wanderlust: a strong, innate desire to travel or wander about

Before 2011, I had never taken a "real" trip. The farthest I had travelled was Nova Scotia, which is only a couple of provinces over from NL. In the past two years, I have travelled to France, Spain, the Dominican Republic, and Florida. In April 2011, I had the opportunity to travel to Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, and London. And that's when it began. The incredible urge to just go. Anywhere, anytime. (All photos are mine, and don't mind the less than stellar shots - I was (and still am) a complete noob when it comes to my camera!)

     This truly was an amazing adventure. I travelled with a group of about 50 high school students and teachers with an awesome tour guide who made it even better! I learned a lot during this trip, (like not to sprain your ankle a week before a trip that included walking about 10kms a day) and there is SO much I want to do again, and so much more beyond what we had the time to do. 

     My favorite memory from the entire trip happened the second night we were in Barcelona. The only friend I had on the trip with me was sick, so she went to bed as soon as we got back from the day's tour, so I took my iPod and went in search of a good wifi connection to contact my family and let them know I was alive. I found out through eavesdropping a little that there was a pool on the roof. So I went on a little adventure to find it. When I finally got there, there wasn't a soul there. If you know me you will know that I am very much an introvert, so after a week of being constantly around the same people, I was in desperate need of some alone time to recharge. When I reached the roof, I found it completely empty. But it was the view that completely took my breath away. As a small town girl from Newfoundland, the concept of a big city was pretty foreign to me. This was definitely a view I could get used to. It astounded me that there could be so many people in this city that go about their daily business, that each of these people have their own favorite things, they have people who love them, and maybe people who don't like them. It still amazes me that people have all of these separate thoughts and  lives and you can pass someone who is having the worst day of their life or the best day of your life. Ah.

I'm rambling. I tend to do that sometimes. 

But yes, Barcelona holds a special place in my heart for this reason and many others. But I think this is what has drawn me to travel. All of the people, all of the cultures that I've never experienced before. There is so much I don't know about the world. I want to eat gelato in Italy, go fishing in Alaska, take a million pictures of the colors and sights. I want to set foot on every continent, try all of the food even if I know I won't like it. I want to bask in the culture of wherever I am. Not take living in Toronto, which is the city in Canada known for its great cultural diversity, for granted. 

Like one great pixar movie said - "Adventure is out there!" now i'm just trying to find it.