My happy place

/ Meg


Everybody has a happy place.

When I’m having a bad day — or a stressful day, or a weird day — I think back to visiting Lake Garda, Italy, in 2007. Fresh from college and vacationing with my family, our excursion abroad was awesome in so many ways. Over two weeks, we traveled to London and all around Italy, making stops in Venice, Rome, Tuscany and Florence.

But it was here — Lake Garda — that has stayed with me more than anywhere, that has inspired blog posts and recollections and daydreams. Our hotel there was at the top of a cliff and the view above was what I saw standing on our balcony. We were there just one night and it was chilly and cold, but nothing could have dampened the way my spirit soared looking at that view. I remember trying to read on a tiny chair just outside our hotel room, but I was too distracted by the mountains and sunset. I just stared — maybe for hours. I looked and watched and waited.

I’ve been to some amazing places. I’ve fallen in love with England, with California, with my own hometown — but Lake Garda? Well, Lake Garda is in a league of its own. It was a total surprise on a trip full of surprises. A beautiful place that challenged my preconceived ideas of what I would experience abroad.

I have to get back there someday. Preferably when it’s warmer.


Where is your happy place?


15 thoughts on “My happy place”

  4. Ahh! That is simply gorgeous. I didn’t get to see Lake Garda when I was over Italy. Hopefully next time. My happy place is Maui. If I could, I would move there in a second. *sigh*

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  6. Is it bad that I can’t think of a happy place? I’m sure there are many, I just never sat down to think about it. Hmm. This picture is so lovely and that is an incredible view. So glad you got to experience it.

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  7. My happy place is with a coffee (or other drink) and a book. Quite honestly, this scenario can be taken anywhere and thus includes beaches, pools, couches, coffee shops, etc.

    If we were talking about places we wished we could vagabond through life, that would an entirely different story!

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  8. Great pick for a happy place! I’ve been to Lake Garda as well and it is perfection!

    My happy place is on a beach with a drink in one hand and a book in the other!

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  10. Italy has everything to be the perfect Happy Place, including good bread and wine. My Place is probably on the walls of St Jorge’s Castle, overlooking Lisbon.

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  12. I know my happy place is in Maine…at the Grand Harbour Inn…our room overlooking the water…and tucking into a lobstah roll…then a book and a nap and Primo’s for dinner…

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  13. I haven’t really had the chance to travel much. Money is tight until I finish school and I keep getting the urge to go for the next highest degree so who even knows when I’ll finally finish? Anyhoo, I have not been to Italy or London – I was born and raised in California. The farthest away from home I have ever been is Florida to go to Disney world and a trip to Canada when I was little. So all of my happy places are around here: the magical beaches of Santa Cruz and Monterey, the open road of Highway 5 for road trips to LA, the unbearable heat of Palm Springs, and one can’t overlook the magic of Disney. I’m lucky to live in a place where there are so many incredible happy places for almost any mood or need.

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  15. What a beautiful place! I dream of going there some day too.
    My happy place is definitely in France, and at the Jardin des Tuileries. The place is beautiful and has a mixture of everything I loved in Paris : art, gardens, history, but also sandwiches and beer! 🙂 We stopped there a few times on our trip, and every time it was like time stopped and I was getting re-energized.

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