Posted by Elise Clark 4 Comments

I want a ticket to anywhere

I’m at that age where all my old friends from Missouri are getting married, having babies, and buying houses. It’s a path I’m not quite ready to take myself, but I’m happy for my friends that have made that leap.

I’ve lived in California for a little over 2 years now and each and every bit of vacation time, including holidays, has been spent celebrating another wedding in Missouri. I can honestly say I have a blast during each trip back, but I’m swiftly becoming overcome with the need to go elsewhere.

For the last two years every bit of my vacation time, including holidays, has been spent celebrating another wedding in Missouri.

I became obsessed with travel while studying abroad in Alicante, Spain, where a weekend trip to another country was feasible on a student budget. It became a part of my monthly routine. I fell in love with stepping out of my comfort zone; meeting new people, trying new food and drinks, learning new languages, eating dinner at 10pm, wine at lunch, and espresso after dinner.

Some of the most memorable times were Paris in the Spring, Rome on Easter, walking El Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain, and my favorite, Las Fallas in Valencia Spain; a traditional Spanish celebration that started in commemoration of Saint Joseph, but has evolved into a 5-day fiesta focusing on the creation a destruction of ninots (huge paper-maché statues). The ninots usually depict current events and poke fun at celebrities or corrupt politicians. On day five is La Crema, where they are all burned to the ground. It’s an incredibly weird celebration, and I loved every minute of it.

La Crema
Aftermath of a small break from walking El Camino de Santiago
One of many terrains on El Camino

When my trip abroad came to an end, I was devastated. It didn’t take long before I hopped back on a plane to Spain, this time to Barcelona to teach English. When I returned stateside I packed my car to move to California.

It’s addicting discovering new places for 3 years straight, and although Missouri is great (seriously), I’m ready to swap it out for a new destination. Maybe Thailand? Iceland? Chile? Peru?

Now excuse me while I browse at the travel section of Groupon.

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