Welcome

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy”. So said William Shakespeare, through Hamlet, but I prefer another of the Bard’s quotes: “Boldness, be my friend”.

And so my life as a retired “senior nomad” began in September 2019. As you can see from the posts here, I’m no stranger to travel and have lived abroad before. I admire and embrace many things about foreign cultures and traditions. If there’s beer involved, so much the better.

I thank you, friend, for reading my scribblings with patience and, hopefully, amusement.

On September 9, 2019 I disconnected from a 34-year career in computers and software by starting a 500-mile hike from southern France to western Spain, along the 13th Century pilgrimage trail known as the Camino de Santiago. You can make the hike, too, vicariously through my posts here.

My plans were, of course, affected by the arrival of the COVID pandemic. I spent the early months of it with a friend in our first Paris lockdown. Subsequent lockdowns occurred there, too.

In mid-September 2021, Schengen visa revitalized, I flew back to Paris. My New French Girlfriend and I traveled through the vineyards and antiquities sites in southern France for a few weeks by car with another couple, and then she and I visited friends in Barcelona in October. The weather was great and the food and wine were outstanding.

Larnaca, Cyprus has become a favorite winter spot and we stayed there for several months in 2022 and 2024. My girlfriend and I have since spent time in Greece, visiting Crete, Athens, and Spetses, and most recently toured Egypt and Austria.

After training in Canterbury, U.K. during the summer of 2022, I completed my second Camino de Santiago hike in the fall. As I’m writing this, I’m just about to start Camino #3 (Fall 2024).

I’m one lucky retired guy: in late May my New French Girlfriend became my New French Wife.

As my sainted mother used to say, “Life is what happens when you’ve already made plans”. Thanks for sharing my life and travels!

Cheers.