1 September 2024.
On our flight to London, my mind drifted to why we love these annual junkets so much. I could say the “thrill of travel” or “being away from the everyday.” We are retired so it isn’t a vacation from work.
But it is a vacation.
We look forward to our long trips for so many reasons, not the least of which is the simple pleasure of exploration: Finding new trails and new haunts; revisiting favorite places; riding trains; long lunches with a cold Radler after a hike; eating pizza every Friday night. See (Pizza Venerdi!)
It thrills me to no end that we won’t be subject to political ads. We will be home just in time to vote, but most of the worst campaign weeks we will be blissfully in the UK, Switzerland, and Italy.
Online news reading will diminish considerably. Why worry?
Consumption of wine and chocolate will increase, but then so does our exercise.
Our calendars will be clear of medical appointments for at least 9 weeks, an achievement, I assure you.
We will miss the cats, dear friends, and the turn of the seasons in the Northwest. But autumn comes to Italy and Switzerland, too. Maybe we’ll get snow! This picture is from a day in September.
Here’s our itinerary for the next two months.
- Richmond, UK
- Milan for a one-night transition to
- Ortisei and the Alpe di Siusi
- One night in Zurich as a transition to
- Lauterbrunnen for almost 4 weeks
- Locarno, a new-to-us location for autumn hiking
- Rome, our fist time back since we moved back to the US in 2016
- Iceland, for 24 hours with a non-stop flight to PDX
A couple of intra-Europe flights, unusual for us, lots of trains, 4 good long stays (Ortisei, Lauterbrunnen, Locarno, and Rome) allowing us to settle in and truly enjoy each location. In the case of Rome, allowing us to eat at our favorite haunts.
We hope you will follow along. There will be beautiful scenery, lots of pizza, and some lovely trains.
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Girovaga 
Laurel, happy to follow along!
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It’s great to hear that you’re off on another wonderful European adventure, and this time-of-year is usually perfect. It was interesting to read that you’re going to be visiting Locarno. It’s absolutely beautiful and I’ve been there several times, as my great grandfather was from there.
If you take the cable car up the hill to Cardada / Cimetta, there should be lots of hiking and photo opportunities there.
Buon viaggio!
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Hey, Ken! Cardada/Cimetta is on the list! Locarno has been in my sights for a couple of years. Amazing you have roots there. No wonder you love Italy so much!
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Very much looking forward to reading more!!
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Thank you Lynne! I will try not to disappoint!
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Safe travels to your favorite spots and new ones! Love your pictures. Some make me hungry and some make me wish I was there. Hugs. Gina
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Thanks, Geeg! We intend to eat well and started out strong with Sicilian food in Richmond. Looking forward to seeing you (hopefully!) at Christmas-time. We’ll be with R & J for a week.
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Sicilian in Richmond? We’re going to be there next year … what is the name of the place?
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Will, we always seem to be on a similar path but different timing. I understand we are just missing one another in Rome this year! The restaurant is Adesso Sicilia and it is, as far I am concerned, pretty darned authentic! Rich and is lovely. Too bad Hampton Court Palace decided they needed to close for seasonal maintenance on the two days we are here! We did enjoy our third visit to Kew Gardens and I hope to put that in a blog soon.
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Ciao Laurel and Ric! Sounds like a fabulous trip, and I’m sad I missed you while in Ortisei. You’re post-August now, and so the tourists masses should be down and you can have more peaceful hikes and quieter dinners. I’m in Cambridge now, sorry we couldn’t connect, but who knows might be possible in Roma!
Have a great time and enjoy! I’m looking forward to your posts.
Ciao!
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Hi Michael! Ortisei in August is rather height-of! Looking forward to (relatively) quieter days in September. To see you in Rome would be a blast!
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Looking forward to traveling with you through your 9 weeks.
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Thank you, Diana! I will try to be good about blogging. This is a “working trip” as updates to the guidebooks are due for publication in January. (No pressure!)
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I attempted to comment
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Sorry you had trouble, Marya! We think of you and JP often.
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We love our annual European visits for exactly the same reasons! Any chance we’ll overlap with you and Ric in Rome, Oct 11 – 15?
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Oh Gracia! Wouldn’t that be fun? We arrive October 19. Alas, perhaps we will make it to Seattle again soon and can see you there!
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looking forward to reading your blog. I enjoyed hiking in Ortisei last year on hikes recommended in your book.
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Laurel, I love your travels and reading your amazing blogs. Thank you for sharing! I feel like I am there because the way you describe each place. Love you and Ric!!!
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Kym, you are so sweet! Thanks for your kind comments and we are happy to have you along!
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Enjoy, sounds like a great trip. How do you organize such a complicated schedule?
Keep well.
Bill Walls
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Ahhh, Bill, it takes a lot of focus and a great spreadsheet, which I have refined over the years. I check and double-check and fret a bit. These days I don’t even have any reservations or tickets printed thanks to apps and such.Nice not to have to lug along a ream of paper!
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I’ll be with you every step/ride of the way!
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Lovely! That step-count has to go up to accommodate the wine and chocolate!
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I am excited to read every word. And the photos are always inspirational.
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Cara Gayle, I shall try to live up to your expectations in my posts. I will also look for poodles to photograph. And cats.
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I will love seeing exotic, ‘continental’ poodles and cats. Pets, I suppose, but that is really not a very good way to describe our non-human companions. Hope you are managing the transition well.
Gayle
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