artoflivingkatie

The life. #caminodesantiago #camino #thewayofstjames

Not everyone’s gonna get it right the first time. I, for one, did not get it right the first 3 times. I might’ve lost 70€ and some dignity on this day, but I gained something more important. While my train was leaving the station, I was in the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella. I wandered in hoping to find a break from the heat. Then, things got weird. I took my pack off, sat in a pew, and absolutely sobbed. It was quite a scene. Somewhere on Facebook, there’s a photo of the famous alter and right under it there’s a girl in hippie pants and sandals aggressively crying next to a group of tourists trying to avoid eye contact. It must exist. There were a lot of things running through my mind that led to these tears, but the overwhelming thought was this: I am one lucky girl. I never planned to do the Camino. Honestly, it still makes no logical sense how I got to do it. But somehow everything fell into place to get me to that exact moment, and I was grateful. I got up from the pew, and for the first time in my career as a Catholic, I lit a prayer candle. I like to think this is the place where my Camino truly began. 5/13/24 #solotravel #travel #caminodesantiago #caminodesantiagoPortuguese #camino #thewayofstjames #italy #florence #femalesolotraveler #spain #portugal #backpacking #travelvlog #trains

Okay I change my mind, THIS is my favorite day. I had no idea the first part of the morning was going to be through such a gorgeous forest, I couldn’t stop saying wow! I spent a solid 3 hours pretending I was in Narnia until I met my new friends for the day, whom I walked with to the costal town where every single bed was booked… except for the ones in the school gym. A beds a bed. I really enjoyed the company of the group we formed today, laughter is the same in all languages. #caminodesantiago #spain #backpacking #forest #thewayofstjames #adventure #travel #travelvlog