Europe Made Me an Acceptable Traveler

Europe Initiation

Some look to gang initiation for validation. I’ll skip the psychological theories.

I consider myself an “introverted extrovert” so I’m rarely following the crowd.

I didn’t graduate college but I had already made up my mind that a sorority wasn’t my thang!

Whatever it takes for you to feel a sense of belonging or acceptance: DO YOU.

Just like the streets and colleges have their initiation processes…travel I’ve found out is no different!

Some Americans won’t respect you as a traveler if you haven’t been to Europe.

I don’t think Asia even matters. It has to be wherever Instagram/social media deems currently worthy. (Insert laughter)

Don’t get me wrong…Europe was at the top of my bucket-list but it was only to expand my travel expertise and for exploration purposes.

I didn’t realize it would increase my influence and credibility in the eyes of some.

It didn’t matter the literal thousands of dollars I’ve spent on the long weekend trips to Essence Festival in New Orleans year after year.

The three to seven day cruises throughout the Caribbean were “nothing” too. I was still on this side of the world.

Visiting the first free (American) Black town in Colombia, enchanted by the world famous Cabaret Tropicana est in 1930’s Cuba didn’t count either.

Travel “Cred”

I needed to get on a minimum eight hour flight to places like France, Italy and Spain. Point. Blank. Period

Being able to write a long haul flight tips blog was also a goal of mine. The longest flight I had been on before May 2022 was a five hour direct to Vegas.

Part of blogging was experiencing something first and then sharing with the masses.

I couldn’t do a Europe blog with zero experience! Yet, I was still ignorant of how it would “upgrade” me.

Case in point, I saw a recent Facebook article about American tourists wearing beach attire to “walk around” Europe.

I didn’t read said article but I made a comment about the usually lax attitude Europeans have around nudity.

One woman who read the article explained there was a time and place where its acceptable and another told me I should go to Europe myself and see how things are done.

She assumed my comment meant I hadn’t visited. I called her out and told her it sounded like she was trying to insult me.

She said the comment had no malice and she was merely making a suggestion. Who knows?

Maybe fresh off my “European ordination”, I was a bit sensitive. Anyhoo, back to my chronicles.

I decided 2020 would be the year  I “cross the pond”! I considered many avenues to reach my goal.

One was an English teaching opportunity in Spain with room and board. Another was a transatlantic cruise from Tampa, FL to Barcelona, Spain.

The latter would limit my time in the skies.

We all  know COVID swooped in that year and changed travel as we know it.

Ironically, my domestic traveling increased drastically during that period.

The closed international borders made my longing even worse.

I could only dream of uncharted territories.

I was so proud that I hadn’t taken the freedom to travel for granted.

The Elephant in the “Cabin”

I waited for the reopening of borders via air and the ability to cruise the seas.

I had a Caribbean cruise in spring 2020 that ended up being canceled. It was supposed to have been a culmination of my Marley Tour.

The disappointment was “real”!

I finally decided  that I would make my travel debut and first European experience via a transatlantic cruise.

It left Tampa for 14 days with stops in Bermuda, various Spanish cities and ended in Barcelona.

Long story short: a TSA delay caused me to miss my flight to Tampa. I was devastated but recovered quickly.

Determined to be “in the European streets”, I booked a “Plan B”. Round-trip MIA to Barcelona with a Morocco connection.

I arrived early to spend time in Spain before the 10 day Mediterranean cruise. (I plan on blogging about my experiences soon).

This blog was just a hilarious vent!

People who never liked any social media posts or “blinked an eye” when I traveled to UNESCO heritage sites, walked in prophetic foot steps of the GOATS like Jamaica’s Bob Marley, Dr. King, explored ancient Mayan ruins, up close and personal with one of the only active volcanoes in the Caribbean, or traveled to the 1st free Black nation… suddenly hit that little thumbs up.

Some bystanders even went as far as loves and comments.

Ignorance is Blissful

Meanwhile, to Europeans…Europe is just home….the familiar.

I doubt Europeans look down on those who haven’t traveled extensively to the US.

One of my tour guides in Barcelona said it wasn’t until he became a guide that he began to appreciate Spain’s architectural beauty and history.

It was common for him to wake up to the vast alleyways and Gaudí masterpieces and take them for granted.

The beauty of travel is that someone’s ordinary becomes your extraordinary.

Unknown

People, you can revoke the “travel cred” I gained from visiting Europe. It’s so silly.

It definitely doesn’t make me better than anyone…just more experienced.

Let people live. If they never wanna travel out of their “four walls” let them be.

In hindsight, my European experience was only decent because of the history and amazing architecture.

My encounters as a tourist with most of the food and people was a huge FAIL.

I’m happy to have been able to make lemonade out of the huge Amalfi Coast type lemons I was dealt.

Have you been to Europe and can you relate? Do you agree that it’s superior travel?

~Poof…Bee Gone

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