Home Sweet Home and 102,000 Views

 The last time we traveled for two and a half months was 45 years ago on our way home from the Peace Corps in Malaysia via Thailand, Burma, and India. Back then, it seemed long toward the end. And so it did this time, even with much more comfortable accommodations and conveyances.

 This trip was really nine trips, involving 13 flights, 11 airport security checks, and many bus, train, and subway rides. I wrote about our walk across and drive around Sicily and the Uzbekistan wedding and Silk Road segments. But between those two posts, we enjoyed some amazing experiences and interactions with people along the way.

A street in Pompeii. The place was huge!

 Before Sicily, we hit Rome for three days and caught the papal funeral procession. Then Herculaneum and Pompeii, perhaps the best ruins we have ever experienced.  Why? Unlike so many other places that are mostly huge temples, pyramids, etc. we could get a feeling for how the common people lived in 79AD, just before their lives were buried in ashes. The cities were huge, and in Pompeii, we got to observe archeologists uncovering and restoring.

Inside the St. Sophia mosque

Istanbul, the crossroad between Asia and Europe, is a very amazing place. Like many places, it is so much more touristed and expensive than when I first experienced it in 1972. It was so fun with daughter Skyler, but three days of food and walking tours, plus some wedding shopping was enough. 

Inside the Gur -e-Amir Mausoleum in
Samarkand. It rivals the Taj Mahal 

 

We can’t say enough good things about Feruza and Kaveh's wedding in Uzbekistan. It was one of the highlights of our lives in recent memory. And the ancient Silk Road Cities reminded us that Europe wasn’t the apex of civilization 1,000 years ago.

 From Uzbekistan we flew to Switzerland right into the embrace of outrageous prices but stunning scenery.  And here’s a story that most likely can’t happen elsewhere:  We shipped our trekking poles, boots, Camelbacks, etc. from Sicily to Lucerne. But they weren’t at the post office when we arrived, because our Airbnb hostess had picked them up before cancelling our reservation. She had a friend put them on a train in Zurich above an empty seat. Sure enough, when the train pulled into the Chur station, there was our box!

Splugen, Switzerland, where our hike started

And we really needed those boots and poles as we hiked over the Alps into northern Italy. The hike wasn’t that hard.  It was four days of breathtaking beauty—just one step at a time, one day at a time. I’d say that after the wedding, this was the 2^nd best part of our trip. 

 But it was nice to get into lower prices and much better food when we arrived in Milan. We loved going through the grocery stores there!  As beautiful as the city is, we were ready to head home. When you travel independently, everything—from breakfast to which subway to take—is a transaction and a decision to make. It gets wearing, as do language barriers and bad beds.

The stunning duomo in Milan

 But fortunately, the last two legs of our trip were almost like home for us. We spent two weeks in St. Albans, UK with Shanti, Alan, and five-year old Hazel. We have our own room, know the town, get to do the cooking, and take her to and from school. She is so fun, and changed so much since we last saw her in early March!

 

St. Albans backyard dinner

Heading back to the States, we finally got to fly on a double-deck Airbus A380. What a treat! It’s huge, but quiet, smooth, and spacious. We spent a week in Beckett, in the Berkshire mountains of western MA, where daughter Skyler has a second home. It was a perfect way to adjust to the time zones, and just hang out with Skyler, Spencer, brother Neal, and Nati--my mentee for the past 26 years—and his wife Jasmine from DC. And we got to hear Rachmanoff's Piano Concerto #3 at the Tanglewood Festival.

Hiking in the Berkshires with brother Neal,
Kathy, Nati, and Jasmine

 We’re home now, enjoying our own bed, friends, our three-butt kitchen, and life in Salem. There is nothing like travel to make you appreciate what you have.

 And during this 2 ½ month trip, something else happened: This blog hit 102,000 views since 2014! The views come from a small email list of people who want to read them, plus a plug on Facebook with the link. But I guess people find my posts through word of mouth. I don’t post as frequently as I used to, but when I do, it is a labor of love and a way of documenting our travel for the past 11 years.  I hope you enjoy them, and please spread the word. I welcome your comments, either on this site or by email reply.