a sharing connection » Travel Stories

Guest Post: The Passport to Travel Home

Sara — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:00:43 +0000

Today, you’re in for a special treat. The Exception has agreed to do a guest post for my site. I’m excited about this because I have really enjoyed getting to know her.

When I first visited her blog, I was struck by how open she is about her life. She’s a single mom and often writes about this. In a recent post, Evolving Dreams: Celebrating My 30s, she talks about how she’s evolved since becoming a single parent. Here’s a quote from this post that I think shows you her character:

With the arrival of my daughter, my dreams changed to some extent. I continued to desire an exciting professional life but I also dreamed of the parent I could be and the life I could give her. No longer was my dream as wrapped in foreign print as it once was. My dream evolved into sharing time with this child, telling her stories, laughing, holding her hand, and experiencing life anew with her.

I think this quote says a lot about who The Exception is and she’s pretty “exceptional.” So, enjoy her words:~)

Summer travel dear to my heart

This summer I used my passport for the first time in years. I didn’t realize just how much I missed my old friend until I felt its cover in my hand, flipped through the pages and handed it to the man at passport control.

When I set my passport aside at the ripe old age of 25, I didn’t anticipate it being the last time in over a decade that I would take an adventure outside the US. I thought I would use it again when I finished graduate school. But when I finished graduate school a new adventure started – parenthood, domestic travel, and a path I could not have anticipated being mine to follow.

This summer I spent time with a good friend of mine. This summer I shared my love for travel with my daughter – who fell in love with travel too.

This summer, I not only delighted in time spent with my passport in countries new and old, I reacquainted myself with a part of me that I didn’t realize was missing.

Having lived in Europe and traveled extensively; having desired a profession that involved travel; and having dreamed of a life that included exposure to other cultures, histories and politics, it is not surprising, in retrospect, that a part of me had curled up and taken a little nap. This summer that part of me yawned, stretched and sprang out of bed ready to rock and roll and travel!

Another place to call home

My adventures this summer were different than any I had taken in the past; most of the countries visited were new to me. Though I enjoyed each new city and its possibilities, I felt comfortable in a certain little city I had not previously considered visiting.

The city spoke to me with its streets, people and buildings. It touched a part of me like only a few places have in the past – the places in which I had known immediately I could live and call home. These places are treasures; gems particular to each in a treasure chest of a world. This summer I added Tallinn, Estonia to the short list of places I could call home.

There is a little bit of magic when a treasure is found. The magic increases tenfold when the treasure found is a part of who we are or a rediscovery of ourselves. I felt a sense of passion long forgotten in this city. This summer I found a little piece of myself on the cobblestone streets of Tallinn, along the ship’s railing as we sailed into Stockholm and in an outdoor café in Copenhagen. I returned to Virginia feeling more alive and more myself than I have in a while.

What about you?

Have you traveled outside your country?
What places have you traveled to that have sparked your imagination and why?
In your travels, have you discovered cities or towns you could call home?
Have you rediscovered aspects of yourself (or your passions or things you love) that you had let go of years earlier?

So Who is The Exception?

The Exception is a mother, a teacher, a student, a lover of words, a traveler and explorer, a non-conformist without intent; a person of integrity; a supporter of dreams; a believer in risks, a treasure hunter in so many ways that aren’t materialistic; and someone who knows that everyone can fly – it is a matter of trusting the wind and believing flight is possible.

Photo Credit: The Exception

Let’s Go to the Beach

Sara — Thu, 13 May 2010 12:00:09 +0000

Beach Visit

As promised, here are some of my pictures from my visit to the beach. Once again, JC and I traveled about two hours to Cape San Blas, which is a barrier island off of North Florida. It has the most beautiful white beaches I’ve ever seen. They almost look like snow.

Right now, there is a lot of work going to rehabilitate the beaches and allow for the growth of dunes, which protect both the beach and the vacation houses.

Oil Spill

At this writing, this wonderful beach has not been touched by the oil spill. I can’t imagine the devastation that the oil would do to this area, which also provides a living for many fishermen and shrimpers.

Enjoy the Beach

This is the view from our balcony looking down the beach.

The waves at our location are usually gentle and friendly.

What’s the beach without a dog chasing the waves. He’s not ours, but he was fun to watch!

This was a picture I took looking out at the beach from the BBQ area. It didn’t matter where you were, it was lovely:~)

I couldn’t resist this young Mockingbird who stopped for a visit. He still has his baby grumpy look.

It’s illegal to walk on the dunes. In this case, however, the dune picked the walkway and so we got to walk on the dune.

I liked this picture because of the shadows where the water had carved a jagged path. The sandcastle stayed the entire day.

I believe this is a mama dolphin and her little one. I love the dolphins. May they stay safe!

The fences are to help build the dunes. I liked the evening colors on these.

Golden waves display themselves at the end of the day.

Time for Goodbye

I hope you enjoyed these photographs. I wish they could truly capture the magic of the beach, but I don’t think a camera has been invented yet to do that.

I promised myself to end this post on a positive note. I hope these pictures will remind all of us how fragile our environment is and our responsibility to maintain what we have been blessed to receive:~)

Sitting Empty on the Beach

Sara — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:30:06 +0000

The Lonely Beach Chair

I didn’t notice it at first because I was so excited to be back at the beach. Plus, it was surrounded by other beach-goers who were enjoying the late afternoon sun, decked out with chairs, umbrellas and coolers.

It wasn’t until everyone had left, having taken their beach paraphernalia with them, that I finally saw it. It was sitting by itself, facing out into the waves.

There was a sadness about this chair that struck me, even from a distance. I figured someone must have left it there for a reason.

But after dinner I saw the chair again. The sun had just set, leaving a finger of light sparkling across the water. I couldn’t believe someone hadn’t come for this chair, or at least moved it farther from the wash of the waves.

It sat alone; a plain, simple beach chair. I thought about moving it, but wondered if someone wanted it to stay there for a reason. So, I left it.

The next morning I drank my coffee outside on the deck. The chair was still in the same place, sitting patiently at the water’s edge. I felt some relief because it hadn’t been washed away or run over by the vehicle that had made those circles in the sand.

During the day I watched as people came and went. Some laid on their beach towels right next to the chair. No one ever touched it or put a towel on it, or pulled it over for an extra, unexpected visitor. The fisherman didn’t even make use of this seat; preferring to wade out into the waves to cast his line.

I wondered who had left it and why. Was it destined to be swept away by the waves? It looked sturdy enough and certainly would be a good chair for someone. Still, no one claimed it.

The Chairman of the Beach

Day turned to night again. The sun put on a glorious show, and amidst the glow from the vibrant sky, the lonely beach chair seem lonelier.

By this point, I had become quite attached to this chair. JC kept asking me why I didn’t just take it, but I didn’t feel right about doing that. The chair seemed to be waiting patiently. Maybe its owner would come back.

On our last day at the beach I woke and checked on the chair again. To my surprise, there was a man sitting in it. I looked closer through the lens of my camera. This man looked familiar.

Curious, I walked down to the beach and lo and behold, it was JC, my boyfriend! He was sitting comfortably in the chair drinking his morning coffee.

I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to me with a big smile on his face. “I couldn’t stand hearing you talk about this lonely chair anymore,” he said. “So, I decided to sit with it for awhile. Now, you can take a picture of the two of us to remember that someone did enjoy this lonely little beach chair.”

What a special man he is. Don’t you agree?

Picture Perfect Switzerland

Sara — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:30:50 +0000

I grew up in Florida. All my life, I have lived in a flat land, almost surrounded by water. I have been drawn to these waters and find great peace in the sound of waves breaking on the beach.

If I get to choose a vacation spot, I will almost always select either ocean or gulf. These bodies of water captivate me and I can sit for hours watching the varied changes of the water. I have seen dolphins dance and birds fly into the sun. The beaches offer me so many gifts. I feel at home when wandering Florida’s beaches.

I never thought another place could match my love of beaches and the sound of waves. The Swiss Alps have taught me otherwise. I arrived in Switzerland in early May. At this time, some of the mountains still were covered in snow that shined white in the sunshine. The trees were still leafless and the cold made this Florida girl bundle herself in warm coats.

Now everything is green and flowers fill the fields. The snow still glistens on the far mountains, but nearby the trees have climbed high up the mountains.

I have come to realize that these mountains mesmerize me because every time you look at them they are different, like the waters of Florida. Both are magical places, testaments to the glory of nature. I could stay here and look at these same mountains forever, just as I can gaze out on the Florida waters forever.

Unfortunately, I must leave and who knows when I will return to these mountains. I imagine I will dream about the beauty they have shown me. Like my beaches, they have given me an appreciation for the wonder of nature and the beauty of God’s creation. I will miss these mountains very much.

As I will be traveling when you read this post, I am closing it to comments. But I’m leaving with a quote that captures my feelings for these majestic mountains and, of course, more pictures of them.

“Come into the mountains, dear friend Leave society and take no one with you But your true self Get close to nature Your everyday games will be insignificant Notice the clouds spontaneously forming patterns And try to do that with your life.” ~ Susan Polis Schutz

Me and my camera!

Favorite Places: My Swiss Meadow

Sara — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:30:51 +0000

Everybody has favorite places to remember. There’s a meadow in Leysin, Switzerland that will always be one of mine.

For almost every day that we’ve been staying in Leysin, except our travel days, JC and I have trooped up a very steep road (for Florida flatlanders) to this meadow.

When we get to the top, we walk through the tall grass to the edge of the meadow. It is here that we have the most amazing view of the Alps. As we stand in wildflowers, above a small herd of cows grazing contentedly, we look out at the world filled with mountains.

They seem to come in every shape and size. Some are big and craggy, still showing shades of white here and there. Others are rounded and soft with trees, displaying so many shades of green we’ve given up counting. The beauty is almost more than the eye can take in and, sadly though I try, more than my camera can capture.

Below us, we see valleys with houses and farms so far down that cars, cows, and people look tiny. Above us are taller mountains, the ones that we haven’t quite got the legs to conquer, at least not yet. There’s a rock fence and a few lovely chalet houses, that remind me people actually live here every day.

I can stand in this meadow and look around me for ages with complete contentment and total amazement. There is always something new to see and hear. We’ve basked in bright sunny days that take your breath away and watched with awe sunsets that turned the mountains a dusky pink.

When we first climbed to this meadow, it was almost solid green. It was still too early for all but the dandelions. Now, it is full of color – pinks, purples, yellows and reds – mixed in with the tall grass, which comes almost to my waist in some places.

If we listen, we can hear the clanging cowbells, the buzzing bees and the singing birds, all joining in what I call the real Swiss “sound of music.” The air is so fresh that you can’t seem to get enough of it.

The others in our group have visited numerous countries and have had marvelous adventures. For JC and me, however, just watching the changes in this meadow and gazing on the majestic mountains of Switzerland has been an adventure in itself, one we will not forget.

* * * * * * * *

Do you have a favorite place? If so, share where it is and why you love it in the comment box.

p.s. Here are some pictures of our meadow. Enjoy!

Looking down the mountain from the meadow

A bee enjoying the lovely flowers on the meadow!

You can see the tram up to the higher mountain if you look closely.

A Swiss cow with her bell…they make lovely music together!

In Switzerland: Extreme Sports

Sara — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:30:04 +0000

Note to Readers: JC had so much fun reading all the comments in the last Swiss post, that he insisted on adding his “two bits” to this post, as well. His comments are in green.

As part of the FSU International program I’m with in Switzerland, we visited a Swiss city, Interlaken, which is in the German region. The college students love this trip. They tour two lovely hotels, are treated to a wonderful lunch in each, and…here’s the best part… participate in one of the many extreme sports offered in Interlaken.

Mountain daredevils

Interlaken, which is located between two alpine lakes, is known for its daredevil activities. In addition to the “normal” activities of walking, biking and hiking, you can choose between canyoning, riding horses through the mountains, skydiving, white water rafting, paragliding, bungee jumping and zorbing, which is rolling down a hill inside a big plastic ball, just to name a few. As recently as 2008, Interlaken was included in the Top 15 Adventure Towns Worldwide!

Adventures of JC and Sara

Sounds like fun, right? Well, for JC and me this is a town of nightmares. We aren’t necessarily strong of heart or stomach. Our adventures are more like trying a food we’ve never eaten before or walking around town without a map. Take my word for it, given our sense of direction this is an extreme sport!

But we had to do something! We didn’t want to lose face and seem like old fogeys and yet the very idea of jumping out of an airplane or climbing down canyons, the choices made by the students, seemed a bit too “white knuckles” to us. I was going to do some extreme beer drinking but last year the CD the students created from their Interlaken trip featured me prominently holding up a huge stein of beer. This year, I still had a beer but made sure I was up high enough that no students were around to take pictures! Just so you know, JC only had a couple of beers:~)

Climbing a mountain

While desperately looking through a brochure, we found it! Called the Harderbahn, it’s a funicular train that goes to the top of the Harder Kulm Mountain. I thought it was extreme enough just using the word funicular and harderbahn in the same sentence. It’s advertised as a good adventure for families with young children. In Disney terms, it’s like riding the spinning cups versus the huge roller coasters. However, it seemed perfect for JC and I as it also included a restaurant at the top.

So, we bought our tickets and loaded in this little red train with all the rest of the non-daredevil people. What can I say? You have to like going up the roller coaster at a snail’s pace, while watching the world below drop away from you. Note: the smart people knew to sit the opposite way so they were looking up instead of down.

Actually, I enjoyed this trip very much. It only took 8 minutes and it was kind of fun, especially since I knew the train (hopefully) wouldn’t go over the top like a roller coaster. Or down the hill without brakes! While we didn’t do extreme sports we could have visions of hurdling down the mountain and flying over the town. Now, that would have been an EXTREME sport!

I watched Interlaken becoming smaller and smaller as we climbed. At the end, you reach a gothic, chalet restaurant and some really magnificent views. You see not only Interlaken, but also the Bernese Alps and the two lakes, Thun and Brienz.

JC and I had an extreme adventure that was perfect for us! So, wherever you are, lift your drink of choice (water is allowed) and say in German, Beifall zu Ihrer Gesundheit.

I, of course, took pictures, even though the weather wasn’t the best. Here they are:

Here we are watching the city get smaller and smaller….

Okay, it’s getting kind of high now and just a bit steep!

FINALLY…we’re at the top. This is just before we exited!

Our view of Interlaken from the top. Things look kind of tiny, don’t they?

The Restaurant with a view:~)

Due to travel and Memorial Day, there will be no Monday Photo Challenge, but it will be back June 1, 2009. I’ll have a special challenge for you!

In Switzerland

Sara — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:30:51 +0000

Bonjour! Bienvenue vers la Suisse.

I am currently living in Switzerland in a tiny village called Leysin, which is in the French region of Switzerland (I’ll get to that in a minute). My boyfriend, JC, is the program director for a five-week FSU international program teaching 22 students about hospitality in Europe. The students have class for three days in Switzerland and then travel on their own throughout Europe. This is our second year of making this trip.

By the way, JC said if I was going to talk about him in this post, he should get to have his say as well. His comments are in red italic. I think you’ll enjoy his sense of humor:~)

I’m a life partner

This is the term which allows me to accompany JC on this trip. According to him this means I get to do the laundry, clean, and sometimes cook (if using the microwave is considered cooking). JC is a chef. So, when I have cooking duty, I just ask him if I cook the spaghetti for 20 or 30 minutes. Before you can say “boil water,” he’s up and taking over the cooking. See I’m not so dumb!

So far we haven’t killed each other, even though neither of us are particularly good travelers. The last time we came, I almost killed him by accident when we were driving up an incredibly dangerous mountain road. I made the mistake of saying, “oh, look at that view!” (We almost had a scenic view of flying over the mountain!) Driving in Switzerland is a lesson in patience and terror!

Languages spoken

But I digress, I wanted to tell you a little about Switzerland and include some of my pictures of our journey so far. Switzerland has three major regions by language – German, French and Italian. Well, there is one more, called Romansch which is spoken by only about 100,000 people. I’ve yet to meet someone who speaks this language! (Even though I can read French menus with no problem, I recently made the mistake of ordering pineapple on my pizza instead of peppers. Nothing like adding pineapple to sausage, olives, and onions to ruin a good pizza! While Sara denies it, I think this menu was written in Romansch.)

What’s interesting is that each region uses only its language. In other words, if you drive out of the French region into the German regions, the road signs ALL are written in German with no French translation. It’s truly like leaving one country and entering another.

Switzerland pictures

Okay, that’s enough lecture for one post:~) Onward to the pictures. Let me set the scene. In Leysin, we are about 5,000 feet straight up a mountain. For a Florida girl used to flat lands, this can be a rather intimidating climb. (Or someone who’s only driven a stick shift once in forty years. When I stall on a hill, drivers forced to pass me yell sweet words of encouragement in French…or maybe they weren’t words of encouragement?) Sometimes it’s good not to understand the language.

Last year, I decided to walk down the mountain to the village by taking the “short cut,” which is a set of stone stairs straight down. Going down was easy; coming back up was hell (pardon my English!) On the other hand, the mountain views are beyond magnificent.

Here are some of pictures of Leysin and the Alps. Appréciez la vue.

A view from our apartment balcony

Another view showing clouds in the valley

The higher mountains still have snow, but most will be gone when we leave.

I climbed up into a cow pasture to take this shot. While curious, the cows left me to my photography, preferring to eat their lovely green grass!

Signs leading to various Leysin activities! As you can see, there are lots of schools and hotels in Leysin.

Driving in Switzerland

Sara — Sat, 24 May 2008 12:05:23 +0000

Driving in the mountains of Switzerland is a lesson in patience. My boyfriend and I decided to visit a small town at the top of a nearby mountain. To get there, we had to take a very scary mountain road.

If you were a Formula One driver, this would be the road for you. As we went up, the road narrowed and the hairpin turns became more frequent. This meant we would drive into a blind turn and often find ourselves squeezing by a big farm truck.

To add to our nervousness, the only guardrails were wooden fences meant to keep the cows from dropping off the mountain, not the cars. Hey, when agriculture is a major business, you have get your priorities right!

I found the drive terrifying and to deal with my fear, kept giving my boyfriend driving advice. As you can imagine, he became rather annoyed (rightly so) at me.

This led to our first Swiss fight, not a good thing in a country that prides itself on its neutrality!

Once we were at the top, my boyfriend parked the car and turned to me to say, “Hey, I’m driving the car and it’s hard enough. A little more encouragement and a little less advice would be nice.”

He had a point.

This was a tough lesson for me, especially as a life coach. While I thought I was being helpful, I had forgotten a main concept in life coaching, which is “clients are whole, resourceful and creative.”

Driving up that mountain road was difficult for my boyfriend, but he was perfectly capable of doing it. If he needed help, he would have asked me. He is whole, resourceful and creative.

But, let’s face it. It’s so tempting to give advice, thinking it will be helpful. Falling into this trap, however, is a mistake. Advice is fine when someone asks for it, but when you give it without permission, it usually makes the person feel worse, rather than better.

Unasked for advice implies a lack of trust that the person can resolve whatever they’re dealing with on their own. Sometimes people need to struggle and figure out their own way of getting through a difficult time.

As a friend, we need to listen, ask questions, but basically help the person find their own solutions.

Think about it. How do you feel when you find your own way out of a problem? I know from my own experience, it’s a very empowering feeling!

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. We all have the friend that talks and talks, but never seems to find a resolution. If this happens, ask the person if they really want to solve the problem.

Give the responsibility back to them. Ask if they can think of one or two things they could do that might help or ask if they want you to suggest ideas. The key word here is to “ask,” not tell.

The next time you have a friend struggling with a problem, consider asking if he or she wants your advice. If they don’t, let them know that you trust them. I think your friend will appreciate you all the more for believing in them.

Remember, in a car there really IS only one driver.

Lessons from Switzerland

Sara — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:50:02 +0000

Bonjour!

I am currently writing this post from Switzerland. I’m living in a small mountain village in the western part of the country. To describe where I’m staying as ‘picturesque’ would be totally inadequate; it’s simply too beautiful for words. Every day I get up and, like Meg Ryan in “French Kiss”, I’m tempted to say, “Beautiful, beautiful, wish you were here!”

On the other hand, the Alps are not puny little Florida hills or sand dunes; they are very BIG mountains! As the village sits pretty high up in the mountains and my apartment even higher, getting places isn’t easy. This leads me to my first Switzerland lesson.

What Goes DOWN Must Come UP.

Everyone in this village WALKS. You see them walking to and from work on roads that might make a mountain goat hesitate. And they walk with little effort, making it look deceptively easy to a crazy American tourist.

Guess what? It’s not.

One of the first things I decided to do was take the short cut down to the center of town. This path involves many, many steps. As you walk down, the incline becomes so steep it feels like you need a rope to keep from flying forward. But, I’d seen others walking this way and I figured if they could do it, so could I.

I took my time and made it down without too much bother. I did some shopping, explored the village, and then decided to go back to my apartment. I stood at the bottom of the path and made my first mistake.

I looked up.

Oh, my gosh, what seemed easy coming down, looked monstrous going up. I wasn’t sure I could make it back to the top, as the steps seemed endless!

I wish I could say the trip up was easier than I thought. It wasn’t. It was very, very hard. Months on a stair master couldn’t prepare me for this climb. Half way up, I seriously considered turning back and trying my luck at hitchhiking back to my apartment.

In the end, just plain old persistence kept me moving and perhaps a bit of vanity. I was NOT going to be that stupid tourist who climbed down the mountain and then couldn’t get back up. While I had to stop often and pretend to contemplate the beautiful views just to catch my breath and slow my heart, I managed to slowly climb up step by step.

When I finally reached the top, sweaty and out of breath, I was totally thrilled with myself. While it may not have been pretty or easy, I had done it! I climbed up those very steep mountain steps!

Isn’t this like life? There are times when we’re coasting along, feeling confident and satisfied and then BOOM something comes up. It may be a crisis or it may be a new challenge. Either way, it can seem just as overwhelming as my staircase seemed to me.

If this has ever happened to you, maybe what I learned from my climb in Switzerland can help you.

I learned that successfully getting through a challenge or crisis means you need to keep moving, even if you want to turn back or quit. I learned it’s important to set your own pace and that it’s okay to go slowly or take a break. I learned if I was patient and took each step one at a time, I would eventually reach my destination.

If you do these things, I believe you WILL also reach your destination. And when you do, I’m confident you will be as thrilled about what you accomplished as I was after climbing my mountain staircase.

Au revoir!