The Creator made Italy by designs from Michelangelo. – Mark Twain Hello, Robie here. I’ll be doing a few posts while Reid is completing her journey along the path of St James in northern Spain, the Camino del Norte. She and her sister are doing well and should complete their five-hundred-mile trek in roughly the … More Off the Beaten Path in Northern Italy
Macedonia, of course, is part of Greece, yet I have decided to classify it apart. – Strabo Rounding out our tour of the southwestern Balkans, Robie and I visited North Macedonia in July. Though the country lies on Albania’s eastern border wedged between Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Kosovo, no one we met had been to … More North Macedonia: the overlooked Balkan state
“Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose.” –Winston Churchill As we stand by the first tee of The Old Course at St Andrews I am in awe of my surroundings. Behind me is the Royal and Ancient … More A Duffers Dream: playing golf at St Andrews
The part of the Adriatic Coast belonging to Montenegro is the purest part of the Mediterranean. – Jacques Cousteau In April Robie and I visited the tiny, mountainous country of Montenegro. We stayed in the port city of Kotor and reveled in the towering cliffs that plunged dramatically into the bay, enjoyed a boat trip … More Green doors (and cats) of Kotor, Montenegro
The content discusses financial strategies for achieving a roving retirement, emphasizing the importance of a budget, tracking expenditures, and managing healthcare costs. It highlights practical experiences in accommodation choices, food budgeting, and banking setups. The authors aim to inspire others to travel globally while maintaining financial health and flexibility. … More Essential financial strategies for adventurous retirees
In my experience, the most important decisions tested my courage far more than my intelligence. – Ben Horowitz Recently Robie and I were forced to reevaluate our plans. The test came from an unlikely source. When we met Alec and Angela at The Black Marlin in Sarandё, we had no inkling of the trouble they’d … More A test of our roving retirement
Life is a combination of magic and pasta. – Federico Fellini When Robie and I set out from Albania to enjoy a week-long getaway in Italy, we were looking forward to exploring the baroque architecture of Lecce in the southern region of Puglia. But when March showers left us taking grey, overcast pictures of the … More When it rains in Lecce, eat pasta … and cheese
A touron is one-part eager tourist and one-part well-meaning moron. – Kelsey Timmerman Robie and I are aware of our position. It’s hard not to be. We don’t speak the language, don’t dress like locals, walk too fast, have difficulty figuring out change in the native currency and linger at waterfront cafés during work hours. … More Part of the problem
It was a strange city, and seemed to have been cast up in the valley one winter’s night like some prehistoric creature that was now clawing its way up the mountainside. – Chronicle of Stone by Ismail Kadare, born in Gjirokastër, 1936 While staying in one country for seven months seems counterproductive to our mission to … More Gallery of Gjirokastër, Albania
Albania, Albania, you border on the Adriatic. – Coach in Cheers When we told my parents we were headed to Albania, my mom had to use an atlas to figure out where it was. So for anyone else who only knows the country from the Cheers song played to the tune of “When the saints … More Where’s Albania?
Reid & Robie 