Posts tagged florence
My World Adventure
I never really know how my travel experiences have affected me until I return to my starting point: home. Flying through various destinations and worrying about logistics sometimes takes away the mind’s energy to process what it’s witnessed until it’s back on familiar soil. And since each trip is different, every time I return home, it’s a brand new feeling, a new form of culture shock I can never predict.
Coming home from Italy, I felt pissed off at my hometown for not being as historical and visually stimulating as Florence. After Semester at Sea, it pained me to be away from the people I grew very close to on board. And with the conclusion of my Big Journey, I think I felt more stable and purpose-driven, albeit more confused, than any previous homecoming led me to feel. I think it all depends on the nature of the journey and where you are in your personal path with self-awareness. Because that’s one major reason I travel: to become more self-aware.
And now with the winding down of the World Traveler Internship, I have a whole new set of emotions and passions driving me. For once, I’ve welcomed the comforts of home excitedly. Man did I love sitting around! And for the last month, I’ve spent about 90 hours a week working on my Web site, on personal projects and anything fathomable to get me on the path towards being a freelance travel writer. It was the World Traveler Intern program that assured me I love being thrown into a new country with a mission of documentation. I’ve learned how I love to travel, where I want to travel and how to deal with the rigors of this oddball, unconventional, thrilling profession.
Anyone with a smidgeon of wanderlust would adore being a World Traveler Intern, but I can promise you an aspiring travel writer, photojournalist, basically anyone wanting to experience and express as a career will be numbed by how cool it is to have this job. Throughout the trip, I sporadically stopped and smiled, so appreciative of the opportunity and fully aware of how lucky I was. And now I look forward to seeing what lucky souls will receive the honor next year. I’m certain they will have the time of their lives and return to their home bases more alive and wanderlust-ful, because as any traveler knows, that obsession never goes away. Travel begets more travel.
And now I apply the heaviest of connotations, the deepest of meaning to these next two words, directed at the lovely people at STA Travel: Thank you.
You can continue to follow Lindsay’s travels over at her Web site – Nomadderwhere.com.
Spain, Italy and France!
Literally, I cannot believe how much sightseeing, culture immersion, and fun I have had in the past two weeks. The last we spoke, I was rambling about Las Ramblas in Barcelona. If you’re looking for a mini-world tour walk up and down the street several times. You’re bound to run into something you’ve never even heard of.
Then we took a quick jaunt over to the south of France. Hysterical moment: I’m walking down this seemingly quiet street in Avignon at a typical French market. I stop to look at a booth and buy a present for
a friend back home when all of a sudden, this woman runs up to me from her booth holding purses and screaming in the “sacre bleu” French. No lie, I almost wet my pants. Luckily, I was with a fluent French-Canadian (Thank God For Canadians) who informed me that all she said was “I have these bags in black and silver!” Really great.
Another highlight of the tour was my trip to the Monte Carlo Casino where I won 30 euro! I was happier than those people on Deal or No Deal when they find out that the models were only faking them out. But legit, the casino is beautiful. It’s covered in ornate and decorative paintings that give it this billion dollar shine. Not to mention the Benzes, Porsches, and Jaguars parked out front. Unfortunately, my winnings can’t buy me a Rolls Royce, but it was still pretty sick.
Then, we on down to Cinque Terre and Florence (in Italian, it’s Firenze). I loved it. Once we crossed the border into Italy, I was totally stoked. Seriously, I must have eaten enough food in my days here to last an entire mountain village four days. No, make it five. But it’s just so good – the pesto is fresh, the tomatoes are ripe, and the pizza – move over Domino’s – the best in the world.
Other things to note: our tour guide was amazing. If, and when, you head over to Europe as for Emma. She is just the most fiesty Scottish woman who will greet you every morning with an “Okey guys”
and a “Wakey, wakey, wakey”. With our Italian gigalo bus driver (he identifies himself as this), the whole experience was a hoot from start to finish. Gotta love it. Peace out guys!
