ABC WEDNESDAY - This week is brought to you by the letter R

R is for Richard Roe.

Who the heck is that, you may ask!

Well, I first became aware of Richard in May of 2005, when I read an article in the Vancouver Sun about a "senior gentleman" who was seeking his soulmate. This is part of what he writes on his webpage:

"The idea for Senior Bachelor grew from the realization that after 10 years of being single, I miss, very much, being in a loving, healthy, committed relationship. I travel a great deal every year, and let's face it, being in a gondola in Venice, or on the beach in Bali watching the sunset, or seeing the Taj Mahal under a full moon, is a heck of a lot more fun being with someone you love than being alone! So I decided to become "the poster boy" for promoting Romance and Adventure for folks over 45. I dubbed myself “Senior Bachelor” to crusade against all the “over the hill” stereotypes."

"This sounds too good to be true," thought I, as I checked him out on the computer. He was offering each of 6 women a month-long, all-expenses paid trip with him somewhere in the world.

"There has to be a catch," I insisted.

But I was intrigued.

I read everything on his webpage and participated in his blog that he started in June. There were lots of women from all over the world who blogged there and eventually I felt as though I knew some of them personally. Several friends urged me to send in my bio but I still felt like it was somehow a hoax. However, Oprah had him on her show in April (I saw it rerun in August) and he was featured in the June 27, 2005 issue of People Magazine's 50 Hottest Bachelors. I waited until practically the very last minute before sending in my "application."

On August 31, 2005, I flew down to Manhattan Beach by myself to meet this man. He was hosting a "Meet the Senior Bachelor" weekend there in his hometown. I had arranged to room with a woman I'd met on his blog and to meet several others with whom I'd become friendly. So even though I was going alone, I'm quite outgoing and just thought of it as expanding my horizons. Below is the first group of women who arrived to meet Richard. The man in the photo is Joe, his business manager - another great guy who, unfortunately, was and still is happily married.

This is when Richard arrived and all the women were taking pictures! You can see my shadow on his body and he's looking right at me. To the left is Umberto, Richard's handsome young protege who speaks about 6 languages. Umberto is another story for another time.

So, what was he like? Charming ~ Polite ~ Well-informed ~ And lots of fun.

I was even more intrigued.

However, he did not choose me to be one of his "semi-finalists" and I figured that was the end of it. Little did I realize though, that he'd taken some of our ideas for senior singles cruises and promptly organized two Alaska cruises for August of 2006. I recruited two of my girl friends and we signed up, planning on having a really fun time meeting other singles of a, shall we say, mature vintage. We had a fantastic time and met lots of people with whom we promised to correspond. Here is a small group of us posing with Richard at dinner on the cruise.

When we stopped in Prince Rupert, I found this old guy sitting outside a fishing shop so Cathy took my photo with him. I later sent it to Richard as a souvenir of our cruise. Do you see a resemblance?

While on that cruise, Richard mentioned that he wanted to try something else. He'd lived in Italy in the past and wanted to offer guided tours if anyone was interested. Well, I was! In October of 2007, I met him and a small group of women in Rome and we departed on a month-long holiday. I've written about some of my adventures there on my blog. Here we are on our first night in Rome, sharing a pizza in the Piazza Navona.

I left Richard in Rome on a rainy day in mid-November, 2007, expecting to never see him again. However, I was wrong. He arranged for a reunion in Manhattan Beach for anyone who had been involved in his "journey" over the preceding year and a half. So I flew down to meet up with him and others I'd met through this adventure. It was a fun few days, cycling the boardwalk from Manhattan Beach to Hermosa Beach to Redondo Beach and back. We ate well and partied even better. The following photo was taken the morning my friend Suzanne and I left to drive up to Stallion Springs, CA, to stay with her Mom for another few days before I had to return to reality.

I think Richard's search for his soulmate has ended but I'm not sure if it was successful or not. But I do know that he is still doing guided tours in Italy and this year he took a few ladies to France. Other cruises that he has arranged have been through the Panama Canal, around the Greek Islands, and this July he'll be on the cruise through the Baltic Sea. So if anyone is interested, just go to his website, http://www.seniorbachelor.com/ and check it all out.

Hope you enjoyed my story about Richard Roe on this "R-day" and that you all have a radiant week.

To check out who else participated this week, please go to Mrs. Nesbitt's site and join in.

ABC Wednesday - L is for LERICI

My first real WOW moment when I visited Italy in 2006 was when we arrived in the town of LERICI. We stayed 5 days and nights, visiting the town and its surrounding countryside and neighbouring cities and towns, and boating across the bay to the Cinque Terre. Back in February, I wrote "C is for Cinque Terre here.

My friends in England will appreciate that English writers Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley lived some three miles north in an isolated old boathouse called Casa Magni and anchored their sailing boat in Lerici. Their closest neighbours were the villagers of the tiny hamlet of San Terenzo. Percy Bysshe Shelley was drowned on July 8, 1822 in the Bay of Spezia upon returning to Lerici from a journey to Leghorn and Pisa. His corpse eventually washed up on the beach at Viareggio, located approximately halfway between Livorno and Lerici. The popularity of Lerici with the Shelleys and with Lord Byron earned the Gulf of Lerici its nickname as the Gulf of Poets.

LERICI is one of the mariner communities which take part to the Palio del Golfo, a rowing contest held in La Spezia every first Sunday of August.

LERICI is twinned with Horsham in West Sussex, England, although Horsham no longer records this as an 'active' twinning on its official website.

This was the view that greeted me from my hotel room patio!

Roomie and I decided to take a stroll into the town center. Above the hills stood gorgeous Italian villas like the one below, surrounded by palm trees swaying in the evening breeze.

We arrived just when families were emerging with their children to take in the sunset. Children played on this merry-go-round while mothers, fathers, and grandparents lovingly watched over them.

The fountains were beautiful against the brilliant pastel colours of the ancient buildings.

Upon arriving back at our hotel, armed with a full-bodied bottle of red wine purchased at the local wine shop, Roomie and I settled down to watch the sun set over the Mediterranean.

This was our view towards the west.

The next morning we set off for the Cinque Terre and I got this shot of the castle from the vantage point of the top deck of the boat.

and finally, here are the "Lerici Ladies," as we dubbed ourselves, along with one of our guides. In this photo, we're perched on a crag overlooking the water in the town of Riomaggiore.

If you are interested in seeing a short video clip of the town of LERICI, done by our other guide Umberto, click on the youtube link below. Just watch the first 3.20 minutes because after that it's our other guide Richard showing his two houses just outside of Lerici that he rents out. Of course, feel free to watch that, too, if you're interested in seeing what it's like to live there. I hope you enjoyed this little tour of one of my favourite places in Italy. When we get to the letter "P" I'll write about that place. Stay tuned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vR1hCGOczE

ABC WEDNESDAY is brought to you by Mrs. Nesbitt. Go on over to see who else is participating today.