Earthly Desires

 Just back from my trip to Ethiopia,
I can't help but get a little dreamy reminiscing about

the fabulous people I've met and places I've visited. 
What an amazing gift travel has been.

i've walked the Great Wall of China,

worked in the famine camps of Ethiopia,

i've been lost in the souks of Marakesh,

mesmerized by the Taj Mahal,

rode the Marakesh Express to Casablanca, 

heard opera in the ancient theatres of Belgium,

shopped Portobello road and climbed the Tower of London,

drank hot chocolate by an inn's hearth at the Grand Place of Belgium,

ate my first truffles in Brussels,  

wandered cobbled streets of Praque where I caught a classical concert in an old cathedral,

saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre,

walked among the heavenly Himalayas,

watched pink dolphins bob their heads in the muddy water of the Amazon,
perused Jacque Cousteau's Museum in Monaco,

walked freely on the cobbled stone Red Square in Moscow,
and wandered in the glorius St. Basil's Cathedral,

ate at Goethe's cafe in Frankfurt,

was serenaded by a retired violinist as he played the Blue Danube on an endless Siberian night,
visited my birthplace of beautiful Vancouver,
bought a puppet from the vendors on the muddy roads of Tijauna...

 still so much more to see.
more people to meet,
laughs to share.
How blessed I have been for the gift of travel,
and all it has taught me. 

   “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

‎”If at some point you don’t ask yourself, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ then you’re not doing it right.”

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.”

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.”

“One of the great things about travel is that you find out how many good, kind people there are.”