we are preparing to be staggered by the geology of this formerly active seismic driven island.

Our Travel Younger journey is going on nine months and we have the next six months planned out, but still allowing for flexibility and changes, which helps a lot. My first book, “Traveling the World Six Weeks at a Time, Volume I,” is done, complete and available to purchase and the Kindle version is also available.

This morning I got a note from my new friend, Don, who was enamored with our lifestyle. He is just a few years younger and has the ability to work remotely, plus he has a significant other that has wanderlust. He proposed they travel more and stay longer, and she was overjoyed at that thought. And here is what is cool. They have a five-year-old son and LOVE the idea of introducing him to new culture through international travel. The idea that our journey can motivate and inspire others warms my heart to the extreme and I thank you all that follow our journey, and may you pick up on some of our (ad)ventures and make them your own.