When I was picturing my future career, I couldn’t imagine a cooler job that one that took me to Europe a lot. If I had done a trade study¹And yes, we have already discussed trade studies…, I probably should have picked aviation²In truth, I know I didn’t have what it took to be a Flight Attendant. as the field I would study and try get to a position where I was in the group that set the guidance for how aviation would advance³To be clear, when I was dreaming of traveling Europe in my teens, I was not wanting to be an engineer. And, even though my job is not to be an engineer on the committee, the engineering background helps. A lot.. Of course, the internet was just for college professors and skunk works engineers at that time. There was no Google. I would have had to go to the library, use the card catalog, and rely on how other wrote about their careers. We did this in Civics class in ninth grade, and I don’t remember anything about working in aviation.

The point, to my teenage self, would be to travel and explore. I wanted to know the places in the histories I studied. I wanted to see the places that had lasted for thousands of years and what remained of them. The Parthenon. The Roman Colosseum. Hadrian’s Wall⁴Yes, it does matter that my education was centered on western histories and western traditions. We dream of exploring what we learn.

When using Google Maps⁵Who remembers MapQuest? to chart my business trips, I focus on if a place looks walkable. Can I get to the meeting locations on public transportation? Does the hotel have reviews that make it look attractive⁶I try to stay local, especially in Germany. They have fascinating non-chain hotels there.? Will it be safe to walk around and explore?

While planning my last adventure, I was very excited to spot a taco place just half a mile from the hotel I had picked. There were no international chain hotels in the town. I thought about staying about 30 min away so I could get points, but I am glad I made the decision to stay local and explore the area.

The taco place was good⁷But I had a quesadilla there.. Sometimes, at the end of a long day, it is hard to make myself go get a real dinner. A grocery for snacks almost always fills my evening meals as I catch up on work. But this trip, I was getting to know the people I had spent two years interacting with by zoom calls, so it was a good decision to be a little social in the evening.

When in Paris, there is a taco place I have visited too. It was recommended to a friend of mine, and she wanted to try it. She wanted to try it with someone⁸When we get to travel together, she generally drags me to places I would never go on my own.. After our meetings ended for the day, we made our way down into Paris proper⁹So hard to know how to refer to the parts of Paris we see in movies. I rarely state there. Too expensive. to a little hole in the wall. No air conditioning. It was the place where we could get tacos¹⁰And only tacos.. They were good. It was like being inside a food truck. Very small. 6 seats at a lunch counter. We had to have our tacos at the bar in the kitchen, but then go to a small 8 table room to have a margarita¹¹As I recall, the margaritas were less enjoyable. There was air conditioning in the bar. No tacos though..

And of course, tacos in Iceland are a thing too. There is a Taco Bell in Iceland which is a combination Taco Bell/KFC. When I first tried that place, I was transported back to the Taco Bell I craved while I was craving travel as a poor college student devouring Mexican pizzas and chicken soft tacos with my employee discount from working there 20 hours a week. The food was good, but I will never eat the ground beef tacos again¹²Not even in Iceland.. One of the fancy brunch places in Reykjavik had brisket tacos I tried last November. The chef took the concept of tacos and turned it on its head. Delicious¹³And bottomless prosecco to go with the brisket tacos!. 

I find it comforting and exciting to explore how tacos are created when I travel around Europe¹⁴Half of Iceland is part of Europe. The other half is part of North America. Geography is fascinating!. It is comforting because tacos are a home food. Tacos are what you get as a special treat when you get to go to ChiChis to celebrate a good report card. Tacos are what you get when you have time to run out and get lunch in DC¹⁵District Tacos. Another great taco place..

I am off to Paris again soon for another set of meetings. Will I go to the taco place? No. You see, the friend who recommended it and the friend who drug me there – they won’t be at this meeting. It was good, but not good enough to make the journey into Paris with out the added benefit of being with a friend.

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