Europe has called to me since I was a teenager, and I vowed—without knowing how it would be done—to find a way for it to become a regular part of my life.

Coming up on my second trip across the pond this year, with a third already planned for year’s end, it’s taken over a decade to begin coming to fruition, and has been worth every minute of waiting.

The kindness of the people, and the quality of the food…

The deep, rich history baked into the fabric of the people, the cities, and their lifestyles…

The beautiful architecture…

The buildings and homes which seem to have been plucked out of a storybook…

The general sense of calm, peace, and control, which contrasts brilliantly with the hustle & bustle of local markets, winding side-streets, and raucous restaurants…

Tomorrow morning Alicia and I are jumping on a plane bound for Barcelona, and kicking off of a quick, 13-day (I swear that wasn’t intentional) trip through Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga (all spots in Spain), and wrapping up in Amsterdam.

I Fucking Love Europe.

That Love is something I’ve felt in my bones since I took my first memorable trip to Greece when I was twelve.

It was confirmed when I spent three months in isolation in Athens to sort my shit out at the end of 2016.

And it’s a love I’ve felt time and time again while:

• Taking Alicia to Greece to meet my Father (it’s funny how people start to make a lot more sense when you meet their parents)

  
  

• Wandering the winding, unnamed streets in the heart of Athens with my dad before making our way home for an evening of wine, food, music, and conversation (for two Greek-blooded men, it doesn’t get much better than this)

  
  

• Talking about the art of written persuasion, while topping up blood-caffeine levels with Mike Samuels in London (if you ever find yourself in a position where you can meet a mentor or someone who has helped and influenced you, do so)

  
  

• Walking the canals of Amsterdam waiting for the mushrooms Alicia and I chewed on to drop (there’s something special about the anticipation of waiting, meshed with the scenery slowly melting into a beautiful, warm aura while walking hand-in-hand with Love)
  
  

Many of my favourite memories, and happiest moments are set in Europe.

I remember how I felt the first time I visited Amsterdam, for two wet, winter days in January during a stopover on my home back to Canada.

Perhaps most importantly: my first stint in Amsterdam was the first time in 18-20 months where I found myself able to step away from work, and immerse myself in my surroundings without feeling like shamble-men were coming to tear everything away from me.

Europe is a special place, rich in many of my values, and a wellspring of curiosity.

Anywho—that’s enough rambling on my love of Europe.

Over this trip I’m going to shift these daily emails ever-so-slightly.

Each email will be framed off of an event, sight, or experience from the day prior, and I intend to use this as an opportunity to practice true and pure storytelling.

I imagine the first few will be a painful struggle to write.

Then, like anything you suck at it, improvement will come.

As Rick Sanchez would say, that’s the waaaaaay the news goes.

No Guild pre-sale link today, but if you want to see some visuals to accompany these emails over the coming days, click down yonder to follow me on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/alexmullan13/

Much love.

_A. Mullan