On Pets & Travels

I'm pretty sure I need to get a pet. I say this not only because I'm in love with my roommate's adorable new husky puppy, my friend's slightly evil black cat, and my mom's two fat cats who I've taken to calling monkeys; I say this also because I've been looking through a lot of my travel photos lately and a peculiar amount of them feature random pets I've befriended.

I'm pretty sure I know when this friending-random-pets-in-random-places obsession started.

It was here, in a third floor hostel in the old city of Barcelona. I was sick for the majority of the ten days I spent in Barcelona, and so lying on my hostel bed and willing the Spanish cold medicine I'd just bought to work, I hardly noticed my sister leave the room. Until I heard a squeal--a squeal I knew, a squeal reserved for only fluffy animals and chubby Asian children--and saw her dash back in. With this oh-so-happy striped cat smothered in her arms and a giddy smile on her face. (Followed closely by the old woman who'd checked us into the hostel, saying something in Catalan and cracking up at my sister's exuberance.) We force-cuddled the cat until he could no longer take it, and thus began our obsession.

We befriended animals in bars, like this little guy who clearly needed our love in a bar called L'Etoile in Paris. Or a chubby white bulldog who became our best friend during dinner and drinks in Biarritz, France (I'm sure the pate we passed to him under the table had nothing to do with that).

Or Stumpy, the sweetest tail-less black cat who did not want to leave us while we sipped red wine on a patio in Ravenna, Italy.

We pretty much made random animal friends anywhere we were,

 

whether we were watching the Milano Marathon,

taking a break from looking at churches in Parma, Italy,

or visiting a husky farm in Finland.

Yep, that's it--I need a pet.

Happiness...

I was inspired today by a quote my sister sent me: "For every second you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness" (as said by Emerson). So I started thinking about things that make me happy. Like

nuns on a gelato break,

 imitating husky puppies,

or statues,

(this makes me really happy),

nonsensical road signs,

thirsty gnomes,

my sister's giddy expression when a baby likes her,

laundry day in Venice,

 giant high-fives,

big dogs who think theyre small,

 and reindeer who want their privacy.

Who has sixty seconds to waste on anger with so many silly things to smile about?

10 Most Memorable Travel Moments

I'm constantly thinking about my past travels, browsing through old photos, exchanging ridiculous stories with my sister and other traveling companions. So the opportunity to compile a list of my 10 most memorable travel moments was a source of great fun, hilarious memories, and I'll admit, hard work (it's hard to narrow it down to just ten!) for me this week. But here they are. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

 My friend Sam trying to lasso reindeer. Our Sami guide laughing at her--"I don't have to worry you three will be stealing my reindeer!"

1. Learning how to lasso reindeer in Harriniva, Finland with my sister and best friend; obviously not mastering the technique, as the reindeer farm owner watched and commented, “I don’t have to worry you three will steal my reindeer!”
2. Crashing our rental car in a pothole in the middle-of-nowhere, Costa Rica and spending the next six hours being entertained by the locals, the town drunk, and their “gallo hippie” 
3. Making leis from fresh-picked plumeria with elementary school children in Rarotonga, Cook Islands
4. Finding the only turkey in Ljubljana, Slovenia at an outdoor market to make our first Thanksgiving dinner away from home
5. Sitting down to eat a traditional Russian dinner in St. Petersburg only to realize water glasses are actually vodka glasses, to be filled and drank before each course! 
6. Being chased in the Brisbane, Australia Wild Animal Park by a prehistoric-looking emu 
7. Eating at the same restaurant in Florence three nights in a row, and the last night being joined by the entire restaurant staff, countless bottles of wine, and off-the-menu tiramisu
8. Jet-boating to the middle of Lake Taupo, New Zealand to swim to an ancient Maori rock carving that’s only accessible by boat 
9. Driving to a disco in Padova, Italy, car stereo blasting, and being asked by Italian friends, “How do you translate ‘junk in the trunk’?” 
10. Going on a Picasso museum hunt throughout Europe, seeing Guernica, finding a surprise Picasso museum in Lucerne, Switzerland, and finding a painting in Antibes, France that would inspire my tattoo

This post has been entered into the Grantourismo HomeAway Holiday-Rentals travel blogging competition. www.homeaway.co.uk