Many years go my Mother-In-Law and Father-In-Law brought me a leather-bound copy of Tales of the Alhambra which they purchased on a trip to Granada Spain. My wife and I were both in graduate school in those days and had little or no money to buy gas for our rickety car let alone travel to Europe. But, I knew that one day we would be able to travel if we made it a priority like my wife's mom and dad did.
I read Washington Irving's account like I had read some other world travelers like Mark Twain and Pearl Buck. After traveling to Granada I reread Irving's book and it took on a whole new meaning. I could close my eyes and see what I had only imagined.
Last evening I began reading a book set in the dirt poor shanties of Soweto, South Africa. Having just been there a few months ago the words took on new meaning.
This is just another benefit of traveling. When you read Dan Brown's "The De Vinci Code" or about D-Day, having been places makes for a deeper understanding. (Photos by Mike and Marietta McLellan)
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