Jewish theologian and philosopher, Martin Buber, expressed the following:

 

               "All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."

 

        This quote is a favorite of mine, since it hints at one of the most enjoyable aspects of travel, what I like to call serendipity. During so many of my trips, some of the seemingly most insignificant places or stops along the way turn out to be the most memorable.  For instance, when we were in Spain, in the city of Seville, we had some time on our hands. So, I suggested that we take a short ride into nearby Portugal. We had not planned on this at all. I, who always does extensive research prior to a trip, had not even considered learning Portuguese or even carrying a guidebook or phrasebook. When we entered the country, we relied on speaking Spanish or Italian, which thankfully was understood by many. Anyway, we had a marvelous time! The first village we came to was having a festival, with music on the main square, and many, cute shops, open even on Sunday. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, as well as in Faro, a bit further west. These delightful little interludes are often the best things about travel, and they are not that unusual.