This Is Why I Travel

Sixteen days, 6 Flights, 5 Trains, 2 Buses, 6 Cars, 2 Ferry´s, 4 Hostels, 2 Airbnb´s. 3 Continents, 6 Countries, 11 Cities, 6 Stamps, 4 Languages. Am I exhausted? A little bit. Would I do it again, ABSOLUTELY! Everyday I´m home in the states, I´m checking flights to see where I should go next and I don´t plan on ever stopping. The experiences and memories are irreplaceable. Do I ever dislike any places? Totally, but there is never a moment where I didn´t take something away from what I just did. What did I like the most out of this tour? The opportunity to learn how to be a better traveler. What did I hate the most? Well, I learned that I REALLLLY hate to pack and unpack. I knew I was always a procrastinator, but gahhhh did this one really suck. I relocated somewhere 6 times! I barely even unpack my stuff while at a hotel for the weekend! MUCHless traveling through 7 cities! It´s 16:49 in Madrid, (that´s 4:49pm for all you Americans haha) and it´s about 9 degrees celsius (49 degrees for all Americans). I´m currently sitting at a desktop at my hostel typing because I´m a bit under the weather and its freezing and wet outside. I´ve been tracking my travels since I started in Barcelona. I genuinely love to travel and this time had such different meaning for me. Being an only child, I´m use to being alone, being a solo traveler, I´ve learned the thickest of skin and how to live on my own. This is why I travel.

Have you ever had that blissful moment? Almost Euphoria? Now have you had it in your own skin. This tour, I met incredible people, all walks of life, like a woman named Lonnie, an older woman I met in a Pizzeria in Rome, a fellow solo female traveler. We happened to be seated at connecting tables and she had the most delicious looking prosciutto pizza which of course I also ordered. Lonnie and I spoke for hours about the differences of our cultures, and how much she loved Denmark and her home, which she showed me looked much like you´d expect, along with a garden and a cat. Lonnie was on a mission to try every flavor of gelato in Rome while on her holiday. Then take Amanda, a Chilean, experienced backpacker. I met her in my hostel in Madrid and I instantly became attracted to her free spirit, what many dream to be like but are too fearful to actually be. She's had her head shaved for years and has no plans on going back to long hair, she rocks every bit of who she is and is unafraid to do it. I admired Amanda so much for living to live. Many get so caught up in the routine, and that's completely ok, but it isn't for all of us. We had so much in common this trip, waking up, unknowing of our next stop, where would the journey take us next? Would we meet someone to redirect our plans down a different road? It didn't really matter, because people like Amanda and I go off for ourselves, live for the adventure, the thrill. I'm so grateful to have met this kind soul.

Now off to the REALLY important stuff! FOOOOOOD! ok, so last year in Barcelona, I was convinced that croquettas de jamon were the best thing since In N Out...well, that has since changed. While strolling in a little town in Granada, I stumbled upon an amazing view where there also was a great outdoor patio with an interesting menu...really interesting, like, why was the orange man on it? Seriously.. ANY who, I, being a solo female traveler tend to get waited on hand and foot by the waiters at restaurants, perhaps they feel bad for me because I'm alone. This one was no different, the waiter came to me after I ordered, and offered me the taste of Andalucia in a little cup, compliments from the chef. He called it Salmorejo, tomato soup greatness served cold, a blend of fresh in season tomatoes, the inside of a baguette, spanish olive oil and garlic, topped with Jamon and boiled egg pieces. This was heaven. I instantly went online to find a recipe because I just couldn´t get my mind off of it! This will indeed be the first thing I make when I get home to the states, so be on the lookout for that recipe!!

The journey, the experiences, the people I meet, the FOOD! THIS is why I travel. THIS, is pure bliss to me, THIS is MY HAPPINESS.

I'll leave you with a quote I saw in a couple of hostels this trip:

"Once a year, go someplace you've never been before."

-Dalai Lama