As a Little Girl, I Dreamed of Paris
As a little girl I dreamed of Paris, now I dream of Spain!
The fascinating way the French language rolled off the Parisians tongues, the Eiffel Tower, baguettes, cheese, and of course Fashion. While my Dad urged me to take Spanish in high school (it was more practical). I took French. Something about Europe was alluring. I grew up in a small mountain community outside of Los Angeles at 8000 feet. The semi remote location did not afford much travel and or exposure to other cultures or peoples.
In college, I began exploring the coast of California and Baja. The travel bug bit me! After children were born, my Mother often said, “You’re Never home!”. Both of my kids will attest to being “stuffed” into the backseat of my car, often times with a couple other kids and a girlfriend off on a road trip. My first trip to Europe (London and Paris) was in my 30s with Devon and Todd in tow. My World opened up with curious wonder for new places, people and experiences.
I’m my 20s, 30s, and early 40s, I owned floral design businesses that specialized in weddings. Travel related to those businesses consisted of high end hotels, beach resorts and boutique venues. I loved the beauty we created in the studio but most of all I loved seeing the end product set up in magnificent settings. It was magical and made the months planning and week of hard labor all worth it when I stood on a ballroom chair or in front of a Chuppa to grab a pix of my designs!
Today, I have the honor of sharing the benefits and life tools of Yoga and meditation with others through hosting Yoga retreats. For me, it’s a Perfect fit! I use my experience in hospitality and planning special events to host people in amazing locations. Baja, Big Bear (where I grew up) and the coast of San Diego. I travel internationally to scout out new locations and am even investigating hosting a retreat upon a sailboat sailing the Islands off the coast of Greece! The new scenery is exciting but the most rewarding piece of my experience is the People!
In the 90s, I hosted high school students from abroad in my home. In the mid 2000s, I hosted foreign adult students attaining their licenses at a near by helicopter school. Over the years I have traveled to visit many of them and their families. Not only have I made life long friends, but it has afforded me the opportunity to stay with locals and experience other cultures with an authenticity I would have otherwise missed out on.
The reality is that travel is a priority for me and with flexibility and a sense of adventure it takes far less money than you would think. I fell absolutely in love with the Spanish people and culture and am seriously comptemplating buying a ticket to Barcelona for September. I’m a member of a travel site and right now the tickets are $350 US! Yes, I may have to make several flight stops and it may take well over 24 hours (as it did go get to Madrid). Fancy meals in restaurants are few and far between and the supermarche and lunches in my backpack have become a travel way of life, as well as sleeping on sofas or my yoga mat. (I once drove from New York to California and slept on my yoga mat in the back of my car while cooking on a propane burner from a convenience store). You can view the many gorgeous spots I woke up to in my album NY to Cali.
I’ve met and stayed with amazing like minded people who I am truly indebted to for enriching my life beyond what I could have planned. You see, sometimes living in the moment with no plan (or by the seat of your pants) delivers a true WONDERLUST EXPERIENCE...
As a side note: Thank you to Charlotte and Rick Trobman for the extraordinary accommodations but most of all friendship and hospitality. I’ll miss you, Char and thank you Rick for including me in your community of friends💕
Namaste,
Suzanne Wunsch
www.yogabloomwellness.com
(949)500-3888