“Wanderlust: A very strong and irresistible impulse or desire to travel the world"

  

The Eiffel Tower in Paris taken
on a sunset cruise along La Siene

I have always said I was born in the wrong era. As addicted as I am to my iPhone, and truly appreciate the conveniences of living in the modern world, I’ve always thought I belonged in a simpler time.

Growing up, all of my favorite movies were in medieval and colonial eras. The women wore beautiful floor length dresses and attended elaborate balls, and the men spoke in sexy British accents and constantly fought to protect their family and/or country's honor. 

As romantic as this all sounds, I doubt I would have enjoyed people getting beheaded in the town square on a weekly basis and being constantly suffocated by a corset.

Anyway - those details are beside the point.

    

Beach in Nervie, Italy 

After my trip to Europe this summer I got to thinking... maybe it wasn't the wrong era that I was born in, but the wrong location.

Now, before you get all up in arms and call me a want-to-be-expat, understand that I love America and can’t imagine being a citizen of any other country, no matter how cultured or beautiful it may be. This, however, does not change the fact that I fell in love when I went to Europe and a part of my heart stayed when I returned home. 

The views and landscapes are breathtaking.

The various cultures are rich in diversity and full of history.

The people are friendly and truly appreciate when you attempt to adapt to their culture and speak in their language.

The food really is as good as they say. In fact - I’ll go out on a limb and say it may even be better.

The cities are full of life and bursting at the seams with exciting new experiences and sites to discover.

Maybe the reason we are born in a specific country or city is so that once we do travel, we appreciate everything we see and do while abroad more than if we had lived there all of our lives ...and if this is the case, I am completely content. I doubt I could be more appreciative or thankful for my experience than I already am.

Regardless of the situation (even when lugging a 50 lb. suitcase over cobblestone streets through Brussels... hungover... in the rain) the happiness I felt upon landing in Europe did not fade in the two exhausting weeks that followed. Traveling with my favorite people through ten wildly different cities in four beautiful countries over 15 days resulted in the most amazing trip I have been on in my life... and I can't wait to go back. 

                            

                                   Flower market in
                                Paris, France

Gorgeous coastline along
Nervie, Italy