One year today, I started on a very personal journey, inspired by a special lady in my life. It was the 25th of April, when Italy moved from essentially a total lockdown to phase 2 as their world started to open. She told me she was going out for a 30-minute walk, so being competitive, I said I would do 35 minutes. Well, I did not. I think I was lucky to do 20 minutes, but it was a start.  I was exhausted and out of breath, but it was a start of the journey. I shared my experience with her. She said if I do it for 21 days, I would own it, as I will internalize it. Well, I did and the rest, as they say, is history. 
I had an initial goal of losing 100 pounds, essentially 50 kilos and got there by Christmas day, 8 months to the day, ending up just under 225 pounds. Yes, I was that heavy when I started, maybe even more than that. Of course, I was proud of this accomplishment, but I was not done. As winter truly set in, I decided to try for another 25 pounds, essentially 10 kilos, which I knew would be a slower process, but I was determined to make this new goal, also inspired by that special lady, to get down to 90 kilos, or just under 200 pounds. 
I was never on a diet during this whole process, only ate healthier choices, cut out most junk food and soda and walked every day, on average 3 to 5 miles to start (6 to 10 kilometers) and cooked most of my own meals, being a former chef, so it turned me back on to experimenting with different food combinations from the fridge, cabinets and spending time finding fresh fruits and veggies and the local farmer’s market each weekend. I wanted to try to do this by a year to the date I met her, but that deadline passed, so I decided that one year to the day, would be the deadline when I started this journey. Well, I am happy to say that this morning I reached that goal, both by pounds and kilos. 
I share this story to let people know, and perhaps, inspiration, that if something is important enough and have the desire to make it happen, you can accomplish anything. This blog entry was totally of a personal nature and I give my sincere Grazie Mille to you Rosa!!! 
As always, I am interested in your thoughts, comments, questions and adding to the discourse is always appreciated be in on the site itself or on Facebook, Twitter or wherever you read this. Your support of this small business is truly appreciated!!!

Where do you want to travel, now and in the future? My list remains long, especially since last year the travels were short since travel, was, for the most part, halted in its tracks. It is now time to make up for the lost time. Really, though, we can’t make up for lost time as time continues to move on. We never get that time back, be it for travel, family, friends or whatever is most important to you. All we can do is make the best of the situation of which we had no control.  We still have to be vigilant, but also optimistic.  We will travel again, and that said, the Wandering Puffin will be doing just that in less than two months to a country, that with the proper protocol, including proof of the vaccine regimen completed, will allow Americans in. I am crossing the pond and truly excited to return to this continent, almost 15 months to the day I left. 
Where you ask? I am glad you did!!! I will tell you and share my experiences I have while there. Oh, almost forgot!!! I am returning to Croatia to attend the ASTA Destination Expo which will be held in Dubrovnik, an amazing walled city on the Adriatic Sea. While I have been there before, I will have a new perspective of this destination which will also include a mini island hopping cruise out of Split, time truffle hunting and other experiences in Istria and ending in the capital, Zagreb. Some places will be a return visit, but with a new appreciation in this time of Covid, some totally new, but the Wandering Puffin is spreading his wings again. 
Croatia, known for its amazing landscape, wonderful national parks, a beautiful coastline, colorful history and culture, not to mention the delicious foods, locally sourced, and wine for any palette and contrary and with apologies to my Italian colleagues and friends, the Crljenak grape from Croatia, is the original zinfandel varietal, not the Primitivo grape from Italy. I will be sharing my experiences with the GoPro and doing Facebook Live presentations at every opportunity sharing an amazing destination in a very different time. 
Where do you want to travel when you are ready? The Wandering Puffin wants to know and thanks you for following me and for your support of this small business. Your comments, questions and thoughts are always welcome, so please join the discourse. I look forward to hearing from you on this subject or from previous blogs.

Welcome to spring in full bloom and the celebration of Easter, Passover and Ramadan. This spring is hopefully a return to some sense of normalcy for everyone in many industries including mine, travel. I see the signs where there are peaks of light emerging. Clients and potential new clients are reaching out to me for scheduling and re-scheduling their travels, looking at the latest destinations to open and I am simply seeing the signs that maybe, just maybe, we have turned a corner, and yet, I know, we still have a ways to go. 
Safety is paramount in any case, even as the guidelines continually evolve. The CDC has now stated that those with the two-shot vaccine (Moderna and Pfizer) or the one shot vaccine (Johnson & Johnson), plus the two weeks post shot window, will be able to depart from domestic airports without having a negative Covid test result and as I understand it, even leaving for international destinations, as well. American announced that they will start flying to Milan and Rome as a test for quarantine free flights in May, which personally excites me. I know that other airlines had test flights to Italy, but only for those designated as essential.