Someone asked me recently how I plan trips for my family. What I didn't want to admit is that I have rather picky tastes when it comes to travel. I don't mean that I require fancy hotels or to be wined and dined. While I wouldn't say no to such luxuries, my expectations are a little closer to home.
One such requirement is that the place we stay has a view. I envision myself with my morning cup of tea outside in the warmth with the rising sun casting its welcoming glow over my tired eyes. I am at my happiest and most peaceful when I can drink my tea or coffee outside with warm skin, blissfully alone.
We tend to stay in AirB&Bs because I love the chance of staying in places surrounded by local life. I admit that I write off a potential house if I don't get a certain "feeling" while looking at the listing. I realise this is a shallow reason to say no to a place that may have everything we're looking for. But part of my travel experience is the feeling I get waking up to creation singing its melody to me. I walk away from trips with sights and smells imprinted in my mind but the strongest thing I walk away with is the feelings I had while there.
My dream is to one day own my own home with a view of the mountains where I can start my morning with bare feet on earth, mug in hand warming me from hands to arm to stomach, eyes shut as the sun tries to make my eyelids explode with light. One day this will be true but until then I will soak up the scenes that others take for granted and be thankful that just for a moment I got to call that view my own too.
