Travel
In Paris, in a nice little plaza in Montmartre near Sacre Couer, there is a gathering of artists. Painting scenes of city scapes. Selling their wares. Drawing attention in their costumes. It’s exhilarating being in the midst of the flurry of artists, musicians, and street performers.
I Love the views of Paris from the Seine in the evening or seeing the London Eye and Big Ben from the Themes or coming upon Buda Castle from a bridge that crosses the Danube.
The excitement of watching European football in a crowded piazza in Bologna listening to locals cheering for their favorite players.
Being in Bangkok and experiencing the sights and smells of street vendors selling all kinds of food. Walking through the congested stalls in Chatuchak Market and being amazed at the number of vendors there are and at the range of animals, furniture, clothing, jewelry, food that are being sold. Trying not to be rude or too uncomfortable when taxi drivers insist (in their language) that I convince my husband to use them because they think that I am Thai. Walking through Patpong district and being so utterly shocked at what goes on.
Experience the canals in Venice, the Bridge of Sighs. Take a nap in the shade of the trees in Burano only to wake in the middle of a group of 30 Japanese tourists. Get pooped on by the pigeons in Piazza San Marco. Take a train to the Palace of Versailles and walk the grounds in the scorching summer heat. Get lost in the maze of gardens. Run to the train station because you miscalculated the time it would take to make it to board — onward to the next destination. Read a book on the beach with your husband and kids in Antibes where there are half naked people sunbathing, both young and old.
In London, it is exciting walking through the crowds in SOHO seeing how they celebrate Pride. Listening to the chatter below our apartment in the middle of the night from drunk party goers young and enjoying life. Sitting in a restaurant established in the 1700s which later makes an appearance in one of your favorite tv shows. Visit the Harry Potter Studio and be amazed at all of the exceptional work that went into the making of the movies. Staring in awe at the incredible architecture of cathedrals museums buildings that date back to the Middle Ages. Walking through Westminster Abbey and seeing the graves of people like Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens, Darwin, Chaucer.
Bathing in ancient Turkish baths in Budapest. It’s impossible for me to try to imagine what it was like when Turkish pashas used them in the 1500s.
Walking through the cobbled streets in Rome. Visiting the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Colosseum. Eating a gluttonous amount of gelato.
In Cinque Terre there are incredible views. Hike from one town to the next, wander their streets, have a glass of wine in the outdoor seating of a small family owned restaurant near the ocean and people watch. Swim in the warm waters of the Mediterranean. Jump from a rock jutting twenty feet from of the sea.
Seeing the unpleasantness of a city, the struggles of their people. It is a lesson in gratitude. A reminder of all of the things that I should be thankful for. Being approached by gypsies on the steps of Santa Croce in Florence. Babies in tow begging for money. Seeing a mother and child wandering the streets in Bangkok — baby crying and naked, mother shouting, begging for money. Walking to the skytrain, almost stepping on a limbless beggar shaking a paper cup begging for money.
Men on the streets in Milan forcing kernels into your hands so that the pigeons surrounding the Duomo fly onto your palm and cause some kind of reaction then ask you for money. Boys leaving handmade bracelets on your shoulder then sticking out their hands for money.
Being in the Louvre and taking a selfie with Mona Lisa, seeing the temple of Zeus, walking through the Acropolis and Agora. Flying a paper airplane from the roof of the Duomo in Florence. Flying a paper airplane from atop the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Taking a train trip through Japan with strangers. Meeting and getting to know the owners of my favorite chocolate shop in San Francisco. The nomads who started in law and now own their own company and travel the world. The museum hacker. Videographer. Young entrepreneur. The game programer. All good people. All people I probably would not have met if not for those trips.
Bathing in hot springs at the Takaragawa onsen in Japan beautifully set amongst the hills and trees near a river. Sleeping on a bed roll and tatami mat, eating a five course Japanese vegan meal in a kimono.
In Tokyo, visiting the Tsukiji market where there are headless tuna being auctioned in a freezing warehouse. Barrels of smaller fish being sold at crowded stalls. Walking through Ueno park and being able to see the beauty of cherry blossom season. Stumbling upon the beginnings of a Japanese festival in Nagasaki. Delighted by watching baby snow monkeys play in the trees at Jigokudani park.
Tulum and Cancun, swimming in the cenotes, the crystal clear turquoise waters of the Mayan Riviera. Drinking beer and taking shots of palinka in a ruin pub in Budapest. Watching silent monks in their orange dress walking, hands in prayer through the streets of Bangkok. Exploring the picturesque streets and canals in Amsterdam. Experience the bustle of night markets. The commotion of a demonstration by locals and trying to figure out what they are protesting. Take a boat to an island in Thailand and spend a few days sipping margaritas, swimming, reading. Nothing else.
I like to travel. To experience different places. I have a clearer picture of the world outside of my neat little suburban life. There are so many things to see and do. So much to discover. So much to be inspired by.