WanderingWhy…

Let me start off by saying that I love planning a trip. Love it. I will even plan trips for others to a limited degree (I don’t want to be held too responsible for your trip). Do you need a discounted airfare? I am the patient searcher, finding the flight I want and then waiting,waiting, waiting, then pouncing when I see the price drop. I would be lying if I did not say I get sort of a high from this-feeling like I got a great deal, knowing I can use that saved cash for fun things on the trip itself. I live for that.
I am the trip planner of the WanderingWhy Team. I buy the tickets, I research the area to stay in, I check the weather reports, and I know the currency conversion. Sometimes I am lucky if WS even knows what the currency is. Did he just dare to ask me if we were getting a good conversion rate? Surely he jests.
I also have an intrepid love affair with airports. I know many people hate that part of travel: the security lines, the baggage fees, the jostling and waiting to get on board. Not me. Well, aside from the baggage fees, I live for that stuff. I don’t mind the security line. I have a little contest with myself to see how quickly I can load and unload my belongings into that silver bin meant to hold all my treasures. More often than not I wear flip flops to expedite the process. And my jacket? Girl, you know I took that off long ago and put it in my carry-on bag.
Airports, to me, have always been a place of emotion. Before the advent of strict security and limited gate access, my best friend and I would drive to the airport in Pittsburgh for no good reason except to people watch. We would pick a destination; sit at the gate, and watch. Watch happiness as two separated lovers were reunited. Watch sadness as two siblings hugged over a lost loved one. Watch anxiousness and excitement as a child flew alone for the first time. We were voyeurs without a ticket. Once the flights trickled down for the night, we would leave in silence, absorbing what we saw and creating stories in our head as to what happened next.
And so, I do not mind sitting at the gate, gazing at the families around me, the solo travelers, the backpackers ready to take that big step. WS knows better than to talk to me at times like that, I am too busy constructing stories in my head and absorbing the emotion of the place.
I board with the plane with hope and excitement, all the while still constructing my stories.
Once on board, there is that moment, right before you push back from the gate, that you feel the plane make a slight gentle lurch backwards. That subtle movement always makes me say in my head “here we go”. I sit back, and I enjoy my flight, no matter how long. After taking trains in India, I can fly an infinite number of hours in comfort and happiness. There are bathrooms, there are drinks, there are snacks. I am ready to go wherever this silver bullet takes me. And the moment the plane touches down on foreign soil, I am giddy with excitement (and usually lack of sleep because of said excitement).
And customs? No sir, I do not mind customs. That long line is full of anticipation for me and a chance to contemplate “what’s next”. Where can I find an ATM? How will we take public transport to our destination? (although I have already done my research, ha!) Where will we go first? What will the air smell like here? What lies outside the glass booth of the customs agent? And once I hear that double “thunk thunk” of the passport stamp, I am ready. So ready to go.
And so, as we decide where to wander next, these thoughts make the journey for me just as enjoyable as the destination. Bon Voyage!

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There are a few things about our blog that you may not know, that you may not even care about. But I wanted to share a few things about us and this blog that may make you look at us differently.

1. WanderingWhy makes no money. This is not a blog that creates income for us. We sell no space on this blog, we do not advertise, we do not pimp ourselves out for money. Do you see any Google Ads on this page? Me neither. We started an Amazon list in 2007 (on the right) and have not updated it since. Hence, no cash inflow from that. The goal was never to make money from this blog. It was started as a postcard home from our travels, and grew into what we have today. We have never tried to change what it evolved into, but we remain a no-nonsense blog meant to entertain and inform.

2. We do not recommend places based on someone asking us. We tell you about places or services because we genuinely like them. We do not take freebies in exchange for reviews. If there is a review on here, we paid for the service and felt strongly enough about it to tell you about it.

3. We do not write about places we have not been to. If it is on this blog, we have personally been there. We may pine for places, but we offer no advice about a place we have never seen beyond our computer screen. If you have a question about a place, we have personally seen it, breathed it, lived it, and are happy to help in any way we can.

4. We love travel. We love to go somewhere without a plan, and wander around. We love that maybe this little travel blog helps to inspire people to travel the world, maybe just one city or country at a time. But I bet you knew that already, didn’t you? Next up, Istanbul!

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This is one of my favorite descriptors learned while traveling. We first heard it used in an article we read in Australia. Once we learned what a travel wanker was, we wondered how we had gone so long without a definition for a, well, wanker.

A travel wanker is the traveler who has to constantly one- up you. And I know you have all experienced a travel wanker. A conversation with a travel wanker would go something like this:

YOU: Hi, nice to meet you! Where are you from?

TRAVEL WANKER (TW): Originally I am from Blah-Blah, but I fancy myself a nomad and traveler.

YOU: Oh really? Where was your last stop?

TW: I just left Southeast Asia.

YOU: Really? Us too! We loved it there! The people were amazing.

TW: Did you go to Burma?

YOU: No, we didn’t have time.

TW: Oh my gosh, it’s like you didn’t even GO to Southeast Asia! Burma is amazing, it is so unspoiled. I go off the backtracker trail myself, to all sorts of undiscovered places, before it becomes mainstream and touristed. I go where the locals go.

YOU: We hope to go in the future.

TW: Humph. Well, anyway, I am an avid traveler, where else have you been?

YOU: Um, well, last year we went to Ireland.

TW: Ireland,yes, I have been there. And Scotland, and England, and Iceland. Everywhere up in that corner of the world. You?

YOU: No, we have only been to Ireland.

TW: Oh, that’s too bad, you really missed out. By the time you get up there it won’t be the same, it will be all touristed and ruined. Anyway, last year when I was in Borneo at this Orangutan rescue organization…..blah, blah , blah….which was after I backpacked thru Malaysia…..blah, blah, blah

And so the conversation goes. Anyway you have been, TW has been, and has had a much more authentic and enjoyable time than you did. Everywhere TW has been, and you haven’t yet, is a lost opportunity for you and you will never get to have the experiences TW did. Anything you can do, TW can do better. Anything you haven’t done, TW is not surprised. Not everyone can be the amazing traveler that TW is. The conversation is less of a volley back and forth, and more of a discussion of where TW has been. Tell us, TW, is there any place you haven’t been? We thought we were good travelers until we met you! Boy, were we wrong!

And how about you? Have you met any Travel Wankers in your time? What was your conversation like?

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A few days ago I read an interesting blog post by another travel blogger about travel regrets. This topic and article got me thinking, did I have any travel regrets?
When I talked to Wandering Sean about this, he said “I don’t regret anything about our travels. “ Pause….”Except not putting down roots when we first got to Central America and learning Spanish better.” Pause….”And not going on a safari yet.” When he stopped to think, he did have a few. And so did I .

Number One: Not pushing harder to be an exchange student in high school

Now, the catch to this one is, how hard can you push back at your mom? There was an exchange program our high school had with a school in Caracas, Venezuela. When the group prior to my potential group flew down, there had been riots in Caracas. The students were sequestered in their hosts’ homes during this unrest. No one was hurt, but it made my mom steadfast in her decision, there would be no wandering for little Wandering Dawn. I can’t blame her, but my 40 year old self wishes I could have provided compelling information that would have swayed her, some scrap of soothing rhetoric that would have gotten me on that plane. But I didn’t, and she didn’t budge, and my senior year passed without stepping foot in Venezuela. I wonder how my views on the world would have been if I got to travel at such a young age.

Number Two: Electing out of Conversational Spanish

This seemingly intelligent move at the time affected my ability to converse while traveling immensely. I was a freshman in college, taking some seriously challenging classes, when I stepped in to Conversational Spanish. From the very beginning I was intimidated beyond belief. I was used to being top of my class in high school Spanish, and this rattled me. How could I keep up with all of my science classes when this class was going to be so intensive? Spanish was supposed to be my “easy” class. I dropped it within a few weeks. Yes, this lightened my workload, but when we first stepped foot in Latin America I had plenty of time to be remorseful about that decision.

Number Three: Avoiding Colombia

When we traveled long term in 2007, we started in Central America with a planned continuance into South America. WS wanted to fly from Panama to Colombia. I was dead set against it. I had seen too much on TV, read too much about how dangerous it was. I fought and I fought, and I won. It was not until after a year of continuous travel that I realized my mistake. We were in Thailand during the Yellow Shirts. We were in Egypt during a bombing. And I realized that what I saw on TV was not what I saw outside my door. I realized that I was making decisions based on news stories that I thought were the be all end all of what a country was. I was too fresh in my travel shoes to go then, and regret not taking that chance.

Number Four: Not going to Europe after college graduation

I got my master’s! Yea! I got a job! Yea! I need to pay off a student loan! Boo!
After graduation from college, a group of friends were planning a five week trip to Europe. I declined to go because of money. Even though my student loan was deferred for 6 months after graduation, I had learned that starting to pay early could significantly affect the principle. This is true. And it did. But it also secured the fact that I would never be able to take a backpacking trip long term (okay maybe not, but it sure felt like it). I wish someone would have pushed me harder to go. I wish I would have seen it as more of a priority than I did. But I didn’t. And when I heard stories about that fabulous trip, I regretted the decision.
Although…that decision did lead me to WS! Now that is a blog post all on its own!

How about you? Do you have any travel regrets ?

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There are very few places that we have been to that I would return to.  Why?  The answer is not much more than this: it is a big world and there are a lot of great places out there I have not yet seen.  Why would I spend time going to the same place again and again?  My travel list is much too long.

However, there are always a few places along the way that win your heart, and going back there would not be such an awful thing.  And then there are those places that I would actively seek an opportunity to revisit.  For this wanderer, these are the top three places I would revisit in a heartbeat and why.

JAPAN

Absolutely my number one. To prove that point, we have been there twice, once in 2007, and again in 2008.  The first time around, I fought WS on going.  Too expensive, I said.  We can’t swing it on our budget, I said.  I finally relented, and in 2007 it became part of our around the world adventure.   From the moment we arrived, I was in love.  Japan appealed to my sense of order.  I loved the cleanliness.  I loved the quietness on the subways and trains.  I loved the punctuality of the public transportation. The food was amazing, from local ramen shops to the sushi, to the snacks at 7-11.  I loved it all.  I was fascinated by their culture and their religion, and the fact that everything in Japan has its place.

This love and fascination left me wanting more.   When we had a glitch in one of our flights to India in 2008, we had to be rerouted through Japan.  I asked the airline if we could have a layover in Tokyo.  They said sure!  I asked for how long?  They said as long as you want!  Am I dreaming?  Now I was begging WS to go to Japan like he begged me!  We agreed on a week, and back to Tokyo we went.  I was no less excited than the first time.  We were lucky enough to spend New Year’s there and experience the celebration at a local temple, and to this day follow the Japanese tradition of cleaning the house, paying bills, and preparing for the new year by clearing out the old.

Last week my brother-in-law got married, and an old friend WS and his brother grew up with was in the wedding.  He starting telling us about his wife’s family, who live in Tokyo.  He told us they may be going back in April 2013 and if we wanted to go with them we were more than welcome.  I hope he knew what he was in for, because I have already started looking at tickets!  Round Three?  Could be…..

THAILAND

If you ask me why I loved Bangkok, you would never believe me after my post above about Japan.  To me, Bangkok was a mix of East meets West, Chaos meets Culture. Bangkok was this crazy, polluted, crowded city, yet I absolutely loved it.  I loved the food, ah, the street food in Thailand is some of the best we have eaten anywhere.  Soups and pad thai and mango with sticky rice and fresh fruit juice.  One glorious choice after another.  The public transport was a fantastic mix of light rail, subway, taxis and tuk tuks.  At times there were so many contrasts to me, and how it all worked in some type of crazy harmony intrigued me.

We spent 6 weeks in Thailand in 2008, renting an apartment for most of that time, with Bangkok as our hub.  But there were parts we did not get to visit , including the central portion of the country and the southwest coast.  I really want to explore more if it, and would absolutely add a few days in Bangkok again.  Well, maybe more than a few days…..

BUENOS AIRES/PARIS

For last place, there was a tie in my little travel brain, so I decided to go more specific than just a country and go for a city.  I think I would like to go back to each of these cities equally as Buenos Aires has been called the Paris of South America. We visited Buenos Aires in 2008 and rented an apartment in Recoleta.  The dollar at the time was strong there, and we got very spoiled doing a lot of nice things for not a lot of money.  We were on a tight budget, and being there was such a treat.  I could wander around the city aimlessly for days looking at the amazing architecture and enjoying their fantastic food.

Ditto for Paris, which we visited in 2009.  The museums and culture in both cities allow for exploration for all tastes.  No matter your taste in music or art, you will find something to your liking in both places.  Both cities had so much to do, and  if you were bored it really was your own fault.  I would return to both cities to explore a little further out from the city itself, something we did not do the first time around, and to re-experience what the cities have to offer once again.

What about you?  Where would you go to again? Why?

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If there is anything that you may have learned from this blog, it is that Wandering Sean loves to eat.  Really loves to eat.  So when Wandering Why found out about Hans Lienesch, a gentleman who rates ramen on his foodie blog TheRamenRater, we had to hear more.  Ramen was a staple food for us in Asia while traveling.  And we are not talking about the ramen noodles you ate in college.  Hans was nice enough to let is bombard him with ramen questions, and hence the first interview on Wandering Why was born.

WW:  I read your top ten list and 6 out of ten of those listed were from Japan.  What do you think Japan knows about ramen that other countries could learn from?

RR: This is the top ten list of noodle bowls you’re referring to. The Japanese bowls are quite good in that they use a lot of buckwheat noodle varieties and include things like tempura or fried tofu. http://ramenrater.wordpress.com/top-ten-lists/the-ramen-raters-top-ten-instant-noodle-bowls-in-the-world/

I also have a top ten instant noodles of the world that are topped by a couple Indonesian varieties. Indonesian instant much of the time are soupless and like a flavored fried noodle. They’re wonderful!  http://ramenrater.wordpress.com/top-ten-lists/top-ten/

WW: Was there ever a bowl of soup you just could not stomach?  If so, why?

RR: Oh yes – one in particular comes to mind immediately! A brand called Baijia hails from the Sichuan region of China. While I have been told that they are very authentic to the region, I find them absolutely unpalatable. The one was called Spicy Fei-Chang Flavor – which I was told translates to ‘fatty pork intestine.’ I like instant noodles from the world over mind you, but some flavors like this just don’t go well with my Americanized palate.

WW: Have you traveled with the sole intent of eating ramen?  If so, where?

RR: This is a great question due to the fact I am going to do exactly this tomorrow. Number seven on my top ten instants list is help by ‘Shin Ramyun Black,’ a variety made by Nongshim. This Korean company has a plant in California and they invited my wife and I to fly down and take a tour of their plant, do a noodle tasting and do an interview for my blog! We’re both very excited and we’re leaving tomorrow morning!

WW:  Have you been to The Ramen Museum in Tokyo?  If not, would this be a dream to see?

RR: The furthest I’ve traveled out of the United States is Canada. Suffice it to say that a trip to Japan to see the museum would be a huge treat; it’s the holy grail of noodles!

WW:  What do you eat your ramen with?  Do you prefer Asian style or American style?

RR: My favorite things to add to instant noodles are fried eggs and pickled ginger, known as Kizami Shoga. Recently, my wife and I hit a local produce stand and got some nice fresh veggies and prepped them, froze them, and they get tossed into most of the noodle dishes I prepare.

All instant noodles originated in 1958 in Japan. Momofuku Ando is the grandfather of the instant noodle and founded Nissin Foods. Granted, varieties found here and abroad differ greatly. The flavors in the US are more tuned to American, as are varieties in other countries tuned to theirs. I would definitely say I enjoy the foreign varieties; since I haven’t traveled much, this is a kind of way I get to travel in taste.

RR: She enjoys the occasional pack of ramen – I love to cook up some for her. She really has an affinity for Udon, which are very wide noodles that hail from Japan.

WW:  What is one fact about ramen that most people do not know?

RR: A lot of people think that all ramen is ‘Top Ramen,’ but this isn’t the case. Top Ramen is a product that Nissin Foods USA makes. Albeit quite enjoyable, there are hundreds if not thousands of varieties and flavors found the world over.

Also, it’s a common misconception that instant noodles have an indefinite shelf life. Actually, they’re expired in about a year after production. Also, people like to comment on how bad they are for you, but if you add some protein and veggies, they can provide a nice, well-rounded meal.

Thanks Hans!!

How about you?  How do you like your ramen?

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When we (okay I, WD) asked to join the TeamBLUE bloggers relay sponsored thru Lowcostholidays.com, I thought what a great way for WS and I to relive some travel moments and try to shorten our list of favorite travel moments down to three. This lead to much discussion, many contented sighs, and finally a list of three that can swim in and out of my vision as if someone is playing a movie in front of my eyes. Sometimes the movie is blurred by tears, the memories feel that good to recall. I hope I can covey the emotions that I felt in each of these memories to you.

GOLD – Australia

We arrived in Sydney, Australia after thirty (!) hours of hellacious travel from Rio de Janiero. We arrived in the morning with our internal clocks turned upside down. We picked up our baggage and caught a ride to our hostel for the week. After dropping our bags and digging out a map, we boarded the subway to explore downtown. Destination, Sydney Harbor.

As we turned our bleary eyes to the map, we negotiated our route on foot to the famed Opera House and Sydney Harbor. It looked like from the map at any moment we would catch a glimpse of it. We rounded a corner, and there it was. The Opera House. The famous Opera House that I had seen on TV, in books, in magazines. I practically ran to it, I was so excited. And there was the bridge! And there was the harbor! As I ran giddy with excitement towards those famous sites, I realized I had never been so far away from home as I was at that moment. We were living our dream, we were traveling the world, and this was our reality. Thirty hours before I was in Brazil, and now here I was in Australia. I realized how lucky I was that we had turned our dream into reality. WS captured this shot of me jumping up and down in front of the Opera House. I felt so alive that not even lack of sleep could have clouded that moment.

SILVER – Jordan

“Welcome to Jordan!” we heard over and over again when we arrived in Amman. Our goal in Jordan was to see Petra, and perhaps some other sites along the way. We met a nice couple in our hostel in Amman, and decided that the next day we would catch a bus together to navigate the King’s Highway down towards Petra.

As we walked to the bus, we were approached by a cab driver who invited us to let him drive us there. I was quite skeptical, wasn’t sure if his friendliness was genuine, and overall wasn’t sure it was the best idea we ever had. But the rest of the group started to listen to his ideas for the day, and eventually we caved in and climbed inside the cab.

Our driver shared his love of soccer, his love of music, and his love of Jordan with us as we navigated the King’s Highway. He took us to find a hotel in Madaba, then told us he would take us to some of the other sites in the area. We had no expectations, had no idea where we were going, but just hopped in the cab and off we went.

He took us first to Mt.Nebo, with its amazing views over the Dead Sea toward Israel. He accompanied us through the sites, chatting along the way, telling us about the area and the people who called it home. He then told us we would head down to the Dead Sea. Rather than taking us to a resort, he pulled the cab off the side of the road onto an embankment so we could hike down from there. Next thing we all knew, he stripped down to his underware and jumped into the Dead Sea! We followed him in,enjoying the amazement in realizing that yes, you do float! We lazed in the water, chatting and laughing with our new friend.

After the Dead Sea, he took us to a natural spring in the area. Another hike lead us to another amazing experience. We washed all the salt off in the crystal water, all the while having the springs to ourselves.

When we had dried off, he drove us back to our hotel. We thanked him again for an amazing day. I don’t remember his name, but I will never forget what he taught me. My skepticism could have kept me away from one of the best unplanned travel days we ever had. Sometimes letting yourself go to the kindness of others leads you to the most amazing travel moments.

BRONZE-The Galapagos

“It is WAY too expensive!!” I whined to WS over his incessant desire to go to the Galapagos. My whining got me nowhere. It was decided there would be a trip to the Galapagos, I could go on this trip or stay in our hostel in Quito. Well, of course that is not true, of course I would never stay behind, but I could certainly complain when I was the budget keeper, and WS was about to blow our budget.

We met with Paul from CARPE DIEM ADVENTURES who helped us find a boat in the Galapagos. He encouraged us to wait a day to book, then wait thru the weekend, waiting for the trip to drop in price. When the price dropped the day before the trip, we pounced. Paul drove us in his own car to the ATM and then to the booking office. we were on our way!

I had no idea what to expect when we landed. Our naturalist Juan Carlos was there at the airport to greet us, and took us to our home on the catamaran Nemo.The guide was helpful, the staff was pleasant, and we enjoyed our first meal looking out at a beautiful sunset.

The next morning was our first snorkel trip off the boat. The water looked calm and COLD. I thought to myself there is no hesitating, you must jump in. And jump in we did. Immediately below us we spotted sea lions. Sea lions everywhere. They came up to our masks. They swam around us. They played together passing a rock back and forth. And all I could think was how did I get here??

Now WS will tell you the answer to that question was him, he was the reason we were there. He is correct! For that amazing week on the Nemo we saw things I only read about in school. We saw sharks. We saw penguins. We saw turtles. We saw blue and red footed Boobies. We saw Lonesome George. We saw so many amazing creatures that I could not get my head around them all.

After the week was over, I stood on the front of the boat and cried. I cried because I was sad to leave, I cried because of what I saw touched me so much and I knew it was an experience I would never ever forget. I realized in that moment I would never stop wandering, I am rewarded too much by Wandering Why.

Time to pass the baton!  Are you ready to read the top three travel moments from Jeremy at Budget Travel Adventures??  I know I am!

Watch on twitter the hashtags #BloggerRelay & #TeamBLUE

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A question came up in a recent conversation with a friend regarding travel to a familiar destination.  She and her husband lived in Italy for three years and loved it there.  For the past two years, they have been living in the United States again.  Next year is their tenth anniversary, and they want to plan a special trip.

Should they go back to Italy for two weeks?

My first response was NO.  Because, selfishly, that is not what I would do.  I have a huge travel list, or what OneGiantStep calls a “not-a-bucket-list”.  There are so many places I have not seen, that there are very few places I would return to (I will save the list of places I would return to for another post).

But then I took a step back to look at it from her point of view.  They LIVED there, they loved it there.  Is that different?

Sometimes I think people go back to the same place because they want it to be like they remembered, to relive an amazing journey or vacation.  But what if it is not the same type of experience?  Would it be better to leave a terrific memory just that, a memory?  Or is the risk worth the benefit of going to a place filled with the possibilities of the same warmth and amazement as before?

So the question I put out to you the readers is a spin on one of my favorite Thai quotes “Same same, but different”.  Would you or do you prefer to go back to the same place again, or  do you prefer to go somewhere different?

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When asked about the places we have been, questions always arise about fear.  Were you afraid to walk alone there?  Were you afraid you were going to be robbed?  Were you afraid you would not understand the language?

Always, with confidence, I have answered “no”.

But there is one fear I do have when traveling, and it is an irrational one I have never shared on this blog.

I am afraid of not being able to find a bathroom.

This has never happened.  I have never been sick and unable to find a facility.  I have never been on the verge of a bladder burst without seeing a familiar sign.  Never.

But the fear remains.  It is strong, and at times feels like a panic to me.  What if I am in the customs line and I have to go?  What if the “fasten seat belt” sign comes on and I have to go?

These scenarios have never happened, but the fear remains.  I learn the word for “bathroom” in whatever country we are in.  I check the maps in the guidebooks.  I practice due diligence and keep my eyes peeled, even when I don’t currently have to go.  Because what if I have to go later?  I can always remember where that last bathroom was.

Thankfully, it does not keep me from traveling.  However, it is a super annoyance to Wandering Sean.  But, hey, how many husbands can say that their wife knows how to say “toilet” in 27 languages? (okay, maybe not that many, and maybe it is not something to really brag about)

How about you?  Do you have any fears, rational or irrational, that surface when you travel?  How do you handle them?

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Since we returned from ‘the big trip’ we have not done any traveling together (WS did not go to Haiti).  This is not to say we have not gone anywhere since mid 2009, it just means we have taken vacations instead.

How do I define the difference?

A vacation to me involves little thought once on it and a bigger budget to take it. I am comfortable on vacation, I can relax, I can leave it all behind. Traveling means picking up the backpack and jumping on a train to a place just recommended by someone I just met, not worrying that I don’t have hotel booked or know the language. This will take more thought and effort, but I am still comfortable, I am still relaxed, and I can still leave it all behind.

I see these two as very very different, but they can both produce similar outcomes.

Last year we took two really cool vacations.  Our first vacation was a package deal to Ireland that included the flight, bed and breakfast vouchers, and a car.  There was a plan in place with very little thought from me.  We ate well, WS drank well (Guiness) and we stayed in nice places.  And yes, Ireland is as green as everyone says.

Our second vacation was a cruise to Alaska for WS’s **0th birthday (he will kill me if I broadcast this to the world).  We flew to Seattle, had a few days there (one of our favorite cities), and then hit the cruise ship.  Cruises scream vacation to me.  Everything was laid out for us, and all we had to do was sit back and enjoy the moment.

I think when we returned in 2009, we needed  to take some vacations.  We needed a break from traveling.

But Baby, I am ready to travel again.

In September, we will travel through four cities in Europe.  Our first stop will be London to visit some friends we met while on the big trip.  That is set in stone.  But from there, where?  Our loose plan is Budapest, Prague and Amsterdam.  How will we get from one place to another, and how long will we stay in each place?

I don’t know. To me , that is the beauty and simplicity of travel.  Waking up and seeing where the day takes you.  Exploring a city for what it has to offer, beyond those “must sees” that everyone tells you that you have to do.  Wandering aimlessly down city streets, eating local food, and ebbing and flowing with whatever comes your way.

As Americans, I do believe it is harder for us to travel.  We get two weeks off per year.  It is so much easier to plan a vacation, have your days mapped out, because there is limited time and we don’t want to “miss” anything.  I challenge you on your next trip to book a round-trip flight, but leave your guidebook  and expectations behind.  Start wandering, start interacting with locals, start seeing beyond your “must see” list.   I guarantee you will be rewarded by your efforts.

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