Two weeks into my new Italian life and my standing in Finale changes – from tourist to local. What does that mean? That my grace period for piecemeal Italian is over. No more pointing, saying a few words and getting by reading body language. My friends now insist that I learn the language and speak complete sentences. Alessandro is the first to call me out. When he introduces me to new people, they often compliment me on my attempts to speak their language. But he teasingly corrects them. My pronunciation is not so good. Neither is my grammar – and he laughs at my garbled text messages....

On my last weekend in Arizona, Spring arrives. I ride my bike through the neighborhood and everyone is outside doing chores, chatting and happy. Children randomly wave. Adults smile…. Spring is my favorite season for just this reason. It’s not just the relief from the cold weather, but the joy and attitude that comes with it. It is the beginning and filled with potential. As I circle the streets, I see my friends and check out their latest project – just something to do during climbing rest days. My neighbors are fixing their houses, and the coffee shop has the doors wide open. The smell of...

February 2011 starts like any other morning, with a stop at the local coffee shop and a meeting. But this chat with a gal looking to leave her corporate job for independent consulting and some IM conversation with Bago In The Woods remind me how wonderfully exciting it is not just to dream the dream, but to live it. For each of these two, the dream of flexible work schedules, calling the shots, climbing or traveling didn’t become a reality overnight. The consultant-to-be has been cultivating her networks and slowly setting up a business structure for months. Bago put in his time getting the...

This week a friend of mine is riding around the Yucatan Peninsula. Sure there are the obvious things you do in this part of Mexico: find a quiet island beach, see some Mayan ruins, drink a few cervezas. But during his planning, a little spot on the map caught his eye – and mine. In an instant the little town of Xcan was added to the itinerary. Sometimes a name is all it takes to get us to detour off the main road. In my post-college days when most of my fashion came from a certain clothing store, I once drove around the Grand Canyon just to see what The Gap, Arizona was all about. Before that I...

Just in case you needed some travel ideas for the new year, Lonely Planet has released its top picks for cities and regions to visit in 2011. Time to start planning. Lonely Planet Top 10 Regions Lonely Planet Top 10 Cities Related Posts:No Related Posts