An introduction to France and the Historic Walled City of Carcassonne
Before the last few months began, France was the home of Paris and a land where people happened to speak French. Why would you go to France? To go to Paris, to see the Eiffel tower and to eat baguettes, cheese and wine.
In some small way I was right, at least when it came to my assumptions about baguettes, cheese and wine – they are the three pillars of French cuisine. Followed very closely by breads of all variety, duck, rabbit, pates and cured meats.Continue reading Putting a Pin in the Map→
New things can often bring a feeling of trepidation – I was never concerned about the flight or our baggage getting lost, or any of those normal travel concerns. I’ve done this before and I’m pretty proud to say that I’m an old hand at most of it. I still get a little sweaty when I go through customs (though that might have been because London was just obscenely humid), but I’ve been pulled aside and searched and had my luggage gone though and I’ve been through customs when I didn’t speak the language; so that part of it isn’t as stressful as it used to be. This time it was something else. I was on my way to London, home of Windsor Castle, Big Ben, Westminster Cathedral and… the tube. Continue reading London Below→
We started preparations for our trip months ago, selling things we didn’t need and slowly downsizing. Most of the big furniture went the way of auction sites on Facebook and slowly our material possessions were compacted into boxes that could be easily stored.
I don’t think anyone was particularly surprised when I announced that I had another big trip in the works. (Two weeks and counting!) This will be my third long trip in the last ten years, and hopefully not my last!
Before I really get into this post I want to make something abundantly clear – I am by no means a wealthy individual. I have been able to go on these trips because I am willing to go through life with a few less material comforts. I find the adventures tend to make up for it. :) Continue reading Living by Working… Away→
I’m excited because life is full of possibilities. After more than a year of working and saving every penny possible, it is finally time for another adventure. Time to open a new doorway and once again venture into the unknown.
I’m not good at waiting, even when I know that whatever limbo I’m in is a temporary state of affairs. It’s hard to stay chipper; focusing on the mundane day-to-day tasks can become a bit of a drag. That being said, I wouldn’t trade this time in limbo for the world. Because during this time, where in my mind I was accomplishing hardly anything – I fell in love with a wonderful man. Continue reading The End of Limbo→
Recent events have lent fuel to the fires of racism, of hatred and fear. With such sustenance to feed upon, the darkest side of humanity begins to writhe up inside. The side that cries for self-preservation above all, the side that must point fingers and lay blame, the side that is willing to look at someone and judge them based on their appearance, the side that would be willing to hurt someone for nothing more than their differences…
I would beg my fellow humans to take a step back. Do not let that fear take control of the beautiful person I know you are. Continue reading Become the Solution→
Why a stove top kettle when electric ones are so much faster and cheaper?
This question had first been posed to me a few months ago, and when I took a moment to polish the kettle which had become a target for all the splatters that my well-used stove-top collects over time, I found myself revisiting the question.
Life has this way of packing every moment of each day full of things that we seem to have no choice but to do. Chores, responsibilities, work… they pile up and pile up, leaving us feeling like we’ve run out of time; that one resource that we never seem to have enough of. We spend our time, and often we feel as though we really have no choice in the manner of our spending. Our day starts and we allot two minutes to the brushing of teeth, ten minutes to the eating of breakfast, five minutes to staring aimlessly into our closet and fifteen minutes to a shower. We slice up, and block out our days into little segments, and when it’s all said and done we bemoan the way in which we were forced to chop it up and utilize the meager little slivers we are left with after the main responsibilities are taken care of Continue reading The Kettle Conundrum→
As evidenced by the Kanji on the aircraft, this photo is not from my travels. :P
The last time that I was in the Houston Airport was an eternity ago, and yet this time, walking through the corridors, it felt as though it were yesterday. I have spent the last seven months in a paradise, in a place so different from anywhere that I have ever known that it was destined to change me. No way could I live through that and come out the other end exactly the same person that went in.
And yet. I could have sworn that no time had passed at all. A part of me felt as though it had all been a dream. I left my mountains, my dear, incredible mountains, only the afternoon before and I could already feel them slipping into a memory. Continue reading The Layover→
I’m not perfect. I never have been. But the thing is, I’ve finally gotten to the point in my life where I can see who I am very clearly, all my flaws, and all the beautiful bits. I’m finally ready to admit this, to put it out in the universe, to be this self-confident.
In just over two months I will be returning to Canada, and in an effort to save money so that I can save up for my next adventure, I have decided to try to find some compatible roommates. I believe in honesty, so I wrote this letter for anyone crazy enough to consider me as a roommate.
