ABOUT US
Hey there!
I’m Courtney and my partner is Paul. We’re a Canadian-born couple who broke the conventional 9-5 mold, sold 95% of our stuff, and now we’re traveling the world to find a new home.
I worked in childcare for over 20 years, and now I’m a full-time traveler. I will forever be a ‘big kid at heart’. Luckily, Paul knows a thing or two about computers. We believe in lifelong learning and I’m brand new to building a website, so bear with me while I learn as I go.
The idea behind this blog is to stay connected to friends, family, and our new friends that we meet along the way, whether it’s through our travel stories, our love of photography, or random tips about random things.
With distance and possibly an ocean dividing us, hopefully this will give everyone some insight into what we’re up to and maybe inspire others along the way.
Find out how our story began here…
Courtney & Paul
Fun Facts about Courtney
Favourite…
Food: Chocolate (+1,000,000…)
Animals: Turtles, horses, and elephants
Hobby: Playing hockey
Place: Anywhere in, on, or near water.
Experiences…
Best: Volunteering with sea turtles in Mexico
Worst: Food poisoning from Cuban street food
Most Awkward: Bee sting on my butt when ‘nature called’
Sketchy: Riding a rickety tuk tuk through the streets in Thailand
Life-changing: My first solo trip when I was 21.
Travel History
Longest backpacking trip: The West Coast Trail; BC, Canada
Longest time without sleep: More than 48 hours
Countries visited: 17 countries on 5 continents
Fun Facts about Paul
Favourite…
Foods: Home-made bread & peanut butter
Time of Day: ‘Coffee o’clock’
Hobby: Playing Chess
Place: The Mountains
Experiences…
Best: Snorkeling with whale sharks in Mexico
Worst: Nearly getting robbed in Chile
Most Awkward: Bottle-feeding a lamb at home for 8 weeks
Sketchy: Dodging cows and massive potholes on a moto in North Macedonia
Life-changing: Trip to Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
Travel History
Tallest mountain climbed: Mount Temple, 11,627ft; Alberta, Canada
Longest drive in 1 day: 2,119 km from Toronto, ON to Melbourne, FL
Countries visited: 18 countries on 4 continents
Our Timeline
After Date 3, we knew our connection was special.
Our love of travel and instant connection trumped any normal, rational thinking.
Our winter getaway to Mexico was the perfect way to either build a closer bond or...drive each other crazy.
Our amazing trip to Mexico convinced us to travel the world long-term
It was a hectic time as we prepared to move away from Canada, but we survived
After a 30-day delay, we said our final goodbyes, and rode Paul's motorycle through the Canadian Rockies before leaving Canada.
After a wild motorcycle ride through Italy, Palazzolo Acreide was our first stop in Sicily to hunt for properties
Our search for a home continued in Castelbuono in the Madonie Mountains.
This was my first trip to Ireland, and an opportunity to reconnect with a long-time family friend
Stopover in Barcelona when flights were delayed to Italy.
We found land in Castelbuono to build our new home in this magical place.
Our brief stint in North Macedonia was a unique look into mountain life in a small village called Vejtse.
A broken motorcycle, a birthday celebration, and unexpected kindness, Kosovo was full of surprises.
As a 40th birthday gift, Courtney returned to Canada while Paul fixed his broken motorcycle!
During our third visit to Castelbuono, we attended some festivals, and explored some new hikes and beaches.
An epic 3 month road trip from the far north in Kruger National Park doing 10 safaris, over to the North Cape and Sodwana Bay just south of Mozambique, then along the South African coastline to the most southern tip: Wild safaris, captivating landscapes, and authentic style and experiences from the cuisine to the locals we encountered, and ending our epic 3500 trip in Cape Town!
During our fourth visit to Castelbuono, we've found some property we're interested in purchasing!
A visit to Seattle to visit a friend of Courtney and explore the downtown markets and aquarium!
Time in Victoria to sort through our items remaining in storage, and then the sudden and unexpected news of Paul's father passing away.
A stop in Ireland to see a family friend of Courtney and explore the pubs of Belfast and Carrickfergus as well as a trip up the coast to the Giant's Causeway and a hike along the north coast of Ireland!
On our fifth trip to Sicily and in the same house just outside of Castelbuono, Paul began to prune some of our olive trees from the land we purchased, had a visitor from Canada helping, and we moved our projects forward to finalize our purchase of land.
For our 2nd trip to South Africa, for another 3 months, we started with 11 safaris in Kruger, then onto the Drakensberg Mountains and into the Kingdom of Lesotho and Tugela Falls, as well as a special Christmas excursion to a local Lesotho Village.
This is officially our 6th trip to Sicily where we finalized our purchase of 7.7 acres of land. We made a trip to Napoli for sightseeing at Herculaneum with Paul's cousin!
Travel around Toronto and a surprise visit for Mother's Day!
Returning for another month to sign our legal documents to purchase land, and with a visit from Paul's oldest niece after her visit to Poland. It was another month full of authentic Sicilian experiences!
We decided to have a 10 day excursion to visit Courtney's Auntie again and experience a wee bit of her life in Carrickfergus during the Billy King Parade and Festival!
Time with friends hiking at Mount Doug and Bald Mountain, a special trip to Gabriola Island, lots of cycling and touring around Vancouver Island!
Creating memories with family and friends before we return to Sicily.
Paul spends a short time exploring Dublin on an "extended" layover back to Sicily. (Direct flights from Toronto to Dublin and then from Dublin to Palermo are beginning to be our favourite way to travel to and from Canada!)
We return again to prune a few more of our 76 different olive trees, explore the Madonie Mountain towns and take time to discover more of the local festivals!