The Travelling Shoes as the next big adventure awaits

While there is travelling pants – I have the travelling shoes… and yes they have pink on them…  One of my friends suggested I get a decent pair of walking shoes before I head overseas last year I did pooh and paaah over the expense and whether they were necessary. Also I like them to look decent and still like well not so much like a tourist. 

After the year that was the awfulness of 2009 and 2010 my fitness was one of the first things I had let slide so therefore my walking had fallen by the wayside.  So I sucked it up and decided to buy a pair of very expensive walking shoes.

After spending 7 hours looking for them with my trusty shoe shopping friend – I finally found a pair of Merrells because as it turns out I have a difficult foot to fit.  Although my trusty shoe shopping friend almost took the k2 extreme guy home with her because of his amazing eyes. Personally I loved his mix of Canadian and American accent along with the most beautiful intense green eyes I have seen.

 

That is the one thing I will remember about that day … the awful fitting of my feet, the K2 extreme guy and my first experience at Yum cha along with the valuable time with her.  These are the things that I will cherish as I travel around the world.

So back to the shoes, I ended up getting from the states because they were $250 here and in the end I think I paid $180 for them because of the buying agent commission and freight to here. So they travelled from the USA to my hands via UPS which only took 5 days I was so excited when they finally arrived and I was wearing around our factory and office looking like a big nerd head.

So these beautiful chocolate brown with pink/raspberry stripes fitted my feet perfectly never gave me blisters, never hurt my feet – I was in love. Wore them walking the 45 mins it used to take me to walk to work with no sore feet, I was in heaven.

 

So from the get go with the trip especially on the plane I wore them… so comfy and didn’t hurt my feet, I was walking on air.

They travelled on my feet with me as I made my first tentative steps onto USA soil and then 4 hours later onto Canadian soil. They were on my feet as I started my adventures through downtown Vancouver, Horseshoe Bay, Granville Markets, Gastown, Capilano Suspension Bridge, Grouse Mountain and so many more places in Vancouver. While my feet were killing me by the Monday after I had arrived that was more about carrying so much weight on me along with the backpack.  So the shoes can’t be blamed for that.

 

These shoes have seen me walk on snow covered walkways in Banff, got snowed on in Jasper, Rafting down the Athabasca river in Jasper, drinking glacier water on the Columbia Icefields at the Athabasca  Glacier. What adventure they have seen and still more was to come.

 

My first steps on USA soil but on the actually soil instead of the concrete at the airport.  My grumpy day leaving Vancouver for New York, the delights of Upstate New York and Connecticut and through to my first steps into the city that never sleeps in New York. They were excited as I was.

 

Then the first experience of Times Square along with Brooklyn I think they were overwhelmed just to be there and experiencing New York along with me.  Then beginning the new tour and meeting all the wonderful tour people with me. Experiencing hot and humid Boston with me but hating the humidity as much as me but yet carrying me lovingly around Boston.

 

Then wandering around the beautiful Québec but not liking how I got treated as much as me but surprisingly enough we have discussed it and I would go back again.  They travelled with me as I got to experience more of Montreal than what was planned.  My beautiful sunshine in Ottawa and lazy afternoon in Toronto along with the true awesomeness of Niagara along with my very first helicopter ride which they were very proud of me for doing it.

 

Then back into USA soil and the delights of Amish country along with seeing the white house and discovering the delights of Washington with the Rif Raf. Along with the heartbreak of the holocaust museum, then a fun night in Ole town Alexandria with the beautiful Christina, we laughed, cried, lamented about our lives and which we both have since changed them … so it was a significant nite.

 

Then headed with me as I saw the liberty bell and then finally ecstatic to be arriving back in New York and were with me as I said goodbye to my newfound friends and those who had touched my heart. The shoes were probably happier than me to be back in NYC but they adventured along with me as I discovered the delights of NYC from the Empire State building, Central Park, Rockefeller centre, times square, riverside park, the upper west side, the Laundromat, meeting strangers on corners in NOHO, discovering the delights of the strand bookshop.

 

They followed me home – very sadly just as sad as I was to be returning home because I think the shoes knew that it would be a long time before I headed back overseas and that they would just up in the back of the cupboard.

But as I am embark on the next big adventure they are very happy that we are heading back to the USA but since I have been back they have seen me thru the redundancy and the walking I did to decompress, back to counselling, to Sting concert with my beautiful sister and Rose. So they have been adventuring with me the whole time. Just not as much as before sadly.  They have missed me … as I have prepared for the garage sale they have been my trusting shoe support. I sat there last Sunday bored reflecting on the journey that the shoes and I have taken together. Also the journey that we are about it embark on and the new career that I will be changing to along with the shoes.

 

Wow what a year it has been. This time last year I was not in a good place and it was getting worse and worse, the only way I saw of digging myself out of it was to go away. So I made it happen and came back a better person (well I think so) so the shoes will journey as I discover another part of me. Mind you if these shoes could really talk...  I would be in a lot of trouble for some of the mischief we got up to together. 

But what happens when I wear them out?  I will just remember what a magical time we had together.  So bon voyage from me as I prepare to head back to the other home… the good ole US of A.