Europe – this is where I well and truly discovered the pull of travel. At age eight, I was lucky enough to head to the mediterranean with my grandparents. What I remember from that trip was sipping bitter white wine over lunch in Athens (this was quite memorable for an eight year old!), the thrill of feeding pigeons in Venice’s St Mark’s Square (this was before the pigeon feeding ban), and painting watercolors with my Grandma along the Italian coastline. In short – it was the first time in my short life that I saw a world and culture truly outside my own, and could comprehend the magic of those differences.

This is the continent where I learned to be a traveler – from living abroad (twice) in England, to a college “eurotrip” with best friends (with only a few hundred euros and a shoddily planned Pinterest board to guide us). It’s where I learned the joy and courage of solo travel – from £12 flights to Norway or 36 hour overnight buses to Germany during grad school. I knew I wouldn’t be in Europe forever, so oh did I take advantage of my time there.

I return to the UK and travel Europe multiple times a year, and sharing those experiences on Endless Distances is one of my favorite things.