Highlights from a Return Trip 20 Years Later

Twenty years ago this past July, I arrived in Florence by train with three of my best friends from college.

We were 21-year-old fresh-faced backpackers, a fairly clueless, but innocent group of American guys bumbling our way across the European continent.

It was in Florence, about 10 days into our two-month backpacking trip, that it became clear we had different priorities on the road.

I loved Venice. A few of them didn’t think much of it, leading us to head for Lake Como earlier than I would’ve liked.

I wanted to explore every church and museum in Florence, the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. Two of my friends were content to spend an afternoon reading and sleeping at our hotel room while I used the time to visit the Palazzo Medici and Santa Maria Novella church.

In spite of our high points being on the ground in Paris the night the French beat Brazil to win the World Cup on their home turf and partying in Amsterdam and Prague together, our travel…