A Month in Europe
I had some personal stuff going on in the beginning of September so I made the executive decision to spend the rest of the month in Europe. Something I think you should do too (run away from your problems to Europe). During my month I visited 5 different countries and journaled the whole time. I wrote about everything I was feeling, experiencing and seeing. I did it because it did actually make me feel better but also because I wanted to look back months from then and see how much I had grown during this chapter in my life. I also wrote some poems to get some feelings out in a creative way.
Here are the countries I visited, my favorite parts about each of them:
Nicest people: Dublin, Ireland
Best Beer: Brussels, Belgium
Best Style & Fashion: Copenhagen, Denmark
Craziest Experience: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Best Food & Favorite Overall: Paris, France
Honest to God, here are a few unedited, raw journal entries I wrote in Europe:
9/4/23- Kilkenny, Ireland
Hungover on the bus. Not a great feeling but really wanted to see another town besides Dublin and I cannot drink another beer for as long as I live. Kilkenny was so cute and quaint. An old man farted so loud at the castle. Was crazy loud and he did not care at all. Kind of like me in the bar last night. Bus ride back, the driver was drunk but got back safe. A weird boy/man asked me for directions. Sir, I don’t even know where I am going.
Xoxo, Morgan
9/12/23- Shakespeare & Co Bookstore, Paris, France
Magical. Unreal. This bookstore is unlike anything I have experienced. No photos allowed. Which made me sad at first but then I thought ‘actually what a treat for just me to experience this.’ The book shelves look like they are going to cave in any minute but also look like they can last another hundred years on the wall. Old framed photos of legends hang on the wall that line up the staircase- Maya Angelou was my favorite. There is an old typewriter- Tom Hanks would love it- sitting in an old nook/desk area. I am sitting by another type writer on a desk, facing the window. I am sitting by that window watching the drizzle onto Paris, a bird sitting on the window frame and a perfect view of the Notre Dame Cathedral. I am at pure joy and peace and bliss. I am surrounded by so many words, so many stories that surely no one could finish in a lifetime. Maybe Sylvia Beach did. She was the founder of this book store/library. Then again, I think she is dead and I know books in here have been published recently- so even she did not read all of these stories in here. I want to take a photo so bad, to remember this moment. If everyone leaves this room , I will and only keep it to myself. Otherwise, I have this journal, new books and this moment and that is good for me.
Xoxo, Morgan
9/18/23- Amsterdam, Netherlands
Everyone is high. No one gives a fuck. Very different vibe from Paris and Denmark. People are dirtier and trashier but in a good way. Matt and I rode bikes around the city and asked a guy walking his dog where his fav place for lunch was. We are sitting here now at Lagom. Matt and I planned our week roughly. Lots to look forward to trip wise and life wise. Matt has to start work at 2:30pm Eastern time so we have to go. Thankful he made the sacrifice to come over and hang out with me. Will write more about this trip soon.
Xoxo, Morgan
9/24/23- New York, New York
We are home. We got the last two seats on the second flight to JFK yesterday. Unreal. So lucky. Thank you so much to Makayla Hays airlines. I feel so much joy, appreciation and full of life coming back home. I am excited for the next chapter of my life. So thankful for this once in a lifetime trip- that I hope I take again, lol. So thankful for my husband, my friends, my family and my life. I am so happy to be alive. Thank you God. Ready for what you have next for me.
Xoxo, Morgan
My favorite poem I wrote on this trip:
High
Not on drugs, on the unknown
On what’s next.
Eiffel Tower- she is tall and strong
and seems grown.
I wish life gave us all the answers from a simple text.
Being high is great until you are coming down.
It feels like you may drown.
You will not, surely you will not.
No one has all the answers and not everyone is high.
Just look at the Eiffel Tower-
She seems to be the only one doing it right.
By: Morgan Phelps
