I'm Sending You a Postcard

I've always wanted to be the kind of person that sends postcards. The globetrotting kind that sends a visual message-in-a-bottle from really rad places and with effortlessly cool handwriting.

The thing is though, I'm notoriously terrible at remembering to buy, write, or send postcards...the essentials, more or less. I also have a thing for technology. And I hate my own handwriting.

This combination does not = postcard kind of person.

So instead, I'm sending you a postcard here. If you're taking the time to read this, I probably would have sent you a postcard (if I was that kind of person). To you in New York City who always secretly laughs at all my bad jokes.

To you in Washington D.C. who is headed to Jazz in the Garden. To you in San Francisco who never hesitates to remind me of our crazy first date. To you abroad, eating all the delicious things. To you in the world who always takes the time to say, "What's up?"

You! I'm sending you a postcard. With too many 1 cent stamps. And probably a gelato stain. No postmark, but it'd probably be late if there was one.

I'm sending you a postcard from..

London - Cheerio! London town was full of proper rollie pollie cabs and grey skies. And as an American, I felt like everything seems familiar but foreign. A collision of cultures, if you will. The mushy peas are wildly overrated. But those "digestive" biscuits?! Man, oh man. Lord, save the queen.

Amsterdam - If there ever was a way to make a maniac on a bike feel right at home, this is it. Life lesson: Dutch apple pie puts American apple pie to shame. The same could be said of beer. It's wacky, but aren't we all a little?

Paris - Oh Paris, je t'aime indeed. I love speaking your language, be that French or butter. It's unclear which of those is the real native tongue. One day (not today, but like...the year after tomorrow), I'll be back to call you home. That's a little bold. But then again, this is me we're talking about.

Lisbon - You remind a girl that life is meant for living. Truly, Lisbon was my favorite of the trip. Laid-back but charming and filled with friends who have the same natural zest for life. Here, there was an art to doorways -- to inviting people in with cordiality and sending them off with warmest wishes. We'll go back! Oh yes we will.

Barcelona - Naps and nightlife -- was there ever a more accurate description? Barcelona was a laughable realization that it's a small world after all. Notably in the middle of a club after far too much liquid courage. No new friends isn't really our style anyway.

Prague - Castles with charisma and monasteries with home-brewed beer. All the way with the panache! Bohemian gems and a hint of old world charm. We also tried Czech food for the first time. And maybe the last time too...

Berlin - You embody good vibes and great food. The main squeeze. As a bonus, your street music is the best I've ever heard. The kind of sounds that I wish I could capture in a bottle and save for a rainy day. You've got spunk, brimming with a sort of unidentifiable vitality.

Greece - In one word: janky. The notion of sidewalks eludes you, but your sunsets more than make up for it. You've got the views down-pat. Not to mention the gelato, the beaches, and the kindest Greek people. The European Union (ECB) is like "B*tch better have my money," and you're just like, "How about a postcard?" Points for audacity.

After wandering across a continent, home is a welcome destination. I'm doing a whole lot of nothing here, and that's the most refreshing adventure of all for a constant doer.

Currently:

Listening to - Little May - Boardwalks (remix). It sounds like summer! Playing - Ben E King  & Kanye West on guitar. Clearly,  don't understand what "genre" means. Watching - Orange is the New Black & Good Will Hunting (my new favorite movie) Reading - The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd Learning - How to do: Elementary Spanish, html code, and peacock pose (pincha mayurasana) in yoga

Doing - Nothing. Well, except sending a few postcards.

A Glimpse at Paris

We're totally going to talk Paris. About how all alone in the city of love & lights, I was rarely alone. It's a conversation and a half, and it's headed your way in a jiff. "Why not now?" 8 AM classes, homeskillets. Like whose gameplan was that? Don't remind me.

Let's do pics...it's a total mellow Tuesday move.

{ best friend A & I casually strolling near Le Tour Eiffel}

{The Lumineers concert in Paris!}

{Macarons from the master himself, Pierre Hermé}

{Locks of Love & Cathedrale Notre Dame}

{place de la république à paris}

Now who wants to go to an 8 AM class?

...That's what I thought.

-lexi

From Paris to Oktoberfest

Today, we're going to do things a little bit backwards. We're going to talk about Dublin tomorrow. Because we can. Power to the people! On tap today: adventures in Paris and at Oktoberfest. Holy toledo, you might need to stand up for this one.

I met A--among the best of friends from Google--outside of the train station  in Paris late on Thursday evening. Epics hugs were exchanged, and tears of joy may or may not have been present. A quick stop at A's host family's palace apartment and then serious business!

Also known as takeout sushi. Which included getting drenched in a Parisian downpour and not caring one dang bit. There was talk of going out on the town, but you know what? Wine, cheese, chocolate, and 6 hours of life talk are pretty tall, dark and handsome. That's real life.

We also ended up vid-chatting with four other bomb.com friends from Google. These people are what may only be described as "the freaking tits," and I didn't even realize myself how much I've missed talking to them. We're an indescribable bunch all doing crazy different things, but it just works. No explanation necessary because well, tits man who has time for that? Sometime around 3:30 a.m.,  A and I smushed into her twin bed and returned to talk between two. I fell asleep smiling. Happy, so so happy.

Friday, 7 a.m.: Alarms go off in unison. This kid is headed to Munich for Oktoberfest to meet H, my roommate and best friend at Georgetown. A is London-bound to meet friends. We hug it out like its an Olympic sport. Technique is major (and impeccable).

Around noontime, I wind my way through the Munich airport before spotting a bright, blue sweater and tortoise shell glasses that could only belong to H. Hug-a-thon resumes. Olympic gold medals are a veritable DUH at this point.

H and I head straight to city center talking a bajillion miles per minutes while in search of food. We find Thai curry, or rather, curry finds us. And it's game over. Curry......what? It's cool; go with it. Exploring continues. Munich in Oktober has got it going on. It's vibrant. It's special. It's the kind of place where beer trumps all else, and who's going to argue with logic like that?

I should also mention it's bonkers beautiful.

We hopped on an off the spectacularly efficient D-Bahn (German train), going with spontaneity as our tour guide. We found nature! Or, I mean, something like that. Decided that life is a garden. And we dig it.

Statuesque buildings and blue sky peek-a-boos. Buildings here are no wimpy business. Neither are the Germans, apparently.

Churches richly hued with gold and so #casual you had to make sure it wasn't just painted there. And casually accompanied by a mobile library because reading is all sorts of jazzy on a crisp outside afternoon.

Somewhere along the way, we stumbled through a giant square with bean bags and hammocks plopped everywhere. Because nap time is a real life thing. America, get with the program. Please & thank you. 

And finally, we found humanity at its finest. A spectacle of tomfoolery that looks like an adult version of Disneyland. Where OUT OF ORDER is the only order and logical reason is no good reason at all.

Welcome to Oktoberfest. Stay a little while, why don't you?

{to be continued}

~lexi