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What makes a place special? Is it historical site? Food? Museums? Or is it, perhaps, people we meet on the road? They say there is visible and invisible energy in each place. We all know a high school kid who dreams about backpacking through Europe after graduation. Bucket lists with never ending “must see” destinations. It’s been years since I started making my own list. Golden Gate Bridge, The Eiffel Tower, Scottish Highlands, vibrant streets of New Orleans, Grand Canyon... some of the places and monuments I’ve always wanted to see. Little by little I have been checking them off of my list. I’ve always thought that seeing main landmarks would be the thing that will forever remind me of that place. Little did I know that my trip to Barcelona I will always remember by a woman I’ve seen while climbing the stairs on my way to Parc Guell. She was standing by the window, with a little mirror in her hands and green facial mask, tweezing her eyebrows. I remember it was that precise moment city felt real to me. Saturday mornings spent wandering down the streets and food markets in Antwerp, where people bring their nice glasses to taste wine and champagne while searching for fresh strawberries. Who would have known that I will discover the meaning of a saying “Home is where the heart is” on the stairs of Musee d’Orsay in Paris, while listening to a talented man play violin. And somewhere along the way I realized it was little, ordinary things that make a place special. People who catch your attention. Woman who is standing on a balcony, putting away her dry laundry. The vendor on the market explaining fermentation in winemaking. The old lady who is walking you to your destination because there is a language barrier between you. I will always have a photo album with the pictures of all the places I have seen, but what I will cherish in my heart is the first sight of Golden Gate bridge, the joy I felt standing in front of a house where Mrs. Doubtfire was filmed, bounce that my heart made while listening to that violin. I have left my heart in so many places. I don’t know if it was the streets of Paris, extraordinary architecture in Prague, Bruges or Brussels, steep hills of San Francisco and Lisbon, Italian landscapes, colors of Morocco or perhaps music and the soul of New Orleans that made me realize I want a lifetime of adventures and magical moments that make my heart skip a beat.