I had so much fun featuring one of my sisters last week, so I decided to ask my oldest sister to contribute her vast array of travel experience on this week's Travel Tuesday. Without further ado..
My Top Travel Experiences
I've had the good fortunate to have some great travel experiences in my life and wanted to share some of my favorites!
The Himalayas - Northern India and Nepal:
Between high school and college, I decided to take a year-off and traveled to the Himalayas for three months with a group of 12 other fellow gap-years. I am not embarrassed to admit that my interest in the Himalayas was sparked by an early infatuation with Brad Pitt in Seven Years in Tibet and while we didn't exactly hobnob with the Dalai Lama as did the Austrian famed mountaineer that Brad Pitt played, I still felt that the trip was equally as rugged and visually striking as in the movie.
My favorite part was the trek we did in Sikkim (northern India) where we hiked under the shadow of Katchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world, for 12 days. Unfortuantely, we caught the tail end of the monsoon during the trek, so during the day/afternoon, a thick mist and light rain descended upon the mountains, so we could not see the amazing views that I knew were right in front us. However, when we woke to crystal clear skies in the morning, I realized we were camping on a spectacular ridge with views 360 degrees around.
My next big trip will be to return... Maybe to the top of Everest!
The Palio - Siena, Italy:
During the second half of my year off, I couldn't have picked a more different experience: I lived with a family in Siena, Italy and took Italian and art history classes. (I'd like to think Eat, Pray, Love was partially based off my year). Siena is famous for the traditional medieval horse race they hold twice every summer that takes place in the central piazza of the Tuscan hill town. The city is split into 17 neighborhoods (or contradas) and they have been competing since the early medieval ages.
My family was part of the Aquila contrada (the eagle) and we were lucky enough to participate in some of the festivities before the race, including a huge banquet the night before in the narrow cobblestoned streets of the city and the blessing of the horse in the contrada's church the day of. Unfortunately, Aquila was not victorious (they were defeated by the caterpillars), but it was incredible to experience the event firsthand. For those for don't have a surrogate Italian family, I would absolutely recommend seeing the race once in your life! It puts the fantatism, passion and rivalry of any American sports to shame.
Mountain Gorillas - Rwanda
For my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary, we were fortunate to go on a safari in Tanzania. The first stop in Rwanda to see the mountain gorillas, however, was worlds away from the savannahs, elephants and lions we would later see "in the bush."
We departed at five AM with no idea of what to expect. Scrambling up steep inclines, grabbing on to painful nettles and bushwacking through thick vines, it was quite the hike. But the payoff was the most exciting and unbelievable wildlife encounter that I can imagine -- it almost converted me into a modern day Diane Fosse.
We were able to see a family of gorillas for one full hour. The first day, they peacefully munched on bamboo while we peered on. The second time, however, we visited a group with a very dominant silverback gorillas (with 14 wives), who was perturbed by our entrance on to his turf. Ripping off a branch from a nearby tree, he shook it violently at us, as if it were a pseudo lance. Huddling behind our guide (we all nearly thought all of us would be killed), he wacked my sister and knocked my grandmother to the floor. Needless to say, it was just an act of intimidation by the silverback and he settled quickly down. My nerves definitely did NOT settle down for nearly an hour after. I quickly changed my mind about coming the next Diane Fosse!
Hope you enjoyed this very special edition of Travel Tuesday!
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