From A to Z

While we do inadvertently touch stuff on vacation, we don't go out of our way to. I am willing to bet a traveler rarely thinks about what their body touches, except for all of the germs from other travelers they come into contact with (who seem to cough and sneeze a lot more in small, enclosed spaces - I swear sometimes it feels like public transportation is a scene out of "Night of the Living Dead"). So if we weren't actively touching stuff, where in the heck am I going with this?

We were touched by Cinque Terre. Did I just open up a can of metaphor on your ass or what? When we went to Africa last year, it taught us that travel is so much more than what you see and eat. It is also about people, different cultures and connecting to them while in their land. While in Africa, we went to see animals and came away meeting the most amazing, sincere and gentle people. I can only speak for myself, but now whenever I travel somewhere, I try to find a connection with people whether it be a local or another fellow traveler because isn't that what life is all about? Why limit connecting to others to just our daily lives?

In Cinque Terre, we met many people because a lot of English was being spoken. I think both the Boy and I were excited to be able to produce small talk so we struck up conversations here and there. Most were of the friendly sort, barely leaving an imprint on my brain. We did however meet two women from Australia on our train ride from Milan to Monterosso. We talked for 3 hours straight and had a lovely time. We left wishing them well with the hopes we would bump into each other again during the course of our short stay. We were staying in different towns and there was a good chance we wouldn't run into them.

It just so happened we did bump into them one night at a restaurant in the town of Vernazza where the Boy and I were staying. They proceeded to invite us to their table for dinner where we were introduced to the daughter of one of the women and the daughter's friend. At the end of the evening, the connection was so genuine that they invited us to their apartment later in the week for dinner, drinks and sunsets.

Another day, while in the harbor of Vernazza enjoying one of our many gelatos, a group of Italian school kids, ages 9 or 10, approached us and our doggies. You could easily tell they were on a field trip as they each wore a backpack and were led by harried adults, constantly making sure they hadn't lost a kid or two to the gelato shop (lucky kids - at their age I was going to Planetariums for field trips, which led to temporary Narcolepsy. Hey...those reclining seats and twinkly lights were...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz). We spent a good 20 minutes with the kids, who were enamored with our dogs Pedro and Julie. Yeah...there was no correcting them, they thought Dooley was Julie. It was certainly endearing to see the kids interact gently with our doggies, but what will last with me, maybe forever, was their attempt to communicate with the Boy and I. Their English was in its infant stages but when this one boy in particular said "Happy Day" as his farewell, I almost lost it. It was pretty freaking cute and left an imprint on my brain.

A connection could be meeting two great women from Australia on a train or being wished a "Happy Day" by a cute 9 year old. Will I ever see them again? Probably not. If I don't, does that take something away from the connection? I say no, because that is the life of the Expat and traveler. Making seemingly temporary but sometimes very meaningful connections. On your next trip, try to not overlook finding the "touch" in your experience. Hopefully you find it and relish it just as much as I do.