Our family’s six month journey around-the-world – from December 2004 to June 2005 – was much more than taking 20,000 photos, visiting 14 countries, climbing 15 towers, walking some 825 miles, flying at least 52,000 miles, eating 11 flavors of gelato, schlepping 200 pounds of luggage, logging onto 10,200 minutes of Internet access, driving on the left-hand side of the road in four European countries, and visiting one emergency room.

    It was an incredible journey of self discovery, a discovery of world cultures, and of making new friends along the way. We viewed history galore, we reconnected as a family, and the whole experience greatly exceeded our expectations. The time we shared for six months allowed the three of us – husband Robin, 60; daughter Tricia, 12; and me, Marla, 44 – to learn about our respective limits of tolerance and patience in regard to not only hunger, sleep, boredom and obtaining directions in foreign languages but also our respective passions for art, history, people watching, sleep, and ice cream.

    Prior to departing O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, the three of us were frazzled with business obligations, school commitments, and personal responsibilities. Add to this the trip planning necessary for our six-month journey and let’s say it was a bit stressful at our house.
    But once underway on our around-the-world trek we delighted in simple pleasures like trying local foods, reading books by local authors, attending unfamiliar sporting events like rugby, biking over country paths, and visiting city walls. We sought out sites of archeological, religious, creative, and historical relevance like New Zealand’s fjords and glaciers, Australia’s rain forests and Great Barrier Reef, China’s terra cotta soldiers, the Vatican and Sistine Chapel in Rome, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, Viet Nam war history in Ho Chi Minh City, and Van Gogh’s yellow house in Arles, France.
    Not only did we learn grand-scale geographic facts about each country visited but we also enjoyed walking the streets with no particular destination. In this way we found smaller neighborhoods and met local folks. We learned that there are countless others who, like Robin and Tricia and me, also yearn to know more and want to seek out people and cultures that can enrich all our lives. And enrich they did. This was not just one big history lesson.
    We laughed and ate our way around the world! For example, favorite flavor of Italian gelato: tiramisu. Funniest adventure: Florence Botanic Garden for a poetry reading, in a foreign language – Italian. Favorite country: Australia. Most picturesque country and most waterfalls: New Zealand. Least enjoyed food: Scotland (too many animal innards). Summary of European “old art,” as 12-year-old Tricia called it: naked; bloody; or, Christian. Least favorite country: Viet Nam. Most difficult road to cross as a pedestrian: Ho Chi Minh City. Scariest moment: when the oxygen masks dropped during our flight to Sydney. Number of times daughter Tricia and I lost husband and father, Robin... countless!
     On our journey we also learned about the mythological, cultural, and spiritual importance of many cultures. And, of course, we also visited the familiar tourist spots like the Coliseum (Italy); Sydney Opera House (Australia); Great Wall (China); golden palaces and Jade Buddha (Thailand); Big Ben and Tower of London(England); and Loch Ness and Edinburgh Castle (Scotland). But we also combined seeing these tourist sites with many off beat locations for local culture, shopping, cafes, coffeehouses, and restaurants.