Exploring the World with Friends

Sitting outside at a restaurant in Florence yesterday, Rick and I noticed two laughing couples arrive and take seats close to us. Their jovial banter made us smile as we observed them from a distance. It can be so much fun to share life with others. To travel with others. But there was a time that the two of us did not consider the possibility of roaming the planet with anyone.

Back in the 70’s, Rick and I ventured on a road trip with my college roommate and her husband. Throughout college, we camped with friends on the beach at South Padre Island, Texas and in New Braunfels, Texas following a tube float down the Guadalupe River. But an overnight or two is so short lived. Anyone can live in unorthodox conditions for a night. But this road trip was a bit longer and came to be known as our last journey with another couple. Now, don’t get me wrong. We adore this couple to this day. But we found that one’s “travel style” might be a bit different from another pair of people. Stopping our camper by a creek for the night, Rick and I strode off to hike the trails and swim in the warm water. The other pair decided to take a nap.

So, how do you take a nap when you have something to explore ? Rick and I were already “andiamo people” and we could not sit still. Something beckoned us over the hill and in the water and we had to check it out.

Our travel style was reinforced again when the two of us flew to the Bahamas a few months later. We settled in and within an hour, we had walked the beach, played a few holes of miniature golf, and snorkeled in the bay to find rainbow parrotfish. Lounging on our beach towels, we asked, “What’s next?”

Over our years of travel, we were never asked to accompany anyone on a trip. To the next town or even across the ocean. We enjoyed our style and didn’t really think much about taking anyone with us on our seemingly ceaseless jaunts around the world.

Then we met Steve and Sue. And one day Steve noted that someday they would like to go somewhere with us. We politely sat them down and told them our rules. We get up and have coffee. Always. I can get ready from head to toe in ten minutes if I have to. Then we go until we can’t walk anymore and then we get ready for an evening of activity. Probably enjoy a glass of wine on our porch, deck, or balcony. Walking 20,000 steps a day is the norm.

They replied that they thought that they could keep up and in fact, keep on pace with us. So we decided to do a trial run where we drove to Santa Fe for the weekend. Hiking Picacho Peak through the pinon and juniper trees and eating the best hamburger we have ever tasted at the Compound in town, we easily filled the weekend. And we were still friends when we returned back to Boulder.

Could we travel with friends to Europe ? Be together for three weeks ? That’s a lot of love, even between husband and wife. Much less, friends. And friends that you would like to KEEP as friends after the excursion.

We decided to give it a try. And for three weeks, we explored through Italy, Austria, and Germany, renting a car and riding trains. The Watchman Night Tour in Rothenburg, Germany and meeting the lemoncello man on the trail in Vernazza, Italy. Dancing in Garmisch Partinkirchen, Germany with a friend they recognized from Vail, Colorado. Eating pizza in the street from the Hello Pizza Man in Rome, Italy. Devouring the most amazing goulash after the hike to the top of the Salzkammergut Mountains in Hallstatt, Austria. Learning who the money people were and how to get lost around a roundabout. I mean, we only had one hiccup. A fountain was in the way of the rental car. But that is a great story to tell at gatherings. The slow motion BAM when the fountain in Germany won. The four of us fall over in laughter every time the story is embellished.

And we stayed friends. Close enough friends to plan even more vacations. To Slovenia and Croatia. France and Switzerland. Even the national parks of Utah. Traveling with other couples (yes, we have actually gone places with others) has become such a new way to see the world. Hiking the Berner Oberland and listening to the clanging of bells on the cows in the meadows of Murren, Switzerland. Biking through the rice fields in Koto Kinabalu, Malaysia. Riding a zipline in Puerto Montt, Chile.

 

 

We created memories to last a lifetime. And we have these moments because we traveled with friends.

We smiled and nodded at the two couples as we departed our table. Knowing they would have stories to share when they arrived home, we chatted excitedly on our evening stroll. Where would we go with friends on our next jaunt ? What would be on the cover of my next Shutterfly photo book ?

It was time to plan the discovery of a new location, maybe a new country or just a forest trail. We had stuff to do. Let’s get going.

Andiamo !