fly that ocean in a silver plane.

It hit me today that I will be in on vacation in a little over one week -- Barcelona, Madrid, Seville & Lisbon, followed by Fez, Tangier and Casablanca. I've never been to Spain or Portugal, though I've dreamt of visiting them both since the last time I traveled abroad. Africa, however, is the place I'm most excited to visit and to check off my list of visited places; truth be told, I get giddy at the prospect of adding another continent to my travel log! One of my good friends will be in Africa as well, studying abroad at a university in Algeria, and I wish we could visit her while we're in that region but there won't be enough time. I can't wait for the food (the falafel! and tabbouleh! be still my heart). And the beautiful scenery, the palaces and the plazas. And the experience, seeing all of those amazing cities with my mother as my sidekick. It's going to be an amazing two weeks and I am pee-my-pants happy in anticipation.

As I sat at work today, filling out work orders and invoices, the duprees' 'you belong to me' came over the radio and I couldn't help but think about this upcoming trip and how much I am going to miss everyone. . . especially Josh. It's such a lovely song and the lyrics were totally speaking about how I felt: the singer croons about the faraway places he's seen and explored, and all the while, he keeps his loved ones in his heart no matter the distance. I always get frustratingly lonely when I travel, from the couple-hour road trips in the car when I visit my boyfriend to the few months I spent studying abroad -- I always need someone I care about close by because traveling doesn't mean quite as much unless you're sharing the sights and the sounds and the memories with someone you love (and someone to hold my hand and pukebag during in-flight turbulence. . . that, too). I wish I could share this experience with everyone I love and I wish I could take everyone I love with me!

Let's all take a trip somewhere, together. Revel in the sights, feel the heartbeat of the cities, pack our gullets with the foreign cuisine. Where do you want to go?


(and that part about the pukebag? totally an exaggeration. . .)