These may be small steps, but a journey is not composed solely of leaps. Yes, you can drive yourself crazy trying to avoid sponsoring any business whose policies differ from your own, but when the commitment to celebrate hatred is cheered so loudly, you owe it to yourself to walk your wallet out the door. One American value is undeniably true: the votes you make with your money are counted.
international travel
Switching my tiara for a miner’s helmet in Berchtesgaden, Germany
There will be no photos of me wearing the miner’s outfit I donned for the salt mine tour in Berchtesgaden, Germany, as the ensemble is not exactly befitting the royal status of your Weekend Duchess. However, sliding down the shafts well beneath the surface of the earth with a crowd of German family tourists was easily one of my favorite travel experiences, unglamorous as it was. Sometimes your duchess weekends at Lake Como searching for George Clooney, but sometimes she needs to tunnel into the salt mines, too!
Making friends and seeing ballet with princesses in Madrid
At the end of the performance, everyone yelled enthusiastically for their hometown boy, Angel, and I let out a few cheers, as one does when he performs at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Well, my new little elderly friends were quick to chastise me, saying “No ‘Whoo!'” My elegant response of “Huh?” garnered the further explanation “In Espana, no ‘Whoo!’ Only ‘Bravo!”” So then, I flapped my fan, joined the chorus of “Bravo!” and my seatmates smiled proudly at their tall, blonde converted senorita.