 |
| Potomac Tidal Basin: Washington DC (April 2018) |
Focusing has been difficult the past few months, so I'm taking an alternative approach to A-Z this year: looking back at past travel, editing or re-editing images from travels before, and responding to travel-related questions. Hope you are able to join me on this journey to my past!
For 'Day D', I wanted to share this shot of the DC cherry blossoms I had the opportunity to see. FYI: go in the early morning, if you ever visit. The Tidal Basin gets crowded quickly!
Other places I considered for this post: Dresden (Germany)
Here are today's questions –
10. How many different countries have you visited?
Let's count.
1. France (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018)
2. Germany (2014, 2016, 2019)
3. Austria (2014)
4. Italy (2014)
5. Czech Republic (2016)
6. Canada (2017)
7. Egypt (2019)
Seven.
11. What is the most enlightening thing your travels have taught you?
Anything is possible if you dare to dream it.
I know it sounds cliché.
I'm just saying you can make your dreams happen. You can make them become a reality.
Don't set yourself up for failure by believing you can't do what you want to do.
Of course, I'm saying this while also recognizing some people are in a better situation than others to make their dreams a reality. Life can be legitimately hard; making ends meets can be overwhelming and stressful.
I'm not discounting any of that.
I'm just saying that Americans as a whole tend to believe they will never make it out of the country when the main thing stopping them is themselves.
I was that person.
Also, Egypt taught me that "worth" and "cost" are two totally different things. There is what I am willing to pay for the item and the actual cost of making the item. It's absolutely mind-boggling to think about.
12. What's the first thing you do when you get home from traveling?
Sleep, then laundry.
I'm always gone as long as I possibly can be. So, on a road trip, I will leave to go home in about as much time as I think it will take me to get home! For a flight, I will book the last available flight to get me home before work the next day. If I have the choice to arrive home at 10am or 7pm, I am more likely to choose the 7pm time. I want to get as much out of my travel as I possibly can.
And, of course, laundry. I wear the same things at home as I do when I travel, so doing laundry is pretty important.
Luckily, pre-travel, I do lots of deep cleaning, wash the sheets, and do the dishes. I won't leave anything in the garbage. It makes returning from travel that much easier.
Have you ever made life more complicated through self-doubt? How did you handle it? Are there beliefs you've grown up with that feel so ingrained in who you are that you've had a hard time breaking free of them?
See other posts in this year's A-Z.
