While so much of who I am resists change and clings instead to constancy and security, my recent travels have broadened my horizons in an inspiring and beautiful way. Eight days of constant movement, living out of backpacks and in sleeping bags, braving insanely cold temperatures, eating an obscene amount of baguettes, doing a lot semi-structured wandering that led us to breathtakingly beautiful discoveries, having good conversations with good friends....I haven't felt this alive in a long time.
There have been moments lately.....when it occurs to me that God created humans to sometimes just be and just enjoy what He gave us senses for. We sat on the grass in front of the Eiffel Tower on our last night in Paris, the end of our travels. And as I watched the sparkling lights go off on the tower for the first ten minutes at midnight, I thought about how completely satisfied I was in that moment....just to be and to be there. And again in Sitges, as we sat out on the rocky jetty as the sun made its final bow, I was taken aback by the sheer beauty of it all and the fact that my God made it just to be that way, just because.
I have good friends. I realized while traveling that I am BLESSED. Lauren. Ben. Neo. We travel together like we've been doing it forever. I haven't laughed this much or had so many good conversations in a long time....not to mention the nights of watching The Office and our classy jazz club Christmas. I loooooovvveee my friends.
Here is a rather short travel summary:
Rome is grand. The Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Vatican city, the Sistine Chapel....they come out of nowhere, pretentiously boasting a wealth of tangible history. The Trevi Fountain is beautiful, especially at night. The food is DELICIOUS. And I just love the accent.
Venice is exquisite and mysterious. Seeing the Grand Canal at dusk took my breath away. The beauty is in the details, the forgotten streets and smaller canals, the ancient churches, the rustic colors. This city was made for wandering.
Paris is glamorous. The Champs Elysées, the Louvre, the Moulin Rouge, Arc de Triumph, the Eiffel Tower....it never stops. The castle at Versailles is so much more incredible than I imagined it, especially the garden. CREPES. Paris is the world's jewel.
And now I am back in my beautiful Barcelona, which I missed a little more than I thought I would.
