Cleared For Takeoff!

One of my favorite things about traveling is that you get to see parts of the world you never knew existed.  Sure, you see the monuments and the castles, coastlines and markets.  But one of the most fascinating things, to me at least, are the things about these places that exist in between the bullet points on a brochure.  Rolling Tuscan fields lined with thousands of sunflowers just before sunset, old men clutching their rosaries in the pews of some of the oldest churches in Europe, gypsies wandering the streets of Italy begging for change.  They're things you forget about when you read the travel books and Google the top ten things to do while abroad.  But they're also the things that make the world more fascinating, travel more enriching and the overall experience more rewarding.

WORDS TO LIVE BY WHEN TRAVELING:
1)  Disconnect.
2)  Allow yourself to be amazed.
3)  Get lost.
4)  Tourists see. Travelers seek.
5)  You can sleep when you're dead.

Number five is my motto whenever I travel, and lately even when I'm at home, but I think it's SO true!  The most important thing is that we're alive and we're breathing.  Yes, it's easy to be exhausted when you're constantly on the move, but as far as I can tell, one of these days I'm going to miss things like this.  Going to Europe isn't like going to the beach.  It's not a restful, relaxing vacation. You're constantly tired, your feet hurt, by the time you sit down to dinner you're ready to fall asleep in a plate full of pasta.  But I have this amazing opportunity to see the world with some of the most wonderful people, and intend to make the best of it.  Life's too short.

It's hard to believe that our mother-daughter European adventure begins TODAY.  For a while there, it was unclear whether we would be able to go or not.  It is almost laughable, because at the start of all of this, we were concerned about Elaine being able to make the trip.  And then all of a sudden, the middle of summer came and MY mom was the one facing all the cancer uncertainty and Elaine was the one reassuring us that everything was going to be alright. Which I think is what makes this trip even more exciting.  Now we get to celebrate BOTH of our amazing moms, who have inspired a love for traveling, experiencing new things and making the most of every single day we have.

Ahh!!  I'm SO excited! I may be more exhausted when I get back than when I left, but I'm absolutely positive this trip is going to be worth it.  I just wish my sister, Claire, wasn't in season so she could come too!