Postcards From J

It's been about four days since I returned from Milan, Italy. While being back home and at work has already swamped me, I can't help thinking of this Italian adventure I got to embark on. 17 days across cities that breathe history, art, architecture, culture, religion and so much more! 17 days of fun (and exhaustion) accompanied by two women who kept me on my toes, literally and otherwise. In a nutshell, my itinerary read like this eventually: Rome-Vatican City-Naples-Florence-Pisa-Milan-Nice-Monaco-Cannes-Milan-Verona-Milan. It seems whirlwind but I think we managed a good pace and never really had to worry about missing something - even if we did.  Of course, the full credit goes to Fi, who planned the entire itinerary right down to the places we should eat at. And because she had already been living in Italy for a year and knew the language and her way around Italians, it was a massive help. Lo and I just followed instructions. I whined about the walking. Got mad a few time...

It's less than two hours to a brand new year. 2018! Gosh, isn't that something? Why did I decide to sit in front of a laptop and type this? I don't know. And no, I didn't even have some major breakthrough to talk about either.  Has it been a great year? Ummm... in bits and pieces. Like most of my recent years. What defines a "great year" anyway? 365 days of being happy? Can anyone ever claim to be happy or fulfilled every day of the year? Okay, I'm rambling now. Before I sign out, here are some highlights of 2017: - I grew up. Yes, I lived alone for the most part and I learned what 'adulting' really was. I have lived alone for a while now, but this year was really the test. During 2015-16, there was a lot going on. I travelled to a few countries on work and also for holidays in 2015 and the next year, the family was down as my niece was born here and that was the major focus for everyone at home. And then September 2016, the family vani...