There are so many travel blogs that will give you advice to travel. Travelling makes your life more interesting, it gives you a chance to build some memories and develop yourself. That being said, I want to stress that it’s not only about going to different places, but it’s all about the adventure. Why is that important?
First of all, if you head overseas just to lie down next to the swimming pool and to eat and drink away your all-inclusive allowance — that’s not travelling. Granted, it will give you some numbing rest, but surely it won’t neither satisfy your curiosity nor make your memories interesting.
Curiosity and desire of adventure are crucial for meaningful travels. When I went to Italy for the first time, I wanted to see and taste everything. I had so many questions! How do they live? What kinds of food can I taste, that wouldn’t be available at home? What is the history of all those monuments? And believe me, I felt the urge to get the answers. My stay in Rome was to me, as new sandbox would be for a child. I went crazy trying to go everywhere overpowered by inner soul hunger of discovery. This was truly amazing.
Adventurous spirit pushes me to go to even more places, to meet more people and munch on more delightful dishes. I get ecstatic whether I admire the views or discover new things. It’s equally mind blowing to me, that you can rub Bartolomeo Colleone’s testicles on his coat of arms in Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo, Italy to get some good luck, as it is to taste mutton brain curry in India. (The featured image of this post is of me rubbing Colleone’s jewels. You got to do this things.) Trust me, you can do some excessive sightseeing and food tasting, and still get some well-deserved rest after.
It’s all about planning. My first trip to Rome was two weeks long. We’ve spent first week walking all over the city, trying pizza a taglio (sold by slices), ice-cream and variety of pastas. We also bought train tickets to Naples and went to see Vesuvius volcano and town of Pompei destroyed by it. It was exhausting but gave me one of the best memories in my life. The second week was devoted to sunbathing on the beach close to Castelfusano and contemplating previous week’s adventure. Over all, I got best of both worlds — wonderful adventure with solid memories and time to recharge my batteries under Italian sun.
What can you gain:
- Knowledge of local customs, history and hidden connections between cultures.
- Memories of feelings, tastes, smells, people and other wonderful stuff.
- Broader thought horizons.
- Openness to different cultures and their traditions while you appreciate your own in a deeper sense.
- More curiosity — the more you learn and discover, the more links between cultures and languages you can see — the more curious and involved you become.
So next time when you go to Spain, Italy, Thailand, Mexico or wherever for your long awaited holiday, remember to break out of your all-inclusive resort. Go see next town or city, find some small local restaurant far away from regular tourist routes, find something that you couldn’t try at home. Finally, add some taste and flavour to your memory bank to accompany pictures years later. You won’t regret it.
