Travel took on a new twist for Lacie Simpson, a recent Mercer Island High School graduate, when she visited Saudi Arabia in January.

Spending two weeks with the Saudi Arabian royal family was part of a dream come true for Simpson, whose passion for travel has taken her to 13 other countries, including Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, St. Lucia, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Italy.

“It is my dream to travel the world and explore as many different cultures and places as possible,” said Simpson.

The opportunity to visit Saudi Arabia grew out of Simpson’s friendship with Princess Sarah Al Saud at Franklin College in Lugano, Switzerland. The princess is the niece of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdul al-Aziz Al Saud.

Simpson met Princess Sarah during a weekend trip with their Women Travel Writers class in Cari, Switzerland, where they roomed together and participated in writing workshops. After Simpson expressed interest in visiting Saudi Arabia, she was personally invited by the princess.

The Saudi Arabian royal family’s private jet chauffeured Simpson from Paris to Saudi Arabia.

“I have never experienced such kindness in my whole life,” said Simpson. “The Saudi culture is generous and welcoming to foreigners.”

She witnessed such benevolence firsthand in Riyadh, the capital city, at the home of one of the world’s richest men: multi-billionaire Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal Al Saud, a cousin of Princess Sarah.

“The night I was there, I got to witness the prince’s weekly ritual of inviting 20 disadvantaged people to his home and giving them anything and everything to improve their lives,” said Simpson. “I saw him give away cars, houses and health insurance, and plastic surgery to a 5-year-old with severe burns on his face.”

The prince is a foremost investor in the U.S. economy.

Simpson stayed at Princess Sarah’s home in Jeddah, a city on the Red Sea coast across from Sudan. Military outposts protect the house. When traveling with Princess Sarah’s father, Prince Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Simpson rode in bulletproof cars with tinted windows and was accompanied by police brigades. Prince Nawaf, after all, was once the Chief of General Intelligence.

After leaving Jeddah, Simpson spent five days in Riyadh, where she was a guest at Prince Al Waleed’s Four Seasons Hotel.

Simpson toured museums in Riyadh, including Murabba Palace, where Princess Sarah’s father lived during his childhood. The palace was built by modern-day Saudi Arabia’s founder — Abdul-Aziz bin Saud, Princess Sarah’s grandfather, who reigned as king from 1932 to 1953.

Near Riyadh, Simpson ventured into the Rub Al’Khali Desert. “We raced off-road vehicles up and down the sand dunes. At night we sat around the campfire with [Princess Sarah’s] family,” she said. “I spent a lot of time visiting family. Everyone I met there was overwhelmingly nice.”

Simpson also explored Dir’iyyah, an ancient city where archaeologists are unearthing burial plots and underground mosques.

Simpson saw barns filled with the famed Arabian show horses, owned by Princess Sarah’s uncles. She drank Arabic coffee made without coffee beans; ate Lebanese food and hazelnut-like fruit cookies; slept in late, as Saudis begin their days in the afternoon; wore a black abaya, Muslim women’s traditional garb; heard Sunni Muslim prayers from mosques, five times daily; and even held a lion cub. She also sat at dinner tables set with an abundance of food, always including the Saudi national dish — Kebtsa, a large rice dish consisting of various meats.

“Every meal was like a Thanksgiving dinner,” Simpson observed.

But what particularly impressed her was this: “The [Saudi Arabian] culture and religion have suffered a great deal of stereotyping due to Sept. 11. And just because their culture and life is far different from ours on Mercer Island, it does not mean it is wrong or does not make sense,” she said.

Indeed, Simpson has a passion not only for travel but for culture. At Franklin College, she is exposed to many different cultures — even that of South America, as her roommates are from Venezuela and Colombia. She hears several different languages on a daily basis, speaks Spanish and some Italian, and plans to learn French.

“I think that what she’s doing is amazing,” said Simpson’s mother, Lisa Lansford. “I feel like, as a mom, I really couldn’t give her any better education than getting out in the world, living in other villages and towns.”

Simpson is considering a degree in international communications, which Princess Sarah is pursuing, and a career with international nonprofit organizations. Princess Sarah is now studying in Paris but will return to Franklin College. In the meantime, Simpson has kept in touch with the princess.

A future trip to Saudi Arabia is a possibility, but Simpson continues to live her dream through Franklin College’s academic travel program. Next month, she journeys to Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro.