Mais Oui!
7 years ago by
I just got back from a week long escape to the South of France – hmmm yes it was as lovely as it sounds! My only worry for the week was what time I planned on going to the beach and what time we were having apéro – very important decisions to make.
I grew up with a French background, yet American in many ways. I tend to forget the differences between the two cultures. Staying in a small town by the Mediterranean made me realize how different the values people prioritize in their daily lives. It’s actually really beautiful and refreshing and you find yourself assimilating to their culture pretty fast.
Sometimes (mostly always) going away helps put your life into perspective. It’s a time to reflect and think about your state of being. A shift in culture allowed for me to have that mental space I needed, clarity, and just a friendly reminder that there is more than one way to live your life.
What do you think? Are you easily influenced by a different culture, a trip abroad, a different surrounding?
image via Gray Malin
That photo is from Hawaii Kai on Oahu… a long way from South of France?
Ha ha ha! Keen Eye!
Ha! That was my doing – swapped it out with the image Alison actually sent me which is actually from France. Either way, it’s more about capturing the essence of her sentiments, but I’m glad we have such diligent readers! x Natalie
So true! I had a working holiday in Florence, Italy and worked with our amazing perfumer there. I was so inspired that a perfume idea came to me. A beautiful shift happened while there that I took back with me a few weeks later when I returned to Santa Monica. As a beauty entrepreneur we can get so boggled down with all the plates we have to spin to keep the business going. I’m now trying to take time to see friends, have a cocktail hour and go to the beach. These joyful inspirations are so e-energizing, a shift that always seems to happen when I travel and return home.
I think that it’s one of the (main?) points of traveling – to embrace the local culture and to see if there’s anything that you could take into your life. To broaden your view, to look at things from another perspective…
I would hate to be the one who is only looking for familiar things while traveling and never lets the new in.
https://sofaundermapletree.wordpress.com
So true Alison, love holidays for this reason you discover things about yourself and put things into perspective x