Rob and I have made travel a priority in our life together, a decision that we repeatedly congratulate ourselves on. I cannot overemphasize the value our travels have brought to our perspectives and to our general satisfaction in life and even to our relationship. One of my favorite things about us is that in conversation (with ourselves and others) we frequently begin sentences with, "What was interesting about the Middle East..." or "When we were in London..." or "This reminds me of that place in San Francisco..." Sometimes I think it must sound like we're place-name dropping, but the truth is just that our very thoughts are informed by our travel experiences. I never thought I would be that person, the globetrotter who has tales from all over the world, and I feel very fortunate for so many opportunities to travel. Of course, we've made adjustments to our lifestyle in order to accommodate this priority - we manage our money wisely so that we have the funds for these trips, we've delayed any consideration of children until we're willing to give up, or at least slow up, travel for awhile - but these are eager "sacrifices." I wouldn't trade our travels for anything.

But it was Doreen, not Rob, who was my first travel companion. In fact, our treks to foreign countries are what fostered my passion for travel. We toured France and Spain for 10 days with a group from our high school. (We celebrated my 16th birthday in Madrid, and I will never forget the Happy Birthday, Kelly! banner Doreen had packed in her suitcase.) And then the next year we spent 2 weeks in Mexico, living with a host family in Mexico City while doing mission work with our youth group. I have so many awesome memories from those trips with her: sipping sangria while watching flamenco dancers in Madrid, portrait sketches on La Rambla in Barcelona, walking in awe through Monet's Giverny, bickering over directions in Paris (she was right), climbing the pyramid in Teotihuacán.

Back then, we made a pact that when we were grown, we'd take our men and travel to Italy together. Doreen has since been to Italy a couple times without me, during college and for work, but we still talked about "someday" when we'd go together. Last fall, when Rob and I were trying to decide between Italy and a Mediterranean cruise for our next trip, Doreen and K said they'd love to go on the cruise, and that made the decision for us.

We leave in a few days. It's going to be a trip that leans more toward past cultures and architecture than sandy beaches, which is much more our preference. There are stops in Greece, Turkey, and Croatia. And the cruise departs from Venice, so we'll be spending a few days together in Italy after all. It's a trip I obviously would be super-excited about anyway, but I am downright giddy that we all get to spend an entire week together and that I will be experiencing each new place with my original travel buddy.

Toledo, Spain 1996