Irony In Italy

Despite encountering a series of traveling troubles, Italy was by far my favorite stop on my European tour. Between the eery pathways of Venice to the Gothic architecture in Rome to the fashion forward scene in Milan to every other person asking to bum a cig, I was sold. 

Venice was so delicately preserved - the culture and people there value customs and traditions. The way of life, specifically involving art was so personal and meaningful. It was easy to walk and find some form of inspiration, whether a person or place, throughout the city. 

Milan made me smile every minute while being there. Lesson in modesty: you may not enter the Cathedral in Milan if in fact your shoulders and knees are showing. Note taken. My mom gave a satisfied, "Modesty is the best policy!" Facebook message. Touché mom. 

Rome in a nutshell involved climbing in and out of hotel windows to obtain reasonable rates and spending six consecutive hours in an independent Italian leather shoe store where we left with nothing. Gelato please.

French Guys & Fries

I spent entirely too little time exploring France, but every part that I did get a chance to see was captivating. From Nice's blue waters & oceanfront restaurants to gelato on every corner to Paris & The Lover's Gate Bridge to the Eiffel Tower - I was instantly sold on the City of Love. The weather was unusually cold for the end of May & it rained almost every day we were there. Far too many pastries & bread related anything really was consumed. Lots of bread. Did I mention bread? 

In Nice, we stayed at a B&B owned by the sweetest couple - they took pictures of us for their website & let us pick which room we wanted to stay in. On the sleeper train to Paris from Nice, we were accompanied by a semi-pro soccer team that crammed into our six bunk room by the end of the night. Cheers!

Summer In Spain

The Travel Bug has been paying me reoccurring visits, especially as winter break approaches - crawling on my skin, making me itch with the urge to move, and haunting me with the ghost of tropical travels past. However, I would prefer this bug & all of it's attributes opposed to it's close cousins, the Love Bug, the Flu Bug, especially the Bed Bug. 

Knowing that I will be trading my sunny, SoCal winters for frigid, Missouri mornings is mildly depressing. In light of the daunting travel date around the corner, I thought I'd succumb to the infamous Travel Bug & revisit a few of my favorite trips abroad. 

These pictures are from wandering the streets of Spain - Madrid, Barcelona, & Segovia mostly. I loved the culture, the music, the food, the people - the country is extremely rich in so many aspects. I remember celebrating a traditional Spanish birthday with a family I met there, looking around the room, seeing a dozen people speaking a language that was foreign to me, & struggling to find a moment in life that I had been happier. That's when "it" bit me. 

When I said I was bitten, I meant infected. I was consumed with the idea of places & faces that were unknown to me. So began a series of adventures leading to empty back accounts & a surplus of happiness. 

The moral of the story: Stick it to the Bug. 

Belle Nomad

For as long as I can remember, traveling has been wired into my life - infused into the way I think about people, places, & experiences. There is a need to wander that I can only deny for so long before it starts to consume me. It distracts me from my day to day schedule, it leads me to linger on destinations & far out places that are but a mystery to me. Belle Nomad, meaning, "Beautiful Wander," represents the traveler in all of us that longs to roam; a desire to create homes in people not places across the globe with the utmost freedom. 

Some of my most favorite memories take place in areas that aren't native to me. I am truly grateful for the opportunities & abilities I have been given to experience life. Fact: I'm probably booking a trip as you read this. Let the wandering begin!