My husband and I got married 30 years ago, back when Japan’s economy was still strong. For our honeymoon, we chose a Caribbean resort in Jamaica. To be honest, we were torn between seeing the historic sites of Rome in Italy and just kicking back on the beach at an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica.

My husband had already been to Paris and London when he was a student, and since Jamaica was much farther from Japan, he said, “Let’s go to Jamaica! Don’t worry baby, I’ll take you to Italy soon anyway.” So, we picked Jamaica, and off course, it was an unforgettable honeymoon.

Over the next 30 years, we raised two children and cared for my husband’s parents until the end of their lives. Our days were busy, and time just flew by. I would sometimes mention the Italy trip that he promised me, but there were always reason why we couldn’t go… he couldn’t take time off, or it was too expensive for our situation at the time. So when we did travel it was always to somewhere nearby. We never went further than Southeast Asia.

This year, when we were talking about our next trip, he asked me, “How about Vietnam?” …but I had waited long enough!

“When the hell are you actually going to take me to Italy!? With things like COVID and wars happening unexpectedly, if we keep saying ‘next time,’ we might miss our chance!” I said to him. That finally convinced him.

Now, after 30 years of waiting, we’re finally leaving Asia and heading to Europe. Our long-awaited Roman holiday, three decades in the making, has finally begun!