The late night romantic comedy blares in the background with the usual plot line unfolding. A relationship falls apart. A job is lost. The lead is sick of their job, maybe even sick of their family. The woman meets her man. The list goes on and on. The main character often makes the decision to travel, to get away from the job, the man, or to go find the man out in the wilds of the world, far away from home. While in Italy this summer, I often pondered the question, “Is travel an excuse?”. Amidst a language not my own, customs I didn’t uphold and that never ending feeling of not fitting in, Continue Reading
Porto’s Leaps and Bounds
The table across from me holds three characters. A woman clad in an off the shoulder turquoise top fans herself as her face seems to glisten. The woman seated next to her reads a magazine with black-rimmed glasses on the very tip of her nose. The man at the table appears relaxed, transfixed on the woman in turquoise. Then, another colorful character enters the picture, a woman dressed in gathered leather pants. Probably well into her sixties, she dances to the “cha cha” truly as if no one is watching her. This group sits and dances to my diagonal right in a loud bar in Porto. Potentially the Continue Reading
The Gracia Neighborhood of Barcelona Wishes You Were Here
The streets of the Gracia neighborhood in uptown Barcelona cannot be confused with any other city or town toward the end of August. The Fiesta de Gracia zaps the laid back neighborhood with bands, fireworks, drinks, bocadillos, and decorations you truly must see to believe. The residents of each street meet to decide their theme. The best-decorated street in the neighborhood goes home with a prize. The decorations turn into dream-like visions. Wooden planks form a giant arch down one as little old ladies scramble to write their name and message as others have done before them. As I sign my Continue Reading
The Work In Progress Traveler At La Sagrada Familia
As I eagerly climb the metro stairs up to bright Barcelona daylight, I expect to walk up to one of the city’s most pictured attractions, La Sagrada Familia. However, a Disney line met me, snaking around the Gaudi structure as though an exhilarating ride was on the other end. I hesitated. Is it really worth it to go in? Then, reason kicked in and I recognize I’m not sure I will be back here or see this under construction church actually completed. Twelve euros later, I enter the work in progress church. Construction on La Sagrada Familia began March 19, 1882. Just one year later, famed Continue Reading
Copenhagen, Denmark Wishes You Were Here
Copenhagen is a city I almost hated because I was so envious of just how pretty and perfect it seemed. Strangely modern architecture and the old styles fit as though they were all part of the city's grand puzzle. Strolling through the streets and waterways of Copenhagen, you are bound to see some aspect of the city's beautiful mix of young and old. Even with a truck blocking the way, this building grabbed me. I guess if you don't have a flower box on your place of residence, you can always create one, Copenhagen style. Would you like to have your photo featured here? Email me at suzy [at] Continue Reading
Deciding Where To Travel From The Comforts Of The Dentist’s Chair
I sit in the dentist’s office, waiting for a cleaning of teeth, teeth that have chomped their way through Europe and back to the United States. On the wall of the waiting room, a large map of the world stares back at me. What great decorating on my dentist’s part, transport your future patients around the world, distract them from the inevitable waiting behind a shutter-like door. Still figuring out my travel plans for the next few months, I start to examine where I have been on this map. I realize the portion of the world I have seen is very small, causing me to drum up plans of my next Continue Reading
Castel del Monte in Italy Wishes You Were Here
Driving through olive groves and sun scorched plains, on top of a hill, a fortress breaks up the landscape of Italy’s heel. In the middle of nowhere in the Puglia region of Italy, a lone castle waits, elevated from the common man or woman. This castle is unlike most in Italy, enough that UNSECO gave it its stamp of approval. Castel del Monte makes you work to reach her. A 20-minute walk in the hot Italian sun up to the Castle’s feet doesn’t go without reward. Fredrick II had the castle constructed in 1240. The strange octagonal shape alludes to the idea that the castle could have been some Continue Reading