For those of you who know me and have read my signature about traveling to Italy...I am in Italy right now! Day 9 and I am surviving. We have only stopped in 2 places over two weeks and the pace has been slow and easy but exhausting for me...none the less, I am having the time of my life.

I just wanted to let you all know and do hope it inspires others to do things they never thought they could do because of limitations. I am in Lake Como now, all hills and stairs and I have seen some hearty elderly folks and two brave souls in wheelchairs.

Thanks my friends for your love and support.
Diandra

Sounds fabulous! Thank you for confirming that travel is possible, despite the limitations our disease(s) impose on us. I desperately want to start traveling again, and despair sometimes that I will ever be able to. I would love to see Italy someday. Ciao!

Hi Diandra,
I just saw your message here in the new posts for the day.
How wonderful! I'm so glad you did this trip.
What an absolutely beautiful part of the world.
Have a great trip and keep well!
Thanks for letting us know.

Hi there Globe trotter , WELL DONE ! Hope you have the best time ever .It gives hope to us all.

Best wishes Nick

Hi Breia Lee,
Like you, I too, despaired I would never be able to travel.
My physical ability and money were always the issues and as I said in my signature, a good friend who had a double lung transplant several yrs ago
was my inspiration. His only daughter was in Italy for a yr and he is an older Dad, his daughter is 20 and he is in his 60's. He said, well if I die in Italy, what a way to go. He too was tiring of the limitations.

My husband and I threw our cautions to the wind and said, lets just do it and stop over thinking everything.
I am not saying it was easy either financially or physically but, it was worth it.

I am personally inspired to push myself more, to see what more I can do.

Breia, I hope one day you are able to travel again. And for a start, the dreaming about what you would do and the planning for if you do go, is fun as well.
I wish you the best.
Diandra

Thank you so much for your kind words, Diandra!

The past few years, it seems like all I do is live my life vicariously, watching others do what I no longer can. But I haven't given up hope that one day, I will be the one in the vacation photo.

And you are so right-money is the other issue. Being disabled means less income to do anything other than make sure the bills are paid. But I totally agree with you that at some point, you just have to 'stop over thinking everything' and focus on being truly alive.

My diseases have stolen so much from me, but it hasn't yet robbed me of my hope.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation! I hope you can post more of your gorgeous photos...seeing the sites through someone else's eyes is a huge inspiration to one day go and see it for myself!

Thanks Lara and Nick,
I appreciate the support and encouragement.

We are home now and exhausted but a happy kind of exhausted.

I think some of you may be able to relate to this.
I was very apprehensive about this trip for so many reasons,
longest plane trip ever, will I be able to be active enough to make it
worthwhile, can I make it through 10 days without having a health flare-up,
etc.

so....after the long flight, then we went out to dinner, I had one glass of wine
and I just started softly crying. It was not only pure exhaustion, it was the fact that I had worked so hard for this goal and finally made it. I was always so afraid I would never fulfill this life long dream of visiting Italy, where all my family and ancestors are from. Don't mean to be so self indulgent...but thought if nothing else you all would understand.

Take care, D