“It was fun, and it was romantic, that particular magic of being alone with the person you love in a place where everything — the time, the taste of the tap water, the bed in which you sleep — is different.”
I read a beautiful article in the New York Times and this quote just resonated with me.
What is it about travel that some find so appealing yet some absolutely shy away from. For a military brat such as myself, who was raised with order and routine being of highest importance, I both value and relish the beauty of a schedule. And when we are home I live pretty stringently by mine.
When we travel, I (try) to be more open to flexibility in the hours of my days. Partially self induced and very much so influenced by external sources, being amenable to the unknown along the way will serve you well on your journey. Let’s face it, traveling these days is not always the easiest thing. You relinquish control. You are the mercy of the airlines and airports to get you from point A to point B, and let’s not forget to mention Mother Nature’s influence on your itinerary. However with everything in life, your situation is 10% of what is happening and 90% how you choose to react to it. This unpredictability can be taken as a stressor or parlayed into time to actually sit and read a book. Visiting another place, experiencing new cultures, foods, scenery, elevations – all of these open your mind to the unfamiliar.
Travel changes you and the memories you create during your journey are priceless moments that you can pull from your memory from time to time and relive. Seeing a UNESCO world heritage site for the first time, tasting olive oil from olives that were still warm from the sun when they entered the press, the expression on a loved one’s face when they see something spectacular for the first time.
These are the things to keep and to hold dear and they tend to happen in unexpected places, places where everything is new, and just a little bit different.
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