Roads Traveled.

Note: I wrote this post last Sunday but didn’t have a chance to post it when I arrived in Florida. The picture below is of Joe and his cousin, Audree, not too long after we checked into our resort. 🙂

As I write this, I am traveling to the Florida Keys with Teacher Man and Joe for spring break. It’s a well-deserved vacation, if I do say so myself. I have been going nonstop since October, or so it seems, and I really need a few days away of rest, relaxation and – praise be! – sun. (This winter, for many of us across the country, has been brutal!)

We’ve never been to the Keys and we are excited to see what it’s all about. We’re meeting my brother, sister-in-law and their kids, who travel to the Keys at least once a year so they will be able to show us their favorite places, restaurants and areas.

We all get along really well and have the same outlook, I think, for this vacation – a mix of activities, sheer laziness and good seafood. My brother farms the family farm in southwestern Minnesota and I’ve known his wife since she was 16 and I was 18. She’s like a sister to me but we don’t get nearly enough time to just hang out and catch up on life, so I’m really looking forward to that. And of course, Joe loves chilling out with his cousins. Everyone is happy!

We’ll swim with the dolphins, do some fishing and snorkeling, tour the turtle hospital (Joe is psyched!), and perhaps visit Ernest Hemingway’s home. Plus, I know there will be plenty of relaxing at the pool and the beach. Joe, my little fish, will make sure of that.

I love to travel. Today, I’ve been reading a book I received as a Christmas gift but haven’t had time to start until now. It’s called Mastering the Art of French Eating: Lessons in Food and Love From a Year in Paris by Ann Mah.

The writer lived in France for a time and chronicles her experiences. Each chapter describes a classic French food or dish from a different region of the country, but it’s much more than a food journal or a cookbook (although there are some recipes). The author writes about the history of the food in France and intersperses delectable descriptions of the food and wine with stories of the people she meets. Some are food professionals, others are friends. All of it is a joy to read so far.

I have been to France, and Paris specifically, three times and I would go back in a heartbeat. The first (and my most favorite) time was on my honeymoon, when Teacher Man and I spent about four or five days exploring the city. Our hotel was right across from the Louvre, and I’m almost ashamed to admit we never went there! It seems crazy, but there is just so much history in Paris that we simply had other priorities – the Arch deTriomphe, Eiffel Tower, Napoleon’s tomb in the Dome de Invalides, Versailles (just outside Paris), Notre Dame, and even Jim Morrison’s grave in Pere Lachaise cemetery. All of it amazing – and on my honeymoon, no less!

I will never forget our first glasses of wine at the sidewalk cafe across from hotel. I ordered a Beaujolais in the middle of the day, with the August sun shining and the whole week in front of us. We were in Paris. Paris!

The second trip came two years later, and Teacher Man and I spent just a part of a day in Paris. We traveled from Amsterdam by train and then transferred to a different train to head to Normandy to explore all the World War II history in that area. It was too short of a time in Paris, but still so exhilarating to walk this beautiful city, even for a short time.

The third trip was nearly as short. I was traveling with an agricultural leadership group headed to Morocco. We had about six hours to visit just a few Paris’s highlights, and even though I had seen many (most!) of them already, this city and its history and monuments and architecture will never get old. Eiffel Tower again? Yes please!

I love to explore new places and I have enjoyed my overseas travels immensely. I have been blessed to see England, Ireland, Norway, Germany, The Netherlands and even Morocco.

I absolutely love Ireland – the friendly pubs, the pints of Harp and pub burgers with a fried egg on top, and the wide expanse of green seemingly everywhere. I think on my next visit – when I bring my partially-Irish, red-haired son with his pale complexion with me – he might be mistaken for a native.

Norway was breathtaking – especially the fjords – and we were treated as an extension of that country by nearly everyone we met because of our Minnesota (and my Norwegian) roots.

London, Amsterdam, Munich, Morocco … at each of these places, I have learned that the world isn’t quite as big as it sometimes feels.

But France – and Paris in particular – holds a special place in my heart. Paris is a love affair, and I know I will be back.

What are some of your favorite places to travel? And what area(s) are on your travel bucket list?