5 Things I Learned from My First Year of Travel
When I embarked on my first travel journey in 2016, I had no idea what to expect. I was new to travel, and everything I knew was gleaned from obsessively following professional travel bloggers on Instagram. But stunning Instagram photos from glamorous bloggers hardly ever tell the whole story. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wondered how they got that gorgeous shot while sitting on the edge of a waterfall in Thailand, or how much it cost to get to a remote archipelago off the coast of Norway.
Most travel bloggers show only their final destination, and I was at a loss trying to plan my own trips. How did they find their way to that private Bahaman beach with its beautiful blue waters? What kind of preparation did they make to spend a week hiking and camping in the Scottish Highlands? How do they afford to travel full time? I felt like I wasn’t getting the full picture.
My first trip was to London, an easy destination for a first-time traveler like me. Even so, I bumbled my way through riding the Tube (mind the gap!) and navigating my way through the tourist crowds to Westminster Abbey. I got lost on several occasions, and I’m sure I looked like the typical tourist, stopping every few feet to take pictures and figure out where I was on a map. I cringe when thinking about it today!
My travel journey has now entered its third year, and with the launch of this blog, I took some time to reflect on my first year of travel. I’ve learned much since then, and I can tell the marked difference between newbie-traveler-me and more-experienced-traveler-me. It’s a big difference: trust me!
So I’d like to share a few tips I’ve learned about travel, all of which have shaped how I travel and my travel philosophy. Some of them are obvious; some come only with experience. Either way, I hope you find them helpful on your next travel adventure!
TRAVEL IS MESSY
One thing I’ve learned over the years: nothing ever goes as planned. I will be the first to admit that I’m a chronic over-planner. When planning my first trip to Paris, I kept a paper list that noted which Metro stops were closest to the sites I wanted to see, even cataloging stop times and line changes. When it comes to travel planning, I don’t mess around!
So imagine my panic when I found that I had missed my stop when heading to the Palais de Chaillot above the Trocadéro Gardens (which has the best view of the Eiffel Tower in the city) after waking up super early so I could beat the tourist crowds. Then, when I tried to head back the other direction, my two-hour ticket that I had purchased not ten minutes previously would not scan properly in the turnstiles. I spent another thirty minutes trying to convince the station attendant (who could only speak in broken English) that I had, in fact, purchased the ticket that day and wasn’t trying to con my way onto the Metro. Every minute that passed only increased my stress.
When I finally made it to the plaza that overlooks the Champ de Mars, the sun was just coming up over the city. The souvenir sellers were beginning to set up their trinkets, and a few photographers had already started their shoots with clients. I was lucky this time around, but it certainly taught me that a well-made plan doesn’t always go according to . . . well . . . plan.
EMBRACE THE MISHAPS
The life of a professional travel blogger seems glamorous, full of gorgeous beaches and luxury hotels. What most don’t show are the little mishaps, the small blunders that make travel a constant learning experience. Travel is never simple nor is it clean.
But don’t let this discourage you; the mishaps and mistakes can sometimes be the best part of travel, and they can certainly make the best stories. Some of my favorite travel memories are the ones in which my plans went hilariously and horribly wrong (ask me about my ill-fated bike ride to Omaha Beach sometime!). It may have been frustrating in the moment, but it sure gives me a good laugh after the fact!
TAKE THE TIME TO ENJOY YOUR SURROUNDINGS
You will probably feel pressure to see everything on your bucket list during your first time at a new destination. Don’t! There’s always next time! You definitely don’t want to find yourself cutting short an enjoyable trip to Louvre just because you underestimated how long it takes to make it to your next medieval architecture walking tour on time. Moral of the story: don’t be afraid just to sit and look around for a while.
On my second trip to London, for example, I found myself in Leicester Square in the West End. It was already nighttime when I got off the Tube, and I was looking forward to seeing a show at the Odeon. But when I entered the Square, I was immediately captivated by the countless strings of lights threaded between the trees and the groups of performers scattered throughout the Square. Instead of rushing by the captivating scene to see my show, I decided to stop and enjoy the beauty around me. I found a bench in one corner of the Square and sat for almost two hours, watching the performers and the people come and go.
That small moment ended up being one of the most memorable and rewarding parts of my trip. It was a huge change in my carefully curated plans, but it’s a memory that I treasure to this day. Sometimes the best part of travel is letting go of your plans and simply enjoying what’s around you.
IT’S OKAY NOT TO LIKE SOMETHING
When I first started traveling, I was so eager to visit new places that it never crossed my mind that I wouldn’t like something. But when I stepped off my train at Gare du Nord having departed from London on the Eurostar, I immediately felt a sense of aversion.
I tried to ignore the feeling. After all, Paris is a dream destination for many travelers! I felt like I was doing something wrong, but I just couldn’t shake my mood: for a variety of reasons, I just didn’t like Paris.
That’s not to say I didn’t like anything from Paris. On the contrary, I found I loved the magnificence of the Louvre, even though I don’t particularly like art, and I was awed by the incredible beauty of the architecture and grand monuments. But on the whole, Paris just wasn’t for me.
It took me a while to learn to accept that fact. Upon arriving home, I had a family friend—one who goes to Paris several times a year—asked me about how I enjoyed my trip and, without giving me a moment to answer—immediately started raving about her favorite places. I felt bad for wanting to tell her that I didn’t care for Paris, so I smiled and lied about how much I enjoyed it. But I later realized I don’t need to feel bad for holding my own opinions. That’s part of learning who you are as a traveler, your likes and dislikes, your comfort zone and your stretch zone. I’m glad she loves Paris, but I don’t. And that’s okay!
CAPTURE MOMENTS IN YOUR MIND, NOT ON A CAMERA
If you didn’t take a photo, did it really even happen? Of course it did! Photos are tangible pieces of memory, and we all love to show off evidence of our travels. Don’t get me wrong, I love sharing my travel images with my family and my readers, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to remember an experience through a photograph. But sometimes I need to put the camera away and simply enjoy what’s around me.
There’s a scene in the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty where world-renown photojournalist Sean O’Connell has spent days out in the harsh landscape of the Himalayas in search of the elusive snow leopard for his latest TIME photo essay. When the leopard finally appears out of the mist, however, O’Connell does nothing, only watching it intently from above his camera. Confused, Walter asks him when he’s going to take the photo for which he’s been waiting days in the bitter cold. “Sometimes, I don’t,” O’Connell replies. “If I like a moment, for me personally, I don’t like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it . . . Right there. Right here.”
I didn’t understand the meaning of O’Connell’s words until I was standing on the edge of a sea-battered cliff on the island of Inis Mór. The wind beat hard against a cloudy sky, and the views of the Atlantic were breathtaking. The small crowd that was with me on the cliffside were snapping photos every few seconds. Normally, I would be doing the same thing, trying to find the perfect vantage point and angle. But I had an overwhelming feeling in that moment to leave my camera in its case and take everything in with my own eyes.
So I spent an hour sitting with my feet dangling off the cliffside, breathing in the sea air deeply and absorbing the beauty around me. There was nothing like that feeling. And I would have missed it had I spent time trying to find the perfect shot. I don’t need to have it on camera because I have it in my mind. Experiencing it not through the “distraction” of a lens, but rather through my own memory brings back the visceral feeling of being there: the salty air that bitterly whipped around me and the rhythmic beating of waves against rock. A photo may have allowed me to remember it, but it may not have allowed me to experience it as I did that chilly day.
Travel, of course, is not all about the destination; it’s about the journey and the adventures we make. When we travel, we begin to shape and mold our travel philosophy. These shaped mine, and even so, I’m still learning. I hope these helped you, and I hope you’ll continue to follow along as I continue to learn more about the world and about travel.
Safe travels!
