A Girl Can Dream, Right?

I can still remember the very first international trip I took when I was in college. My friend was Finnish, and her grandparents took us to Finland, of all places. It was exhilarating as my dad and I loaded my “wheel-less” suitcase into the trunk of my parent’s car. Then we were off on a 3-hour drive to JFK to board my flight. My mom cried as we said our good-byes at the gate. I guess she thought I wouldn’t return home 2 weeks later on my scheduled flight.

Summer in Helsinki is the season of the midnight sun. It was strange, and a little eerie, to be out on the streets at 11:00 PM with the sun still shining on our faces. We slept with black-out curtains to make it feel like it was the dead of night. By day, we walked and walked, discovering this beautiful foreign city, visiting museums, and sharing lunches of salmon, herring, and reindeer sausage. I remember getting lost one afternoon trying to find our way back to our hotel on Satakuntatalo Street. After all these years, I can’t believe that I still remember the name of a street that’s 6 syllables and nearly impossible to pronounce! Everything was so new and different.

This trip opened my eyes to a world I didn’t know. It was all so exciting! And it made me think about how:

traveling is more than just a flight
traveling is more than just museum visits
traveling is more than just restaurant dinners
traveling led to new and lasting friendships
traveling taught me a lot about myself
traveling taught me to be more spontaneous
traveling boosted my confidence
traveling brought challenges
traveling brought new discoveries
traveling made the world a much bigger place.
traveling got me to slow down, relax, and take the world in
traveling made me look at my life with a fresh perspective
traveling created memories for a lifetime
traveling freed my soul

I admit that this year has been tough. We have all had to make sacrifices and shifts in our lives. One of the things I miss most is traveling, so for now, I’ll dream about Marrakech, Bilbao, Taormina, Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, the Greek Isle of Syros… A girl can dream, can’t she?

When the time is right, where do you want to go? I would love to know… Please share!

Love,

Joanne