About Linda The Traveler

After years of living in Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium, and traveling extensively throughout Europe, I found I amassed many experiences and common sense tips as a solo traveler in Europe.

So… the purpose of my blog is to share my travel experiences, my learnings of history, common sense tips how to stay safe, how to research public transportation and how to save money while traveling. If you are not an international traveler as of yet, perhaps my blog can tweak your interest, whether Europe or elsewhere.

I became so adept at these trips that I designed custom tours for a few close friends and family.

The Beginning – Paris, France and a Wedding:

My travel life began when I had a one-way ticket to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, to meet my future husband. Gratefully,  he was at the airport to pick me up because I didn’t have enough money for a return trip home to San Francisco.  I was nineteen years old.

In a small suburb outside of Paris, France, we married in a French civil ceremony. The entire ceremony was conducted in French and we needed a translator to tell us when to say our vows.

Soon, thereafter I resumed working as a U.S. Federal Civil Service Employee for the Department of the Army located at 32-34 Rue Marbeuf, Paris, a very short walk from the famous Champs Elysees, one of the most elegant and expensive boulevards in the world at that time.

Newly married, living and working in the epicenter of Paris – I was on cloud nine.

While living in Paris, we took a trip to Madrid, Spain driving the entire length of France into Spain. Driving through villages, hamlets, and towns experiencing freshly cooked French bread, delectable cheeses and bottles of red table wine – must have ignited the travel passion in me because I was never the same.

Belgium – a new adventure and life:

In April 1967, we moved to Belgium as part of the relocation of NATO and its military headquarters where I continued to work. We remained in Belgium for several years.

During my life in Europe, we traveled extensively. One summer, we rented a house on the beach in Tarragona, Spain; toured Grenada visiting the exquisite Alhambra, home of the Moorish Kings and saw other towns such as Toledo, Cordoba, Madrid and Seville.

Another year, we drove the entire length of Belgium and France to Nice and Monaco, France -on our way to Pisa, Rome, Florence, Vicenza and Venice.

After visiting Venice, we drove north through Switzerland (saw the majestic Swiss Alps) into Germany, where we had a dandy of a good time at the Munich Octoberfest. We made a somber visit to the Nazi built site of the Dachau Concentration Camp where I saw my first “gas chamber” and learned of the Holocaust.

I walked on the beach head of Omaha Beach in Colleville-sur-Mer, France where our troops landed on D-Day, June 6, 1944. At the Normandy American Cemetery, I reflected on the  9,385 grave sites of our military dead. www.Americanbattlemonumentscommission.com

Scandinavia:

Another summer, we drove from Belgium to Hamburg, Germany and rode the ferry to Denmark visiting Copenhagen, Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway. In Norway, we saw the spectacular fjords from the Holmenkollen Ski Jump, site of the 1952 Winter Olympics and marveled at the sculptures in the Vigiland Sculpture Park in Oslo.

Closer to home, we ventured to nearby Netherlands, riding the canal boats in Amsterdam and toured  Anne Franks’ house and gawked through the windows of the infamous Red Light District. We spent time in The Hague walking on the Scheveningen Beach, while we meandered down the Strandway;  and in The Hague,  I ate my first  Indonesian Rice Table, a feast of a meal of which I only recognized a few items.

I witnessed all of the above by the time I was 26 years old.

Home in the USA:

After our return to the United States, I discovered I was a displaced American and had not heard of the Blues Brothers or Saturday Night Live.

After living and working in Washington, D.C. and Cincinnati, Ohio, I settled in San Diego, California building my insurance practice. Except for trips to Baja California and mainland Mexico, and one trip to Belgium, I thought my international travel days were over. However, that was to change in 2000.

The Italy Years:

In 2000, I opened a new on-line business importing fine stationery from Florence, Italy.

After ten buying trips to Florence and Tuscany, I seriously considered renting a small room year round in Florence.  During these trips, I was able to visit Montalcino – world famous for its production of the superb Brunello wine. I climbed the hills of Montipulicano,  gorged on pecorino laden truffle cheese from Pienza, marveled at the peace and tranquility of the Mount Oliveto Monastery, and enjoyed  the beauty of the UNESCO Heritage Val ‘Dorcia valley, in Tuscany, with its hill towns, ancient castles and cypress trees leaning in the wind.

Belgium Again:

As I wound down the import business, my eyes were cast on Belgium.

As a result of many trips to the Ardennes, I became an aficionado of the Battle of the Ardennes, a critical battle during the Allied liberation of Europe that began about December 16, 1944.

I found myself doing pilgrimages to war museums, war memorials, military cemeteries, and special exhibits. I toured historical World War II towns such as Houffallize, Malmedy, La Roche, Neufchateau, Noville and Bastogne.

From my learnings, I custom designed tours for close friends and family and in return, I fell in love with the Ardennes for its forests, rivers, walking trails, gastronomic food, hospitality, castles, nature preserves and history. Conversely, I did a pilgrimage to World War I battlefield sites in Flanders.

At Present:

It is interesting how life works and events bring me back to unintended places I previously visited nor ever visited. To cut to the short, I am now proficient in traveling to the Western Italian Riviera (Finale Ligure, Pietra Ligure, Varigotti).

In summary, thank you for letting me share a little about myself and I invite you to follow my blog postings.