What does existence mean in a pandemic? Aside from the obvious of staying alive and free of the virus, it feels like a long pause to me. Obviously, nothing really serious is paused at all unless you consider travel, restaurants, live music, and social gatherings to have particular relevance. The absence of those things does not shut down our minds, cancel our imaginations, or otherwise truly hinder our ability to create. We can use their temporary hibernation as an excuse for our inability to focus should we need a crutch to demonstrate to others why we are languishing if, in fact, we are. The truth is that this should be a tremendous opportunity to recharge our batteries, explore new inspirations, cultivate plans for the future, and refine our focus. But still, I feel like things are on pause, and maybe I know why.

I have been living in a dream. Since the late 1980’s, I’ve mostly done whatever I wanted and the older I’ve grown, the more fortunate things became. I tried bohemian hedonism in Europe for a good stretch until Caroline and I moved to the United States to try our hand at life as adults. Okay, that was a rocky trail, but along the way, we never slowed down our travels, exploration, or learning. The turn of the century brought an incredible focus on our own evolution as we ventured further into the mindscape as our own horizons grew expansively. A year did not go by that we failed to count our good fortune, pinching ourselves at the opportunities unfolding before us. We were well aware that we were living the proverbial dream.

When I stop to seriously evaluate my statement about being on a pause, I have to admit that it’s a bit hyperbolic. Caroline and I often wished to have more time together; that’s just what we’ve had this past year. Caroline claims to love my cooking; well, we’ve certainly had plenty of that. If I wanted to replenish our pantry or my personal bookshelf, there was no need to hold back; what I wanted I added. The only thing really on pause has been our travel plans, but then again, we did manage to venture out for a total of 31 days away from home during 2020. But still, something feels amiss, and that some aspects of life are on hold.

When it comes down to it, the best explanation I can muster is that some small part of the reoccurring dream from the past 30-odd years is that the relative certainty of explorable options is now clouded by uncertainty. I cannot count on making hotel reservations in the distant future, and I’m extremely reluctant to even consider booking a flight. Back in August, we ventured out for three days to Duncan, Arizona, which paved the way with some tiny bit of confidence that we could travel, even if only by car and with a ton of caution regarding how others were treating the pandemic. This opened the door to us working on plans to head up to Oregon in November. Now, we are in the earliest days of 2021 and vaccines are starting to be distributed; hope is returning.

So, while we still go forward, albeit in the void of what had been normal, it is time to rev up our dreams. First up for Caroline and me is the wish to return to Europe. Sure, we have some whitewater rafting on the docket for the summer, but our heart is really in the formidable history splayed across the European landscape. Neither Caroline nor I have been to Florence, Italy, and we’ve been reluctant to do so due to the overwhelmingly large crowds over the past years, but as Europe reopens its gates to international travel, we could be in the first wave before tourism numbers are catapulted back to where they’d been.

What might this next visit look like for us? After some quick study of a map, my first inclination is the following: land in Paris, France, and take a couple of nights to recover. Board a train and head down to Grenoble, it only takes 4 hours to get there, enjoy an overnight here. Up to Geneva, Switzerland, on a 2-hour train ride before catching a ferry the next day to Lausanne for a night. On the next day, we are back on the lake to Montreux. Then the big one, a 7-hour train ride over to Florence, Italy, where we will stay for 4 or 5 days. We’ve always wanted to visit the home of the Renaissance. After that, we’ll board a train for a 6-hour ride to Innsbruck, Austria, with a couple of days there in the Alps before the 6-hour journey to Frankfurt, Germany, to visit with family. If time allows, I just noticed that we would be close to Livorno while in Italy, and from there, it’s only about 4 hours via ferry to jump over to Corsica. That would be a nice trip, and while so many others would be great too, Florence is our main draw, but only if we could go while it’s quiet, so a winter visit is also not out of the question.

Of course, Europe may not be in the cards this year, so travel alternatives have to be considered; time to start exploring the map of America.