The author reflects on experiences in Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Paris that helped her gain perspective on the vastness of the world. In Antwerp, she and friends gazed up at the towering Cathedral of Our Lady and felt fortunate to be traveling. In Amsterdam, she got lost searching for the Van Gogh Museum but observed the city. In Paris, she watched the sunrise reveal the Eiffel Tower and reflected on feeling small in the immense universe. These moments made numbers like city sizes feel real and showed the hugeness of the world we explore.

1. Elsie Gaw
September 20, 2014
Travel Writing
Essay #1
Perspective
Long distances and huge populations are simply numbers until you travel the
world and begin to see these measurements come to life. During the time I recently spent
in Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Paris, several moments helped me to see this.
The white stone tower of the Cathedral of Our Lady contrasted against the dark
night sky in Antwerp. It protruded far into the sky, acting as a center point of the city that
I felt my eyes gravitating towards. Although it was the size of a city skyscraper, its
antiquity showed by the worn stone, large golden clock, and medieval architecture. As
four of us sat together as a combination of new and old friends, sipping the crisp chill of
Heineken, we all stared up at the Cathedral. The conversation focused on how fortunate
we are: to have such selfless parents who enabled us to do Semester at Sea, to live in a
first world country, and to be making new friends while seeing so many new parts of the
world, constantly moving.
Deep in Amsterdam, I clicked my Google Maps app, hoping it would
miraculously open, as I looked for street signs I hoped to decipher. My brain was
working overtime and my heart beat rapidly and I continued to walk, letting out a sigh
when I found a familiar sign. I continued walking, alone, past bridges and canals. I
passed cafes filled with people, McDonald’s, an Apple Store, and many, many thin, tall
buildings covered with windows, unique to Amsterdam. Feeling as if I had been walking
aimlessly for hours in my search for the Van Gogh museum, signs directing me to this
very place began to appear. I followed one, under a giant, red brick building resembling a

2. station of some type. Leaving the darkness of this tunnel, I was suddenly behind the
famed large red and white blocks reading “i amsterdam.” Hundreds of excited tourists
climbed the letters. Others sat on benches next to an extended pool of water, placed in
front of the letters, which stretched back to create a perfectly mirrored reflection of the
giant words. Children giggled and shrieked on a sandy playground nearby. Some relaxed
on nearby grass, silently enjoying the scene. When I finally reached the Van Gogh
Museum, only a short walk from the letters, it was closed. I was not able to go into a
museum that day, however I had still learned, observed, and changed.
I rolled off of the bus, eyes still drooping with sleep after the six hour ride from
Amsterdam. The outskirts of Paris were still dark and quiet at 5:30 a.m. We roamed past
barely opened cafes, but mostly empty, shut down buildings. Our parched mouths, heavy
backs, and stiff bodies craved a place to rest, but we continued to wander. The stress of a
lack of transportation and destination loomed over the group of twelve, with each person
pulling in a different direction. Eventually, we spotted the large red gates labeled
“METRO”, and found our way to the train towards Tour Eiffel. Upon exiting the subway,
we walked along the barely lit sidewalk, when finally the famous landmark appeared
above the dark bushes. The huge, iron, latticed structure stood out against natural
fireworks of clouds in the sky, which were exploding with color as the sun rose. The
periwinkle sky was streaked with hot pink and bright orange whose shadows were the
color of deep ink. Other people were not in sight, but birds flew rapidly around the tower,
their flaps and caws invading the otherwise silent area. We finally rested on a bench near
the tower, gazing both up at this huge, famous structure, and also at the slightly
lightening, painted sky created by the sunrise.

3. Simply numbers can represent the exact sizes of the Cathedral of Our Lady, the
city of Amsterdam, and the Eiffel Tower. However, these numbers do not have meaning
until the hugeness of these things are not just seen, but experienced. They each are a part
of an even huger world, which we are all currently fortunate enough to be exploring and
experiencing. Each city we visit holds millions of people, and even more visitors each
year. Seeing the sunrise at the Eiffel Tower is an experience involving parts of the
universe far beyond even our huge world. The bubble of home many people live in can
be comforting and enjoyable, however, it is exhilarating to begin to realize how small
each person is, in a giant, complex universe made up of so many individuals.