I was contemplating what to write for my last blog post, not permanent last blog post, but one that will be noted as a jumping off point for the fall, when I will hopefully be re-focusing my posts more on the destinations, the whys, the special locations, the out of the way places. It has been my privilege to write these posts since the beginning of the pandemic as a way to share with clients, colleagues, and others, including myself, that we would get through that terrible time. As I reflect back, it was to say, I am still here and so the business will be, as well, and yes, it still is and stronger than ever. And it turned out that way, through hard work, dedication, and a faith that anything is possible and tried to stay true to myself and continue to remain positive. I have been in this business since 1997 and the company, since 2007, so while I know it is due to hard work, and dedication to this amazing profession, nothing is ever easy, but the result has made it all worthwhile. ​

My attendance at these meetings, and any of the international travel trade shows I have attended, including those two weeks, allowed me to vet new and connect with existing partners in these regions of the world, as trusted as my European partners with whom I work, so you can think of the Wandering Puffin beyond Europe, as I handle South America, Africa, Central America and Asia and with my trusted partnerships around the world, I hope you will consider me as your trusted travel professional to handle all of your travel planning, and of course, Europe, but also beyond. If you have an idea, let me know and let me see I can put it together. If not, and there is someone better suited, I will connect you with my partners. I am full service and want to handle all of your travel needs and look forward to doing so. ​

Of course, I am also an educator and have been even before I became a part of the travel industry, when I first started teaching elementary school in the 80’s, and to now, teaching English as a foreign language here in Rome. I have worked in special education, before and after school and summer programs and my first teaching job was actually as a volunteer in the New York City Public Schools as a tutor to children from Brazil who had to learn English, so I guess I have come full circle in those 40 years, but most importantly, as a Verified and Trusted Travel Advisor, I am here to educate and support my clients on each and every trip to the best of my ability. I arm them with as much information as they need, and sometimes more, so that their trips go as smoothly as possible. I expect to be there for them when there are bumps in the road and that is how I have been since the beginning. ​

The new blog posts, in their new format, will start middle to end of September, if all goes well, and who knows, maybe a new name. There will always be storms we need to navigate and that will never change, but if the focus of the blogpost changes, maybe the name as well. I, along with my trusted social media guru and webmaster, will be working through this during the summer, where here the temperatures, even though it has just turned to July hover in the high 90’s (33 to 35 degrees c) with a humidity to boot. I have some travels coming up as the school will close for a few weeks in August, but coming up in the near future, actually, tomorrow, Rosa and I will be off to see the “Boss” in Milano, so coming back to Rome on the 4th of July, the official one year from the time I moved here. I am also headed to France for a long weekend, with a focus on WWI and Brie cheese. Okay, more than that and it will be tasty, and later on in the summer, to cooler climes, to Finland and Sweden, so the summer will be busy, and Rosa will be joining me for part of it. ​

So, I want to sign off here with a thank you for allowing me the opportunity to write these posts for over 5 years now and I hope that they have inspired, entertained, amused and any other emotion they may have emitted. I truly enjoyed sharing the stories and the life changing moments I have had from meeting Rosa to now with all of life’s little peccadillos. I love that word and so appreciate it being used in a line by Robin Williams in “Good Will Hunting”. Humans are resilient and will find ways to get through life’s challenges and it has helped me to write these posts over the past 5 years, both on a professional level and seeing the challenges, but also the personal, but it is time to put this blog to rest and look forward to a different way of doing things. ​

Your ideas, suggestions, and comments as to what you may want to see in the new blog come the fall are always appreciated, in fact welcomed, as I would like this to become more interactive. Will there be personal things, I am sure, but I want to focus more on the professional side. We will see what happens, but for now, I am taking a hiatus from writing for a few months to focus on other important parts of my life and truly enjoy my time with Rosa here in Rome and other places, so please share your thoughts. 
Lastly, and as always, thank you, we so appreciate your support of our crazy little world, would love to welcome you to this side of the pond for a visit, if and when you wish to be here, and, of course, remain healthy, safe, and happy, most importantly, in this craziness in which we find ourselves. There will always be bumps in the road and it is how you handle them. Focus on the things you can control and let go of the things that you can’t. Life is too short to stress and while we all can’t be happy, all the time, find something that truly does make you happy and make that a focus. Your outlook will change as you stay on that path.

I mentioned about the countries, south and east, but also there were those from the islands like the Seychelles and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, and Sierra Leone in the west, so almost all of Africa was represented. The countries that were not represented were those of North Africa. Why I do not know, but they are in both topography and cultural, quite different. Yes, they have animals like camels and goats, but there is no safari, even though the work safari is an Arabic word that means an expedition to observe or hunt animals in their natural habitat, especially in East Africa. Of course, the most well known are in places like Kenya and Tanzania, and other places in east and southern Africa. ​

Summer is just around the corner, actually, just a few days away, but here in Rome, it is in full force. People everywhere, but that is normal at all times of year. Remember, last I mentioned to you that Rosa said Rome is closed, but that was in July and August, of last year, I believe. It is still June and with the Jubilee, it is already crazy, no let me rephrase, it has always been, as far as I know. Rome does sell itself, from the Colosseum and Roman Forum to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. Include the Vatican, which is the real reason for the Jubilee, this, and every 25 years, although, its own entity, the smallest country in the world, one of two that are wholly surrounded by Italy and in this case, Rome, itself. ​

In the end, all that is left will have its place, the walls filled with puffins, at least some will be, as only certain walls will she allow them to be. She even commented already on my taxidermy stuffed puffin that I purchased decades ago in Iceland and there is another one from the Faroes. Her comment, why do we need a mummified puffin. I told her it was the most unique of all the puffins I have in the form of artwork, Knick knacks and so forth, and no, I did not kill it and it was not endangered. It died, so I have been told naturally, and they are protected. In any case, opening each box, so packed a year ago and beyond, including artwork, wrapped in the paper it was protected by, once framed, and not knowing what I will find in each box, or container, so it is a bit of a treasure hunt, as someone remarked about last week’s post. ​

My weekend was spent, working on this to get it to a manageable point, work on travel projects and yes, I did teach on Thursday, the day after I returned from London and the other usual suspects of my weekend schedule, like going to market for my fresh veggies and fruits, and cooked a couple of meals, one with chicken and one with pork for us, as the weekends are the really busy time for Rosa and the mid-week is my busy time with the classes I teach. In a few weeks’ time, the teaching schedule will lessen as the number of students lessens for the summer, which is fine with me as there is so much to do around here and also to find time for Rosa and me to do things together, a date night here, a weekend away there. ​

It was just yesterday that I was commenting and actually several other teachers said how tired they were, and I agreed. It had been a long time since I had taught with such regularity, added to the travel planning and the daily requirements of life. I started at Wall Street in September or October and it is June, so a whole school year had gone by and I teach between 15 – 20 hours a week, most in the evenings, but one private student in the mornings, twice a week, some in the midafternoons, but mostly the evening, so being tired was a real thing for me, and reminded me when the school years used to end, it was a breath of fresh air. While the school is private, and only closes for Italian holidays and two weeks in August, I feel that I really accomplished something and recalling last August, when I just happened to be detoured and it turned out to be the correct call. ​

Greetings from London where I have been the past few days. I was here strictly on business with two days of conferences and meetings to gain see insight into my industry from different perspectives and connect and re-connect with partners with new ideas and experiences to share with my valued clients. This is what I do, most of the time, when I am traveling. I am not a holiday taker but try to incorporate a holiday of sorts when I do travel, but more often that not, there is a business component or two. That said, of course, if there is time in my schedule to experience something different since the last time I was here in London and going to the British Museum. And, yes, once in a while, I take a vacation for vacation’s sake, even if there may be a business element to it. In fact, in two weeks’ time, I will return here to London to attend an event with African suppliers and representatives, as I also can handle that continent as well for my clients. It is nice to have partners around the world, but in a few hours, I fly home and that will be nice. ​

Yes, I am more of a homebody these days also, so the once Wandering Puffin that was always on the road, is doing less so, but that does not mean I do not travel. It is a part of me and yes, I also travel with Rosa. But the balance of the week will be focused on several key things as I have travel plans to work, English to teach and yes, believe it or not, unpack the WP’s WPs that arrived yesterday. We will leave the car story out of this one, as you know, that is a different story, but apparently, everything else is in the common room, better known as the living, dining room/office, so I have my work cut out for me to go through what is there, place things where they need to be and bring that room back to an semblance of order. Momma was there to receive everything as I was and still am in London and Rosa was working all day. When I put the last of my worldly possessions together and time was running out last May, some things simply got lumped together. Now, I will go through the obvious and when I get to that box or two of “stuff” unknown, then perhaps, I will cull the herd one more time, a bit of a treasure hunt, I suppose. ​