Yesterday Mom and I took off on our road trip down to Spain for “The Travel Blog Exchange” aka #TBEX, the world’s leading conference for Travel Bloggers. Somehow we turned a few day blogging conference in Spain into a wonderful road trip itinerary where #TBEX is just one of MANY great things we will get to do. Setting off at a decent time in the morning we HAD to stop only 5 minutes from our house to take our first photos.
There’s really nothing like a Dutch Spring and driving down the highway pinched between vast fields of pinks, reds, oranges, whites, purples and yellows. If you’re coming to Holland, I highly recommend making it here for the flowers. I just wish a picture could capture the smell of these vibrant fields of tulips and hyacinths.
We drove south through Holland then Belgium and saw the blue “France” sign after a fast few hours.
I never feel completely okay about leaving my computer with all the BOOK files in the car at the gas station, as expressed in this short dialogue Mom and I had.
“Your turn to fill up gas.” -M
“No, I have to pee. And I’m worried that guy saw my Mac.” I said, hinting towards one of many people who may have seen me with it.
“Oh, he doesn’t even know how to USE a Mac!” -M
“Hahaha. No but he might know how to sell one.” – SV
Has anyone else noticed that France has weird toilets? There are no toilet seats and they are super low to the ground. Now, I’ve seen my share of toilets around the world, as I expressed in “I Grew My Boobs in China”, but these ones do puzzle me a bit. The toilet bowl practically sits on the floor so it’s too high to be a comfortable squatty, but it’s too low to sit without having your knees up against your ears. Anyway, at least they are FREE, something you don’t easily come by in Holland!
Birds were flying in the big blue sky and we had Disney songs of dreams and love blasting. Pocahontas’ words sang such truth, “What I love most about rivers is: You can’t step in the same river twice. The water’s always changing, always flowing.” That’s what traveling is. You can never retrace your travels and I love that new and wonderful experiences are infinite!
Cruising down the highway listening to music, enjoying the scenery and writing my book was fantastic. We were super lucky with sunny weather and beautiful views of vibrant yellow mustard fields, castles and churches tucked away in the rolling hills.
It sounds crazy but 14 hours went by quickly, especially after reading some of the insane transport marathons we did in India that I will be covering in Book 3. There truly is nothing like a job on the go.
The very last 30 minute stretch of our drive was pitch black with no street lights, horrible splashing rains and barely visible road lines.
After that last awful stretch, Mom and I landed at our old family friend Philippe’s place in a beautiful little walnut plantation just outside of Villesiscle which is 22km from Carcassonne, France. We were extra appreciative of Philippe who had season fresh white asparagus with balsamic vinaigrette – roasted potatoes with melted Andorra tome cheese – raspberries and mini brownies and a glass of local red wine waiting for us when we arrived.
Today we had a visual overload of stunning scenery as we explored the countryside further. I hope to post about today ASAP but it all depends on what happens tomorrow.
I truly wish I could take the everyone in the world with me on this journey, but I guess photos will have to do.
Savannah