My first true opportunity to explore other countries involved an EF Tours trip to London and France with my high school French teacher, Paulette Schilling, in the summer of 1975. At the age of 16, I became enthralled with experiences and followed up with study in the UK and France followed by living as an expatriate in Taipei and Hong Kong.
In April 2006, my husband and I were married in Italy- because we could.
Subsequently, we enjoyed a few photographic workshops inWiltshire, England and Merida, Mexico. Otherwise, I thought I was content living a quiet existence on our moonscape rocky ridge in rural, Virginia.
Then, I retired in May 2025. All of a sudden, I felt compelled to embark on my next phase of life with gusto. Almost immediately, I explored the options available through Road Scholar. My parents had done some excursions with Road Scholar when it was still known as Elderhostel…and involved staying in hostels. Even during my most poverty stricken years, I upgrade to a cheap B&B.
I loved the concept of small group travel that involves educational opportunities. Road Scholar has transitioned into a well structured monolith of educational travel experiences for people over 50. The options seem endless. So, before I’d even returned my laptop and corporate phone, I booked a two week trip to Portugal and the Andalusia area of Spain.
The trip was extraordinary. I enjoyed every second, except for the part when an older gentleman experiencing an ‘episode’ collapsed on me while we were in the middle of the Atlantic. That was disconcerting.
I loved my Road Scholar experience to the extent that I’ve already booked three other tours within the next year. And, my wishlist is rather extensive.
In my next posts, I will delve further into my most recent adventure.
The photo above is me, at the westernmost point in Europe.
