Traveling Tale

Traveling to Europe for the first time was a humbling, wonderful experience. We packed light, yet still lugged too-full backpacks on/off, on/off, on/off planes and trains and buses, creating obstacles to others weaving their way through the aisles and dangers to unsuspecting folks who couldn’t be sure that the baggage stuffed above their heads wouldn’t come crashing down when it was time to disembark.

When your everyday stuff isn’t in their everyday spots it takes longer to prep in the mornings and before bed. All the time I spent selecting fewer creams and make-up items to take along seemed unimportant when I realized that I couldn’t quickly remember which cute, zippered bag I used to store the various necessities.

And the disorientation of “Where am I” late at night when I groped my way into the pitch-black, tiny hotel bathroom in London and smashed my upper lip onto the stone countertop, which was just inches across from the toilet. I felt to make sure my front teeth were still intact and went back to bed. With a little lip gloss I could face tomorrow, which was predicted to be another sunny day in London, perfect for all the walking we hoped to do.

But, I think that I could face this newness, and confusion of where I was and which way I was supposed to go because our first nights in Europe were spent in the home of good friends. A place where we were handed sparkling water and fresh fruit from the market and aperitifs before a homemade dinner. Where we were guided around an old city full of life, fashion, stupendous food and more sights than our eyes could hold. Because of their thorough kindness and knowledge of the city we were introduced to our time in Europe in a familial, personal manner.

I was still confused about where I had packed my dental floss or why-oh-why didn’t I bring along my hairbrush, but I comforted myself with the prospect of accompanying our hostess to the bakery across the way the next morning, to collect fresh croissants for breakfast.

Thank you, Katrien and Michael.

Saturday morning market in Brugge, Belgium

Outside the canal in Brugge, Belgium