On February 21, I turned 53. For the first time in a long time I didn’t think anything about my actual age; rather I quite enjoyed the day. But then, how could I not? I was in Italy for the fourth time this year, and Kevin came over to visit for the weekend. I took the train to Roma while he took a flight. It was wonderful to be reunited with Kevin—in Italy of all places!!
I’ve decided to study Italian with this fourth visit to Florence. Every time I come to Italy, I find myself so frustrated by not being able to communicate in Italian. Way back I minored in the language. However with seven years overseas in Latin countries I definitely speak Spanish. Therefore when I get to Italy, Spanish comes out instead of Italian. I thought, why not study the language!
I love speaking Italian—it’s such a beautiful language with its sing song sound. I also have enjoyed being a student again. And, like I had a feeling it would, the language is coming back to me. I still manage to reply in Spanish, but at least I understand what is being said to me a whole lot better.
At 53 I have now come to realize what gets me going—what makes me tick: connection. I love connecting with people—all over the world. It’s my favorite thing to do. It makes sense as travel is such a huge component of my life.
In order to take these photos—by one of the only murals I’ve seen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia so far—I experienced a lovely connection with the owner inside of the store Brandaty. This is Qasem, and he is so kind. He is from Jordan, and runs a great TJ Maxx like store here in Riyadh. He came outside to join me while I was setting up my equipment and offered to help. I was pretty lucky as I could not get my remote control nor my self timer to work. He graciously captured these pics for me.
If you live in Riyadh and would like to meet Qasem, head to Brandaty across from Nikhal Mall. Here’s is exact address.
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