My travel style

Since I work full time and I only have limited vacation time, it has been a challenge for me to maximize my time with each trip I take.

When I took my first trip to Europe, I was so eager to visit a lot of countries in such a limited time. I wanted to go to as much country as I could not knowing the distance and travel time. I bought my plane ticket and Eurail pass and set off to explore on my own for two weeks while visiting and meeting up with friends in Europe. I went and saw as many things as I could. A lot of churches, monuments, gardens, castles, etc. It was a very fast paced itinerary that left me breathless and quite frankly too tired to absorb everything. I was too eager to see everything all at once that I never bothered to just be in the moment.

I had it all envisioned inside my head that once I stepped foot in Europe, it was going to be magical. It was my dream to visit Paris. I remember getting off the TGV and feeling completely overwhelmed by the people and the language barrier. I was out of my elements and lugging my suitcase up and down the metro stairs. I wanted to go home at that moment but I had no choice but to keep going.

And once I settled in, I began to visit monuments I only saw on t.v. The Eiffel Tower was obviously magical but the biggest surprise for me was falling in love with Sacre Couer. I ended up visiting it twice.

Two weeks flew by. I visited 4 countries and 6 cities. I was ready to head home. I felt like I just had a European sampler in such a short period of time.

Now, things have changed a bit on how I pace out my trips. I definitely try to slow down more and not pack in as many sightseeing as I could. I leave room for a next visit and take breaks to enjoy each place I visit.

I try not to compare myself with other travel bloggers who go on 6 months or so trips. I do what I can with the limited time I have. Sometimes, I just want an all-inclusive one week vacation to unwind and never having to worry about itineraries and other times a weekend trip to a town or city. And when I do have more time, I take a couple of weeks off. Each trip, each city, each country, I visit are all special to me.
My travel style is always evolving. As I grow older, my preferences change. I no longer want to stay in hostels like I did when I was 22 but my hunger to explore remains the same. In the end, that's what matters. To learn, explore, and experience.

Paris 2007