Travel:It Is A Way Of Seeing Things

Two summers ago, I had the opportunity to travel to France for my first time. When I got back I came across an article in a travel magazine where the writer wrote: "I am a traveller, not a tourist." I had to ponder this for a moment and think about my experience as a whole. The questions that came to mind were ones such as did I handle the less than perfect moments well? Did I do something new everyday? Did I really try and take on the culture of the countries I visited? Did I make an earnest effort to strengthen my knowledge and ability of the French language?

(Above photo from Pinterest)

Sure, there were moments where I felt like the stairs were never ending. 

(Jander, Gus, & Lee--have fun with those, that's how you get to your hosts apartment) 

But at the top of all the stairs we climbed we enjoyed such majestic sceneries each one of us would do it again (just maybe take a gelato break first, maybe a little Amorino's--just saying). 

And we may have all had a face similar to these statues at one time or another when we didn't understand the language as much as we anticipated. 

But hey, we all knew how to order our food just fine. 

Even if it was escargot and the only one who enjoyed it was Kaye.

(This photo has a quote: "I don't know what you guys are talking about, this is good!"--Kaye) 

And even though some days, very few, we all felt like this: 

(Yes, she most definitely fell asleep on the floor while packing her suitcase)

(Origami is not part of the curriculum, Andrew) 

For each of those moments, we all had moments like these:

So, my conclusion is this: to truly be a traveller I felt that I needed to leave behind old customs to learn new, I had to be willing to deal with the fact that I might get lost or left on the metro but to enjoy my surroundings rather than to be frustrated without a map, and I had to accept the fact that I may not always know the language of the country, which will leave you feeling vulnerable, but these were all moments that I cherish--if you accept this before departure, what a beautiful experience you will have once you arrive. 

(If all else fails, there is always gelato or crêpes around every corner to ease your sorrows, and if you ever get left behind on the metro just use the Marco-Polo tactic, it totally works!)

*All photos taken by me except for those otherwise accredited 

Oh, and in case I am not there on May 5th it is because Kaye killed me for posting the photo of her asleep, file a missing persons.