thoughts on traveling

Hello, my dears! I'm writing from Venice now, on the last night of my week-long trip to Italy. It's funny how fast time flies when you're on the road, touring one city after the next without break. My friend from Prague Kate and I visited Milan, Florence, and Rome before Venice, and I'm so happy I was able to spend some time in each one. They're all so unique and lovely!

But I'm really blessed to have had a nice week-long rest after my 10-day Fall Break because traveling can be so mind-numbing! I mean that in mostly a good way. There's so much to see and learn, so many different maps to read, transportation systems to understand, special places to visit, people to observe. I just love how educational my travels have been. And I'm glad I was ambitious in planning everything earlier in September, because if I had known how crazy the actual traveling part could be (especially traveling while being cost-conscious), would I have attempted to tear through 10 cities in 3.5 weeks? Probably not. But honestly, what other time in my life could be more perfect for backpacking and exploring than in college? I have no serious responsibilities or obligations, I'm healthy and young and eager -- it's just the perfect opportunity.

I have so much I want to share with you on what I've learned (about myself, balance, compromise, friendship, being a team player, etc), but I just realized I've been so bad about telling you all about the rest of my Fall Break in Southern France, Paris, and London! So I'll have some quick recaps of those up really soon, I promise. And some more random thoughts of this whole experience. And then, of course, you can expect to see tons more on Italy! I had such a fantastic time, I know I'll be back molto pronto. It's a little sad that this is the last of my travels in Europe before I come back home to the States on Dec. 18. Let's catch up when I'm back in Prague on Wednesday? xoxo, H.