My International Staycation (inspired by my brother)

looking down on machu picchu

I’d be lying if said my passport didn’t contain quite a few stamps. I’ve visited Costa Rica, Peru, Spain, Italy and France. I studied abroad in college and lived for more than four months in Ecuador with an Ecuadorian family that spoke no English. i swam with the sea lions on the Galapagos Islands. I’ve hiked the Inca trail to reach Machu Picchu. I just returned from a week long honeymoon on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. So it really should come as no surprise to me that my brother would follow in my footsteps. Still, I couldn’t help but shriek in jealousy when I received an email from my brother outlining his summer travel plans, as nonchalantly as if he were describing what he needed from the grocery store. The email is below – I’ve shortened it and bolded the important parts for you:

Hello, hello!

As some of you may already know, I will be traveling abroad this summer. I leave today from Boston to spend a few days in Paris with a friend from Dartmouth. I am in Paris until Tuesday, in which I fly to Venice. There, I will be studying Italian, art history, and the likes at Ca’ Foscari University through a Columbia-affiliated program. The program ends in mid-July.

Around July 20, then, I begin my WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) adventures! I head down to the town of Policoro on the southern coast of Italy, where I will be working on an apricot farm through August 6. I am then traveling to the small town of Grosseto in Tuscany, where I will be working on a vineyard and olive grove until August 20 or so.

The final leg of my trip will take me to India, where my friend Olivia and I will be visiting our other friend, Mia, who lives in New Delhi. We will be exploring the city to its fullest (as well as nearby destinations like Agra). At last, I leave on August 28 for an epic and exciting plane ride home to New York …

… I hope you all have a wonderful summer.

Take care,

Greg

How will I be spending my summer? In my current home – Cleveland. I emailed my boss, telling that I’d be joining my brother for the net few months and hope he didn’t mind — but he just laughed it off. So I guess I will not be traveling to the Italian countrysite, helping farmers make olive oil or preparing grapes for wine. I won’t be jetsetting to Paris, tasting crepes, chocolate and cheese. And I can guarantee I won’t riding an elephant or having my own sort of Slumdog Millionaire / Bollywood adventure in New Dehli.

What will I be doing? In honor of my brother, I’ll be spending the summer being as international as I can, right from Cleveland. Here’s what I’m thinking for my international staycation:

In honor of his trip to France:

Sipping champagne and indulging in some serious chocolate
Trying the crepes at Crepes De Luxe at the West Side Market

His various escapes throughout Italy:

Checking out the international art exhibits (and Italian masterpieces) at the Cleveland Museum of Art
Buying more gelato
Sipping Italian wine on my patio
Buying fresh olive oil, and using it in my cooking
Making my own pasta with my new KitchenAid pasta attachment
Going to the Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy

His finished trip to India