I stood facing the wide expanse of blue sea, my toes sinking deeper into the sand as each wave glided over and past my toes. I felt the warmth of the sun tan – or rather, burn – my skin and took in a deep breath of fresh beach air.

My view of the Adriatic

This, to me, was heaven.

The body of water that lay before me was the Adriatic Sea. Beyond that, although I could not see any sign of land, sits Croatia and the lands of Eastern Europe.

It dawned on me that I had done this exact same thing just one week before, although  not in Pesaro, Italy. I had been at home in California, with my feet covered in familiar Laguna Beach sand, saying good-bye to the Pacific Ocean before I took my journey eastward.

The fact that I could draw a line on the globe from where I now stood in Pesaro, to that spot in Laguna made this moment seem even more mind-blowing. As I looked across the sea, I pictured “Leah from one week ago” staring back from her spot on the shore.

In my head, the world had become very small. Those hours spent on planes and buses seemed like minor steps to get here to this moment.

It didn’t even matter what language my fellow beach-goers were speaking, be it English or Italian, German or French. A peaceful, relaxing day at the beach is universal. And we were all entitled to enjoy that magnificent view, just as so many had before and would continue to do after we had packed up our beach towels for the day.