Papa's Wise, Wise Words

This quote is posted on my bulletin board and I have learned that it is as true a statement as one can make. Travel can be scary or stressful or nerve-wracking or all of those combined and your travel-mate needs to love you and you them. With love they will forgive you if you get the both of you lost in the rain or lose your temper and snap at them in moment of frustration. You'll know how each of you takes your coffee and your multitude of likes and dislikes. You'll be considerate of the limited time you have on said adventure and make the most of it. You will be able to argue and work through a problem and then move right back into the ease of a vacation together. Each of you will feel comfortable laying out what you would like to see and do and have it be give and take, making sure that you both have equal amounts of fun.

When you travel with someone you really and truly love, you will return home with a newfound strength in your relationship as you now have a shared experience that only the two of you can recall and reminisce about over the coming years. Memories such as me and Natalia stumbling upon Marsh's Library, Isabella and I being equally terrified of Scottish public transportation but braving it together and having one of our best days ever, Ashlee and I being trapped somewhere in France when the Eurostar broke down and we were hours late to reach our destination - we were both weary and irritated but rose above and made it through. Then the time when Xavier and I went to the Winchester House and even though it was something I wanted to do, Xave made the most of it and we both had one of our bestest days together in all our years as siblings. And on my first adventure abroad with Nicole when I was too afraid to leave our hotel in Rome, nearly in tears from stress. Nicole was patient with me until I was finally able to pull myself together. We went out to see The Spanish Steps in the middle of a rainstorm and had a wonderful end to a stressful time in The Eternal City. And especially my full-on temper tantrum when Marina and I were on a stopped bus in the mountains of Colombia and very far from a bathroom. Marina knows me well enough to ignore my behaviour until I calm the hell down.

So, dear reader, whenever you decide to travel, make damn sure that you and your travel partner both know eachother inside and out and love one another for reals. Pay heed to Hemingway's words since he wouldn't dare steer us in the wrong direction.