the travel bug

I know I just came back from a vacation, but I already feel like I need another one.  Since I can't really go on another one for awhile, I decided to just write about them and live in memories of travels past.

Five years ago, I went on a two-week trip to Europe.  One of the cities I visited was Avignon, France.  I had never heard of the place before, but I had always wanted to go to the south of France, and since I liked the sound of Avignon, I chose it as one of our destination spots.

I instantly fell in love with the place.  The people were really friendly and there was this relaxing and peaceful small town feel to it.  I also met a nice (and very cute) French waiter who offered to show me around the town.  After some thought, I took him up on his offer.  We met up at a cafe near my hotel after he got off work, and we spent the afternoon walking, walking, and more walking.  It's not a very big place, so we pretty much walked around in circles.  When we finally sat down to take in the view of the whole town, we talked about poetry, traveling, our dreams and goals.  Although he only spoke some English and I spoke even less French (with all the wrong pronunciations), we were able to communicate pretty well.  It was one of those dreamy, made-for-movie type of afternoon.

(Of course, after my friend watched the movie Taken, she scolded me about wandering off with a stranger.  And, just to let you know, I wouldn't normally walk around a foreign place with a complete stranger, but he seemed harmless.  He was the waiter at this fancy restaurant we went to, so at least I knew where he worked!  I know, excuses, excuses.  So, in case you find yourself traveling in some foreign place and a cute stranger offers to show you around town, do use your discretion and be cautious!  In my case, we had a lovely afternoon.  And I never saw him again.)

But, one day, I hope to see Avignon again.

Avignon, France

May 2008