A Visual Journey

by Jeremiah Curtis

It’s December now. A little less than three months ago Sofia and I were romping around France and the bordering countries. It feels like we got back yesterday while simultaneously feeling like we have been back for over a year. It’s a distant memory while also as vivid as this text in front of you. I thought long and hard about how to display the images I carefully took and what to say along with. Ultimately, I have decided to break it down to the four main chapters that made up the trip. Connecting what made each part unique and memorable.

Section 1: Paris

We visited Paris a total of three times throughout the trip. This gave us the chance to revisit parts we fell in love with, while also finding local recommendations. Paris, the New York City of Europe is a peculiar city. Never have I felt a sense of quaintness in such a large bustling environment. That, paired with the hustle and anonymity of a large city, helped create a culture I instantly fell in love with.

There is a sense of community that fills the streets and permeates through the air of Paris. A community grounded less in the superficial and more in the genuineness of the individual. I felt it strongly. It was as if the breeze of the Luxembourg Gardens was telling me something. Inviting me into myself, telling me that I must reconnect.

Located in the North of France, the people we met here provided an experience I thought I would never have again. Lille is the northern city where most of Sofia’s French family resides. Our time here was fully set aside for me to meet this side of Sofia’s life. I was excited for most of the normal reasons like getting to practice my French with people who would welcome me. What I didn’t expect was how cathartic of an experience this visit would be.

I was sitting down at Bon Mama’s living room. Sofia’s 90 year old Grandmother walks from the kitchen holding a few crackers and a bottle of aperitif. A tasty pre-meal alcoholic beverage. When she sat down, insisting I help myself, everything in the room got bigger. Suddenly, my feet no longer reached the ground from the chair, the walls got taller, and the rooms felt perfect for running circles around. I felt safe and like no one in the world would ever cause harm to another. We visited a few times, rain or shine riding bikes through Lille to get to her place. Not forgetting to drop by the bakery before. It kept happening though, each time I left with a strange perspective.

Our time visiting Lille was ultimately shorter than we would have liked. Riding around on bikes and having family show us around flew by. Cousins showed us neighboring cities like Bruges, Belgium and we visited the largest flea market ever. Called the Braderie. It all felt right, as if I found something I had been missing for longer than I ever knew. Maybe that’s why Bon Mama’s walls grew so tall. The feeling of strong family connection in a foreign place is surreal. It makes you feel like a kid again, or maybe more realistically it brings out the kid that never left. We all want the feeling of security and community in our lives, I feel really grateful to have found that connection abroad. We will be back Lille, there is no doubt about that.

I write about the mountains most often. I’ve pretty much branded myself as some sort of hippie mountain loving photographer who drinks coffee in the morning and IPAs at night. I do wholeheartedly love the mountains and the outdoor spaces around them. They’ve taught me more than any person ever could and they’ve given me peace when all else feels futile. I thought I had that part of me figured out, then we went to Chamonix.

It was like seeing mountains for the first time as a kid. Your eyes open up wide and then wider trying to capture all the grandeur. Then, you feel cold and tiny. As if someone tossed you into space with only a little map of the stars. The week we spent through this region is dearest to my heart. It was a reminder of the magnificence of the mountains. That we visit these places not to conquer or check a box but to learn. I realized that I don’t want to always search for new trails or climbs, but to simply bask in the pure might of what this Earth has to offer.

Giants exist and you will find them in the Alps. They make you feel utterly powerless as they tower over you and everything you hold dear. Their shadows reach across the valley like an arm searching on the other side. All the while, brave alpinists and alike are finding new ways to scale these titans. Chipping away at their ice beards in search of the summit. Hoping to find grace from the ever changing temperament of the granite peaks. With or without success, they return as if some form of worship to the great Giants we call the Alps.

Human connection has been a topic that’s been fascinating me lately. Connection through, community, conversation, activity, or whatever it may be. Visiting France really drove home how important it is to set human connections as a priority throughout life. When talking to friends about this trip, this is one of my biggest takeaways. The connectedness that people have with one another is much richer in France, it’s a culture living for the present much more than I can ever find back home. I don’t find it discouraging though. It is rather inspiring, a quality I want to inject into the community around me.

When we visited Beaune, the trip slowed down quite a bit. We took the days slower while we strolled around town looking for local ingredients for the night’s dinner. The air was filled with the aroma of freshly picked grapes as the farmers carted around loads of the small berry like fruit. Other days were rainy and quiet. Perfect weather for catching up on books and each other. Reflecting on our favorite moments and chatting about new perspectives.

I’m happy we capped the trip with some time in Beaune. It gave both Sofia and I the time to fully appreciate the few weeks we got to spend exploring such a beautiful country. Not forgetting what a privilege it was to get around with ease and comfort. This definitely won’t be our last time visiting. I know I want to go back out to spend time with family and venture a little further into the Alps, seeing what else they have to teach. For now, it is about taking the new perspectives and not losing them in the bustle of our wild world.