restless already?

Searching for art has made me crave vacation. We're moving into a new apartment this week, and I'm very excited (I get a real bedroom with four walls and a door, also my own bathroom) because I get to decorate my space anyway I want! So I've been searching for art to hang on my walls, and deciding what colors I want to use. In that search I've come across some beautiful pieces of photography of places I want to visit some day.

Of course I want to visit New York. I want to walk through Central Park. To eat a cupcake at Magnolia Bakery. Sit on Carrie Bradshaw's front steps. Visit all of the museums like the MoMA and The Met. See the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero. Maybe even ring in the New Year in Times Square. Maybe one day!

I want to cross the pond and go to London. Ride the London Eye. Look out over Piccadilly Circus. See Buckingham Palace, and try to make a guard laugh. Walk the London Market. See Westminster and St. Paul's Cathedral. Walk through the streets at night and stop at a pub. Longingly someday.

Oh, and Venice. I want to ride a Gondola and be serenaded at dusk. To walk across the historic bridges over the waterways at sunset. Watch the pigeons at St. Marks Square. See the sun change in The Clock Tower. Drive to the Dolomite Mountains. Wander the street boutiques of Cortina. What a dream!

And of course there's always Paris. I want to see the Eiffel Tower during the day, and lit up at night. I want to visit The Louvre and see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. Sit in a cafe drinking espresso, eating French delicacies. Walk the Champs Elysees and see the Arc de Triomphe and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WWI. Take in the enormity and architecture of the Pantheon. I want to take in the beauty of the most wonderful city in the world. This is my ultimate destination.

Traveling the world is my dream, and finding the beautiful pictures has made me yearn to go. I wish to see the world, one city at a time. I know there are so many other fascinating places to see, but these four are at the top of my list. To say I've been there would enlighten me and bring culture into my life. I've traveled before, and count myself blessed for the wonderful places I've been and the sights I've seen. But I guess until I get to travel again, seeing these photos will have to suffice. Searching for art has made me crave vacation.

seriously miss manners

This is what I've learned so far in Texas. People suck at driving in every state, and no one has manners in the south. The driving the I can handle, because I'm used to the way Minnesotans drive (which is comatose by the way). Although (side note), everyone told me Texans drive fast and crazy, this is so not the case. If an ounce of precipitation is forecast for the next three days everyone must slow down for fear of driving off the road. (Yes, this happens when there are no clouds in the sky and the sun is shining.) Also, going the speed limit is not going fast. It is in fact the posted speed limit. If it was too fast, the Department of Public Safety, (or whatever it's called here) would probably lower the limit. (Side note over) It's the manners thing that is getting to me.

How hard is it to say a simple "please" or "thank you"? Not that hard, in fact I've been doing it since I was a child, so if I could do it then, you as an adult can probably do it. Also, why do you feel the need to interrupt me when I'm speaking to someone? Wait your damn turn. I don't understand how people don't understand that politeness will go a long ways, especially in my book. I will generally like you about ten times more if you're kind and polite to me. You see me getting snotty? Maybe think back to whether you've used your manners. Chances are probably not.

I've gotten used to it at work by now. I don't expect it from everyone anymore, but the people I do expect it from better keep it up! The part I'm not getting, it's out in restaurants/bars/retail stores (basically service industry). Waiters/waitresses/staff members are not using general manners. They're acting polite and all, but I'm there spending my money, so they have a job and get paid, and no one can thank me for that? It's not like it's hard! Two words, two syllables, it seems pretty easy. I guess some people just don't get it.

I really didn't mean for this post to become a rant, also, I did not intend to come across so crabby in this post because I haven't blogged in forever (and I feel bad because some people totally have it worse than me), but I blame it on being tired. (Also, why so many parenthesis in this post?) Anyways, now I must go learn to drive and forget my manners. This is what I must to to fit in here apparently. This is what I've learned so far in Texas.