A Year of Travel

My favorite places and experiences during this past year in Europe

Hello! I hope you’ve had a good week. I’ve been thinking lately about the fact that I’m coming up on the one-year anniversary of my departure from the U.S. After selling my house and nearly everything in it, retiring from my 23-year career as a professor, finalizing my divorce, and taking my daughter to college, I left the U.S. on a one-way ticket to Paris with a small suitcase and a backpack. That was on September 24, 2022. I’ve been in Europe ever since, staying in different places, some longer than others.

Here is where I’ve stayed:

France—Paris, Menerbes, Cassis

England—London, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Salisbury, Rye, Canterbury, Surrey

Sicily, Italy—Catania, Taormina, Syracuse, Scicli

Germany—Berlin

Scotland—Edinburgh, Kilmarnock, Inverness, Isle of Skye, Iona, Gullane

I thought it would be fun to pick some of my favorite places and experiences over the past year. Here they are!

Favorite thing I packed

Hiking shoes. I bought these Merrell shoes because I wanted thick treads to get me through the winter and any snow or ice that I might encounter. They turned out to be the perfect thing for walking on cobblestones, which are everywhere in Europe. I’ve worn these shoes almost every day, and only now is a small hole starting to form along one of the seams.

Favorite historical sites

This is a tie between these two ancient sites that made my head spin. First, the Cathedral of Syracuse, Sicily, which incorporates 5th century B.C.E. columns from the Greek temple over which it was built, as well as Norman, Byzantine, and Baroque elements. So many layers of history!

Clava Cairn, just outside of Inverness, Scotland, is an astounding site of standing stones and burial chambers thought to be 5000 years old. Walk into a cairn and feel yourself transported through the millennia. Or touch a standing stone and see if you really do travel in time. (That’s an Outlander reference. The author is said to have come here while completing the first book.)

Best museum

The German Resistance Memorial Center, Berlin. Chilling when you start to notice how nearly all of the brave souls who resisted Hitler were killed.

Favorite city

Edinburgh, for many reasons: 1) fascinating history, 2) eerie Gothic vibe, especially at night, 3) best bookstores, and so many of them!, 4) the Royal Botanical Garden (I could walk there every day), and 5) it’s a smallish city but has more coffee shops, pubs, literary events, bookstores, and live music than you could ever want or need.

Favorite hike

Mount Etna, Sicily. I hiked four and a half miles, at least a third of that up fairly steep inclines, in -3 Celsius temperatures and a howling wind that threatened to knock me over once we ascended above the tree line. But it was an experience I’ll never forget!

Favorite natural wonder

Bass Rock, off the coast of North Berwick, Scotland. Home to an estimated 150,00 gannets. My daughter and I took a cruise around it and other nearby islands from the Seabird Centre.

Most beautiful places

It was hard to just pick one, so I’ve picked two. First, Cassis, France. This fishing village east of Marseille is surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable. It’s my favorite place in France, which is saying a lot, considering the country’s bounty of eye-popping beauty.

And second, but just as beautiful, is The Isle of Iona, Scotland. You have to take a train from Glasgow, a ferry to the Isle of Mull, a bus ride across Mull, and another ferry to get to Iona, but it is beyond worth it!

Best Meals

Another tie. La Coupole in Paris was a real splurge for me. I had the Kiki cocktail (below), escargots, lobster ravioli, and Crêpes Suzette. Ooh la la.

Christmas dinner with my daughter at Aux Anysetiers Du Roy, a charming bistro on l’Île St. Louis, Paris. And the perfect company!

Best learning experience

Cooking Sicily. I learned how to make pasta con cime di rapa (pasta with a vegetable resembling broccoli rabe), pidoni (fried pockets of dough with tomato, pancetta, and cheese), and focaccia messenese (focaccia topped with greens and tomatoes). Yum!

Pasta con cime di rapa with anchovy oil and a dollop of pecorino cream

Best place I stayed

Cummari, in Catania, Sicily, is a coliving/coworking space for female digital nomads, writers, artists, and travelers. Sadly, the apartment has been sold, but the owner, Michelle, is in the process of creating Cummari retreats while she and her husband build a new site for the next phase of this truly special business. There is nothing like it anywhere else in Europe.

I could go on and on, but Substack is telling me I’m near the limit for an email. Let me know what you think of my favorites. I’d love to hear yours, too!

Until next time,

Anne