Yep, she's traveling again!

Yep! She’s traveling again!

This year I made a New Year’s Resolution that I ACTUALLY plan to keep: visit a new place somewhere in the world every year until I get sick of traveling or find a place that is so spectacular that I can’t imagine visiting any other place in the world.

Travel is important! I do live in sunny Southern California 5 miles away from the nearest beach. But, nothing beats experiencing a gondola ride in Venice, Italy or dining on a pork knuckle in Munich (I’ll get to that later!). Traveling helps us learn about culture and ideals that are not our own. More importantly it helps us learn about ourselves. That’s why this May I decided to go on an adventure of my own. My friends and family were surprised that I would travel alone. But, after many years of hoping, wishing and prying that I would have the opportunity to experience Europe I decide that this year would be my year.

I hope by writing this blog I can encourage you to go on an adventure of your own. Whether your dream trip is to white water raft in the Blue Ridge Mountains or practice yoga at an ashram in India my message to you is “DO IT!” We can all come up with a thousand reasons NOT to go. But, in reality all you need is a plan, time and a little determination to set foot on a new experience (a good travel agent my help too).

The first thing I did for my trip was RESEARCH. I had a good idea of where I want to go. I got online and started to look for trip details, tour companies and costs. I then called up a travel agent to give me some insight and advice. I finally decided on a Contiki tour called “European Magic”. I chose this 11 day tour for several reasons:

• I would get to meet new people and feel comfortable doing it- Contiki is a tour company catering to 18-35 year olds. There were several people on tour that were also traveling alone so I was in good company. I was able to create new friendships while getting lost in an awe inspiring city that was new to us all.

• I’d never been to Europe- There are a lot of countries and things to see in Europe. I considered visiting one country to explore in-depth. However, getting a sample of several different places was appealing to me. This tour allowed me to go to several countries (8 to be exact!), meet new people and get insight from a tour manager that had experience in each city we visited.

• Language – I speak English… and that’s it! It can be very scary to go to a place that’s unfamiliar. But, add on a language barrier and it can be down-right horrifying! Again, the tour manager was helpful. She gave is city maps and a list of commonly used phrases.

Although tours can seem like a 5th grade field trip there were a lot of advantages. As I’ve mentioned we had a tour manager. She was very knowledgeable about each city and provided us with maps and suggestions on the most popular sites of visit….

• CAUTION: Travel can be contagious and addictive!