"There are years that ask questions and there are years that answer." -Zora Neal Hurston I had thought this would be the latter kind, but I'm discovering that clarity is elusive and doubt sets in like a fungus: always beneath the surface, ready with new tendrils. I can't say what exactly has me locked in this self-reflection mode but it's a difficult trap to spring. Maybe it's the fact that what my trip is and what I had expected it to be do not coincide; that change comes so unexpectedly that any reaction feels dreadfully belated; or that what I had hoped to find here, knowing in my heart I wouldn't, is indeed absent or fleeting. This is not a post about a place I've been to see. This is catharsis. I recently met someone on ... read more

Have you ever had your exhaled breath pushed back into your lungs and up your nose? No? Well let me tell you, it's no treat. And why, you might ask, do I pose this question to all you faithful readers? Well here in Narbonne the views won't take your breath away, but the wind will slap your face with it and then proceed to ram it back down your throat, almost as if Mother Nature is giving us a taste of our own medicine, and sans the spoonul of sugar. Even locals are bundled up so that only their eyes peek out and café owners grudgingly serve you with fingerless gloves then scramble back in front of their personal heaters after the money has been passed over. Streets are nearly empty and those brave enough to ... read more

Adios to Barcelona and Bonjour encore to France! I am leaving the Catalans behind and I think we will both be content with ourselves and I can only hope my French hasn´t completely disappeared. Keep all your fingers crossed!! Barcelona is definitely an interesting city. I can´t quite decide what I think about it: it´s charms are hidden but once you make the effort to find them, you´re blown away. Not by the sheer "amazingness" of it all, but just because it was nothing like you expected and still you can´t help appeciating it for what it is. Like I mentioned before, it´s mostly architecture that makes you whip out your camera here rather than fantastic views or famous works of art. The city got a facelift in recent years (recent being the last 100) and ... read more

Perhaps your path will lead to the sea, Or perhaps follow deeper shores of the forest And perhaps you´ll meet those who understand along the way, Those behind and those before us. Whichever way you go, whether by blue or by green, And whoever you may meet, spirits from the dullest to the brightest sheen, I can only hope, dear one, that your path be straight and true. But if it falters, twists, or turns, I hope you leave it with more than you knew.... read more

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now ushering in the second month of the new year and all that it holds in ways of travelling. I haven´t quite hit the two month exactly but it´s coming around the corner and I feel a resurgence of energetic spirit and can I just say it? I´m hella excited!!! Thus far my February has been cold and grey but fun nonetheless. I spent a day at the coldest beach I´ve ever seen, nearly drove myself off a mountain, navigated through a snowstorm on back country roads in the dark, and crossed the border into the much-more-foreign land of Spain. All in a week´s work! But I suppose that is getting a little ahead of myself. I will backtrack. After my disappointing, or rather anticlimactic experience in Provence, I chose to ... read more

How do you say goodbye to a place you'll never see again? It's surreal, walking down a street you knowyou'll never pass down again or catch a last look at a scenery too beautiful to be captured by a simple picture. Even if you didn't like the place as much as you'd hoped, there is some sort of invisible connection that can't be denied. And the city won't even realize your passing. Bittersweet is the perfect word for it. Nice has been a rollercoaster of emotions, to take advantage of the cliche. Hated it from the beginning, softened a little towards the middle, and now I'm happy to be moving on. Here's a brief summary of the past two days... On my third day I dedicated myself to the modern arts. Ok, dedicated is a bit ... read more

Je t'aime Paris mais je suis vraiment contente de le quitter! (I think that's right. Grammar police anyone?) What happened on the last day in Paris? What could possibly be the epitome of my time there, the golden nugget, the perfect moment of it all? ... I stepped in dog shit. Sorry, sometimes that word is just necessary. Yes, yes, that warm, squishy (some might say moist) sensation on the bottom of your shoe and you're afraid to look down because you just know what you'll find. I feel like I'd become part of the city for real. Luckily I can't regale (or maybe a better word would be bore) you lovely people with stories of touristy visits, museum experiences, and the panoramic views of the beautiful Parisian cityscape. Because I didn't do any of that! ... read more