While i would have never turned down and opportunity to photograph Europe, I had no burning desire to do so — until my old Colombian friend Luz found me on Facebook in early 2023, shortly after I retired from 27 years teaching journalism at Indiana University.

Since I last saw them in 1976, she and sisters Estella and Patricia had relocated to Austria and Spain.

Luz invited me to visit. And in October that year, I spent three weeks with them traveling through Austria, Italy, Slovenia, and Spain, launching what has since become my Retirement Travel Trifecta.