Day 38 Heading home

It’s been an amazing celebration of our 75/80 B-Days. Chatting on the way home, we decided we wouldn’t have done anything differently.

Our 3 destinations - Switzerland, Italy & France were quite different - making interesting comparisons. Train connections worked well- Eurail pass is great. Highly recommend it.

Overall we chose well with our accommodations - Sils & Lac Como were quite spacious and nicely decorated. Riomaggiore was our fave - aesthetic & well located. Nice was super tiny & noisy at night, but aesthetic. Agde was the most spacious, which was good as we spent 13 days there - but we had to clean it up a bit.

Luckily we were healthy - so super active. Hiking in Sils Maria with Madeline & John was a highlight, as was our biking in and around Agde. Aside from Peter thinking he’d lost his phone twice, there really were no major hitches - amazing . . . .

As for the 3 countries, true to stereotypes, Switzerland seemed super clean & efficient - trains running on time, accommodations neat & aesthetic. Italy seemed more chaotic - trains packed, noise & a bit of chaos everywhere. France, at least on the Côte d’Azure, seemed more refined - lovely outdoor cafes, large wide promenades, people “chilling.” Paris was more vibrant - people walking & talking faster, noise from sirens, street cars, busses.

This was a new type of trip for us- bopping around so much, and fortunately it worked well. It’s nice to be home now, though, with more physical and personal space. Some of our AirBnBs were super small, and being together 24/7 for 38 days was a new experience for us both. I’m amazed it worked out so well.

We’ve really got the travel bug now - next up San Miguel & Tucson this March, perhaps some skiing and other destinations.

At 75 / 80 we’re not getting any younger - have to enjoy life to the fullest now.Read more