“Always take home as many stories as you do photos.” — CitizenM Hotel room key quote
I never thought I would find a new motto for myself printed on a hotel room card.
CitizenM Hotel finds itself perched on a corner property adjacent to the Charles De Gaul airport in Paris. This hotel is one of those rare finds that becomes a traveling favorite. The room key card is designed to look like a luggage tag with the quote to take home stories printed across the top. CitizenM Hotels are found in New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Glasgow, recommended, if you are ever in those particular cities. I’ve only stayed at the Paris property.
I’m fortunate to have a neighbor who owns a travel company.
She caters to small groups and designs excursions to more than just places. The trips, no matter to Cuba, Greece, Italy, Portugal, or France become an experience of meeting locals and discovering someone else's part of the world. Because of her, I’ve visited spots I would never have been brave enough to venture to alone. I’ve met people in far away places that make my world bigger.
I spent a fabulous week in Greece on the Island of Poros, located in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf. The seafront promenade of shops and restaurants seem to reach out and grab a person to slow down, sit with a coffee or a glass of wine and relax over conversation. Greek language has a lyrical tone to it that is alive and vibrant. Don’t try to sound out the words to speak Greek, the language must be acquired, the alphabet is unique and ancient. I just returned from my third Greek visit but not before I changed my return ticket for a jaunt over to France.
That’s how I found myself at CitizenM Paris for the fourth time.
From Greece, I volunteered as the travel buddy to help my friend explore the Loire Valley in France and design a trip for a September 2020 excursion. What an adventure we had traveling the train from Paris to the central part of France. I was the navigator as we drove through the garden cradle of France. The abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards and wheat fields were dwarfed in my mind by the huge fields as far as the eye could see of the sunflower crop. The scene was magnificent, the yellow blooms bursting in full array, pointing their faces to follow the sunshine. I will never forget the beauty of those fields, the horizon dotted with centuries old chateaus, keeping silent watch.
We stayed in a sleepy mid century village, Chinon, that in walking around had a movie set feel. The village, wasn’t harmed during the war, and still has an echo of the past that is palatable walking the sleepy mid century streets. I was sure a wooden wagon cart pulled by some castle surf would be met at any corner. We were transported back in time feeling the tug of what life was like then, realizing the village is full of people living there now.
Traveling to new places, helps us realize how big the world is, flying to Greece takes 9 hours from the east coast of the United States and is 7 hours ahead on the wrist watch (or 10 if you live in California!). The takeaway is realizing no matter what part of the world is called home, or what language is spoken, we are the same. Our joys, our heartbreak our dreams for the future and fulfilling our destiny is universal.
I’m home now, fighting off my jet lag hangover.
I’ve discovered I get a lot accomplished waking at 3 am! But mostly, my mind and heart is full of the places I’ve seen, and the people I met along the way. Even the police roadblock stop we encountered outside the town of Saumur, presenting an expired international drivers license holds a chuckle in my memory (that tale stays in France!)
My words of encouragement to you is to let yourself be open to new things and places. It’s easy to dig a rut in life so deep we can’t see over the edges. Change one thing today. Take a different route to Target. Order something you’ve never had the next time you go out for dinner. Buy a new bright shade of lipstick and wear it all day. Try out a different grocery store, one you’ve never been to before. Buy flowers for yourself, no reason, just to brighten your kitchen. Make sure you have a passport. Small beginnings, are not to be discounted.
We can always “take home as many stories as we do photos” no matter where we are, even at home.