"Barcelona!!!" I reply, utmost eagerly, as the words barely make it through the teeth of my wide grin.
"Oh, it's beautiful! Who are you going with?"
"Welp, with myself..."
*Noted silence*
We can vote. We can own property. We can drive. We can do all of this alone. Surely we can travel, right?
To the grand majority of whom I share my decision to travel alone with, it is almost as if I'm disrespecting God and defying all natural laws simultaneously. I'm a bird, and birds fly, therefore I will fly.
"Watch out! There are clouds in the sky! And sometimes, ya know, it rains. Or, oh my god, what if it snows?! Be careful! Especially if it snows. And when you're flying, make sure you don't hit any other birds. And watch out for trees. And never, I mean never, fly into an already formed "V" formation. Don't provoke trouble, you hen."
I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. I have done this before. I prefer to travel alone. I prefer to know a city on my own terms. I prefer to make new relationships if the situation allows it.
This is living. I leave for my Barcelona excursion in 1 hour. I will return for 1.5 days, then, Wednesday night, I head off on the night bus to Portugal for 5 days. I'm back for 4, then head off to Rome. Then, I'm back for a weekend, before heading off to London and Seville for ten days with my best friend. (See, I travel with people. You just need to apply.)
Why do I do it?
Many reasons. Mostly because it is the most exhilarating thing I've found in my life. My travel virginity was taken less than a year ago. I'm still on my "first-time" high. I'm riding the euphoric wave and doing it as many times I can while my position allows it (aka living in Europe). I secretly love getting off the airplane, not knowing where I am, nor what language I'm supposed to be reading/understanding. Then, I gotta figure out how to get there (wherever it may be that I'm going-- a couch or a hostel). Bus or metro in rain or at night, in the cold, with an oversized bag and an oversized coat.
"Be sure those birds don't steal your eggs from your nest!" They repeatedly tell me.
So, I always move rather slowly and have my head on a swivel in either direction. Then, I step outside, and I see new things, new people, feel new energy, hear new sounds. All senses are heightened and stimulated for the next 2 to 3 days. Madre mia. I'm so glad I left the virgin world behind.
Time to walk, eat, see, breathe. I've found my preferred way to learn about the world. Before there was all this greed and power over money and people, there were just people. There was just land. It's raw, it's natural. To move and eat and see how other people "live in their natural habitat" I live so much in the present when I travel. I take it all in. I never want to forget the moment. There isn't confinement to a desk, computer, car, city, alter cellular world. I come and go as I please. I have freedom.
"But, other birds may want to bite you or follow you to your nest."
Yeah, true. But, I wouldn't be me if I didn't walk around yelling all the time. I wouldn't be me if I didn't talk in weird voices. I wouldn't be me if I wasn't adventurous. So, I do it.
Forewarned: proceed with caution.
I've been advised and now readminister the provision: when with me, just proceed. Caution is logic and instinct. Do what makes you feel happy and leave the rest behind.
With love.
Courtney style
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