After Fantasizing About Visiting Europe For Seventeen Years, My Wife And I Finally Made Two Trips In Five Years, Both Were More Beautiful And Enjoyable Than Imagined, Completely Exceeding Our Expectations!

By Keith C. Milne

The other day I came across a bunch of photos and some short videos of the two trips to Europe that my wife and I took in 2013 for her 60th birthday, and the Mediterranean trip we took in 2018 for my 60th. Looking at them caused me to flash back to when I first fantasized about going to Europe back in 1996. Looking at them again I began to feel overwhelmed with gratitude that I was finally able to realize that dream after 17 years! In that time, I remarried, moved to a new state, went back to school as an older adult, earned two college degrees with honors, became a social worker assessing and setting up eldercare services, and then finally settling back into the wastewater industry, ultimately becoming a utility manager or “the boss.” All of this happened while I lived life, studied, worked hard, and never had enough money or the time to go until I made the time in 2013 for my wife’s 60th birthday!

For our first trip to Europe, being her birthday, it was her call regarding the destination choices, so we went to Great Britain and France, and saw some absolutely amazing places on that trip, like all of London, Abbey Road, Stonehenge, White Cliffs of Dover, Canterbury Cathedral, Avebury, Palace of Versailles, and much more.

For my birthday, the destination choice was easy: I was going to be where I had wanted to go for decades, so rather than just limit myself to Italy, I decided that since we could now afford it, we would take it to the next level and do a tour of the entire Mediterranean basin coastline including Spain, France, Monaco, and Italy.

I have decided to not even try to point out all the different sights, statues, monoliths, churches, plaques, and all the other various things that invariably come into the question arena when pictures of travel are involved. Rather, this “blog post” is intended to be more of a video slideshow or a mural of all the different places and people and things that caught our eyes enough to want to take pics or videos of. Below, I have culled together some short video presentations that will allow you to pause where you wish, zoom in to see better, and restart when ready. Mute the sound if you don’t care for the music or get tired of it.

Both trips were taking a huge, temporary step into an entirely different cultural way of living and being on a day to day basis as compared to the United States, hugely different. It was very enjoyable to have to step out of my element and experience the way others live from day to day directly.

We found that everywhere we went, there were far more friendly people than unfriendly, and we really had many enjoyable experiences with others that really reinforced the pleasure of our traveling experience on both trips. I highly recommend travel as a growth experience (which will happen if you open your mind and heart with acceptance, while trying to understand others without judgement).

Additionally, I highly recommend EF Tours and their small, educationally focused travel groups. You get a lot of bang for the buck seeing Europe this way, and will never be left wanting someone to talk to, nor will you have to worry about your safety nearly as much, and they also reserves tickets in advance so, for example, when you go to Vatican City in Rome or the Coliseum, you will get right in, no waiting in long lines for hours.

For the tours of the various sights of interest along the way, the group bus gets you to where you are going to tour, then there is another day guide for each venue. Also, you get in straight away, no waiting whatsoever. Combine that with limit on the overall group size allowed, and it makes for a really satisfying, enjoyable, and unforgettable experience.

So, without any further delay, here are the video slide shows for you to enjoy which, hopefully, capture the mood, the feel, and the special details that made our European travel so special and enjoyable. I hope I have managed to capture the beauty I saw and somehow convey it to you!

London, UK