Emily Beeland is currently a senior at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. She is double majoring in Sociology and German Studies, and is involved in the student-run coffee shop on campus, Campus Grounds, as well as the rock climbing team. Emily has a interest in the environment, and spends her summers working in Yellowstone National Park. Upon graduation, Emily hopes to further her interests in writing and travel by finding a job that allows her to do both.
In this blog post, Emily talks about the five moments that sparked her love for travel:
Signing up for my first international trip as a freshman in high school, barely even 14 years old, was a terrifying moment. There I was, a shy, introverted child who had barely ever traveled outside of the southeast, suddenly taking the leap of international travel and going to France, Italy, and Monaco. I remember boarding the plane in Atlanta and being so nervous yet so excited about what I was about to get into.
Now, looking back on it eight years later, I am so happy that I took that leap. Being that it was eight years ago, I don’t remember every moment of it; but, I think it makes the moments I do remember that much more special, because it was those moments that made the biggest impact.
Moment #1: Walking through the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles
I remember that the first major attraction that we went to on that trip was the Palace of Versailles. Being that it was my first time ever seeing a historical place outside of the U.S., I remember being both anxious and curious to see what exactly it was like. I was so astonished at the ornate beauty of the place when I first walked in; it was unlike anywhere I had ever been before.
Stepping foot into the famous Hall of Mirrors was such a pivotal moment; even now, I can still remember walking down that hall and just being in awe at everything around me. Depicted in the hall are political successes of France, and the painted compositions are incredible. To this day, even after going on three other international trips and seeing many other gorgeous places, the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles still sticks out as one of the coolest places I have ever been to.
Moment #2: Standing on the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower
The twinkling of the lights against the night sky made it look like the stars were on fire and putting on a show just for us. The air had a cool, crisp feeling to it, and it made you feel alive. Standing on the deck of the Eiffel Tower, watching Paris sprawl out before me is a memory that I don’t think I will ever forget. As cliché as it sounds, it was magical.
We had gotten our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower an hour or so before on our river boat cruise of the Seine, and I already was in love with the sight of the lights on the tower twinkling every so often against the dark night sky; being able to stand on top of such an iconic landmark made me realize that I was here; I was in Paris, France, and to this day I still can’t put into the words the type of giddy disbelief that I had upon that realization.
Moment #3: The hidden bakery in St. Maries-de-la-mer
St. Maries-de-la-mer was probably one of my favorite locations of this trip. Yeah, Paris was neat and I enjoyed seeing how life is like in the bigger cities, but I’ve always been drawn to the quieter, more rural towns and St. Maries fit that desire.
I remember that we didn’t have much time there, just long enough to eat lunch and explore a little bit. It was after lunch and I was walking around with my mom (who was also a chaperone on this trip); we had been wandering the streets, enjoying the quiet and seeing what we could find. I want to say that we were near a church close to the center of the town, and on the corner of a street we found a bakery that had the most delicious and colorful macaroons we had seen that trip displayed in the window (Side note: Make it one of your goals to try a macaroon – no, not the coconut ones hear in the U.S., but the light cookie/pastry that you find in Europe. They are the best!).
Of course, after seeing that enticing window display, we decided to go in; we were greeted by an elderly woman who didn’t speak any English, but was so friendly and more than willing to bear with our horrible French and charades. I remember that this struck me, because in the bigger cities, a lot of the bakeries were used to American tourists and could speak a little bit of English – at least enough to place an order – but here, in a small, local bakery, we didn’t have that.
The language barrier made me realize just how much of a gem this shop was; yeah, we probably weren’t the first American tourists to come through, but we also weren’t the 450th either. It made me feel like I was really experiencing life in France. (Oh yeah, and the macaroons were delicious! I still haven’t been able to find some as good as those were in all my years of searching.)
Moment #4: The best Italian dinner I’ve ever had in my life
I had always heard that one of the best ways to learn a culture is to try its food, and I decided that my trip to France and Italy was going to be the time I tested this theory (which was no hardship to make myself follow, believe me). One memory of this experiment that sticks out to me was when we were at this local restaurant in Nice, France. I remember it being this long, table with about eight to 10 of us students sitting around it, and they served us family style, so the food was in large bowls that we had to pass around the table.
I vividly remember us having a fresh salad, some kind of pasta (I think it was ravioli?), and what was almost like a Neapolitan ice cream cake. I think the best way to sum up just how good the food was, was that when they sat down an extra piece of cake on the table, eight different people lunged for it at the same time.
Moment #5: Cinque Terra
I remember sitting in one of the towns in the Cinque Terra portion of Italy at a small, metal table, eating some of the best pizza and gelato I had ever had and watching the waves crash into the surf below. This was towards the end of our trip, so I remember being sad this day as I didn’t want the trip to end; but, I was also excited to get home and share my travel experiences with my family.
To me, this was the perfect end to an amazing international trip. Here I was, along the coast of Italy, eating true pizza and gelato and letting the sound of a language so unlike my own wash over me; if I didn’t have the travel bug before, then this moment is when I knew I had it for sure. That day, I made a promise to myself to go on as many international trips that I could while in high school in order to continue to see what the rest of the world was like, because although it was scary at times, I felt the most like “me” when I was traveling.
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