Dusting

I'm not talking spring cleaning, I'm talking about dusting off the old backpack to hit the road again! I know, I know. I said I wasn't going anywhere in 2012, especially anywhere long distance, and I believed it. But...I guess I was wrong. (What a pleasant surprise!)

{Photo from here}

I leave next Thursday to head to Asia. (This is coming as a surprise to me, too.) My good friend Supy, from the year I lived in Spain, has been living and traveling in the Pacific for a while now. He's been trying to get me to join him for years now, but it's just been so far and so expensive that I haven't done it. Recently he told me he was going to Thailand (where his family is from) for a while. The idea of finally seeing Thailand (and with a good friend who speaks Thai!) and the fact that American Airlines is running a promotion with their frequent flyer miles program (only 40,000 miles roundtrip!) was too good to pass up. Not to mention my parents (of all people), insisted that I go. 

Bangkok {From here}

All it took was a couple of phone calls, an email or two, and I'm set to go. I'll fly direct to Tokyo (I didn't even know there was a direct flight from DFW to Tokyo!), spend the night, and then head to Bangkok. From there we'll see some of the country and maybe head to any combination of Cambodia, Laos and/or Vietnam. 

Ankor Wat {Photo from here}

So, basically, as much as I am attempting to become a stable, grounded, productive member of our society...well, I'm failing. The road is calling! 

It's a Conspiracy

Lots of things are conspiring against me lately. For example:

A couple of my friends just got back from Lisbon--one of my favorite places.

One of my friends is about to hop through the islands of the South Pacific.

I have been sorting a bowl full of foreign coins from a dozen countries.

This afternoon I caught a whiff of that pre-rain smell mixed with the smell of car exhaust...which always reminds me of the city I lived in in Spain. (Romantic, I know.)

Counting Crow's Holiday in Spain came out of my speakers when my ipod was on shuffle. {...We could simply pack our bags and catch a plane to Barcelona 'cause this city's a drag...}

And now, just like that...I'm feeling restless.

So, in honor of wanderlust, I present you with:

{Barcelona's Sagrada Familia}

{Venice's Grand Canal}

{German tourists on a canal boat in Amsterdam}

{A Christmas tree in front of Notre Dame in Paris}

Just because. 

Wanderlust Question

A break from the Camino posts to ask a question...

Does anyone else get randomly hit with nostalgia for a place out of the blue? Sometimes wanderlust stings me and I spend the rest of the day dreaming about a place. I typically can't even find the connection.

Saturday out of the blue I had this strong desire to be in sub-Sahra Africa.

Today, if I could be anywhere in the world, I'd be in Toledo, Spain. Toledo is nowhere near the best place I've ever been and I haven't even thought about Toledo in probably years, but today it sounds perfect.

Cathedrals, tiny streets, marzipan, El Greco.

{Toledo's Cathedral}

{Patio of the church were Ferdinand and Isabella were originally to be buried}

So seriously, does this happen to any of you too? I'll be travel-less for the next little while, so cuentame, if you could be anywhere today, where would you be? Really, I'd like to know! : )