Life Lessons: Creating Amazing Memories
First lesson we learned from our mother was the importance of traveling the world and understanding our history! Our mom gave us the gift of travel growing up and it’s something to treasure. As children, we would fly from LA to Istanbul most summers and we’d stop in a major European city on the way there because no direct flights were available. Our mother thought it was important that we learn by visiting major cities, getting to know different cultures, historic buildings, art, and culture on our trips.
At the time, during my earliest memories, I thought to myself “why do we have to take a city tour or visit museums?” Often, tired from jet lag, we just wanted to rest or go sleep. Our mom was vehement about us visiting the city. We have amazing memories of London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Denmark etc…Interestingly, our love of art came from all these trips.
There were highlights from each city but thinking back it was the museums and the palaces that really left an impression. Some stand out memories for art: In Amsterdam, we loved the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum. Rembrandt paintings were beautiful to us. In Paris, the Musee D’Orsay captivated us with the Impressionists and the Louvre with the Mona Lisa. We also loved the sculptures in the Rodin museum. One of the first palaces to really make an impression was Palace of Versailles because of its architecture, furniture and the amazing gardens. I have wondered, at times, if my love of flowers was founded in all the travel we did growing up.
The love of French impressionists started from these trips and continued during college as part of the Education Abroad Program while living in Grenoble, France and traveling through-out the country. We also visited New York City with our Turkish grandmother which was her wish before she passed away.
During these trips, I remember trying so many different foods and learning about each area’s traditional breakfasts, popular dishes and yummy treats. Our mother loved eating pastries, so we tried them wherever we went. Stay tuned, as we will elaborate more on this in a life lesson related to food in the future.
We learned and loved the history of Istanbul more than any other city because we went there so often. Topkapi Palace was where our love of gemstones first started. The jeweled weaponry and the size of the emeralds and sapphires astounded us. We loved visiting the Harem and seeing the beautiful blue ceramic tiles. The rich history and beauty of the grounds were amazing. We knew then that we wanted to share these experiences with other people. We are truly grateful for the travel experiences we had and the amazing memories these trips created!
Thinking back on your formative years, what stands out for you in your memories? How have they helped shape who you are and what you do? It’s so interesting to reflect on the memories we share with our family and friends; these are such meaningful gifts in our lives. Are you able to share your heritage with family and friends? We hope YOU enjoy the unique jewelry we create to reflect our heritage, utilizing the gemstones and ecofriendly metals from both our backgrounds!