For me, any trip lasts much longer than the period of time
when I leave my house in Florida and come back

Dreaming

First, I think about places I would like to see. For example, I try to choose between Machu Picchu in Peru, or geishas in Japan, or penguins in South Africa, or Blue Lagoon in Iceland.

Preparing for the trip

To know more about the destination I chose, I go on the Internet. Also, I always borrow several travel books from the local library. I enjoy finding out interesting facts about the country I plan to visit.  I try to learn as much as possible about history, culture, customs, food, architecture, and nature before I hit the road.

The trip

When we just started traveling around the world, we began as independent travelers.  But after we went on our first organized group tour, we were hooked. It is so much easier to travel when all the essentials are taken care of by someone else: transportation, hotels, sightseeing, food.

Besides, the organized tours offered better hotels, better food, and better service, while being less expensive than independent travel.

Memories (they last forever)

I return home, unpack, take care of everything that got accumulated during my absence, and resume my regular life. And then, from time to time I start getting these flashes in my head: St Mark’s Square in Italy, or Danube River in Vienna, or ancient ruins in Greece covered with spring flowers.

Sometimes it takes me a while to figure out in what country or city I saw that square or that river, but I think it does not matter if I recall it correctly or not.

The most important part of those memories is: I DID see that river, I DID smell these flowers, I DID eat that food.

Even today, while I was huffing and puffing through my favorite Zumba class, suddenly I had a flashback of eating lunch in a tiny restaurant in Barceloneta area in Barcelona just a month ago. In this popular local place, we were the only foreigners.

So, how long are my trips? In actual time, they may last from seven to fifteen days. In my memory, they last forever.