Years ago, before I met Jennifer, I wanted to backpack across Europe, a common teenage fantasy. After meeting Jennifer, we both saw something in each other that indicated the possibility of shared and fulfilled dreams.

Now almost 40 years later, we finally got a chance to backpack across Europe. Well, we didn't exactly backpack, we roller-duffled, and it wasn't exactly all of Europe, it was Italy. But we did use the trains, and we wandered about to places long dreamt of. A lesson learned was to never give up on a dream.

We found a special place, Vernazza, on the Ligurian Sea; it was like a fairy tale, a beautiful village cascading down a mountain side to the harbor, great food, friendly people. We never understood a single word they said, but we helped them drink their wine.

In this photo, Jennifer is standing outside of Harry's Bar in Venice.