prettyintherain

I begged to make a side trip here while on an overlystructured tour, and was richly rewarded. At the time, I was casually interested in modern art… at the Pompidou I fell in love with it. Words just can’t describe the vastness of this experience for me. The world seemed so much bigger and more amazing when I left this place than when I walked in. If my friends hadn’t been dragging me off to dinner, I probably wouldn’t have left at all.

So very cool – my senior troop of three took a day trip there as part of one of those “educational” European travel-company tours, and I wished so much that I could stay longer. It was amazing, and kind of eerie, to realize that I was in a place of such great history that had been bringing together women of different cultures for so long, entirely on the grounds of friendship and a common humanitarian cause, unlike so many other historical places which are political in nature. I would love to go back as a worker for a summer or so, and stay a while. The countryside is so beautiful!

Watch your bags here, especially while buying from street vendors. I had my digital camera (and full repository of ‘artsy’ Tour Eiffel pictures) stolen while I was engaged in conversation with a keychain-seller. Apparently this method of pickpocketing happens fairly often(?) All I know for sure is that I never got my camera back, and I cried.

Simply put, Yellowstone is my favorite place in the world. Living in Georgia as I do, I’ve only managed to make it there twice in my nineteen years, but memories of the beauty and wonder of this place continue to inspire me and add a shot of vivid color to my life. You hear stressed-out people joke about going to the “happy place” in their minds… well, when I can’t handle life, or just don’t feel like looking at mine for a bit, you’ll find me on a mental road trip to the Norris Basin or Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, or perhaps plotting and scheming a way to get back. It would make a great honeymoon trip someday – it would be a dream come true to share this amazing place with others.