It’s been a heavy few days. What happened in Paris, Beirut, Baghdad all within 24 hours of each other has appalled the world. I felt sick to my stomach when I first heard about the attacks. Terrorism is an anomaly for us lucky enough to live in the privileged, western world, yet for lots of people around the world, coping with these atrocities can be a daily trauma. So how should we react? The actions of extremists fuelled by hatred are outside our control, so we can act in protest of this by approaching our daily lives with as much love, kindness and tolerance as we can because darkness can only be overcome with light. I am booked on a plane to Paris on Tuesday and am torn as to whether or not I should reschedule. Should I carry on as usual in defiance of the terrorists who want to instil fear? Or should I reschedule because travelling to Paris to snap away at croissants, pastries and the romantic streets simply doesn’t feel appropriate? What do you think I should do?
On another lighter note, as you may have seen on Instagram, I spent a couple of lovely days in Hamburg this week. I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again — I love this city! It has such a different feel to Berlin and there are parts of the city where I felt more like I was in Amsterdam than in Germany! I stayed in a beautiful lake-front room at the Hotel Atlantic Kempinski, a charming, old-world hotel right on the lake. Check back soon both here and on World of Wanderlust for more of Hamburg soon.
Other things? I got to have newborn baby cuddles with my darling friend’s brand new little girl a few days ago. I don’t think there’s anything in the world softer than baby skin. My heart completely melted!
Here are this week’s favourite links:
WATCH: An Italian road trip honeymoon. Because Italy is my favourite.
READ: There has been an outpouring of grief for Paris over the past few days, while the terrorist attacks in Beirut and Baghdad go almost without coverage. This article asks why the western media has been so selective in its coverage.
EAT: This sweet potato, black bean and quinoa burger. Yessss.
MAKE: These would make for the most lovely mail to send to someone you’ve been thinking of.
BUY: Have you guys checked out my new store on Society 6 yet? I’m selling a range of travel prints over there. A reader sent me a pic of the three she ordered recently that have just been delivered to her. I’m so happy she loves them!
GO: The landscape of northern Sweden is something special, don’t you think?
Love, always x
8 Comments
I was watching the football game when the attacks happened and you could hear two explosions through the TV. I stayed up until 1:00 watching the news and following the latest happenings. I can’t describe how much disgusted I am by the actions of the terrorists. It’s going to be a hard sleep.
It’s so awful Alex. I’m glad you were watching it on TV and not in the actual stadium yourself.
Do you remember me Ms Bale? 😉
Alex from our History class! Of course I do! Hope you’re doing great this year
Do me the favor and don’t go to Paris. It’s a beautiful city but I believe such sad atmosphere lies over it at the moment, it might be it’s not worth the risk…
Thanks for your concern, Alex. I am really torn in two about rescheduling or not. There’s a big difference between fear and risk and I think the risk of something else happening now is quite low. But I know it will be a very sombre atmosphere…
That’s certainly a difficult decision to make, but I think it’d be worthwhile to still go to Paris. I’ve only gotten updates about Paris through news outlets, and I’d appreciate hearing about the city and its people from your point of view as a visitor. But, of course, do whatever you think is best.
-Claire
tallgirlbigworld.com
Thanks for your thoughts Claire. We’ve decided to delay our visit by one week, mainly because it just feels a bit raw still to go so soon. I’ll be there this time next week and will let you know what the atmosphere is like then. If you follow @expatedna on Snapchat, she’s posting updates from Paris at the moment if you’re interested xx