We’re Baaaaaaacckk!
The Boyle family arrived back in Calgary on Saturday, May 9, concluding our epic journey around the world. Words simply cannot describe how much fun we have had on this trip and how much we have learned about the world and ourselves. To give you a sense of how long we have been away, when we left Calgary, Barack Obama was known as “President-elect Obama”. We would be willing to wager that we may have learned as much in our own way as President Obama has over this same time period, but we probably had a lot more fun doing so!
We finished our trip with a series of ports on the north coast of the Mediterranean including a few repeat visits to some ports that we had first seen a couple years ago. Each of these ports still offered a lot of new experiences (Istanbul, Athens, Venice, Barcelona, Livorno (Pisa/Florence) and Rome). There were also a couple new stops for us in Cannes/Monaco and the Sicilian towns of Messina and Taormina. We explored all of these ports on our own and had some of the most enjoyable days of the entire trip just walking through these cities and experiencing the true essence and culture of these classic European cities. Maggie was in heaven as we checked out a number of street side cafes that knew how to make a real cappuccino and mouth watering warm bread. The Italians sure do know how to make pasta and Brad will vouch for the quality of the gelato ice cream!
Well, Monday brings reality back into our life and school for Adam and Erin. As we noted at the outset, words simply cannot describe the incredible voyage we have experienced these past four months. While some of the pictures we have shared with you may tell a thousand words, it still falls light years short of conveying the reality of the gift that our family has had with this experience and the positive emotions it has generated for our family. We believe that life is all about what you make of it. One of our favourite observations is that those that consistently achieve success in their endeavors are able to weather the tough times with hard work and a positive attitude, and seize the opportunities when fortune shines their way. This trip is an example of that as the rapid development of Brad’s advanced Parkinson’s disease over the past couple of years has left him unable to work in the job and company that he loved with a passion. However, some prudent financial planning combined with a bit of good fortune, excellent disability benefits and management support at Enbridge allowed us to make this dream a reality while Brad still had enough mobility and stamina to do most things most days. We have had a blast and would love to share our stories and experiences, and even some of those notorious family vacation pictures and videos with any who would like to do so. So drop us a line at bboyle@shaw.ca or give us a call at (403) 547-9600 with your thoughts, comments, questions, observations before our next vacation, likely sometime around 2020 (hello Antarctica!).
As we end here, we would like say thanks to you bloggers out there who followed our adventures and sent us notes to keep us entertained and informed. A special “thank you” to a few of you who took care of those nagging household things that we couldn’t manage from afar. Thanks to Jim and Shawna, Gina, and Ralph “Pop Pops” Hughes. We love you to bits Pop Pops! You are the best and we wouldn’t trade you for any other grandpa!
Brad, Maggie, Adam & Erin.
We finished our trip with a series of ports on the north coast of the Mediterranean including a few repeat visits to some ports that we had first seen a couple years ago. Each of these ports still offered a lot of new experiences (Istanbul, Athens, Venice, Barcelona, Livorno (Pisa/Florence) and Rome). There were also a couple new stops for us in Cannes/Monaco and the Sicilian towns of Messina and Taormina. We explored all of these ports on our own and had some of the most enjoyable days of the entire trip just walking through these cities and experiencing the true essence and culture of these classic European cities. Maggie was in heaven as we checked out a number of street side cafes that knew how to make a real cappuccino and mouth watering warm bread. The Italians sure do know how to make pasta and Brad will vouch for the quality of the gelato ice cream!
Well, Monday brings reality back into our life and school for Adam and Erin. As we noted at the outset, words simply cannot describe the incredible voyage we have experienced these past four months. While some of the pictures we have shared with you may tell a thousand words, it still falls light years short of conveying the reality of the gift that our family has had with this experience and the positive emotions it has generated for our family. We believe that life is all about what you make of it. One of our favourite observations is that those that consistently achieve success in their endeavors are able to weather the tough times with hard work and a positive attitude, and seize the opportunities when fortune shines their way. This trip is an example of that as the rapid development of Brad’s advanced Parkinson’s disease over the past couple of years has left him unable to work in the job and company that he loved with a passion. However, some prudent financial planning combined with a bit of good fortune, excellent disability benefits and management support at Enbridge allowed us to make this dream a reality while Brad still had enough mobility and stamina to do most things most days. We have had a blast and would love to share our stories and experiences, and even some of those notorious family vacation pictures and videos with any who would like to do so. So drop us a line at bboyle@shaw.ca or give us a call at (403) 547-9600 with your thoughts, comments, questions, observations before our next vacation, likely sometime around 2020 (hello Antarctica!).
As we end here, we would like say thanks to you bloggers out there who followed our adventures and sent us notes to keep us entertained and informed. A special “thank you” to a few of you who took care of those nagging household things that we couldn’t manage from afar. Thanks to Jim and Shawna, Gina, and Ralph “Pop Pops” Hughes. We love you to bits Pop Pops! You are the best and we wouldn’t trade you for any other grandpa!
Brad, Maggie, Adam & Erin.