I Wish I'd

I Wish I’d

All of us have lots of “I wish I’d” - I do - things I wish I had done, things I wish I had said, things I wish I had seen. And as we get older, the list of wishes grows. When I think of all these, I am reminded of the words from the Lion King’s theme, The Circle of Life…

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done

Thus we must choose wisely those things we will do, those things we will see.
On my first trip to Europe, I went with a friend from high school. June had been to Europe before and was kind of acting as my tour guide and travel agent all in one. She was the person who told me to pack only one medium sized suitcase, so we could get on and off the trains fairly easily. And she’d decided when we’d go and to a large extent where we’d go, and, thus what we’d see. Of course, there were a few givens. I wanted to hear Big Ben, I wanted to ride in a gondola, and I wanted to see the Eiffel Tower.
We first went to visit an old high school friend who had moved back to England after we graduated. Although she was born in the states, she’d grown up in and around London and she had really missed it when her parents moved back to the U.S. Besides, this was the seventies and the British music scene was happening. The Beatles were still the rage along with the Stones. And Shirley had always loved music.
After our time in London, on our way to the mainland, we stopped in Dover. I don’t remember why, but we ended up in a little place not far from the famous white cliffs having a bite to eat and I got my usual order of hot tea. And as our meal progressed, I mentioned to June what a wonderful cup of tea it was. And she looked at me as if to say, “Duh?” And while I admit it wasn’t on my list - having a cup of tea while gazing at the white cliffs of Dover is pretty cool.
We took the ferry to Calais and the train from there to Paris. And we wandered about, got a hotel, caught a glimpse of the Louvre and then took the el across town if I recall correctly. And when we emerged from the subway station, we were standing so close to the Eiffel Tower that I didn’t see it. I’d expected to see if off in the distance, not barely 50 feet away from me. Anyway, I glanced quizzically at June and said, “Well, where is it?” And she pointed upwards. And I looked up and back down and up again, and my eyes filled with tears. Perhaps, I’d thought I would never see it. Perhaps, I was just grateful to see it. I don’t know, but I was overwhelmed with emotion. If you haven’t been to Paris, and you’d like to go, may I suggest you do.
The tea in England is amazing. And there’s nothing quite like pizza in Italy or Bratwurst in Germany. If you’re shopping – French perfume, Italian leather, and, of course, German automobiles.
My first trip included Spain although I never made it to Portugal which is where my mother’s family is from. Indeed, Lisbon remains on my list of places to visit. Along with the pyramids. And the Nile.
So, I leave you with words from Patsy Cline’s song, You Belong to Me
See the pyramids along the Nile
Watch the sunrise on a tropic isle…

See the market place in Old Algiers
Send me photographs and souvenirs…

Please.