THE HOW AND WHY
Brian2.0 - An evolution
Experience is the most valuable of currencies. Travel provides the opportunity and each experience leads to the wealth that is knowledge. Spend as fast and as frequent as opportunity presents.
Here we go...
Hi to all who take the time to visit my new travel website. I'm new to this website building thing and it's going slowly..very much so. I'll make changes as I understand how to do so. Be patient with me. I spent almost 10 years blogging on Travbuddy.com to have it all taken away on April 23, 2018. I'm trying to pick up the pieces and move forward. That is a piece of cake compared with how to deal with the journey up until now. I'm doing the best I can with the help of some Youtube videos and trial and error. My goal is to eventually be able to share all that I experience and shared on Travbuddy...on here. Fingers crossed...here I go..
Delsol67 has written about 569 places, shared 30,994 photos, left 1,989 comments, and smiled 2,687 times on Travbuddybefore creating this site.
Albania, Andorra, Antigua And Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Martinique, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nederlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Karalia, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sovereign Military order of Malta, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Transnistria, Trinidad And Tobago, Tunisia, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks And Caicos, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, Vietnam
Where I have been...
Who am I?
I am from Monroe, Louisiana. Anyone know where that is? I didn't really have an interest in travel as a child and young adult. I can't explain why but I think that it just wasn't something that I thought I could afford to do so I didn't even try to save for it. I just wasn't a thought in my head. Can you even imagine that?
My mother loves the beach so she shared that love and we spent much of any vacation time at the beaches of the panhandle of Florida. I wouldn't trade those memories for any others. We did travel over the some of the holidays to many other states to see the natural beauty and to experience historic elements of our nation's history. New England was a frequent direction for us to explore.
In the late 70s we ventured into Canada and I experienced my first blizzard...literally white-out conditions while driving on the highway. I remember stopping at a McDonalds for a break and a snack and being excited as the napkin had the golden arches and a maple leaf on it. Later, in 2000, I would venture to Calgary and Banff, in Alberta. That trip brought me my first river rafting on the Kicking Horse River. It was class IV. I had no idea what that meant until after...lol.In 2001, I visited Vancouver and Victoria and experienced the beauty of British Columbia.
From 1994-1995, I lived in Corpus Christi, Texas. During this time I visited some of the colorful border towns of Mexico. That was a fist look at a different kind of life. It was gritty and raw but I enjoyed the cultural difference.
I met my ex-husband in 2001 and he changed everything. He had traveled some and even been stationed in the U.K. during his time in the Air Force. Over the 2004/2005 holiday season he took me to England and France. We visited London and adventured to Stonehenge and Bath. Taking the train to Paris, I had my very first WOW moment, arriving at our hotel and walking out onto the balcony to see the Eiffel Tower for the first time (that photo is below). It was magic and I'll never forget that moment. My world was now larger and better for these experiences. While in France, we traveled to Normandy and out to Mont St. Michel. This has to be one of most magical places I've ever been...even this many year and countries later. I decided that this place must be where God comes to think.
In 2006, Rob was to travel to Europe for a 3 week market swing. He asked to join him...was there ever a question? This trip cemented what would become an addiction of epic proportions. We visited London (again), Amsterdam, Brussels, Monte Carlo, Nice, Aix en Provence, Frankfurt, Cologne, Rome, and Florence. I was changed in ways that would not be fully understood until reflection, years later.
That fall we enjoyed a trip to Milan and Venice. I think my brain and especially my expectations of what my life should include were expanding at startling pace. I'd never grown so much in just a few years.
His work was now taking him to Europe for work on a consistent basis...weeks at a time and much of the time. The opportunity did present itself that more integrated him into the European business. We could have ended up in London or Paris but, Amsterdam became home for the next few years. Almost one year from the return of the European blitz, we were LIVING in Europe 4/21/2007.
Monthly meetings at the different company offices lead to frequent trips to European capitols. What a dream come true with each "monthly meeting". Stockholm, Berlin, Warsaw, Prague, Vienna, and the biggies of Paris, London, Brussels, and Rome...monthly meeting. :-)
Nine months into our life in Amsterdam, I awakened one day and had the realization that this WOULD some day end and that I needed to make the most of my time here. As it wasn't appropriate for me to be with him at each of the meetings, I started...venturing out solo. In February 2008, I started my solo travel with a trip to Vienna and Bratislava. The trip was out of my comfort zone but as I pushed myself it was a most rewarding experience. I could do...whatever I set my mind to. The next month, I visited. Munich and Salzburg. It exploded from there. In 2008 I visited 23 countries, a feat never to be repeated.
When the European residency ended, I returned to the United states having visited 63 countries. I had become Brian 2.0.
I began blogging when I began my solo travel. I didn't really want to as I knew it would take much time to record my adventure. Rob pushed me to give it a try and it became a legacy as it chronicles the biggest achievement of my life. I joined a travel community, Travbuddy, and quickly met many fellow travelers who helped me to know what a traveler was. I also made many friends, some of them now for more than 10 years.
I have gone through a period of extreme travel with 2008 garnering me 23 new countries to have visited. What a monumental and amazing year. I don’t know if I could ever repeat it but, I did it! I have enjoyed, immensely, every moment of my exploration and almost every person I have encountered.
I have made some fantastic friends while visiting places that I never thought I would see. There have been profound connections, an artist in Guatemala, a poet in Nepal, an innkeeper in Kosovo, a friendly couple from Spain that I met while traveling Israel. I've never lost touch with these people. Infact, the last couple mentioned shared dinner with me last fall (2019) in Barcelona. It had been 9 years but was like the next day. It was all about connection and the time and distance didn't matter. Even my short-lived attempt at Dutch class brought me a Norwegian and Swiss friend, now part of my life for 12 years.
My new voice
Well, life it about change and that is a constant. Shortly after our return to the United States. Rob and I divorced and I began a new chapter. I was very uncertain where this next chapter would lead me but I am thankful to my friends and travbuddies around the world for their support. I was never alone as I always had a shoulder to lean on or a ear to listen to me. Again, distance didn't impact our connections and our friendship.
I took a 2 year hiatus from travel, to put myself back together. In 2012, I did return to Europe to reconnect with what was now my second home. This was another 3 week trip revisiting, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Czech Repulic, Belgium and Amsterdam, where my heart is. I needed this...to make a new start and be the push to make it happen.
Next...
In this section I'll update as significant changes in my life happen. Thoughts regarding my travels and how it's changing me. As travel experiences bring an every evolving perspective I think this is a good place to share the impact. This may be on a personal level but also a professional level. That's what I'm thinking for now at least. Let's see how that goes.
