"When the dog bites When the bee stings When I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, And then I don't feel so bad"

When I was growing up, my favorite place in the world was my grandmother and grandfather's house, aka Mama and Papa. It was the only place where I could walk through the door and felt like I mattered. All of my interests and taste in entertainment are because of them. They brought me to the theater, they took me out for fancy dinners and they showed me movies that were important to American culture. One of those movies was the Sound of Music.

I would go to the upstairs bedroom of my grandparent's house and sit on the floor in front of their small tv and put in the first VHS tape. The overture filled me up and I was immediately transported to Salzburg, Austria. As a little girl I didn't understand any of the references to WW2 and the Nazi's. I just simply loved Maria von Trapp and felt like someone finally understand who I was, how I was and the inner monologue in my head.

Watching this movie, listening to this music, it was the first time I had the desire to travel. In the movie, Salzburg was the most beautiful place in the world, with evidently the most beautiful people, that spoke in that Transatlantic accent. Salzburg was perfection.

When you get to go to a city you fell in love with based on really just an imagination, it's always lovely when it lives up to expectations. Being in Salzburg took me back to being that little girl in Mama and Papa's house, sitting on the bedroom floor watching both VHS tapes of one of my favorite movies ever. It's a good reminder that as long as you have your brain power, and never forget the power of your imagination, life will never disappoint and you can find magic anywhere.