Europe Visits Me ...
 

I'm not going over this year, unless I pick the right six numbers ...

But my friends from Rome are coming to NYC, as they do every summer, on business. And as always, I can't wait.

We met thanks to this internet thing we're on now ...

I brought home some coffee from my first Italian visit - the brand served at my daily cafe: Morganti. (don't worry, I'm not advertising; you can't get it in the US, et) When it ran out I noticed their slogan "Il Caffe d'Autore", and as I was trying to finish my first book, I thought, "I need more of the author's coffee ..." I found their website, sent a note and asked if I could have some shipped.

I got the greatest response, and the chance to buy a case. A couple of years later I returned to Rome and arranged to meet my friend. We hit it off and he and his wife are now two of my favorite people from anywhere, anytime.

So, I guess I'll put out one of those favorite Fodor's-style questions: who have you met abroad that you have kept in your life?

The most memorable would have to be a B&B owner in Sicily. We email each other regularly (good chance to practice each other's language). We are like kindred spirits!

My husband and I traveled around the world in 1998-99. While on a train in Thailand we met 3 guys from New Zealand also traveling RTW. We kept in touch, and later that same trip met up with one guy while he was living in France. He visited us while we were living in Switzerland. Since then, he's visited us in LA and we still keep in touch via email.

I also met a woman here on the Fodor's Asia board who runs a non-profit foundation (www.theplf.org) suporting local schools in Siem Reap Cambodia. Spent some time with her in SR last year and now she's stopping for a visit when coming though LA this summer.

There are others, just can't remember them right now!

My husband!! We met in Australia over 10 years ago, and so far I plan on keeping him.

Good plan, iks!

I met a couple with a 5-year old son while traveling on my first trip to Australia. That was 1988. I am still friends with this family. We email all the time. I visit them everytime I'm in OZ (6 times so far). Some day they will come visit me in the heartland, I hope.

Many many friends in the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland (by way of business) who come here and often stay with us, and we go to their parts of the world and often stay with them. Works out very well. Some we've known for over 20 years. Three of my friends from Europe will be here in a matter of days, as a matter of fact. Always look forward to it.

My Thai friends and I email back and forth fairly regularly. One friend in particular shows me around the "secret" markets and helps me bargain for goodies everry time I'm in Bangkok. She is such a great shopping friend!

The internet has played a part in meeting many fodorites at GTG's. I am in email contact with a number of my Asia board friends. They are a really great bunch of folks.

In 1999 my sister and I arranged to spend 2 nights at a B&B in Edinburgh. The owner and her partner had just bought it we were among their first guests. In that one weekend, we hit it off immediately.

During that year, my sister passed away. She left me a small sum with the instructions that I was to use it to go back to Europe (we had traveled there several times together and she knew it would be difficult--impossible--for me to retrn without her).

My husband and I were arranging to go to England and I decided we should go to Edinburgh and stay at the same B&B (this was now 13 months later). The owner remembered me, welcomed me, cried with me over my sister's death and the four of us (her boyfriend and my husband) became fast FAST friends.

We've visited many times over the years (they've since sold the B&B). They've taken us to Ireland and all over Scotland. We've hosted them in Ohio and taken them to Las Vegas. We've met up in New York, they stayed with us in Paris last year... They are dear, dear friends.

I've also met other friends from around the world who have enriched my life.

When we first moved to Vienna, there was a young university student who was hired by my husband's company to teach us German. We became very good friends. We visited with her family in their country home while we were still in Vienna. Once we came back to the US, she came and stayed with us for a week. We have since met up with her just about every time we have traveled to Austria, the last time being at St. Gilgen in September.

She and her family are some of our dearest friends.

Through English friends I met here who returned to the UK, I've met several I'm in touch with regularly.

Took the kids to England in 2001. While in Penzance we met another family with kids the same age. They told us about surfing lessons in Sennon Cove and our kids taught them to play Marco Polo in the pool.

The two older ones - 14 at the time - kept up via the Internet. The next year they were going to Florida and so we went to visit them. We hav since had the two families in Breckenridge (they love Colorado skiing!) and Ireland. We have visited them in their home in London and they have come to Atlanta as well.

Our latest trip was this past March. Our daughter was studying in Strasbourg and we arranged to meet her and our friends at their vacation home in Zurich. They also accomodated the 3 other girls from my Girl Scout troop - now all in college! The boys took all the girls skiing in Switzerland while the adults went sailing on the Lake. Can't believe our good fortune in meeting them and look forward to many visits in different places!

In 2005, our family hosted a young gal from the Czech Republic. It was a mid-year, emergency placement. The gal knew my daughters from school, and selected our family as someone she wanted to live with, having never met us. Aneta immediately became another daughter in our family, loved as much as our own children. We took her on family vacation, and showed her what an American family was like (we live in Iowa, so pretty laid-back life). It was hard for us to put her on that plane back for Prague, afraid that we'd never see her again. I was wrong.

In 2006, my hubby, oldest daughter and I visited Prague. There we met her parents, Jirina and Ivan, as well as her brother Lukas. We spent two glorious weeks in the Czech Republic, making new family and friends. They treated us as very special guests, showed us all around and wouldn't let us pay for anything. It was their family's way of thanking us for taking care of and loving their daughter for eight months. Aneta visited our family for two weeks during Thanksgiving. This summer, we invited her mother and Aneta to spend time with us. Only Aneta will be able to come visit, but she will spend an entire month during July/August. We are very excited!!

Clearly these relationships will only continue to grow across that big pond. We plan to visit them again next summer. Friendships are wonderful, even with distance between.