A new day in Nouvelle-Ecosse

When I packed to go away a few weeks ago, I was adamant that my hair straightener was coming with me. This required forking over money for an adapter so I could plug into some hot, hot Euro electricity.

My hair has always been an issue as there is just way too much of it. Even when it's shorter, it's very thick and likes to play its own game while I futilely try to tame it. My hair laughs at me, I swear.

Off I went on my little vacation, stopping first at the "summer camp for grownups" that was Lucky Lake outside of Amsterdam. My first morning at the hostel was the only time I tried to beat down the masses of hair on my head. I woke up early and walked across the grass to the shared bathroom and spent twenty minutes trying to undo damage by planes, trains, and really bad shampoo (thanks, Shopper's Drug Mart and your tempting travel kits).

For the next fourteen days I could barely run my fingers through the masses of unruly hair. It stuck out in odd directions, became frizzy, and stuck to my forehead; I basically looked like a street urchin.

Why all the hair-talk? This trip was really good for me because it made me less self-conscious. I was able to just go out there and have fun. No apprehension, no planning... we would step out onto the road and walk until our feet ached and our knees threatened to give out.

With terrible hair I made new friends, saw fantastic places both natural and man-made, and stepped back into a history that Nova Scotia's paltry few centuries doesn't even scratch. I forgot about myself and left the hair straightener in the bag.

In the next few days I'll have to write about this trip in a more detailed manner. It was good, it was really good. When Andrew and I first started dating (and I was still kickin' it at Dartmouth Book Exchange), we planned out dream vacation. Three years later we lived it.

My man is in Munich and will be heading to Switzerland and the south of France after that. "Cannes" you believe it? I miss my travel-buddy already, even though I know it's only a month.

I guess, mein blog, I want to say that I feel very happy and at ease. Oh yeah, and we're already planning next year's trip. We even have a place to stay in Portugal.