Reflections: A Map Comes To Life

We sat down today to start planning the European leg of our trip.  We've already been privy to breath-taking views, unforgettable adventures, and marriage-building experiences.  And it's been...well, "awesome" doesn't even do it justice.

But as we've planned and traveled, I've found an unexpected (platonic) love: Watching a neighborhood/city/region come to life, even before our bags are packed.  

It starts with an airport code: ATH, and an arrival date: February 25.

Add a WiFi connection and browser window, and off we go.

First stop: Google Maps.

But the map is just a bunch of streets and green spaces and grey areas that don't mean anything.  We don't know where people live, where they shop, where the best sites are, how to get around, or...anything, really.

Then, our fingers start flying:

One of us starts to research hotels/motels,

The other has an inkling of a cool spot to see, and heads off for reviews of Things To Do in X.

We collide over a description of neighborhoods, and hunch over the same screen:  Where do all the tourists hang out (let's skip that spot!)?  What's loud? quiet? dirty? clean?  Is this spot safe (enough)?  Where's the art? the ruins? the food?

One of us wanders to a new browser window to investigate local transportation.  Can we get a pass? Take a cab?  Use the bus? Join a group? Walk to where we want to go?

The other turns to the hotels/motels again, to TripAdvisor, to some reviews.  How do the locals think/speak/act?  How does the country view/treat tourists?  What's the custom, what's the standard? Can you check-in early? Can you check-in late? Will the staff suggest a place to eat?  hold your luggage for a day? advise you on the bus schedule? 

And we're back to transportation.  Around and around, the circles continue.

But every time around, with wider eyes that see the place a little more clearly.

Just like that, in the course of an afternoon, the place has come to life.  If something happened and we never actually got on the plane, I'd still remember more from our planning than I have from any geography or social studies lesson in school. 

I think I've discovered why people become travel agents, and why they read about far off places, and why they "plan" a fictitious vacation somewhere exotic during a slow day at the office.  

Because now, I see so much more than colored sections on a map - I see a living, breathing, bustling, beautiful city.

So, if you'll excuse me, Greece is calling my name...