90 Days... Begins Today!!

The big adventure starts today! I can hardly believe that in four hours I will have boarded my flight to leave home. Last night my room looked like hurricane season reached Beaver Falls and left a trail of clothes, (too many) shoes, journals, cute travel-sized shampoos, and various papers and electronics that looked important (but I wasn't always quite sure what they were...). I certainly didn't think it would all be organized into a suitcase under 50 lbs, and for a couple panicked hours, I misplaced my camera. But after a few soothing phone calls from sisters and Skype sessions with friends who helped me eliminate a few pairs of shoes and half the shirts I wanted to bring, my life was finally packed and ready to go. And my camera revealed itself, true to form, in the depths of the bag I checked five times.


I've always been a fan of antique maps, and this one is just plain exciting to me. T-minus 16 hours until I'm walking on Italian soil!!

I have never been a fan of goodbyes, so I have given hugs and said my "see ya later!" to my friends at Geneva and at home in Boston. Please know that you all are in my heart, mind, and prayers. I'm so blessed to have such love to return to!

In the meantime, however... let the adventures begin.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller

“The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.” – G.K. Chesterton

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” – Rosalia de Castro

“”Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain