The last few weeks, I’ve noticed friends and family going to places I’ve been as well. It’s interesting to see their pictures, compare them to the ones I took when I was in those places, remember favorite places and recommend they check them out if they have time, and wonder at the places I missed when I was there that they found. Bravo! Now I want to go back again.

Having been there doesn’t make us experts on the place, it only makes us familiar with it. My six day in Paris were wonderful and I wouldn’t trade them for anything, save maybe more time in Paris. And I feel the same way about Rome and Vienna and Dublin and Edinburgh and London and Barcelona and… you get the point. Having been there is simply a starting point in the conversation. The real question is, what did we get out of the experience of being there?

It goes without saying that I want to go back to almost every place I’ve been to. But I know it’s unlikely I ever will with most of them. Sure, two or three major cities warrant a return, but if we don’t actually live near that city, the chances of us returning are pretty remote. There’s just so much to see and do in this world, and life, as we know, is ever so brief. So make the most out of every visit, for we may never pass this way again.

But let’s hope we do.