TRAVELING THOUGHTS: ABOUT OWNING THINGS

I, Felicia, just came home from a month-long trip to North America and upon entering my room in dads appartment, I just felt like crying - not because that I hated to be home, or that I missed my overseas family (well, not only), but because the room looked like a bomb of things had exploaded inside of it.

There were things on the chair, things on the windowsill, things in heaps in the corner, and even if Jonathan had done a terrific job cleaning the floor, the room felt more like a storage unit than a place were we actually spend our life.

Have I always owned so many things, 

so much clothes? 

Do I need all of these things, like, really? 

Well, I knew the answer to the last question right away. There I stood, with all things I'd needed in four weeks, in just one suitcase. Of course I didn't needed any of the others things for my survival, but there in the doorway I suddenly realized I didn't needed any of it for my happiness either.

A perfect example of things you don't need but is oh so tempting to buy anyway. Pictures from our post on Baefong Lake in Zhangjiajie, China

BEST PICTURES FROM OUR TRIP TO NORTH AMERICA

A fantastic month, with all its ups and downs, has come and gone, leaving us with nothing but our memories. 

...And of course a harddrive overloaded with pictures. 

For those of you who doesn't have energy to read all the text, here's the story of our trip, told in photos.

CAPILANO SUSPENSION BRIDGE PARK

WHAT: 

A park with rainforest trees turned in to a tourist attraction by putting up a big suspension bridge over a canyon and some smaller bridges between the treetops.

ON THE SPANISH BANKS

DAY 22

SPANISH BANKS

Vancouver seems to be neverending with beaches, just as the time we spend on them. I got my first real sunburn for the trip today. It'll be perfect for the crayfish party season in Sweden that is very much in full swing when we return.

It is the last whole day in Vancouver and although both me and Julia misses our boys like crazy, it feels sad to leave the rest of the family. They are a bunch of globetrotting, funloving, (extremely) goodlooking people that I spend way too little time with because of the globetrotting, but I still love them for it.
They're constant traveling just too stay in touch with each other - we have relatives on dad's side in Germany, UK, Sweden and Candada, with inlaws adding Israel, Pakistan, Denmark and Russia to the list.
It's suddenly clear why I feel this aching hole in my chest whenever I'm not on the road...

NUDIE BEACH & WEDDING-TIME

DAY 19
Today was the day of Museum of Anthropology and, most importantly,

THE DAY OF THE WEDDING

and it was magical and amazing and tearfilled and everything you want a wedding to be. 

The start of the day didn't quite match the end of it though...

KITSILANO BEACH

DAY 18

KITSILANO BEACH

The weather gods has been our friends ever since we left Sweden. I've started to forget what rain looks and feel like. Here in Vancouver, skies are always blue and water is always blue and everything but our feelings are blue. Okay mine have been a little blue. I still miss Jonathan. But today, not even his nest of blond hair and his cute smile could make me wish I was anywhere but here. 

THE 6,236 KILOMETERS BETWEEN US

Traveling, in general, are absolutely awesome. Seeing new things all day long makes me rush-y, inspired so to the point that I can never put down the camera.

Bloging has given traveling a new dimension as well. I can write and edit photos and process the day and its new experiences at the same time. By doing so, I feel like I get the time and opportunity to really appreciate it. It doesn't feel like a fantastic day that is now gone, it feels like a day preserved in the time capsel that is the written word and the taken picture. I never feel more alive than when I stand speechless somewhere beautiful, after having just taken the perfect picture of it and know that I'll always have the memory.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, 

the cliffs that seems to be made of something out of this world

GASTOWN, VANCOUVER

DAY 16

A trip back in time?

UWAJIMAYA MARKET

DAY 14
Yesterday was the last day in Seattle, a week we finished of with great fanfare by eating our way through Theo Chocolate Factory in the midday, and eating our way through Uwajimaya Asian Market in the evening.

THEO'S CHOCOLATE FACTORY

WHAT: 

A tour in a chocolate factory specified in fairtrade and organic chocolate. And delicious chocolate.

CHIHULY GARDEN & GLASS

DAY 12
Friday morning and today's plan was... non exsistent. I don't think I'e ever seen my strong-oppinioned family like this - everyone wanted to do something but no one wanted to decide on anything.
Since we live on 1st Ave here in Seattle, the excitement starts as soon as you walk out of the door, so we let the feet decide. And the feet led us to Space Needle.

..Only thing was, none of us really wanted to go up in it.

BEACH'N SEATTLE

DAY 10

You can’t be on top every day.
I fell asleep at 2.30 am and mum slept even less, so the morning was slowstarted. We had plans on going to the beach – everyone except me, that is. I have very little patience for the sand and dampness and constant flow of wind making the hair all humid and greasy that comes with spending time there. I had looked forward to spending the day at the library, catching up on the days I’ve yet to blog about and get some well-deserved time alone. Sometimes I wonder if I even like people at all when enjoying being on my own so much, but I guess you get tired of the silence eventually. (?)

We started off the morning America-style with donuts, bagels and coffee and with just one bathroom for 5 people, the line to it made each of us wait for like an hour. During this hour my mum succeeded in convincing me of tagging along to the beach, which of course ment me and Victor running around catching Pokémons anywhere else but the beach. 

CHEWING GUM WALL OF SEATTLE

We decided to take the feet down to Pike Place Market this morning. We have rented a flat on first avenue, so almost everything tourist-y in Seattle is walking distance.

We hadn't gone for more than five minutes when we arrived at another famous tourist place by accident, and probably the most disguisting one available in the whole state:

SEATTLE - HERE WE ARE!

HOW WE ARRIVED TO THE U.S 

AND 

“WHY ON EARTH ARE MY DIVORCED PARENTS TRAVELING TOGETHER?”

This is gonna be a long one...