HEIDI: AN AUSSIE GIRL IN EUROPE!

Heidi shares her adventures and tells us all about her epic trip to Europe... inspiring and awesome words from a lovely Aussie reader!

Heidi says:
On Christmas night 2016, while most people were singing carols a little too loudly and slipping into food comas, I was sitting in a silent airport, about to soar through a silent morning sky. At 12.47am I would board a giant bird - not flying south for the winter, but north-west, straight into the middle of a winter wonderland, and one of my dream destinations... PARIS! That would just be start of my adventures in an ice-covered Europe. I would encounter escargot snails that run across the table; beautiful, crazy German ladies I would make the most unlikely of friendships with; dogs in cafes being welcomed with free bowls of water; frozen hair; frozen hands; frozen legs; and the true appreciation of a heated hotel room!

Of the seven countries I visited, France was a favourite. Soft, throaty French conversations everywhere I walked put me in dreamy trances. The hamburgers made my mouth water and sunrises on leafless, tree lined boulevards almost made me into a morning person. I could see why they call it the city of love - you couldn't help but fall in love with the whole atmosphere! We travelled with a small tour group who took us to the Somme battlefields... it snowed the night before, and in the morning everything was covered with a light sugar dusting. The world was still. Thick fog swirled between the gravestones, some marking the deaths of soldiers still in their teens. I felt like the heavy thump of my Doc Martens could be the sound of their hearts beating again, if only briefly. It felt like the broken barrier between reality and beyond. I almost thought I heard the rumble of cannons in the distance - or perhaps just cars. The fog hung so low it kissed the lips of the dead and bowed over in mourning. I saw a cluster of red poppies peeking out of the snow, bright and vibrant against the stark white, a sign of rebirth, hope.

I have loved the words around me and within me ever since I was little. Writing carried me across Europe, a new notebook I'd bought for my journey quickly filled with thoughts and recollections. I wrote French sentences by lamplight in Paris, noted sightings of cute boys in Italy, recalled little magical moments everywhere. In London, I stumbled across a poet tracing his words onto the pavement at Trafalgar Square, simple rhymes in rainbow chalk, spilling out across the sidewalk. He handed me a piece of yellow chalk and told me to write something, and so I did. I messily scratched out my favourite mini poem, written months ago, one of the only ones I remembered off by heart. I passed by the next day and the colours had been washed off, but I felt I has made my mark on the world. Chalk is temporary, words are not:
'Her lips were flowers,
Mine were weeds.
I thought I would destroy her,
But instead she planted seeds.'

I had never tasted anything like the cuisine of Italy, France, Switzerland, Austrian Germany and Czech Republic. In almost every town, I tried a hamburger - the best was a Normandy burger on my first night in France, I never knew Brie could taste so good on beef. I ate delicious garlic snails and questionable burgundy wine ones, then chased them down with a disgusting shot of pure espresso.I ate the best spaghetti in a place called Cafe de Paris in Switzerland - better than Italian pasta. I tried every new dish I could. In Florence, eating a pizza slice cooked on top of another pizza slice, I made eye contact with the most gorgeous boy I have ever seen. Shame I had hot cheese dripping down my face! In London I visited M&M World - it was heaven, as they are my favourite chocolate, and very YELLOW too.

Europe was the best holiday I have ever experienced. I will return one day when it's warmer - my poor Australian heart couldn't handle another minus 10 degree winter! Fingers crossed next time I go to England I'll meet Cathy Cassidy, my favourite author, and get to find more words, more friendships and more yellow in everything. And I hope you do too!

Cathy says:
Wow... I love this post, not just because of the adventures described but the wonderful words Heidi has used to make it all come to life! Have YOU ever had the holiday of a lifetime? COMMENT BELOW to tell us more, or email me via the EMAIL CATHY link over on www.cathycassidy.com if you'd like to talk about YOUR holiday on DREAMCATCHER!