WHY EVERYTHING IS INTERESTING
We all have goals, quotas, and deadlines, but it’s not life and death. Relax – take a breath and see the world as it is- because in it, everything is interesting.
Category Archives: travel
reflections
Well- I’ve finally reached (almost) the end of my trip from europe and now I am currently with my family in the Vancouver. Its not exactly where i’m from but its as close to home as I can get. Here, all my nieces and nephews are running around, not to mention 2 small dogs, and as chaotic as it is, its really nice to come back to something I’m familiar with. I feel like for the past two months I’ve been essentially invisible. In a place where I don’t know anyone and no one knows me. Where I have no responsibilities and no places to go. Where for once looking at my text messages isn’t my first instinct when i get up and writing lists isn’t my last instinct before i go to bed. It was liberating. But as liberating as it was traveling brought on new responsibilities. Responsibilities that pressured me to hunt for local cuisines, visit tourist sites, find places to live, find flights/trains/buses to places, buy knicknacks for my friends at home, and so many other things. I actually think this is the first time I’ve ever used a map so consistently since the 90s where I would sit next to my dad in the car and look for addresses on his library of maps in the dashboard. But with that, I understood cities much better. I knew their layouts and major points. If you ask me how to get to the hollywood bowl from my house i don’t think i can tell you regardless of the fact that i’ve been living in los angeles for the past 5 years. Funny how invisible a city can be when you only see it from an iphone.
As promised I will be posting my photos from the trip. enjoy!
Scotland!
hello from edinburgh!
Well its been about 7 weeks since I left Los Angeles, and just when I’m thinking that im starting to fit into this travelers life I realize I’m about to head back to the US in about 9 days or so. Its been quite an adventure here in the UK- seems like everywhere you turn, someone is always shoving a beer in your face if not a greasy plate of Haggis or fried fish and chips.
seriously- the UK will be the end of me. thank goodness for all the walking and hiking. That being said- Scotland is BEYOND beautiful! When they say the rolling green hills they are not kidding! i highly recommend coming to Scotland and doing some serious hiking. In fact, Leona and I are going to Arthur’s seat tomorrow- somewhat of a right of passage for travelers coming to Edinburgh. Its about a 2 hour hike to the top and there is an amazing panoramic view of the city.
see that ridge? I will be walking on it tomorrow! wish me luck!
A
hello from london
hello all from london!
well its been a bit over a month since this whole world travel thing and not saying that i’m not happy to be here- i truly love it here in London but I think i’m starting to get a little homesick. Perhaps its the booking everything last minute thing or lugging around my luggage every 3-4 days – but I do understand why people like to settle in one place and just have a home they can get back to. Currently we are booking our flights and hotels in to scotland and we are super excited to try out some fish and chips and probably some sort of meat pie. ALSO super super excited to continue shopping at topshop! can’t say its too much cheaper here in london but at least I can try things on instead of having to look at them online.
well off into the city! see you soon
a
en route to london
hi all
just writing a last post in marseille as we finish up our packing and now on our way to the marseille airport to london stansted where we will be staying with a family member of ours. we hear London is pouring rain right now and i am so not prepared with my sandals and shorts. Oh well just gives me an excuse to buy some nice jackets and boots!! that is if anything fits in our goddam luggage anymore.
see you soon
a
couchsurfing in Marseille
bonjour readers!
sorry i havent posted as well as i intended to- internet is truly hard to come by when youre traveling without a laptop. Well anyways currently I am in the South of France in a city near the coast called Marseille!! it is about midnight now and I am seriously beat because this morning my cousin and I went scuba diving along the coast and then had a picnic with strangers we just met at a local beach!! Sounds insane huh.
She and I have been doing this whole couchsurfing thing, which by the way I was totally against when I first heard of it. And seriously blows my mind STILL how amazing this whole network is.
For those of you who dont know what it is- couchsurfing is basically a network of travelers that essentially contact each other for needs when youre traveling! Like a need for a place to crash for a night, someone to teach you and exchange languages with, show you around town, and seriously anything you can think of.
When Leona first told me about it I literally said to her `Do you KNOW who the craiglist killer is?`I mean, that is such an American way to think apparently but seriously was I wrong for not believing in the kindness of strangers? That there IS a reason why we tell our children not to climb into a strangers car?
So far couchsurfing has seem to have broken all my preassumptions about the program and I am literally typing to you from a strangers laptop of which he handed me barely knowing me for 15 literal minutes along with a set of his front door and gate keys. Then after talking a bit he said goodbye and took off with his girlfriend to a town an hour away with Leona and I literally gawking at him and thinking to ourselves is he seriously for real???? And NO we have no found any cameras and all our stuff is still here- passport and all regardless of the fact he has his own set of keys and every opportunity to kill us and steal our identities. Unbelievable right? Its amazing to see that there is even a slightest bit of humanity out there- that people are willing just to meet people- with no slight hint of sexual tendency- just for the sake of meeting people and helping out! Its truly refreshing to see this amazing network and it truly makes me want to help people and just show my kindness to people around me. Kindness is infectious
Granted sometimes when people message me it will sound somewhat creepy- is it just cuz theyre European? i dont know. but so far everyone has been interesting and sincere.
take for example our 4th night in Paris. We met Chris, a local Parisian that is coming around a leg injury from his job in the Air Force. He tells us hes been all over the world and has been recently obsessed with Thailand and now currently speaks fluent Thai! (along with french and english) Hes done counteless missions all over the world – even Darfur and Afghanistan- which seriously made my eyes literaly swell with tears.
And Bruce Lee ( i no) a Canadian chef to be training in one of the most famous french restaurants in Paris; who by the way saved our butts countless times by helping us translate as well as put a roof over our heads when we needed one last minute!
And now Guillame, a man who barely speaks english, with a serious serious wall of movies has invited us to stay over.
uG! im obsessed. cant get over this right now.
Well must go to bed. Guillame is driving us to Aix En Provence tomorrow morning and a guy we met from China who studies in Aix is going to show us around!! haha happy trails!!
a
in barcelona for the wembley
i think my head is spinning to so hard right now but i can´t even possibly wrap my head around the fact that I was HERE in barcelona during the wembley finals 2011. not like any of us are soccer fans bbut we jsut happen to arrive on this day. Our friend jeno, who has been staying here for the past year, brought us to our apartment and then we proceded to watch teh game at the sports bar. From there, things were deadly. it was beer after beer and after each goal, people would be chanting and hooting from all parts of the street. it was like an SC game ‘ except it was the whole city that was celebrating. people were blaring horns, chanting the songs, playing drums— totally amazing. nothing short of the best time of my life! I LOVE BARCELONA
Europe or bust
I’m ready. Milan. here i come!!!
Ciao, see you in Milan!
A
ps. anybody have tips on where to go in Italy? mom and pops? Architecture? etc?
