Today is October 13th. I should be in Bosnia-Herzegovina today. I should be visiting waterfalls and dining in the city of Mostar on local cuisine. And, I should be ending the day in Dubrovnik, Croatia, at a seaside resort where the sunsets are supposed to provide endless views.

Instead, I am home in Southern California. And, I have been home for a wee bit due to “trip interruptus!”. You see, when you get super duper sick while traveling, you have to make some tough decisions. Mine was to throw in the proverbial towel, get the first flight back home, and go directly to the emergency room, where I was treated with a bad case of “the yuck”. I will spare you the details. And, I also want to let you know two very important pieces of information about my trip home: 1) I masked 100% of the flight, and 2) Others around ME were coughing and sneezing, and they were not masked. In other words, my fellow passengers were putting my health at risk far more than I was theirs.

Although I am terribly disappointed and for several days was using the word, DESPONDENT, I am trying to see silver linings.

First, I must give KUDOS to my hubby and travel partner who took care of canceling most of the remainder of the trip without much help from me. This was his dream trip, too, and he was nothing but supportive of us returning home. He also brewed his own case of “the yuck”.

Secondly, a huge thanks to FAYE INSURANCE. Not only did they give me support and names of doctors to see while we were traveling, but they also assisted us during the “trip interruption” process. Working with them has been wonderful, and they took much of the stress off of us by making the claim process as painless as possible. I appreciated their being so responsive throughout my illness and upon our return.

If you recall a previous article I penned, I recommended travel insurance as a “must-have” when preparing for a trip. Well, we got a policy with Faye, and they went above and beyond expectations! When we reschedule the part of the trip we didn’t finish (and venture on others) – Faye will be getting our repeat business!

One lesson I learned from this experience is that health comes first, and to follow your “gut”. I now realize that I would never have enjoyed the last month of our vacation, given the seriousness of my illness. I let my intuition and common sense be my guide – and that was a very smart move.

Despite having to end our trip prematurely, all was not lost. We did have the opportunity to spend a glorious month traversing several countries and seeing so much! I even penned a few blogs about our experiences visiting Dublin, Barcelona, the Vatican, and Athens. Each blog includes information about accessible tourism. I would love it if you check them out!

In closing, here are a few photos we snapped and a video from the center plaza of Florence. (Gosh, I loved that city!) The captions will tell you the locations of the photos. Click on the photos for a detailed look.

Thanks for reading! And I promise, more travel blogs to come in due time!

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Nightlife in Florence!