Thoughts

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”

Set your sights high…

A beautiful morning sky somewhere over Europe heading into France

 

My last trip to Europe didn’t start off to well. Ironically, I had booked this trip approximately two weeks before all hell broke loose, or well, just my foot. My friend, Erin, and I had made a joke four years ago during the Olympics that we would go to Rio in 2016. Well, not everything has been so great with Rio, and we still wanted to do a trip. I’ve been itching to go to Russia for a VERY long time but the idea of a visa process, cost, and sheer uncertainty in the world made it less than likely to happen. We stumbled upon a trip to Prague, Vienna, & Budapest in late August and decided to “jump” on it. Hotels. Done.

Erin and I decided after searching for airfare from two different destinations (Austin & Philadelphia) that it made total sense for us to add two additional days on our trip and head to Paris. You know what Audrey Hepburn says, “Paris is always a great idea.” Always. Trust me. Paris can make your day go from gray to sun in a few hours. Literally! More about that later 🙂

Our flight from Philadelphia to Paris was an easy six-and-a-half hours, which started off to be a great flight…until the French college students in front of us brought a flight attendant to talk about their “sick” friend. Great! We spent the first 30 minutes after take-off sanitizing our seats and debating covering our faces. We ended up a-okay! It makes me wonder how true the “airplane” air really is? Or maybe the flu shots work. Who knows. Food. Meh. Food allergies and American Airlines fails in their options. Very little options. It’s time to change Economy options. Tomatoes are NOT necessary in every freaking dish you serve.

Our flight landed in six hours and 20 minutes (yay!) and we had a quick, easy customs departure into the European Union (I always feel like there’s someone singing in my ears when I cross through Europe- I feel at home). Luggage was a breeze. Finding an Uber. Breeze. Getting from Charles de Gaule to the Eiffel Tower area in rush hour? What seemed like a thousand circles and one dart…and we arrive. Oh Champs-Elysees…we meet again.

Here we go round in (another) circle…

 

 

 

Oh the places you’ll go….

I’ll never forget the Dr. Seuss book dedicated to the childhood outlook upon adulthood. Leave it to Dr. Seuss to make sure a kid is thinking about 25 at the ripe age of five. But as I sit back and think about it…adulthood has provided me with some pretty amazing opportunities. When I really think about it I realize that my childhood dreams of “traveling” are a reality and well, they are more than I ever imagined they could be and continue to be.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” Dr. Seuss

How fitting is this quote for the person who wants to experience the world and be in complete control of their destiny? I saw this quote before booking my recent trip and let’s be honest- when you tell someone you’re going to Paris, Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, Salzburg, & Budapest, the common response is, “What? Why are you going there? Where is that?” And I won’t lie- so many people kept asking why I was going to such unsafe destinations. Welcome to America, folks. Geography 101 failed by likely 65% of the American population. I even had someone ask me why I was going to the Middle East. First, there’s perfectly safe destinations in the Middle East and two, why must I justify my vacation destinations to anyone but myself and well, my family.

All I can say is…this world is small. This world is beautiful. There are amazing people and crappy people in every part of the world. But I refuse to believe the world is as bad as the news makes you think every moment you turn it on. I still see the good. I still believe in the good. And Central Europe is full of the good! Expect a major update to the blog in the next few days. Lots of good things to discuss and share.