The travel bug has hit me HARD. At this time last year I was packing up and getting ready to head off to a yoga retreat in Lucca, Italy and then to travel with my husband through Florence, Lake Como, and all over Switzerland. We took it all in… gorgeous European lake life, city hustle and bustle, and an escape up to the Alps were I had spent a lot of time in college. I swam in the Mediterranean and Lake Como. I took Italian cooking lessons and spent a week with my dear friend Kari. We saw art we had never seen before. I took my husband to Mürren, Switzerland and found an old friend there the minute I got off the gondola. My husband got me to walk, hike, and explore places I would have missed to photograph in the villages. Every bit of it was just magical and romantic. I would do it again in half a second.

We are starting to plan our next trips. We have a wish list of places to go. Some are mine, some are Donald’s and some are mutual. We have found it’s really fun to plan a trip where we each pick a country and visit both of them. We find we both love the other’s choices. We have tentative plans for travel for the next two years. I find the research extremely joyful. I used to rip out bazillions of photos from shelter magazines or great decorating ideas. Now I rip out travel stories. I am keeping files of articles about the places we want to go. I’m starting to map out our calendars to make sure we get out there and see these magical spots. And every time I go I look at real estate listings and imagine what it would be like to live in the Alps or by an Italian lake.

Next up…. this fall we will head to Barcelona, the Pyrenees, and western France. I’m excited to go down the rabbit hole of planning another great trip.

Our home for a week in Lucca

Our romantic hotel room in Florence overlooking a hidden garden

Throwing up my arms in joy while swimming in the Mediterranean with friends Kari and Savonn!