THE ITCH TO TRAVEL
Windmills in Zaan Schans June 2019 (© wrightpix photo gifts)
Eiffel Tower, Paris, France June 2019 (© wrightpix photo gifts)
If you get the chance to travel, do it. Especially if it means crossing borders. It’s your passport to leave behind your everyday world and be pushed out of your comfort zone. That can be scary, but all it takes is one nudge to open your eyes to what the world has to offer.
I had been to London once before in 1985 with a group of friends. We were recent college grads. One of their dads got a job assignment in London, so we had a place to stay. Dream come true. It was worth losing a week’s pay, as I had to take a leave of absence to make this happen. What fun we had exploring and immersing ourselves in the culture. Shenanigans ensued. We even saw Queen Elizabeth when we went to Windsor Castle. Amazing!
Flash forward to 2019 when my husband and I celebrated 25 years of marriage (a milestone we hit in 2018) with a trip across the pond. We spent 14 days in Amsterdam, Brussels, London, and Paris. Wow! We had so much fun. We were nervous about language barriers, but it was fine. We didn’t drive at all, which was fabulous. We Ubered locally and took trains to border-hop.
My favorites of the trip were the windmills, the chocolate, Eiffel Tower, and all the museums. In Amsterdam, we did five museums in one day: Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, Anne Frank House, and Moco Museum. While we appreciated all of the art & history, we both enjoyed the modern and contemporary pieces the most. In Brussels, we did a four-hour chocolate walking tour. Um, yum! I made sure to get an authentic Belgian waffle there, and an authentic crepe with strawberries and dark chocolate in Paris. And yes, I did get a bit hooked on croissants.
I think we walked enough to counterbalance the caloric intake though. We averaged 18,386 steps per day. So much walking! Our single day high was 24,939 in Paris. And speaking of Paris, I was like a little kid when we happened upon the Fox Sports set by the Eiffel Tower for FIFA’s Women’s World Cup. You might’ve heard, the US won and broke many records in doing so. One of my best high school friends is really good friends with Sam Mewis’ mom, so I particularly enjoyed cheering on Sam. We left for London the morning they played their first game, so we didn’t see them play in person. But, I watched on my phone. Amazing!
So, yes, if you have the chance to travel, do it. There’s so much to see, do, and appreciate. And, before you know it, that little nudge out of your comfort zone might lead to an itch. I’ll let you know how Italy is in 2020.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam June 2019 (© wrightpix photo gifts)