The Hidden Beauty

"For my part, I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." 

- Vincent Van Gogh

More often than not, it is the hidden beauty that is waiting to be found that is what needs to found in hard times. Sure, call it a silver lining, but sometimes it's more than that, sometimes it's different than that, sometimes it's simply a hidden beauty. 

The hidden beauty can be so many different things. So let's make a list: 

1. Those church remains that have crumbled to ruins over the years, yet still hold that inner strength, that inner beauty, that time has attempted to erase.

2. Those feelings of wonder and speechlessness when you see the real life work of an artist that has played a big role in your life. In this case, George Stubbs, who helped influence and inspire my undergrad thesis.

3. The amazingness that is modern technology. There is just something about talking face-to-face with a family member, a pet, a friend, that just reminds you how important they are to you and vice-versa, as well as making that big, huge puddle in between France and the US disappear for just enough time to make you feel right at home. 

So, the hidden beauty can be found in just about anything and in any situation. All one has to do is look - it may be hard and it may take a while, but it is there, so go ahead and look, take risks, look hard where others refuse to, and always be fantastic. 

Gelato & Wine, or how the Eternal City gives the City of Light a run for her money...

"This is one corner... of one country, in one continent, on one planet that's a corner of a galaxy that's a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying and never remaining the same for a single millisecond. And there is so much, so much to see." 

- The Doctor, Season 7, Episode 4

If there is something I've learned, it's that no matter where I travel, good wine will be found. 

If there is something I've learned, it's that Rome is home to the best gelato (especially coffee and hazelnut) and exceptionally good wine. 

If there is something I've learned, it's that in France, cheap wine is always good, no matter where you are and nothing beats a good red from Bordeaux. 

If there is something I've learned, it's that even though the City of Lights and the Eternal City are so very different, they are also quite similar. Thus, making it impossible to pick a top favorite. But for now, the City of Lights wins for wine and the Eternal City wins for gelato. 

The Eternal City, Rome, leaves its visitors speechless, dumbfounded and striving to return sooner rather than later. It pushes them to become family, not just visitors or strangers. The concept that below the current city is another older city, and below that one, even an older one, and below that one, yet again older remains etc etc etc, renders me speechless and unable to wrap my mind around that fact; both my speechlessness and the age of Rome. The Vatican City on the other hand, though leaving me speechless, also reminds me that in fact, God does have a plan and that it all does work out in the end, so no need to fret. The Sistine Chapel and being blessed by a priest (in latin? in italian?) there -- definitely something that I will cherish for a long time. To see the works of the masters like Michelangelo, Bernini and Raphael only further deepens my interest in art and its history and makes me oh so grateful for having lived and getting live again in the future in a city where some of the best art in the world is only a stone's throw away at the Louvre and the Orsay, amongst the gazillion museums in Paris. 

Pretty sure this post really has no end goal, except for updating the slideshow (so check it out!) and letting y'all know that though I seem to always be traveling, I am not traveling just for travel's sake, but am seeing and experiencing many new (and old) things that more often than not, leave me speechless and wondering 'what's next?!'

Quick side note to add that Bordeaux was fantastic and nothing beats a warm, sunny day during the French fall weather in Bordeaux with a wonderfully large and yummy glass of red wine. And to also point out, that I also work ad work hard, it just so happens that the French education system wins over here -- for every 6 weeks of work/school, you get 2 weeks of break!!