It's official! I will no longer be the last person on the planet (in my age bracket) that hasn't been across the world.. or even out of the country for that matter (the bahamas doesn't count!) It always surprises people when I tell them I really haven't been very far. Every time a travel opportunity comes along I jump for it, but as far as taking a big leap it has always seemed like a far off dream that would take years before I could achieve— an exclusive membership club I didn't have access to.
Not any more!
After a few crazy (and I mean crazy, I will spare the details— but thank GOD there are people who love me) days of thinking and being neurotic (ie. ben stiller in along came polly) I decided to push back my return to the City of Angels and take a 30-day Grand Tour of Europe... leaving next week!! and only about 3 weeks following the initial thought.
I knew that reading the alchemist would do terrible things to my brain and like it said “when a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream.” This has been so true— once I made the decision everything kinda fell into place, almost as if it had been set-up to work in my favor before I'd even considered it.
Of course once I get back I'm going to think I'm a travel blogger (kidding, kinda.) so I want to make nice little lists and take pictures of all the things I packed and places I visited and the things I learned for future travel.
Now to the fun part...
Where I'm going: London (United Kingdom), Paris (France), Brussels (Belgium), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Heidelberg (Germany), Lucerne Region (Switzerland), Venice, Rome, Florence (Italy), French Riviera, Provence (France), Barcelona, and Madrid (Spain)! There are obviously a ton of other cities I'm dying to visit; Milan, Positano, Berlin, Basel, etc. but I will save them for next time (and there will definitely be a next time) when I stay longer in the cities I really liked... or move to Rome ha who knows.
I had the option to visit Greece, but it would have meant losing out on Spain, so again, another time... and more likely when I try to do Egypt (my true bucket-list trip) and Turkey.
I have this visual of the things I want to wear, the books I'll read, the museums I'll walk through, but we all know that things rarely turn out the way we expect so even though I think I'll come back all different from the things I've seen and experienced — I'm just going to pack up my little stuff and go with the flow, fully enjoying each moment and the fact that I will have a month to do absolutely nothing work related, just go-go-go— my favorite thing ever!
xx, C
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The books I'm taking: Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi Perfume by Patrick Suskind An Italian Affair by Laura Fraser Graduates in Wonderland by Jessica Pan & Rachel Kapelke-Dale
digitally... against my own wishes lol.