I was fortunate enough to travel throughout parts of Europe for 2 full weeks this year. 2 weeks! I’ve never taken this long of a vacation in my life. I went to Ireland once with my best friend for 9 days about 3 years ago. It was the longest, best, 9-day pub crawl I’ve ever done. But this was different. This was with my boyfriend of 3+ years and we wanted to sight-see as well as visit his French family.
I also wanted to simply be me. When I’m me, things happen. My height attracts attention and I wanted to record the extra-ordinary events that take place when you are tall. Being tall creates opportunities. However sometimes it’s difficult to see these situations as opportunities. Every city holds a special piece of me now because I can say that I’ve been there and in every city, something special happened. In fact, it all started in the airplane. My boyfriend told the flight attendant that I was a former Miss Tall International and he wanted his picture with me. He then announced it to the crowd as we were waiting in line to get through customs.
In Amsterdam I was absolutely astounded at how tall people were. Everywhere I looked I was staring people in the forehead, or even in the eyes. Sounds silly, huh? Not if you’re 6’4”. Typically I look around and all I can see is hair or the tops of heads (sometimes bald). But this time I saw faces and it was beautiful! Amsterdam had scores of tall folks everywhere I looked. I felt very at home. When I visited the Anne Frank historical site there were several other tall folk there and we all had some trouble on the teeny tiny stairs. I had to go up the stairs sideways because of how steep they were and it gave our tall group something to giggle about even though it was a very somber historical setting. I had a feeling of camaraderie with these strangers and I wouldn’t have had this without my big feet.
In Brussels I’m fairly certain I was hit on by a homeless man. I can’t be sure of the language he spoke nor can I be sure that he was homeless but he followed me along making gestures and speaking. I simply nodded and smiled the entire time. He kept making this tall motion with his hand and when he realized that I didn’t understand, he winked. Now that I’m familiar with so I understood part of what he was saying but it’s too bad we couldn’t understand each other. That really would’ve been a fun conversation.
We took a side trip to Bruges. I would highly recommend this city to anyone and everyone as it is so beautiful! As we sat in the restaurant overlooking the smaller town square I asked the waiter if he could recommend a local brew. He suggested one and I always go with suggestions of waiters (they know what they are talking about!). He brought the glass of Leffe beer and it was huge. He had this cute little grin and he impishly said, “Grand beer for grand lady”. I couldn’t help but smile. Yeah, I know I’m grand. The beer was delightfully spicy and I was pleasantly surprised to find a store here in Portland that carries it.
In England, London Bridge was where I had the most fun with my height. Visiting the London Bridge was a popular place for schools to take tours and I ran into many, many children who would laugh with me as I had to bend over to fit through the tiny doors.
In Paris I wanted to shop. I could’ve shopped along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées but I’m a bargain shopper and I really don’t care about brand names or couture. I wandered all around Paris and I found a shop called ‘Sunshine’. I found exactly what I was looking for in this shop. Longer tops, fun and feminine, I even saw a few dresses that looked pretty good but I was looking for tops. I went into H&M and found a couple of cute shirts there too. See, tall people can find shirts…we tall girls simply can’t find pants and fitted pieces of clothing. It was fun watching my boyfriend speaking in his fluent French (he’s from Montreal) and me pretending that I understood exactly what was being said by everyone. I think the best part of shopping in Paris was when I wandered into a plus size shop and the saleswomen were trying to fit me into everything as well as teach me French, to the amusement of my boyfriend.
What I learned from my European trip is simple: People are generally the same everywhere…Period. It’s wonderful and consistent and as long as you continue to have a smile on your face you’ll be received as such. For me, this lesson was life-changing. The better my outlook, the better I feel, the better I’m received by strangers. It’s such a simple thing and it goes far beyond my vertical measurements.
I also wanted to simply be me. When I’m me, things happen. My height attracts attention and I wanted to record the extra-ordinary events that take place when you are tall. Being tall creates opportunities. However sometimes it’s difficult to see these situations as opportunities. Every city holds a special piece of me now because I can say that I’ve been there and in every city, something special happened. In fact, it all started in the airplane. My boyfriend told the flight attendant that I was a former Miss Tall International and he wanted his picture with me. He then announced it to the crowd as we were waiting in line to get through customs.
In Amsterdam I was absolutely astounded at how tall people were. Everywhere I looked I was staring people in the forehead, or even in the eyes. Sounds silly, huh? Not if you’re 6’4”. Typically I look around and all I can see is hair or the tops of heads (sometimes bald). But this time I saw faces and it was beautiful! Amsterdam had scores of tall folks everywhere I looked. I felt very at home. When I visited the Anne Frank historical site there were several other tall folk there and we all had some trouble on the teeny tiny stairs. I had to go up the stairs sideways because of how steep they were and it gave our tall group something to giggle about even though it was a very somber historical setting. I had a feeling of camaraderie with these strangers and I wouldn’t have had this without my big feet.
In Brussels I’m fairly certain I was hit on by a homeless man. I can’t be sure of the language he spoke nor can I be sure that he was homeless but he followed me along making gestures and speaking. I simply nodded and smiled the entire time. He kept making this tall motion with his hand and when he realized that I didn’t understand, he winked. Now that I’m familiar with so I understood part of what he was saying but it’s too bad we couldn’t understand each other. That really would’ve been a fun conversation.
We took a side trip to Bruges. I would highly recommend this city to anyone and everyone as it is so beautiful! As we sat in the restaurant overlooking the smaller town square I asked the waiter if he could recommend a local brew. He suggested one and I always go with suggestions of waiters (they know what they are talking about!). He brought the glass of Leffe beer and it was huge. He had this cute little grin and he impishly said, “Grand beer for grand lady”. I couldn’t help but smile. Yeah, I know I’m grand. The beer was delightfully spicy and I was pleasantly surprised to find a store here in Portland that carries it.
In England, London Bridge was where I had the most fun with my height. Visiting the London Bridge was a popular place for schools to take tours and I ran into many, many children who would laugh with me as I had to bend over to fit through the tiny doors.
In Paris I wanted to shop. I could’ve shopped along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées but I’m a bargain shopper and I really don’t care about brand names or couture. I wandered all around Paris and I found a shop called ‘Sunshine’. I found exactly what I was looking for in this shop. Longer tops, fun and feminine, I even saw a few dresses that looked pretty good but I was looking for tops. I went into H&M and found a couple of cute shirts there too. See, tall people can find shirts…we tall girls simply can’t find pants and fitted pieces of clothing. It was fun watching my boyfriend speaking in his fluent French (he’s from Montreal) and me pretending that I understood exactly what was being said by everyone. I think the best part of shopping in Paris was when I wandered into a plus size shop and the saleswomen were trying to fit me into everything as well as teach me French, to the amusement of my boyfriend.
What I learned from my European trip is simple: People are generally the same everywhere…Period. It’s wonderful and consistent and as long as you continue to have a smile on your face you’ll be received as such. For me, this lesson was life-changing. The better my outlook, the better I feel, the better I’m received by strangers. It’s such a simple thing and it goes far beyond my vertical measurements.
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