Every blog I start with a smile. A large, cheesy, grin. It helps me write, I hope through my writing my smile is shared. I have been lagging on the blog ever since I reached Europe. Ill blame the adorable cafes that make for a perfect environment for my favorite hobby of them all.people watching. Ill attempt to fill you in. I have now clocked in just a week or two over 4 months on the go. My passport is filled with stamps, my Eurail train pass is filled with destination after destination. Yet I have this major fear of missing some incredible city or some small village Pinterest forgot to show me, or that one day I slept in and potentially missed the best morning stroll through the local market. This fear has been on my ass for the past couple of weeks. Untillll my Mom and Pete came to visit me in Madrid. The pace was finally slowed down, and I have finally came to terms to pipe down my obsession with picturesque alleyways, architecture, and landscape for it was getting out of hand. I personally was able to take a breather and have mom do my laundry and feed me as I sipped wine on a couch, and didn't do much more. It sounds boring, but it was perfect. I needed it. My body needed it. After the relaxation sensation, I was soon picking up speed. I have managed to explore 9 mind baffling countries thus far in Europe, and personally I don't have a way to express to you my experiences. I will say...daily I am catching myself lost in a land of questions unanswered, my history game constantly being tested, and my curiosity killing me. The most popular asked question is my favorite place.....my answer changes every time I'm asked, and I am okay with that:)
Fast forwarding.....
While in Spain, I forced myself to make an itinerary. I had a list of places I still insist on seeing, and no plans as to what was next after Madrid. Last minute Mom, Pete, and I checked off one of mom's bucket list destinations. The overwhelmingly beautiful island of Mallorca, right of the coast of Spain. It was nothing shy of lovely, and my radical pal Tobin from high school is teaching there so it was a nice transition of kissing the parents goodbye, and hanging with Tobin whom did a great job taking me to the coolest spots on the island. I loved being with a great friend and didn't really want to leave that sense of comfort. SO I flew to Israel to continue on the comfort.
.....Israel.....
Was never on my itinerary, and honestly I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I figured a camel wouldn't be waiting on my arrival to tour me around, but in all seriousness I wasn't at all educated on the Middle East. My super sweet dear friend Zoe was waiting at Tel Aviv airport with open arms and the biggest smile. I ran to her instantly with questions of everything my eyes were already being drowned with. Culture uniqueness was in full swing my friends. I don't wish to tell you about my every move in Israel, but I will tell you a few special highlights.
Zoe and I went to high school together, she welcomed me to her "new life" as a recent new immigrant to Israel. She has accepted the challenge of learning Hebrew and is rocking it! She took me not only to the Dead Sea where we slathered mud on one other, but she took me to the Western Wall in Jerusalem which was powerful, the massive highly entertaining market with a local shouting two for one strawberries like a broken record, AND to the most quaint dining places where our series of chats over large amounts of fresh, crisp, local cuisine was consumed. Zoe is a walking history book, every step we took date and facts filled the air. She's amazing. I was lost most of the time, trying to avoid dog crap, control my stares at the many religious ways of identity, and to keep myself engaged with Zoe's enlightening stories. This stop, country number 15, was special.
I did complete my itinerary for the remainder of my adventure, as I promised myself. 2 months left and I am attempting to keep clear of the fear of missing that perfect picture, or that small town that will be very hard to reach, becasue that isn't what it's about. Day by day I am living in the moment, another cliché sentence, looky there. But it's true. This world is something else. I tell myself that daily, yet daily I'm in awe. Next stop is France. Bordeaux to be exact. Sending my love to....Trader Joes, I really miss grocery shopping with you. To Lady my car, that I miss driving. To Lins, Mads, Chris that I miss living with. To my Dad I miss our weekly lunches.
2 months..lets see what kinda crazy I can create.
