Celebrating 1 Year Abroad with a Blog

We don’t like waking up early. There are few things in life we will willing get out of bed before 7AM for. So when we got up around 3AM-ish, because let’s be honest we did not get up immediately when that alarm went off, on the morning of June 29th, 2021, you know it had to be for a very special occasion. We had just spent nearly a month traveling across the United States visiting friends and family. We had sold our house the month prior as well as the majority of our belongings. On June 27th our car drove away with new owners. Almost everything we owned was packed in 2 suit cases, a large backpack, and some carry ons. (This would be scaled down later.) In the early hours of June 29th, 2021 we boarded a plane that would start our full-time international travels. We would touch down in Italy on the morning of June 30th. Did we mention CoVID restrictions were still in place?

We started in Italy, where we fell in love with Lake Como. In the past year we hit three continents, and eleven countries, not including layovers. We have met some amazing people, and have seen some beautiful places along the way. Since we plan to share more about these locations in future blogs, we’ll just give a brief run down each location from this past year.

Italy

From June 30th until the end of August, we rented an amazing place on the Lecco side of Lake Como. Days were filled with walks to the lake, swimming, gelato, and delicious Italian food. We headed into Milan occasionally, and discovered just about all of Italy goes on vacation in August.

We made a few overnight trips from our base in Abbadia Larriana. Aside from Milan, we visited Bergamo, Verona, and had a quick trip to the Dolomites.

Photo of the colorful buildings on the shores of Lake Como in Varenna. Italy
The colorful buildings on the shores of Lake Como in Varenna. Italy

Portugal

We spent the first part of September in Porto, Portugal. We had accepted a housesit in the UK, and when we booked everything, Portugal was on the Green List for CoVID entry. Of course things changed, but it gave us a great trip. We met some new friends while learning how to surf, or at least attempting to. We hired a guide take us to just below the Spanish border to do some canyoning in the national park. On the down days we just explored the city of Porto.

Photo of the city of Porto rising above the Duoro River, from across the Luis I Bridge.
Porto rising above the Duoro River, from across the Luis I Bridge.

England

We had our first international housesit in a quiet village just outside of York, England. A true introduction to the English countryside. We explored York, with its beautiful streets, ruined abby, and ornate minster. We made a brief visit to Whitby, along the sea, and enjoyed some delicious fish and chips. We also got to see some of our wonderful UK friends. We were lucky to have mostly beautiful weather during out month long stay that started in mid-September.

Photo of the rooftops of York, looking towards the York Minster from the old city walls.
York rooftops, looking towards the York Minster taken from the old city walls.

Scotland

As the northern hemisphere started to get colder and darker, we had the bright idea of heading further north. We spent one month in Edinburgh starting in mid-October. We took about a week, and spent it on the NC500 and into the Isle of Skye. We met some wonderful, new friends at one of the local churches. Edinburgh’s charm, and the beauty of the Scottish highlands are sure to bring us back one day. Sadly, we did miss the Christmas Markets by just a day.

Photo of the Dean's Village in Edinburgh, Scotland
The Dean’s Village in Edinburgh.

Thailand

We spent the longest amount of time in Thailand. We were there from mid November until the first part of March. We started in Phuket and had a quick catch and recovery from COVID. After that cleared, we made it to the uncharacteristically empty Phi Phi Islands for some of the best snorkeling you could ask for. Multiple buses and ferries would bring us to our housesit on the island of Koh Samui. We found some new friends in our hosts, and made some more via Facebook groups.

Our hosts had to delay their return, so we spent an extra month or so looking after their two handsome dogs in a villa, on a hill, overlooking the clear blue waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Kelli would experience the high of getting Scuba certified in Koh Tao, and the low of a “Thailand kiss”, road rash, from a fall off of the scooter. Eventually we would make it to beautifully dramatic coastline in Railay, Krabi, before heading back to Phuket.

Photo of longtail boats on the shores of Railay Beach, Krabi
Longtail boats on the shores of Railay Beach, Krabi

Australia

In March we took advantage of Australia reopening, and made our way to the “Land Down Under”. We started in Melbourne, where we ran into Kelli’s cousin. After a few days exploring Melbourne, we headed to the north coast to stay with a family who offered to host us in Cairns. We visited the Great Barrier Reef, a huge bucket list item.

At the end of March, we found ourselves in Sydney on a great housesit for about a month. We ended up getting plugged into the local community via our hosts’ friends and church. The energetic border collie we were sitting for along with a week of free public transit, trips with friends, and scheduled Saturday morning swims, helped us to really get out and see the local area, despite it raining most of the time.

Photo of Sydney Harbor looking toward the Opera House and downtown. Australia
Sydney Harbor looking toward the Opera House and downtown.

Czech Republic (Czechia)

We knew we wanted to head back to Europe for the first part of the summer, but didn’t have any big plans. So we looked into the cheapest tickets back to Europe, to locations we hadn’t been to, still on our bucket list. We only had three nights, but Prague was more than we expected. From the Old Town to the Castle and bridges, each alleyway beckoned us to explore. We would love to return for a longer visit.

Photo looking toward Prague's Old Town square with the famous Astronomical Clock on the left.
Looking toward Prague’s Old Town square with the famous Astronomical Clock on the left.

Switzerland (with some visits to France)

We accepted a housesit in Morgins, Switzerland for the last half of May with four wonderful kitties. Morgins is on the border of Switzerland and France. We visited Geneva, saw Mount Blanc, and took a day trip to Annecy, France. It really felt like we were in the movie “The Sound of Music”.

After our housesit, we visited a few other bucket list locations. We stayed just outside of Interlaken, and made day trips to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen. Switzerland is beautiful. You know it’s good when you look forward to the bus ride back up the hill everyday because the scenery is just so beautiful.

Photo looking over Grindelwald, Switzerland as a paraglider makes their descent
Looking over Grindelwald as a paraglider makes their descent.

Norway

We hit Norway for what we called a “real vacation”. We love slow traveling, but being unable to find a housesit in Norway, and wanting to see so much of the country, we ended up spending almost every night in a different location. We took trains, planes, ferries, and rented a car to make a whirlwind trip happen for about two weeks in June.

We started in Oslo, then headed west to Bergen on a beautiful train ride. Renting a car allowed us to see some beautiful fjords, mountains, glaciers, stave churches, long tunnels, and very tight roads. We also enjoyed some very delicious and fresh seafood, yum! After the south western tour, we took a plane to a ferry, and ended up on the islands of Lofoten. The small villages with their scattered red buildings on the water and steep mountains looming over them were some of the photos that had drawn us to Norway in the first place. Being able to see everything in person was very special.

Photo looking over the village of Hamnøy in Lofoten, Norway
Looking over the village of Hamnøy in Lofoten, Norway.

Belgium

We are celebrating the completion of our first year (first of hopefully many!) of international travel here in Belgium, watching a sweet beagle/springer spaniel mix, and her three cat siblings. We are just outside of Brussels, with easy access by train to the city center, saving us from the crazy traffic. We explored the city center including the famous Manneken Pis fountain which was dressed as a shepherd during our visit.

We took a quick day trip to Ghent. Thanks to our hosts from Thailand, who used to live there, and sent us over a detailed walking tour. Some incredibly beautiful architecture and history packed into such a small area.

Photo looking across the banks of the Leie towards Graslei in Ghent.
Looking across the banks of the Leie towards Graslei in Ghent.

Reflecting, but looking forward

We have grown a lot in this past year; both as a couple and individually. It’s nearly impossible not to. The world somehow feels so much larger, yet more connected at the same time.

We miss our friends and family back home, but currently have no plans to settle down anytime soon. We are still developing what our time on the road looks like, and how we can use it to help others.

We are starting with this blog. We hope it will help answer some questions related to both our travels and our finances. We want to provide others with a detailed and easy to follow map of our odyssey to financial independence, (FiOdyssey) as well as our journey across the world. If you have any questions for us, or just want to encourage us, please leave a comment. Maybe your questions or comments will inspire future blog posts.

Thanks for joining us, and we hope you enjoy!