Plain & Simple: Travel

I love to travel. If I could get paid to travel the world, even if it was just a small salary, I would do it. I've been travelling since I was very young and I'm convinced that I got my love of travel from my late mother. I found this scratch off map from Fred Flare on Wanelo and I've been dying to have it for almost a year. Sadly, I don't have $22 to blow.

I have been blessed with a father that encourages travel and finances it for me and usually comes too. I love travelling with family, but travelling with friends is a load of fun too. I got lucky and got to travel with both. I've gone to D.C. for the inauguration of George W. Bush in 2004 and to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in both 2003 with just family and 2011 with friends, family, and two add-ons. I also went to Philly to see Taylor Swift with some friends this past summer - I had a blast! I'm not going to share stories off all of the places I've been to, but I'll share some of my favorite stories.

Lilly Pulitzer - Madison Ave (April 2013)

My first "big" memory of the Big Apple is from November of 2003 when we went for the Macy's Parade. It was my dad, my mom, my two brothers, and myself and I was in the fourth grade. So we had decided to go to the Empire State Building in typical tourist fashion. Well my parents were still getting used to cell phones and we had gotten separated in the building. My mom and I were together and my dad and brothers were together. We thought that they went downstairs so that's where we went...they didn't. We waited for over half an hour before someone called the other. It was stressful then (yes, even little me was stressed by it), but it's funny looking back. 

Mom and I pointing to the sky line during my first NYC visit

The high school that I went to did a European trip (or any where, one year they went to Costa Rica) every spring. My freshman year they went to London, Paris, and Rome with stops at Versailles and Florence. My dad loved my mom so, so much and knew that if she were still alive she would have wanted me to go so he signed me up (I honestly didn't want to go, I'm so grateful that I did - don't tell him though). While we were in Florence a street vendor came up to me asking if I had a boyfriend. I said no and he asked if I had friends...I got a little offended and said yes. To shorten the story a bit: the girl that I was shopping with and I went off for a couple of hours and came back. The man came back up to me (I was in shock that he recognized me) and he says, "I want you." Now with his thick Italian accent I really couldn't understand him and had him repeat himself six times. The girl I was with left me (a newly minted 15 year old girl) alone on a street in Firenze, Italia with some man saying that he wanted her. I still love to tell this story.

Firenze

This is a long post so I'm not going to share any more stories, but here's a list of the places that I've been to:

• New York City (2003, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013)
• Washington D.C. (too many dates to remember)
• Philadelphia, PA (Taylor Swift RED TOUR - 2013)
• Europe (2010)
• London
• Paris (I got to turn 15 under the Eiffel Tower! :))
• Versailles
• Florence
• Rome
• Charlotte, NC
• Seneca, SC (Clemson University)
• Indianapolis, IN
• Cleveland, OH
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Columbus, OH
• Canada (a lot of boat trips and regattas)

Issaqueena Falls, Oconee County, SC

I think you get the point, I love travelling even if it's just a day trip. I was looking forward to going to Ireland and England next summer with my cousins, but my bank account is saying "no"

What about you, where have you been? Do you have a dream vacation or are you planning one now?