I am sitting in the airport, waiting to catch a flight. This scenario plays out at countless airports around the world. Often, there is someone waiting for us on the other end of that plane ride. Other times, there is no one. We are just heading into the unknown, not knowing a soul at our destination. Today I am lucky to have a friendly face, fingers crossed, greeting me on the other end of that short plane ride. However, when I make a much longer and more extensive trip in just 2 months, no one will be waiting for me or expecting my arrival at the other end. Travel can be a lonely Continue Reading
To Travel or Not To Travel? That is the Question
I rented an apartment in Italy for the summer. I have no plane ticket at the moment and no definitive plans. I just know I will have a roof over my head. I really do sound like Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun except I have yet to go through a bad divorce or some sort of quarter life crisis. Perhaps that will ensue upon my arrival. Deciding to travel is not really something I see as a decision. It is intimating though once you look at your bank account. I hope to have a flight in the coming weeks and perhaps then I will start planning. Basically, the bottom line, I weighed my options. I Continue Reading
A Travel Tribute to the Paths of Least and Most Resistance
When we travel, we are usually trying to get to a destination, one we plan on reaching or one that is spontaneous. Regardless, we travel by way of plane, train, car, boat, or foot to get there. After that flight or train ride, you seek out the landmarks, the attractions. You fumble to find that piece of paper with the addresses of restaurants, bars, or shops friends have recommended. You are looking for streets, paths, avenues, boulevards, drives, or any road to give that direction to a place. Throughout my travels I have found those paths to be more of destinations. Those streets that lead Continue Reading
Looking at Travel From The Greatest of Heights
This past weekend, I attempted to look at a small piece of the world from a high vantage point. A muddy road and my friend’s car did not mix however and I never received that vision of a great height. There are countless high points everywhere. This happened to be in the middle of America so I doubt I missed much (sorry to any mid-western I just offended). As we moved like a slow-moving, bumpy rollercoaster through an endless stretch of squishy dirt, the notion of actually not making it there set in and we turned the wheels towards lower and drier ground. Even though I missed the view, I Continue Reading
I’m Hungry for Travel and Food
While traveling, there is one thing you cannot go without, food. If you try to pass up fries in Belgium or that glass of chianti in Chianti, Italy, I guarantee you will regret it. Backpacking Europe is not the time for a diet. Part of traveling is enjoying the cuisine. If you walk around cities all day, you deserve a delicious meal as a reward. I do not claim to be a foodie or food snob. However, just as certain places stand out in memory, so too, have several foods on my travels. Italy Risotto While unfortunately I do not have a picture of Loriana’s risotto, this dish may be my Continue Reading
Can You Really Go Home Again? The Foreigner Sensation In Once Lived Places
I studied abroad when I was a junior in college in Ortigia, Sicily. Ortigia is a small town, the old town center of Siracusa in southeastern Sicily. I spent over four months living and “studying” in this picturesque location. My program was smaller than the Duggar family of just 15 students. We all came to know one another, much like family. More often than not, it felt like we were on a reality show, 15 strangers living on a island. Will they survive? Ortigia was home and a little American family possessed it for a few months. I went back to Ortigia for a week around this time last year. I Continue Reading
What They Should Teach You in School: How To Travel
In pre-kindergarten, you get to play all sorts of games that are supposedly educational, but really it is just one giant daycare. Most of us played the game “corners” or some variation, where you would play at different stations throughout the room. One station would have a kitchen set. Another one featured blocks to build towers. Another station, and probably my all time favorite, allowed for lounging on beanbags while looking at picture books. Needless to say, this is what that game of corners did not teach me: how to travel from corner to corner. I remember Mrs. Gold yelling “Switch!”, Continue Reading