Amy and the Great World

Archives for July 2014

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Snapshots and Snippets {Colorado}

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Check out my first guest post on This Flooded Sky! Thanks again, Marielle!

Snapshots and Snippets is a series I try to do about once a month, showcasing some of my Instagram travel photos and giving you a brief glimpse into the country/state/city/town of choice! 

TODAY is my last full day in Colorado. We drive out tomorrow for two weeks in Montana and two weeks in Seattle, from where we’ll fly to Prague on August 2! I still can’t believe how soon we leave.

Sadly my last day here isn’t full of my favorite Colorado things, but these past few weeks have been chock-full of friends, food, sunsets, and a few too many goodbyes.  Instead, I am frantically packing and donating everything we have left that didn’t sell. I’m obviously really frantic as I leisurely write this post…but that will happen.

I will miss Colorado. It’s a beautiful state, but most of all, I will miss the wonderful people we’ve met here (and our perfect little apartment). We have spent a solid three years here (well, just under three if you want to get technical) and my life is moving in directions I would have imagined when I first arrived.

I moved to Colorado, the Denver area specifically, from my hometown of Bozeman, Montana. There was an adjustment period, as E and I moved in together for the first time, I was permanently moving away from my hometown for the first time, and I started my AmeriCorps position, which was a year of ups and downs. I started graduate school right after completing AmeriCorps, which felt like a giant blur, and decided to move overseas while living here.

I didn’t love Colorado right away, and there is a part of me that doesn’t think we will ever move back here, at least not permanently.

I think the moment I moved here I sensed that it wouldn’t be a permanent home for us, but I have loved living here. I’ve loved my friends, the people, the experiences we’ve gained. I’ve loved our Colorado road trips, our camping excursions, the ski days, the cabin weekends. Even if I don’t move back here, I will be back to visit, someday! And sadly I wasn’t able to complete my Colorado Wish List, so we definitely need to come back for that!

I hope you indulge me as I share my favorite Instagrams from this great state! (I should probably have an entire post dedicated to just Colorado sunsets…just to warn you!)

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Lots of love, Colorado! We’ll miss you. XOXO.

Linking up with Skimbaco Lifestyle!

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Travels Writing

Imagine If I Lived Here, Part 2

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Linking up with Bonnie, Kaelene, Van and Sammy for Travel Tuesday!

Travel Tuesday

Once a month, Travel Tuesday, my favorite link-up, has a prompt (such as languages or three places or food). Since July has five weeks (thankfully!), there will be two prompts, one of them for today. Today’s prompt is what is your travel style?

Instead of discussing the intricacies of my travel style and my patterns (which, full disclosure, seem to change on every trip!) I decided to share another rendition of my favorite travel game: Imagine If I Lived Here.

Imagine If I Lived Here epitomizes my travel style. I put myself in the shoes of a native and try to see what it would be like to live like that. It helps me at least attempt to gain a new cultural perspective and appreciation for all different ways of life. This informs how I travel more than anything else, because this is the root of why I travel: to see and experience these new cultures, perspectives, views, food and languages. Not only is Imagine If I Lived Here informative, it’s really fun! I love picking out a stranger on the street and daydreaming about what their life might be like. Of course, these are simply daydreams, as I couldn’t really imagine what their life is like (at least until I talked to them), and sometimes it’s easier for me to imagine their lives (or romanticize them!).

I’ve imagined what it would be like to live in Iceland, surrounded by the wild landscape, in a country where a large part of the population can trace their roots back to the Viking settlers (including the resident horses!) and many of the Icelanders believe in elves:

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I’ve dreamed of living in Victoria on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. There are whales that live nearby year-round, bunnies that fill the university campus, red phone booths, gardens galore and afternoon tea:

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I’ve wondered what it would be like to live on the beach in Thailand, with those perfect water views, laid-back lifestyle and easy access to scuba diving:

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I’ve placed myself in the Alps of Switzerland, in a green valley ringed by peaks and full of the ringing of cowbells:

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I’ve seriously considered living on Orcas Island, Washington, where they have endless views of water and wood, adorable shops, and a shop dedicated to just pie:

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p.s. One thing I know for sure about my travel style is that I love to plan! If you need helping planning your next vacation, be sure to check out my travel planning services!

Do you have a ritual or game  every time you travel, or a specific travel style?  

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